Home Sweet Rolling Home

Matt took a little flight up to Montana last weekend and picked up our new home. It's a rig that we've had our eye on for months...and right at the last minute, all the pieces fell into place. We sold the Safari to the amazing and brilliant Makenna Johnston during a serendipitous late night FaceTime chat. Matt was on his way north a few days later!

Why a different RV? Well...let's just say that after owning so many (this is #11) we have refined exactly what we are looking for in a rig. Especially in an RV that we will be traveling in full-time with 3 kiddos and 2 dogs. If you're still trying to catch up with our life plans...we rented out our mountain getaway for the next 9 months while we travel and spread the love of essential oils! Our renters are fantastic...a couple of park rangers. One that happens to be a bear tracker, which is perfect since Mr. Friendly Neighborhood Bear is very fond of our house.

This is a 2003 Alpine Coach. Yep! Our third Alpine. We absolutely LOVE these coaches. This one is barely broken in with an odometer reading of 24,000! The key selling points were the full-size washer/dryer, full-size residential fridge, and the huge family bedroom area. The closet that we will turn into bunks is super wide and long. Perfect for 3 growing girls. Speaking of 3, it has 3 slides as well. Two in the bedroom and one up front. We will make it cozy for now...but won't be doing the full remodel until this spring when we park in Texas for a spell. 

So there ya go! We've been a bit busy around here. So many details take care of before we head down the road. We have 72 hrs before our renters move in and we still aren't fully packed up. But we do work well under pressure. If you need us this weekend, we'll be taping boxes, drinking coffee, and playing in the snow (yep! it's snowing up here as I type!). 

Let the fun begin!

Sweet Sweet Safari

This is our RV. She likes to wear hula hoops as jewelry.

She shades us from the bright morning sun as we enjoy breakfast together as a family. Hi Nana and Papa!

She pulls our van behind her with ease...kind of a show off. ;-)

It feels good to be back in a motorhome. We haven't had one since 2011...it's been all fifth wheels and Airstreams and such. But a motorhome just feels GOOOOOOOD. We've missed it. There is definitely an ease of traveling with kiddos in a motorhome. 

This little one travels like a champ! Of course, it does help that she can watch the RV right from her cushy throne. This RV came with an in-motion satellite system. And since we already have DISH, it only cost $7 to add service to the RV. Yes please!

And because I know many of you will ask the question...let's talk car seats. Emma is always in a car seat. The other two girls have to be seated when the RV is moving. But they can be in their bed or on the couch. Each state has different rules regarding car seats...so do your research if you're interested in abiding by said rules :-)

One of the best things about the RV life is the ever-changing view out the door! This was taken somewhere in the middle of Iowa.

We had initially considered removing this couch to have more space for dogs and kiddos to run/play (especially because there are no slides). But I'm SO glad we kept it in. It's crazy soft and comfortable. Plus, the dogs have claimed an entire couch for themselves when they aren't riding in the front window. Spoiled I tell ya.

Do you spot the legs hanging off the top bunk?! This view makes me happy! It doesn't take much to make your RV snazzy. Just a little paint, curtains and textiles. Feels like a new rig!

We took the washer/dryer combo out and added this bunk area. We will be adding privacy curtains and changing out the floor as well. We added a king size bed to the bedroom and lots of hooks for storage. 

Where the magic happens! Love all the storage!

This table can seat all of us...it does pull out and has a leaf. We took out the stock chairs and added smaller IKEA chairs to accommodate seating 5.

So there it is folks! Not perfectly "staged" for pics...but I rarely shoot for perfect anymore. LOL! We're so excited to go on our west coast tour and get back into the rig for a few months. Every time we drive by it at Matt's shop, Emma yells "HOME!!".

Home is where your family is...so yes little one...it's home indeed! 

Photos of our previous RV remodels here: http://www.nestinggypsy.com/rv-remodel-gallery/

Creating a Kitchen

Here are a few kitchen remodel process photos that I found… Throwing it back this sunny Thursday afternoon!

Every good handyman needs a few sassy women backing him up!

Power lifter. 

Look at these cute little boxes just waiting to be part of the bigger story of our life!

Thinking inside the box.

Lots of fun to look back at this process...so different now!

We got our entire appliance package (fridge, range, and dishwasher) for about $600. The fridge and dishwasher were salvaged/scratch & dent, and the range was on deep discount). We are SO thankful for these amazing pieces of our kitchen! Love them.

Our sink was another salvage piece...it's a 10" deep Blanco stainless steel beauty. For THIRTY dollars!! I had my heart set on a farmhouse sink, but when I saw this one, I knew I could make the sacrifice :)

My sweetie making us a home. 

And I know you have already seen this photo…but it's for comparison. Before and after! I need to take a wide-angle and compare them.

We have since added more open shelving above the dishwasher. And curtains. And food. 

Feel free to ask any questions you like about the remodel… I probably won't get around to doing a step-by-step through the process anymore than I already have. What a crazy journey it's been!