House Camping - Part II

What does a family do for six weeks without all of its stuff?!

Temporarily losing access to our belongings has already helped us realize how much we don't need. We can be happy with a lot less than we think! This has really been an interesting experience: we've seen the gracious outlay and offering of furniture and furnishings from friends; we've been served meals by compassionate friends who noticed we were in over-our-heads during the days leading up to Moving Day; we've had physical help lifting boxes, desks, etc., getting everything where it needed to be in time for the movers to pack the shipping container. It's been one blessing after another, albeit exhausting both mentally, physically and emotionally.

In summary, the "house camping" is going well. Here are some of the highlights:

It's a little harder to get out of bed since it's on the ground, but we're very thankful we have one so comfortable.


We still have cable television and the cable company's DVR to record our favorite shows. We held out one 19" television from the movers which will eventually be packed into pickup and driven to our new Palmer, Alaska home. Until then, it sits waiting on a shaky card table. The biggest adjustment is that we watch tv seated on either on a cat-scratched love seat, a high-back chair or the floor.

Dinner is held in the same place since Moving Day, just now it's on a card table surrounded by folding chairs. We've been eating off paper plates and borrowed cups and glasses. We're in the process of eating whatever combinations of boxed foods and canned goods we can that works toward baring the pantry shelves. Takeout and delivery sure looks better and better over some of the options we're left with, but Rebecca does a great job of keeping it tasty. What's on the menu is likely because it was passed over several times before. But these days, even the dinner choices we make can potentially lighten the load we'll take to Alaska.


Internet access is still available and we have all of our computer equipment on or around a combination of folding tables (have you picked up on our folding table decor motif yet?). Now, we have a great view out the front windows and the family remains close-by as all I've described above is on the first floor.

When the movers did their work, they left with all the kid's toys. The reality this was coming occurred to the kids a little late as they held-out scarcely a single toy except one water-logged hula hoop that was left at the back of our rented property. With the idea coming from neighborhood yard sale signs, we decided to re-populate the house with a few yard-sale-priced toys that we could leave in Kentucky on Departure Day. This means Erin and Jillian are now the owners of two $10 bicycles. These bikes are getting a work-out as they represent the lion's share of their outdoor play things. Yet pointing to another truth the move has reminded us: less stuff = more use of what you've got. These bikes have greater value now than they ever would have just weeks ago. It's all they've got and now they're much more special. Even if Erin's bike is too small for her!

Here's another fun moving story: We've taken our 3 girls to Gattiland a LOT. If you haven't heard this name before, Gattiland is a Chuck E. Cheese-style kid restaurant/play place. For what seems to be years (at least to the kids) , we've suggested that when they get those tickets-turned-points for playing all the games that they just keep adding them up rather than spending them on the little junky stuff. Any kid can get the stuff out of the glass displays on the floor, even with just one good turn at Colorama! (...uh...why do I know this information?!) Seriously...what kid never looked at the "good stuff" on the back wall, considered the 72 points they held in their hand and didn't feel a little dejected for being 3,928 points shy of the toy they really wanted?? With leaving Kentucky, and perhaps the last Gattiland we'd see in a long while, it was time to cash in the Gatti points.
We went up to the mobbed prize counter with our points card and handed it to the young man standing on the other side. He scanned our points card just a second before letting out a serious "Whew!" under his breath. This led us to believe it had been a while since he'd seen one with enough points to permit pulling a prize from the back wall. We were Gattiland royalty this night. We walked out of that restaurant playground with not one, but two Nerf guns!You should have seen the green eyed monsters flanking our girls on the way out of the building!
And these Nerf toys are the very "inside" toys they've been playing with since Moving Day. We outfitted 14-yr-old Katie with her own (I can hear it already "Dad, why'd you write I have a Nerf gun on your blog?...I'm so embarrassed!") and a wall target that all three can shoot at. They have fun, as does the big kid writing this!

So, as I began this thread, I will end it: the "house camping" is going well.

Erin and I look to the calendar and see only three weeks until we pull out and start our Alaskan Road Trip. It's just about time to focus on preparing all that will go into our actual trek, the subject of posts to come.

Rebecca and I would like to thank everyone who responded so kindly to the post that mentioned the kids were getting nasty comments from their friends about the move. It surprised us to see how many friends were ready to defend our kids...sounds like family! It's important to mention that everything is fine now and all the relationships are back to normal. Fact is, this is as rough a time for our kid's friends as it is our own children. We have to keep in mind we're not the only ones trying to "get over" the upcoming separation! Another valuable life-lesson to share and remember.