The Final Count Down
I have 2 days left to finish packing and preparing for our adventure, and in 3 days from now we will be 500 miles into the Canadian wilderness. This is really happening!!
In Which I Gain A New Running Partner, Run the Color Run, And Turn 41
I’ve been lamenting, a bit, this spring that my running/walking partner (I run, he walks) a.k.a my wonderful husband, has kind of lost interest in running/walking, and has been too busy working on my vehicle getting it ready to go for the trip, to run/walk with me. As I was pondering and bemoaning this problem the other day, I realized that Hannah Banana has been dying to do the Color Run. She had wanted to do it last year, but for some reason we missed it, and it has been on her mind ever since. This spring she started insisting we sign up so we wouldn’t miss it again, and once I had committed to running it with her, she has been pushing me to go running with her so she can train. Hannah is very persistent when she wants something, and when I say very I mean very, Very, VERY, and I realized that I had the perfect new running partner right in front of me and I hadn’t even realized it.
Saturday was the Color Run, and it just so happened that it was also my birthday. What a way to celebrate another year of life. Hannah and I had so much fun together. It was the perfect mother/daughter date, and it was something that I think we will always remember. We didn’t do a lot of training, but we did some and we ran the race in 41 minutes. We weren’t the fastest, but we weren’t the slowest either.
Hannah is already insisting that we continue our running through the summer, and I’m so happy that I have such a fun, energetic, and persistent new running partner.
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Lessons Learned
We took Lucille, our camp trailer (named after Lucille Ball and her movie The Long, Long Trailer), on our first camping excursion, a couple of weekends ago, in preparation for our epic adventure, and it was a very educational experience, to say the least.
First off, I decided not to take our dog. I had been considering it, and the kids really want me to take her, but after seeing how much more work it was going to add to the mayhem, and listening to someone else’s dog bark for 3 hours while they were away from their RV, I decided against it.
Second, I learned that I greatly underestimated how much gas was going to cost us. The road trip app that I have been using to calculate the price of gas, apparently doesn’t factor in pulling a fully loaded 26 ft trailer. Ugh!
Thirdly, I learned that when you aren’t hooked up to electricity you can’t expect the battery to last forever, and the furnace doesn’t work without power. We found that out at 5:00 in the morning laying in freezing camper. I stayed in bed while Shawn got up and tried to figure out what the problem was. He flipped switches, looked at lights and buttons, fiddled, hemmed and hawed, and then finally went outside to change the battery.
Fourth, I had the sudden realization as I lay there in that freezing trailer, that on our trip I will be the one flipping switches, looking at lights and buttons and then changing the battery at 5:00 in the morning. What if I can’t figure out what is wrong? Am I up for it? Can I do it? Do I want to do it? Sigh… Laying in a freezing camper at 5:00 in the morning really forces you to evaluate and reevaluate all the whys, whats and hows. Believe me!
And Fifth, I came to the conclusion that, I really am going on this epic adventure to make memories with my children and to build family relationships, the relationships I have with my children and their relationships with each other. Also, to build relationships and make memories with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. My kids haven’t seen any of my family for 3 years. That’s way to long. You can’t put a price on those kinds of relationships and memories with loved ones, and when it comes down to it I would do anything to foster those relationships, even change a battery at 5:00 am in my pajamas.
Baby E
What a pleasure it was to photograph this adorable baby the day he came into the world. He was welcomed by his 4 brothers that couldn’t be more proud.
Welcome to the world baby E!!
Making A List and Checking It Twice
I am slowly but surely checking off my to do list for our trip. Here is how it is looking so far:
To Do List (the condensed version)
- Buy camp trailer that is big enough to fit us all CHECK
- Get passports renewed for the kids, because we will be crossing the US/Canadian border CHECK
- Get notarised letter from Jarom and Logan’s father saying I can take them over the US/Canadian border CHECK
- New tires CHECK, and whatever else Shawn is doing to my Suburban CHECK mostly
- Buy 1000 Trails Campground membership CHECK
- Potty Train Camdon CHECK (although I don’t know if this will be a help or a hindrance)
- Get MiFi so we can have internet CHECK
- Get a backpack to carry Camdon in CHECK
- Finalize and plan first leg of the trip CHECK mostly
- Yard Sale CHECK I made a whopping $.50
- Practice driving and backing up the trailer (insert scared emoji here)
- Deep clean house
- Clean Yard
- Edit 3 photo sessions
- Pack
- Get a root canal, seriously I think I need one before we go. 🙁
- Make out a menu of things I can actually cook in our trailer. I don’t have an oven so this could be tricky.
- Spend all our money CHECK
- Go crazy CHECK (was already)
When I started this post I was thinking I was doing pretty well on my list, but after writing it all out here I’m freaking out a bit. I better get a move on. We will be on the road in less than 3 weeks.
What If?
“…no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.” — Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
I’ll be honest, I am super excited and scared to death at the thought of going on our grand adventure. I keep telling myself there are a million reasons this is a bad idea and we shouldn’t go. “What if the suburban breaks down.” What if it costs more than I thought it was going to ?” What if I can’t back up the trailer?” “What if we have an accident?” “What if I get lost.” “What if this isn’t the best use of our money.” “What if it’s a giant mistake?” “What if……..
But then, there is also a little spark in me that says, “What if?” “What if it does work out?” “What if you do have the time of your lives?” “What if you make memories that will last forever?” “What if it isn’t what you expect it will be, but that’s okay. It will be what it should be?” “What if there are hard things, but you learn from them and you are better for it?” “What if you can dream big and make it come true?” “What if you can do hard things?” “What if you can have an epic adventure.?” I’m trying really hard to listen to that little spark.
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Adventure Awaits
It’s time for our exciting news….. Drum roll, please………We are going on an epic road trip down the west coast this summer. We just bought a camp trailer, and I’m loading everyone up for a 4-5 month adventure. We are sad Shawn won’t be able to travel with us the whole time, but he will be joining us when he can. We are leaving Alaska the end of May and will be spending time with family in Utah, Idaho, and Washington. After our visits with family, we plan to explore more of Washington before continuing down the west coast through Oregon, and California. Depending on how fast we go and what our schedule is like we might even venture into Arizona before heading back home.
Here is a map of our plan so far. If you aren’t familiar with Roadtrippers.com check them out. It is a fabulous site for planning any road trip. They calculate the amount of money you will spend on gas, your drive time, and the miles you will travel. This site has been invaluable. Roadtrippers also has an app for your mobile device.
We would love to have you follow along with us on our journey. I plan to blog about the trailer we purchased, how we are making this all happen, and so many of the things we see and do along our way.
We also need a name for our fun adventure. The Lowry Family Epic Journey just doesn’t have the right ring to it. Submit a fun name and then we will vote for our favorite. If we choose your name I will send you a Christmas ornament from Santa’s House in North Pole, Alaska. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with.
Check back again soon!
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Stay Tuned
Winter is almost over, and we are sure looking forward to summer coming. We have some super exciting things planned that we can’t wait to share with everyone. (No we aren’t having a baby) STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION!
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What’s In Your Bag? | Photography Projects
I think personal photography projects are fascinating. Photography is a very personal and creative process and personal projects usually involve making photos of things that the photographer is very passionate about. I love to read about why people photograph the objects and the people they do.
Photography projects can be as varied as the many photographers who take the pictures. Personal projects include everything from taking one picture each day or each week, to only using film instead of digital, or taking a series of pictures of the same object. Projects can also be centered around a theme as specific as children’s toys, abandoned building, selfies, food, and dogs. The possibilities are endless.
I recently came across a personal project called “Persona” by Jason Travis. He photographs people and the contents of their bags. I love this project. It is a fun surprise to see what people carry around with them in their bags. I think what we own tells a lot about us. Travis said this about his project: “The idea is in the name; I wanted to show how we use our possessions to define ourselves, to create our personas. The things don’t make the person, they’re manifestations of the self. ” (You can watch a short video about his project here)
After enjoying Travis’ pictures I decided to make my own picture of the contents of my purse. You can thank me later for not including all of the used Kleenex, bits of cheerios, and crumbs.
What do you think? Do the contents of my purse tell something about me? Are you surprised by any of the items? What do the contents of your bag say about you?
Other photography projects:
World’s Best Dad by Dave Engledow
Winter Came in September
Winter is here. Sadly, it arrived early and in September, this year. It’s not that I don’t think it’s beautiful, I do. It is extremely beautiful. It’s just that winter here is soooooooo long already that I would have loved having a nice long fall before it arrived. We usually get a little bit of snow the end of September, but real winter usually doesn’t arrive until the first or second week of October.
Well, so far, we have already had 2 record-breaking snow storms, both before October first. The first was last Friday. We got over 6 inches, which broke the record for the most snow for this time of year. It stuck around for 3 days then the the rain melted it away. It was enough for the kids to get really excited about winter, and enough that they were able to have a snowball fight and roll big giant balls of snow that were supposed to become snowmen.
Then on Tuesday, we had another record-breaking snow storm. This time we got around 12 inches in 24 hours. It was heavy wet snow and trees came down all over the valley. 15,000 people were without power and as of last night, 48 hours later, there were still around 6,000 people without power. Schools closed down, and the roads were dangerously icy. It was a crazy reminder that we still live in Alaska, Alaskan winters are long, and Alaska is still wild and untamed.
(After the first storm)
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