Posts Tagged With: family

California, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Florida!

Posted on November 17, 2019 by erikamae82

Wow folks, it’s been over a month since I posted! Sorry not sorry. Let me tell you why!

Last you heard (besides Shanties first race) was our poor Skoolie blowing the transmission and leaving us sideways in the middle of a highway. Once we handed over my left arm and Matts wallet to fix the motor, we parked it in Oklahoma. Matt was a champ and took on a part time job in contracting with my family while I found odd end jobs.

Before we left Florida back in July, I had already committed to doing hair for a wedding for mid October. To keep my word, I packed up Shanti and headed east to fulfill my promise.

Quick pic of the bridal party and their beautiful hair! Such a fun group of lovely women!

This was the beginning of 2 full weeks in the panhandle spending quality time with Gam Gam and MiMi! I know Shanti enjoyed it as much as her grandmas did!

FYI: Gam Gam is my mom in the collage below.

…and Mi Mi is Matts mom in the photos below!

After I wrapped up the time in Florida, we loaded up again and flew all day to land in Sacramento, California. This is where Shanti and I spent another week visiting friends and doing hair. This trip to Folsom was the first since I was only 6 months pregnant. Our little travel love bug! This girl (daughter of Nomads) has been on 12 flights in her 9 months of life!Hair clients, childhood friends and what I call “chosen family” welcomed us with so much love and arms wide open. The story goes… I booked this California trip with Matt coming as well to assist with Shanti, “father-daughter days” as I did hair. With him working and building on the bus in Oklahoma, we decided it’d be more productive if he stayed back and I went alone.

wait, Matt working without a camera? Yep! My amazingly talented husband dove into the dusty world of cabinetry, both professionally and in our bus!

Meanwhile back in Cali, look at these happy & helpful people loving on Shanti!

I had a day off that allowed me to take Shanti to her first gymnastics class! It was Halloween week so the kids got to wear costumes! Fun fact – Her coach Kira is also a long time friend that actually visited us in Barbados! You’d recognize her from the post Visitors… a dozen of them! Another fun fact- This is the same gym that I taught at for 7 years and Matt worked at last year! Click here for the post about Tricks Gymnastics!

Shanti had no fear of going upside down and clearly likes to shake it…. I mean bounce it….rrrr… jump?!

Andrea and Josh, the way you opened your home and handed over the car keys meant so much to me. I felt extremely comfortable and our trip wouldn’t have been the same without your hospitality!

On our flights back to daddy in Oklahoma, we got to meet 2 unforgettable women and a bundle of others. #iplankforpizza (I’m embarrassed to admit I forgot her first name) is a fitness instructor that Shanti immediately connected with. It’s hard not to make a new friend when a small human is literally attempting to sit in your lap.

These flight attendants kidnapped her right away and asked for my phone… they brought her back with a photo of the captain letting her explore!

Dionna from our late night flight was by far the most helpful during our journey. Shanti was showing signs of being tired and I was ready for my pillow and slippers. Not only did Dionna hold Shanti, she had a seat with us and let my little monkey climb all over her while we had some girl chat. She’s one of those women that you can talk too easily and feel like you’ve known for years! It was too dark for a photo but I most definitely see us reconnecting in the future… bus and all!

Speaking of the bus, once Shanti and I got back to Oklahoma with Matt, we packed up and headed to Arkansas to get the floors done!

A huge thank you beyond words and a blog post mention to our cousin Dakota. Not only did he allow us to park our bus on his property, he gave us his room and took on the role of the best Uncle Koda ever! We thank you so much!A little more family time is always wonderful with these lovely people!While we were there, we also took a family day and went to the Gorge near Hot Springs for a walk and mini hike. What a backyard to play in!…back to the bus.

Our cousins (and owners of the recently awarded #1 company O’Bryan Family Flooring) provided us with these beautiful floors!

After 4 months of living between Oklahoma and Arkansas, we headed back to Florida to complete the bus and spend the holidays on the beach!

Next up, our new chapter in Miramar Beach Florida! Photo by my hubby:)

Categories: Accommodations, Baby Talk, Bus life, Travel talk, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Shanti’s first race!

Posted on September 14, 2019 by erikamae82

Well actually, her first race was (prenatal) Cinco De Mayo last year, 4 days before I even knew I was pregnant!

Here we are now, she’s almost 8 months old and I’m back at it again, or at least trying too! I’m learning that although I do well with spontaneous adventure and live what some call a “nomad lifestyle”, I’m still very goal oriented. Rather than, “I should start running again.” I succeed much more with “I’ve signed up for a race and now I have to train”. So that’s what I did!

The Oklahoma City Zoo 5k was to raise funds for the Monarch Butterflies. Matt wanted to run with me so this was an ideal choice as strollers were welcome in the course that took us throughout the entire zoo!

Before I continue, I must give a shout out to Velia from V Lala Galleries! The fun pants Shanti and I are wearing are designs straight from her art wall. You can see her other creations by clicking on her website Velialala.com!

Getting ready for the race!

This girl is such a champ! She woke up at 7am as we pulled into the parking lot, got changed in the backseat and was ready to roll with us. I’d like to believe she brought a few extra smiles to the runners as we were all waiting for the gun to go!

…And we’re off!

… And we stop. Matt was ready for the first water station about 200 yards into the 5000 meters. He made sure and confirmed they didn’t serve espresso.

I’m not a huge fan of zoo’s given the whole animal prison feel, but this one had an open layout with an abundance of greenery along the path. We definitely stopped for a a few photo opportunities.

A little over 3 miles later was the finish line! Cheering and high fives welcomed us along with neck medals … one for Shanti too!

After every good run there’s a necessary stretch and maybe a necessary grunt in pain?I wasn’t laughing at you babe… I was laughing with you.

Meanwhile, Shanti’s sharpening her two teeth.We finished up the day with a mini tailgate picnic full of delicious healthy snacks.

Not quite sure when the next family day on foot will be, but I’m sure it’ll be soon!

Categories: Fitness, Fitness Friday’s!, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ever seen a bus blocking a highway?

Posted on September 6, 2019 by erikamae82

Our time in Arkansas exceeded all expectations! Quality family time with tons of fun, and help with progress on the bus. Perfect! Here’s a wrap of some of the captured moments during our stay in Hot Springs!Now it’s time to drive the beauty to Oklahoma where there’ll be more family, fun and help!

The journey from Arkansas to our new home in Oklahoma is gaged at about 5 1/2 hours. Hahahahaha! That’s in a car, no baby and not one bathroom break… so you can imagine… we had a car with a baby and a momma who drinks a lot of water following a school bus that tops out at 60mph and drops to 15 on inclines. With all of this in mind, we estimated about 7 hours. Driving through the night is always best for Shanti so we chose to leave right after dinner so she could snooze the whole way.

And we’re off! (notice the hanging camper in the window? Thank you O’Bryans!)

In no time, we were 100 miles in and if had to guess, Shanti was peacefully dreaming of playing with her cousins and eating paper (her two most recent favorite things to do).

As the sun began to drop with Matt driving in front of me, we shared this beautiful sunset (via walkie-talkies).

About 150 miles from our new home, Matt mentioned the bus feeling different. We even pulled over to smell and look at the engine. With no apparent problems, we kept on trekking. About 15 miles after he checked it out we were climbing our way up a hill at a whopping 9 mph wondering if this was always going to be the case.

In what seemed to be a moment of seconds, I saw the bus leaving a trail of fluid and heard Matt over the walkie say, “Something’s not right, I’m losing all engine power“. By the time he pulled off onto the shoulder mid-hill (which you always try to avoid in a beast like that!) smoke was barreling out from under it. As my heart sank, I could hear Matts break when he informed me, “This isn’t good babe”.

So it’s in the middle of the night and we’re in between two tiny towns on a back woods highway. Matt quickly got on his phone to find a local tow-truck company that would be willing to attack this challenge. We were so lucky. Not only did he find a company, but the kind owner also owned a school bus and was eager to help!

Here’s a video of Matt attempting to move the bus across the street and into the opposite direction. The towing man suggested we do this since it’d be tricky to make a U-turn with the tow truck and the bus going up hill on a small highway.

Since moving forward clearly didn’t work, Matt put it in reverse to maneuver backward then to turn it down hill. Unfortunately the back wheels caught the lip of the shoulder and he was going nowhere except backwards farther into the ditch! As you can imagine, my stomach was at my feet watching helplessly from afar.

My job while cringing across the street? Keep Shanti safe, warm and peacefully sleeping during this unexpected event. Success!

While we were waiting for the tow, I pulled our car far off the shoulder (even more than the first picture shows) at an angle so I was in no position to be side swiped while aiming my headlights at the bus. This ensured that any vehicle rounding the corner would clearly see the brightly lit bus.

Within an hour the Mighty Mouse of Semi tow trucks showed up!

It was amazing how much power this monster showed when lifting us out and down to the rescue. I recorded it too!By the time we back tracked to the mechanics it was creeping its way to 2:30am. Of course they weren’t going to be open so we went for a cheap hotel, a rest and and early sunrise.

After a nap at Motel 6, we went for a morning bite while we patiently waited for the mechanics to open and take a look at the engine.

Happy baby loving on her daddy at breakfast!

The final verdict brought us gut twisting news… it’s the transmission. Anyone who knows about a busted transmission knows it’s no joke.

Look at our sick girl just sitting there waiting for her surgery.

A few nights in the bus hospital and she’s almost ready to come home!

Here’s Matts silent interpretation of the situation.

Next up, her homecoming and a new backyard!

Categories: Bus life, Travel talk, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Another adventure away from the bus!

Posted on August 27, 2019 by erikamae82

In the last post, Skoolie paint job is almost done! we had accomplished a majority of the exterior design. Since then, we have added our surprise addition which is a chocolate chip brown shiplap accent on the sides. It’s a tongue and groove style that went on nicely with some help from amazing, patient, knowledgeable, loving family members. Thank you Reggie, Bryan and Dane!

We got an opportunity to go back to Florida for a visit so we locked up the bus and headed to Miramar Beach! This makes for Shanti’s 3rd airplane ride!

I was able to get all my hair clients in for another round while Matt worked his camera around the area. I absolutely love that we can travel with our careers!

Between the catching up, Shanti got to reconnect with some of her biggest fans. My mom (Gam Gam), was all about getting this little girl in the water and we all loved it! Babies are meant to float, kick and splash!

And of course all that energy spent means for a crash on Gam Gams shoulder. This photo will forever be precious to me.

We stayed with Matts mom (Mi Mi), so there were plenty of snuggles from her as well! The hugs were accompanied by Shanti’s Great Grand parents (Maw Maw & Paw Paw). You’ve seen them in past posts like Shanti meets more family! We also made time for a family brunch!

This is TJ and Erica (she came to visit us in Barbados!) …and Shanti with the photo bomb.

What’s this, an 80’s themed birthday party for Dustin!? Well don’t mind if we do! (Special thanks to Stephanie, safe to assume it wouldn’t of happened without you!)

Look, it’s the couple that gave us the bus!

After the quick Florida visit we were ready to get back to Arkansas. Matt more than me as he really missed our other “baby” – aka the bus.

Matt rode his motorcycle back (with intention to sell it) so Shanti and I took a mother/daughter day of flights! Well actually, night of flights. Look at this sweet little tired girl…. and never mind my mouth piece.

Back home and almost finished up with the exterior! How do we ever repay for the amount of help we’ve received here!? Well you saw the land we’re living on in the post The wheels on the bus… go to Arrrkansas!and this week they’ve rented some heavy machinery to continue the renovation. You don’t have to ask Matt twice to play with big toys!

Meanwhile, Lacie is missing from the photos…. again. In fact, she took all of these photos, as usual. Lacie, I will be doing a full post on just you soon, so get ready!

Next up – a road trip to Oklahoma for more help from family and friends!

Categories: Accommodations, Bus life, Travel talk, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Back to the bus!

Posted on July 30, 2019 by erikamae82

We wrapped up Vail Colorado with Matts childhood friend Gavin, you saw him in our honeymoon post from 2017. Now he’s officially “Uncle” Gavin! It’s such beautiful country up there! We were sad to leave but excited to get back, with only an overnight stay in Oklahoma we kept on driving. Shanti is such a great traveler! She was either talking to me or snoozin away.

3000 miles in 10 days leads us back to Arkansas where our bus was eagerly waiting for us to return home.

This weeks goals for the bus is to install the floors and start the exterior paint. The flooring is being provided by my families business out of Hot Springs Arkansas. O’Bryan Family Floors is a well known local company that offers quality product with a personal touch. We are so proud to support the family that’s actually let us live on their property in the mean time. You can see our current location by reading The wheels on the bus go to Arkansas!

Painting sounds like a quick task, or at least it did to me, but turns out there are a few steps that make it a 10 day process! I’ll make an entire post about those shenanigans once we’ve completed the challenge.

Before painting, it’s necessary to prepare the surface. We power washed it in order to get rid of any dirt, rust and buildup that would be in the way of sanding it down. Proud to say I got the privilege to attack this task! There’s something extremely gratifying about aiming and firing with force at a beast of a vehicle. This left me with muddy feet, sore shoulders and a natural high… and no pictures of it. Boo.

Meanwhile, Matt was scrubbing down the top to get it ready for the first coat. We’ve picked out the color scheme for the entire bus (to be announced later) but for the top it’s a white silicone based product. We chose this not only for the clean look, but it also seals the roof and helps reflect the sun giving us a cooler interior temperature.

After the prepping we had all of the boys in on the for a Sunday Funday paint day!

Unfortunately the photographer of the day, Lacie Lane, didn’t get in any of the pictures! Next time we’ll get proof she’s there.

The boys finished up at sundown which meant it was time for games, guitar and family… what a perfect way to end the Sunday Funday! We didn’t get too many photos, but here’s a few someone snuck. Clearly a bundle of smiles all night! A HUGE thank you to Bryan, Reggie, Dane, Jessie, Lana and Lacie for the extra hands and amazing energy!! Lub Lub Lub

Next step: Scraping, sanding and another solid wash. Sneak peek!

Categories: Bus life, Travel talk, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Short hold on the bus, it’s time for a wedding!

Posted on July 21, 2019 by erikamae82

July 20, 2019 is the wedding day of my little brother Ben. The little brother that some of you may recognize from all of the years on this blog. Here is one of the first pictures I ever posted of him, adorable!…and year after year…

Then my little bro grew up into a young man out of nowhere!

Fast forward even farther and now I’m doing hair for his bride on their big day! What a special event to be a part of, Shanti was pulled down the aisle in a wagon and of course they had Matt as their photographer, here’s a few photos from the day!Ben and Rachel, I wish you all of the happiness and growth a marriage can bring. We love you so much!

Matt and I left the bus back in Arkansas and took our little family on a road trip through Oklahoma on the way to Colorado (that’s where the wedding took place). We’ve really enjoyed the back drop of mountains, rivers and wildlife everywhere! Here are a few snap shots so far, we’re currently in Vail so you’ll get the rest of the journey once we get back “home” to Arkansas.Here’s a typical 6am roadside diaper change in front of a gas station that didn’t have a changing table. Nailed it!

Here we stopped at a park for some fresh air and leg stimulation. She was such a good girl just hanging out while I reorganized the car. Happy to be alive with not a care in the world.

It’s not uncommon for us to stop for Matt to jump on some sort of wheeled apparatus. This day in Vail was his new electric skateboard!

I tease him about showing off but he clearly has bragging rights! You are so talented babe!

I’ll close this post with a video from one of our leg stretching stops in a Delta Colorado!

Fun fact: I was born there:)

Categories: Baby Talk, Travel talk, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Friday Fitness week #13 – Turns Out it’s Tuesday.

Posted on June 25, 2019 by erikamae82

I committed to write a post on health and fitness every Friday and so far, I’ve pulled it off. Well that’s about to change. I’m still eager to share with you my thoughts and research findings, however from this point it’s going to be spontaneous Friday’s (Aka – write when I want to).

The rest of this post is simply to encourage you to bring it back to the basics. Get outside and move! Enjoy the fresh air, take off your shoes and get dirt on your feet. Ever heard of “grounding” or “earthing”? To sum it up, it’s connecting with earths natural energy through touch to raise your vibration. For an extended scientific video click here. It always gets me excited when science backs up a “tree-hugging hippie” theory.

When I was I Penang Malaysia , I found a reflexology rock path that combined grounding with pressure points. Imagine starting or ending your day with this!

If not solid ground, find some natural water and get in! When was the last time you jumped in a lake, swam in the ocean or even just walked barefoot through a stream? Here was a “backpackers shower” while I was trekking south in New Zealand !

..and an amazing waterfall in Tobago with Ryan from Barbados!It’s so easy to get wrapped up in daily routines and forget that just outside is a world full of walking paths, singing birds (you don’t hear them unless you listen) and endless things to look at. Seriously friends, things… to… look… at! Not a phone, TV, romance novel, pile of laundry or dishes. Guess what, those dishes will still be there after your walk but the mind-clearing you’d get from the walk would be lost if you didn’t go.

Here is our family last week choosing nature instead of Netflix. Confession: A movie and snacks followed this walk but at least we got it in!

Thought for the day: Instead of hoping your mind will feel better after your body changes, try changing your mind so your body will begin to change.

Your body will follow your thoughts. It listens.

What are you telling it?

Categories: Fitness, Fitness Friday’s!, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Friday Fitness #9 – Sunday of excuses!

Posted on May 19, 2019 by erikamae82

Soooooo, I know it’s Sunday and this is a Friday post, but I’m pretty sure you all survived and now we’re back again! I’m one to say things like, “If you want something bad enough, you make it happen!” Or “If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way, not an excuse!”

Harsh right? With that said, instead of giving you excuses of why I didn’t post on Friday, I’m just going to share with you the reasons I chose not to make time to sit and write.

I lied. The only true “excuse” I’ll give you is my extreme lack of sleep lately. Any experienced mommas out there have a suggestion to get a 4 month old to sleep through the night…or at least not up every 2 hours?! Please comment below!

Back to my reasons…

We made a last minute road trip to Oklahoma to visit our family due to an unexpected event. (Everyone is ok, thanks for asking). Our little Shanti is such a great traveler! (I’d like to take partial credit for that characteristic).We got to see the whole crew of cousins, Aunts, Uncles, MaMaw and Papa (pictured below is Great Grandpa too)!

We had to squeeze our time in with Shanti in between everyone’s “I’m next to hold her!” requests.

Once we got back home (2000 miles later) we had visitors from Miami! Uncle Reni and Aunt Ti Ti couldn’t get enough of their little niece!

I still kept up with my morning stair walk, and so did my little workout partner!

Lastly… we started selling out our storage unit & emptying our closet! Why is Matt so excited?!

Keep tuning in to find out!!

No seriously, by “tune in” I mean officially follow this blog! It doesn’t cost anything and you’ll be notified when a new post is published… and believe me… you WANT to see what’s coming soon!

Depending on which device you’re using, there will be a follow button to click. Enter your email and then boom, we’re besties!

Categories: Fitness Friday’s!, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Shanti meets more family!

Posted on April 4, 2019 by erikamae82

I’d like to start by saying how grateful I am to be surrounded by a loving family, both mine and Matt’s. A group of people that have supported us from the beginning and now eagerly welcome our new addition. In a matter of 2 weeks Shanti met 4 Aunts, 3 uncles, 2 grandmas 2 grandpas, 2 great aunts, a great uncle, a great-great aunt and good bundle amount of cousins (no less than a couple dozen).

It’d take a few posts to gather all of the details, so I chose a handful of pics to show the love this family had to offer.

Below is Matt, his mom and her mother (Maw Maw)… 4 generations!

Following Maw Maw and Paw Paw’s visit, Matt’s brother and his family came to meet our little one. How exciting for her to connect with new cousins Jayden and Harper and her Auntie Erika and Uncle Jake!Just before leaving out of state, Shanti got one more outing with my mom. Can you see Gam Gam walking ahead of us?

If you’ve been following this blog long enough, you’ve seen this family throughout the years. My twin cousin Lana and her husband with 2 kids drove all the way out to Florida to meet Shanti!

After a few days on the beach, they were heading back to the middle of America… so I hitched a ride… again! This time I sat hip side to my little girl on her first road trip!Check out this comparison…

Once we finally made it to Arkansas, Shanti got swarmed with more cousins, hugs and tons of love!

To get from Arkansas to Oklahoma I rented a car and strapped her in. Mother-daughter road trip here we go!

Upon arrival we were greeted with no less than an abundance of more happy attention. Aunties, Uncles, Great Aunts, Great-great Aunts, Pa Pa, Ma Maw and more!

With our cups overflowing with family love, Shanti and I boarded her first flight (other than the 14 flights she took while in my belly) back to Florida!

Success! I took this video once we landed after the final flight… our little traveler!

Back home with daddy and we couldn’t be happier!

Categories: Baby Talk, Travel talk, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Why this post took a month to write…

Posted on February 12, 2019 by erikamae82

In the last article called Welcome to the world Shanti Mae, I ended with “Next up, surviving the first week with a newborn!”

Ha. Ha. Ha. How cute I was thinking I’d have all the time in the world to describe (with pictures) the glory of having a new little human in our home. A small adorable creature that is solely dependent on us for every… single… thing except taking her every breath.

Here she is all bundled up (clearly thrilled) with Daddy ready to leave the birthing center and come home with us.

Well, a few weeks later I’m finally sitting down with one eye open, one hand typing (photo bellow is the current situation) and enough energy to throw together this post.Let’s talk about Sleep (or lack there of) – a well known sacrifice of a new parent. Inexperience had me assuming it’d be the crying that would steal our precious Z’s, however that’s been the least of the causes!

Reasons that new parents look and live in zombie status for the first month:

Breastfeeding– I will start by saying I fully understand that this is a choice. I have chosen to exclusively breastfeed with no bottles to substitute in between. Yes, I pump for future needs or emergencies, but baby only gets the boob… for now. This means no matter what time of day, no matter how many hours or minutes I’ve closed my eyes, when it’s eatin time, I’m awake. For those of you that don’t know, most newborns eat about every 2-3 hours unless of course they’re cluster feeding in which they want to feed several sessions in that span of time.

Getting things done- They say “sleep when they sleep”. What!? You finally have both arms free! House chores, emails, hair clients, food prep, maybe even a shower! You haul tail to get as much done as possible before their sweet little eyes open again.

Time with your partner- I’m not even hinting about sexy time. I’m talking about Netflix, dinner at a table with utensils and plates, a game of cards… fill in the blank with what used to be so easy to do together. So when the baby finally sleeps and it’s you two alone, the last thing you want to do is sleep and miss out on an hour of connection. #Truth- we usually end up falling asleep no matter what we attempt to do.

Visitors– We’ve been so fortunate to be surrounded by friends and family that adore our little one. I’m aware not every person gets to experience this kind of affection and support and for this we are truly grateful. With that said, there hasn’t been a day (literally) since we got home that we didn’t have someone come over or “swing by”. Again, I LOVE the love and would rather have this than the latter, however it still requires our attention, aka to be awake.

Watching their chest move- So your chores are done, nobody is visiting, hubbies at work, baby is fed and sleeping and you’re thinking you can finally rest… so you think. You lay down with them in perfect site and close your eyes with the intention of sleeping. Jokes on you! There’s an involuntary maternal reflex that bounces your eyes open every 8-10 minutes to make sure they’re still bundled and breathing. So although you may be horizontal and not fully awake, you’re far from sleeping.

I’ll give you one guess on who’s getting all the sleep around here…

… with animated dreams included!

I’ll leave you with a short clip of Matts go-to way of calming her down. Oh how I love this man!

Categories: Baby Talk, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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