Finding our Groove

It’s been nearly 7 days now on the road living this nomadic RV life and we are starting to find our groove! As I type from the passenger seat, kids are doing their schoolwork and we are leaving Missouri and heading North into Iowa. We’ll stay in Iowa 2 nights at Jellystone RV Park in Monticello, Iowa. Tomorrow we plan to visit the Field of Dreams (Jason’s request) and play at the Jellystone RV Waterpark on the lake (kid’s request).

And yes, you read that correctly… kids are doing their schoolwork. Summer is over in the Lillie household is “back to school”! We figured we’ll be on the road for 60ish weeks and there may be some weeks/destinations that we will want to skip school in order to do all the sightseeing in that area. So we’re getting a head start on it now! Monday was our first day of school and it was a bit clunky… took us a little over 7 hours to finish. But today we seem to be picking up the pace already! I’ve found some creative ways to engage the kids more using their skillsets. As many of you know Jaycie has music flowing through her veins, so she is actually our Music Appreciation teacher. She uses time in the morning (before school starts) to research the state’s music history, types of music & instruments used, and famous artists. She also selects several different songs to accompany her lesson when she later “teaches” the class to the other 3 Js. So far, she is loving being in charge of this and I may need to start limiting her class lessons to a certain time frame. Ha! Jett also wanted to be in charge of something. So he’s in charge of the Atlas and mapping out our route as well as reading aloud interesting state facts and information on the national parks that we’ll be visiting the next day.

Our chores have also begun! Jett is in charge of folding and putting away laundry as well as trash. Jaycie is in charge of vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms. They also are starting to get their rhythm with setting up and tearing down camp as we all have our specific jobs to do. We are definitely learning that “teamwork makes the dream work” as we are relying on each other to do their part.

Our sightseeing day in Saint Louis was fun-filled and very educational! I was very impressed with the Gateway Arch National Park’s underground museum. The kids got their National Park passports stamped and completed the Junior Ranger booklets to earn their Junior Ranger badges. Jaycie was too chicken to take the tram to the top of the arch. And since Jason had already done it, Jett and I bought our ticket and ventured to the top – 630 feet high! I was surprised by how quick the tram ride was. When Jett and I were at the top we actually spotted Jason’s truck driving around and parking, which was pretty cool! We had a lunch date with one of my friends, Molly, and her daughter Rose who live outside of St. Louis. It was really fun to catch up with her and meet her sweet baby girl. And that afternoon we went to the City Museum which Jett learned about in school. This was something he was looking forward to the most on our trip and it did not disappoint. This old shoe warehouse has been converted into a creative and artistic funhouse/playground for all ages that includes never-ending tubes, slides, ramps, holes, and tunnels to explore. We were all “young at heart” and participated together and even slid down the 5-story slide! There was one time where I followed my 11 year old through a hollow log only to remember I had hips. With a bit of tugging (on Jett’s part) and sucking in (on my part), I was able to squeeze through. That was sure something to laugh about afterwards! This place was super fun, but is definitely NOT for anyone afraid of heights or small confined spaces!

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Missouri and are starting to get used to fulltime RV living. We are looking forward to our next adventures in Iowa! Cornfields… here we come!