Questions and Answers

We figure there are probably some questions people have about our trip, our trailer, our schedule, our sanity, etc. We will use this page to try to answer some of these and will keep building on it as we get questions from people. Please feel free to post questions in the Comments area at the bottom of the page.

Why are you doing this?

This trip has been a dream for a long time, almost about the same time we started homeschooling. I guess we should correct that and say it was a dream of Brock since then, Stacey warmed up to the idea about a year ago.

Basically we feel one of the most important things we are supposed to do in our lives is to raise kids that have a relationship with God and trust him above all else in their lives and that He can use them each uniquely to accomplish His plan for their lives. We also believe that it is very easy to get a narrow focus of what is important or normal without seeing a bigger picture and having exposure to many different experiences to relate to.

One area we want to address is an understanding that life is more about experiences and relationships than things. Giving up things in exchange for experiences we hope helps the kids to be less focused on things in the future. In addition, we want the kids to see the great variety of people and places and interact with them to see that there is alot to this nation and its people.

From a schooling perspective, what better way to understand and be involved with history than to see the places where it happened and interact with some of the great museums and sites that are put together.

How are you affording this?

We have rented our house to cover our mortgage payment. We also sold 90% of our stuff to have a good emergency and activity fund built up but most of all Brock is still working full time from the road so we adjusted our budget to fit our travel expenses. He is only able to do this because of the great team in Bend and Anchorage working directly with our clients. We still stick to a budget but have different categories than at home. Gas is costing us more than expected so far as we are moving quite a bit right now but that should settle down in November. We have also received "experience dollars" from Grams and Gramps for the kids to have set amount per month for spending on activities and things that build memories. This has been a great thing for them to budget out and decide what is important to spend it on.

How big is your trailer?

Some days plenty big and some days not near big enough!  Officially the trailer is 35 and a half feet long. Add on to that our Yukon which is about 18 feet long and we take up alot of space going down the road. The layout of our trailer works very well for us. We did not get the outside kitchen so the area under the bunk in the back is all storage accessible from the outside. Brynna sleeps in the permanent bunk (since she is the girl!) and Skylar sleeps on the upper fold down top bunk. Brighton and Spence sleep in the fold out J-Cube futons each night. Stacey and Brock get our own room and Heidi the spoiled dog gets the fold down couch with her dog blanket.

How long are you doing this for?

The plan is a year on the road.

What do you miss most?

For all, friends and family. It is great getting to see new things but not having friends and family around is tough.

In addition:

• Brock - alone time to be able to focus.
• Stacey - kitchen space.
• Brighton - biking in Bend
• Brynna - ballet
• Spencer -  our house
• Skylar - a big screen TV

What do you miss least?

• Brock - house projects taking up the weekends
• Stacey - cleaning a bigger space
• Brighton - pooper scooping at Gramma's house
• Brynna - a big screen TV
• Spencer - our van
• Skylar -  toys