Weekend Delights

We've had a delightful weekend. Saturday we cleaned, organized, and purged. More is needed, but we're started to feel more "on top" of the mess now. It official that the RV has more storage space than our little house. They just really didn't have much stuff to store in 1910!

I enjoyed a little time alone for the first time in a week. I realized it had been too long when I got in the car and felt the SILENCE deep in my bones and almost started crying :) I took myself out for a coffee and went thrifting. No one was touching me or asking me for another bowl of cereal and it was joyous. But even in that short amount of time, I missed my family :)

Saturday evening, we met up with our dear friends Scott and Betsy who were in town and took all the kids to Chipotle (love those margaritas!) and had good talks at Peet's. Love them.

On Sunday, we got up and made pancakes, read the Sunday paper, and enjoyed some family time. We had house church at the cutest little coffee house in Longmont. The have mate, yummy foods (including coconut milk caramels...yum!), and handmade items. We are so enjoying connecting with our new church family here. Many of you have commented and asked questions about the house church...so I am planning a blog post in the next couple of weeks about that. Stay tuned!

The upcoming week is going to be BUSY...but oh so good. Things on our agenda: Library, Princess Night, Girls Night Out, Nature & Science Museum in Denver, Open Homeschool Gym, Tae Kwon Do (Bella's first time!), and to top it all off, my friends Leah and Mia are driving from Iowa and we are all going to Hoop Path with Baxter and Beth Lavinder all weekend!

Oh, AND...my brother Dan and Jess are in Boulder all week so we get to see them too!

Life is good. We are so at peace with where we are right now. We are hopeful and excited about our future. I hope your week is wonderful too...I know mine will be!

*the photo of Bella and Lucy above is such a crack up...if you want to see my fashionistas up close, click here. No outfit is complete without a tiny (fake) dog. :)

Life in Longmont

Oh where to begin? There is much to tell and my heart is full. So without further ado, I give you...the big life update.

We moved into a rental house in Longmont, Colorado on December 31. This little house couldn't be more perfect. I know, I know...how do we find these places, right? It was built in 1910, but it's been remodeled nicely and has paint colors that jive with our style already. It's in a perfectly wonderful part of town...close to parks, the library, and most importantly, the Thai restaurant. ;) Oh, did I mention the adorable little backyard that is perfect for entertaining and hooping? See the tour here.

Matt is working in Boulder for my brother's company, and it's just a short drive away with mountain views the entire way.  It's been different having him gone all day at work, but we are slowly adjusting and finding our new rhythm after 4 years of having him at home. I'll be writing more about that soon.

I am looking forward to doing more photography...if you are in the area, I'd love to do your family/child/engagement photos. And please share my website with your friends!

Speaking of friends :) It's not often that you can move to a completely new community and have an instant network of friends...but that's exactly what we have here. Some of our dearest and oldest friends, Kris and Natalie, live here. Natalie knows me so completely. We've been through the highest highs and the lowest lows of life together. Oh how I love her!

Kris and Matt are like two peas in a pod. Both towering over the general population at 6'6"...they make quite the pair. We've been creating memories together since our college days...and we're all looking forward to making many more!

They have been out here for about 5 years planting house churches...and we will be jumping right in alongside them. Matt led worship this last week and again this week. He has missed that so much. We're excited to be plugged back into a home church community.

I also have a slew of blog friends that live in the Denver metro area...and I already have plans to meet up with many lovely ladies. My brother, Scotty, is now working in Boulder too...it's been so great seeing him all the time. My brother Dan, and Jess are here often as well. AND...my aunt/uncle/cousins live in Denver...so we have no shortage of family here!

Longmont is just a fun place to be. And with a population of almost 90,000, there is a lot to do.  There is a wonderful rec center with an indoor water park, there are yoga studios, tons of parks, museums, great shops and restaurants. Denver is just 45 minutes away and Boulder is just 20 minutes away. Or, we can go north to Loveland or Ft. Collins!  Or all of beautiful Colorado for that matter.

The hooping community here is also amazing. I have many friends from Hoopcamp who live here and attend different jams all over the area. There is always something "hoopy" going on...including the upcoming Spin Summit! Woooo!

Longmont also has a strong network of homeschoolers and learning opportunities abound.

Need I go on? It's pretty much the perfect place for us right now. Which leads me to the next thing...

We're staying!

Our hearts are settled and we love it here. We never planned on traveling full-time forever...although we will always call ourselves "travelers". It's funny...we never thought we would end up in this area. But God has a way of changing things up when you least expect it. Some of you may wonder how we can "give it all up". Especially when life on the road seems so perfect. But it's time. It's time to slow it down. Create community. Give our girls some roots. Make new traditions.

Will we miss our life on the road? Of course. Is this a HUGE change for us? Yes.

We will miss meeting up with so many amazing people...BUT, there are still new people to meet and new experiences to have right here at "home". We have a new life, a new normal, and a new vision for our future. And someday when the time is right, we will travel again.

The RV will be up for sale shortly...if you're in the market for a sweet, family-friendly 40-foot RV that runs on veggie oil, feel free to email us for details.

For the rest of you...flights into Denver are cheap! Come and visit! Oh, and there are 2 houses for rent on our street. Who wants to be my neighbor?

Settling Down in Colorado

Today we signed a lease to rent an adorable little house in Longmont, Colorado! We've known for some time that we would be heading back to work for my brother's real estate company in Boulder...but now that we have a house, it's official. We leave Iowa tomorrow morning and move in on Friday.

We are not "getting off the road"...but rather, taking a break and settling in for a bit. It seems to be what we do...and it works for us. We can feel it in our souls when we are ready for a little more stability, and it's time.

We are keeping the RV (we can actually park it at the house)...and still plan to travel this summer. We will be in Colorado at least through the fall and maybe longer. My brother, Scotty, is moving to Boulder too for a new job...and my brother Dan and his fiance, Jess, will be visiting often for business. Family fun!

We are SUPER excited about this opportunity to re-connect and find our rhythm again...while living in one of the most beautiful areas of the country. The hooping community in the Boulder area is vibrant and full of love...can't wait to get plugged in there too.

During the first couple of months of the new year, I will be focusing on finishing our Modern Nomadic Living eCourse as well as some other exciting projects that I have in the works.

I know that there are MANY of you in this area and I'm super excited to have you all over to our house for supper/coffee/hooping/cookouts :)

Here's to new adventures and a new canvas to decorate! Yay!