more normal than not

OK.

A van is cool….but LOOK AT THIS!!

Flying around in an AREOPLANE!!

How cool would that be?

I’ll work towards a fun mobile that stays on the ground.

We know about staying on the ground….I don’t know how to fly a plane.

And….how do you fit 6 people into a plane like this?

I don’t believe that you could do it.

And, if you could, I think that spilled juice boxes would short out the electronics.

You can’t fly if you fry your rig.

This is pretty intense to be able to see all of this trip from the sky.

Again….the constant….Idaho.

How hard could it be to travel and keep my job?

Pretty hard, I think.

I can’t even easily take the time off to get my Jeep in to get it serviced.

I better push for that before my rig gets fried.

Even on the ground, it’s a drag to fry your rig.

You have to be kind to the donkey that bears you.

Here’s something funny about this video and then I’ll go.

He stops in Atlanta….Idaho about 13 minutes in.

How funny would it be to be able to say that we were moving to Atlanta….and then explain why we couldn’t meet anyone at the mall or Ikea?

That would be HILARIOUS!!

Ahhhhhhhh…..the dude can cook.

Check out the opening sequence of this video….and let your mouth water a bit.

That’s a cool thing….to be able to cook something like that when you’re on the road.

Traveling around in a van looks like it might be fun…but anything looks like it might be fun when you’re traveling around looking for fun.

Fun is fun.

We travel around in a van with a couple of tired kids all the time…..we go where we can, maintaining a sense of cool everywhere we stop to PARTY (!!)….with those tired little kids.

You would think that having more “adults” (the quotation marks are for ME) in the car would make wrangling little ones easier….and it does…4 watching 2 is a good ratio…..but a Grand Caravan is never going to be a tricked out fun-mobile.

And….it’s hard to party when you’re tired.

But….the little guys are pretty resilient….and we are sensitive to their needs….so it all works out.

We don’t cook in our car.

Nate and I went up to camp on Sunday to see some old friends of mine…..and, when we got back, Jenny asked him if he wanted to go to camp, too.

He said, “I want to go camping….with my family.”

I better get on that.

I better get on board that adventure train.

And….we better cook something darn good like this guy does.

If this hipster can cook something that looks that good, why can’t I?

How much can these people really know about anything?

THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO TALK AMERICAN!!

(I’m kidding, of course.)

Lots of folks travelling around in vans.

We drove up to Asheville yesterday….in the old minivan….went to the pinball museum up there….went to Farm Burger for the first time….walked around.

I wonder if going to a place unfamiliar feels more like travelling than going to a place just “up the road”?

Probably.

How far do you have to go before it starts to feel like taking a trip?

We live in a house that’s “in progress”.

There’s always something to do….something more that needs attention.

Last night, after work, we went over to the other property we bought a couple of years ago to clean up a tree that had fallen over the road at the entrance to the land.

That land is a bigger project…bigger than the one we live in now.

The tree is just a small part of the process….and it finally falling over  after years of being held up by the ivy that killed it just meant that it commanded some attention that was more immediate than when it was still standing.

We learn a lot with all the “overextending” we do….but it’s hard.

Someone once told us that “we got lucky” when we found the house we live in.

The (almost) finished project might make it look like that….but all the hard word that was inbetween derelict and “lucky”….is what makes that end product look like something that was only the result of good fortune.

Sometimes lucky takes a lot of hard work.

I love motivational speeches.

I don’t know that I take them all to heart….but if I internalize even a little bit of positivity, I’m better off than I was before I heard them.

We keep going.

Where else would we go?

Why would we want to tread water forever?

Running on a treadmill doesn’t let me see a new view.

I need to push on more.

Macklemore is a dude who I get a kick out of.

Showing his 100-year-old granny a good day looks fun.

And….how long could I live if I cherished every sunset and sunrise?

Good for you, Macklemore!