39 Floors Above Vegas

A few months ago, I got this message on Flickr:

Are you a homeschoolin' RV mama? I know, strange question, lol. Someone suggested I find 'delight' on here since I'm about to go RV'ing for a little bit, and I'm wondering if you are she!

Tiffani

I wrote Tiffani back and assured that I "I am she". :) I started following her amazing Flickr stream...and realized that she is a total freak about photography, just like me. We sent a few more messages...and I always looked forward to her photos. I also started reading her blog, Child's Play.

Then, a few days before we were leaving Vegas, I got another message that said she was going to BE IN VEGAS for 3 days! Yay! That's what I'm talkin' about. Tiffani was going to be tagging along to Vegas while her husband attended a convention there. They left the kiddos with Grandma.

After a few failed attempts at connecting, we were finally able to make it happen. We picked her up at the Four Seasons (where Matt happened to walk right by Cameron Diaz!) and we headed out for Thai food. Afterwards, we hung out in her huge hotel room on the 39th floor. Our ears popped as we were going up there!

Lucy loved sitting at the window and looking at the pretty lights. We were so high up that it kind of made us dizzy looking down to the ground!

We all curled up in the cushy bed and giggled like we were having a slumber party. It was a good time.

We had such fun talking about unschooling, photography, Jason Mraz, and life in an RV. It's really amazing how we can feel like old friends in such a short time thanks to the connection we had online. Can't wait to run into this family again on the road somewhere...

You can check out her sweet blog here.
And her Flickr stream here.
Photos from our time together here.
All photos available for comment on Flickr here.



Kindred Spirits

One of our favorite things about life on the road is the people we meet along the way. And Las Vegas was no exception.

The reason we were in Vegas was to install a veggie oil system in "Benny the Brave". An added bonus was that we REALLY liked Benny's owners :) We had so much fun with Justin, Tara (AKA The Organic Sister), and Zeb...and we had lots of time to get to know them better.

It turns out that Matt and Justin have very much the same personalities (laid back, fixers)...and Tara and I do as well (type A, planners). Justin is a finish carpenter by trade and Tara is a fabulous photographer and has dreads! Let's just say we were never lacking in things to talk about! We made a great team. And even though Zeb is older than Bella, they had fun hanging out as well.

They are a fellow unschooling family...and we were so inspired by watching how they live that out in daily life. Both Justin and Tara are passionate about "life learning" and it's contagious when you're around them. Tara's blog has so much information and is a really fun read...be sure to add it to your blog list if it's not there already!

Good times at California Pizza Kitchen...

Sara and Tara spent many days at the park with the kids and friends...

Zeb teaching Bella a new game...

Matt and Justin workin' hard on the veg system...

Enjoying friends at the going away party...

Two families on the road! We have plans already to meet up again somewhere down the road...we'll be counting the days!

Benny the Brave is lookin' good...be sure to go to the gallery and watch the video below to see the renovations!

Here is a little interview and tour of the RV that I did with Justin and Tara...

Come check out more photos of their new home and their party in this photo gallery.
All photos available for comment on Flickr here.

Sunshine Returns

We've spent plenty of time in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area in the past 6 years...the headquarters for Cold Stone Creamery is there, and Sara and her family work with CSC. But we always love to go there regardless! The weather is GORGEOUS most every day, and there is plenty to do.

This time around, we were going to spend time with our extended family and also new friends that we had met in Portland...Jessamyn and her sweet family.

First, we had to find a place to camp. And in Phoenix, being that it's a retirement community, 90% of the parks are 55 and older parks. If you do find a camp that will take families, a lot of time they aren't the kind of places we want to hang out at if you know what I mean. There were also several horse, dog, and who knows what kind of shows in town...and most of the RV parks were full. We finally found a park, The Deserts Edge RV Village, and it turned out to be a fantastic place!

We were able to snag a sweet spot directly connected to the playground, so it became our own little "super site". And bonus...there was even an orange and a grapefruit trees AT our campsite! How fun is that? Bella was going nuts climbing the trees and picking them. There were several other families living in the park, including a family from Canada who were traveling for a year. The pool and hot tub were AWESOME and the laundry facilities were great too. And best of all, the owners ROCKED. Great customer service, friendly, and efficient.

Matt's extended family came to visit us on a nice sunny afternoon and we had a great time chatting about life, kiddos, and our family reunion coming up this summer. Woo! This is the parents and sister of Jessica, who we visited in Sandpoint, Idaho.

We also spent quite a bit of time with Jessmyn, Josh, Asher, and Journey. The kids played and played, the girls talked, and the daddies enjoyed hanging out too.


We shared a yummy meal with them...homemade salsa, and the best fajitas ever.

On another day, Jessamyn came up with the kids to swim at the park and see the RV.

Jessamyn is a fellow photographer...it's always fun to connect with someone who gets my obsession!

Jessamyn has become a dear friend to me in such a short time. Another blog friend turned "real life" friend :) We corresponded back in 2008 via email, and to meet her now...it's all just so much fun. This is one of the many reasons why we love traveling. The people we meet are forever etched into our hearts.

Photos from Phoenix here.
Photos are available for comment on Flickr.