Our Fourth of July Weekend

So, I will start out by saying that one this particular weekend that none of us were hurt. We took our new-old RV out for a camping trip and we come back unscathed....at least physically. Some of us were hurting emotionally by the end, (probably only me) but we survived and I am living to tell you that none of us were hit when:

1.We hit a deer within an hour of beginning our drive

Because we traveling in such a huge beast, the death wishing deer only left us with a few small exterior cracks and some blood on our RV. Dave was hoping a souvenir antler would be stuck in the grill...but no such luck.

2. We were stalled on the side of a mountain no less than three times.

Parked for a While

George

Viewing Mount Rushmore While the RV was Stalled

Lunch 

Happy and Sweating

Evelyn and Saige with "Her Fishing Hat"

So, the first time the RV stalled, it was uncomfortable. It was hot outside and the overheated engine took about 2 hours to cool off. But, we were safe and very near a Mount Rushmore viewing site. After the RV was rolled out of traffic, and parked on the side of the road, the girls and I went and got some pictures of George Washington and then we had lunch in the RV. When the dang thing still wouldn't start, we tried to make the best of our delay and hiked around the side of the mountain we were parked by. Thankfully the RV started again, and we were headed to our previously decided on fishing destination.

After Hiking

Celebrating When the RV Started

Happy Dance/Over Celebration

That is until the RV stalled again. This time it was much scarier. We were on the side of a mountain in Custer State Park. A very narrow, steep mountain with a lot of traffic. Jesus was with us. I was ready for him to come back.

We found out later, that we shouldn't even have gone the way we did when we went to Sylvan lake. We had gone on the recommendation of a person who worked at the campground. They said this way was the best for our RV and that it had no small tunnels like if we took Needles highway. They were wrong. It was a horrible way to go, it was scary to climb tiny mountain roads in the beast and there was mountain chiseled out tunnel that we barely passed through. When we got back to the campground, we told them that we took a different much safer in our RV way back. They said it was  couple minutes shorter to go the way they recommended....um...no.

The last stall of the day was at the parking lot of Sylvan lake. Praise the Lord we had reached our destination! (Several hours late, but still!) Dave had the task of getting the RV into a spot while the girls and I got out and walked around to stretch our legs. We couldn't just leave the RV in the middle of the steep parking lot (no matter how we were tempted to.) Once Dave got the RV parked, the girls and I headed back to help him unload fishing gear. Only one more hiccup though. It started sprinkling. That was fine though. I could see the other side of the cloud. It would be over soon, and fish usually bite well when it's sprinkling. Except the sprinkling turned into thunder and lightening. And then hail. So, we ate pistachios and waited out the storm in our RV. When the storm passed, we hopped out of the RV, grabbed our gear and got to start fishing around 4:00 that day. The heat of the day had been whisked away with storm, but we grabbed our jackets, poles and tackle box and headed to the lake.

Waiting to Fish at Sylvan Lake

Cuties

Hail From the RV Window

Playing in the Pea-sized Hail

3. We went fishing and caught zero fish

Fishing was not all the girls, Dave and I hoped it would be. We didn't catch anything for several hours. The people next to us were catching trout, so we changed it up. We were using what the guy in Cabela's recommended: spin bait. But they were using live worms with bobbers. So we used live worms with bobbers. Then they were catching fish on pieces of marshmallow. So we ran to the RV and tried using pieces of marshmallow. None of us reeled in a single fish.

4. The A/C didn't work while driving

The funny thing about RVs is that they have different systems for different times. The plug it in A/C doesn't work the same as the propane A/C which doesn't work when we are driving A/C. Does any of this stuff make sense to me? No. I just want a cool (in temperature) and cute (in appearance) RV.

5. It took us 10 hours to drive back home on the Fourth of July. It should only take 4.5 hours.

We had to miss a small group function because of this. Dave, Julia, Lydia, Saige and I are all extroverts. And we were very saddened by this.

6. A tire blew while we were driving

So the tires were in good condition, but they were old. When Dave hit the deer, he probably ran over something like a piece of bone that weakened the tire. It was a back tire, the one closest to the interior of our RV. So, when it blew, we all heard and saw some pieces of our RV wall go flying. That was scary for all of us except Evelyn.

We waited 45 minutes for the repair man to come switch out our blown tire for our spare tire. Then, we waited in some tall grass while he jacked our RV up and repaired it. It was a hot day, and with all the warmth, the waiting and grass itching my daughters legs and feet, I was surrounded by a bunch of whiners! Even my dog whined. Evelyn slept in her car seat and Dave was helping the tire guy. But everyone else whined.

This is the Countryside Where Our Tire was Fixed

We have already spent a very pretty penny having all 7 tires (this includes the spare) on the RV replaced. It's still at the tire shop now.

The overheating engine and tire blowing was what slowed us down.  Thankfully we know now why the engine was overheating. We get to fix that next.

7. The driver's side mirror fell off

This was probably partly because of the deer. (Dave saw his antler fly by his window after he hit it) and partly because the screws on the mirror of our 1988 RV were already stripped. Either way...it really stunk.

You can't switch lanes safely in an RV with out a side mirror. I had to be Dave's eyes every time he switched lanes. This means I had to run to the back of the RV and check for oncoming traffic. But like I said above, no one was hurt. Not physically.

We have already purchased a replacement mirror at a salvaged RV shop in Rapid City. We just get to get that thing put on before we go out in the beast again. (We should have asked the shop if they'd buy the RV from us too.)

8. We got mouse poop all over our RV carpet.

When Dave was fixing the engine the first time, her pulled off part of the inside of the RV to get to the engine. (This is normal RV procedure.) When he did so, he found out that there was once a family or two of mice that lived in that engine place. So, the nest fell out and spread mouse droppings all over our RV carpet. The shabby blue carpet will be ripped out as early as possible.

9. We got pulled over for our tail lights being out.

Add it to the list of repairs. No ticket. Just a warning.

10, The latch that held our microwave in place kept flying open and threatening to drop a microwave on our heads.

Dave fixed this issue one of the times were stalled out.

***

Is there anything else not fun that happened on our two and half day weekend. I think so. Can I mentally handle writing about it right now? No.

On the way home, I was ready to throw in the towel and cut our losses. I wanted to put a for sale sign in the RV's window and cancel our future DC trip. But, Dave is convinced that all of the RV issues can be fixed. And that this sort of thing won't happen again. So, I guess my coral, turquoise and gray color scheme with a Happy Campers decal put on the back spare tire cover will still be done. But, not today. I think I'll put it off til I've forgiven the RV and can look it in the eyes again. Maybe I'll start back at it in a few days.

I know what you are thinking...that's what you get for buying such an old RV. Well, yes and no. A lot of these things were just freak occurrences. We had several RV specialists, an electrician, a mechanic and friends look at our RV and tell us we made a wise purchase. We also prayed about and over the beast a lot. For some reason, we were meant to experience adversity with this stinkin' thing. And God will be glorified in it all. We got back to our North Dakota home just in time to run out and see our town's fireworks. Which. were. amazing. And for this year, they were best part of our Fourth of July.

Thanks for reading this post. It's a long story that I will enjoy reading someday. And by the way there were happy moments...like when we saw my sis and her family for a minute and ate lunch with them on Saturday. And s'mores.  I hope your Fourth was supremely blessed. Ours was because we were together as a family.

Finger-lickin', Plate-lickin' Good

Dave teaching the Girls to Toast the Mallows

Yum!

Thanks so much, Amber

Our Big Weekend

My parents were here last weekend. We had a great time hanging out while they got to meet Evelyn! While they were here, Dave and I did some research on RV's and by the end of the week, in a whirlwind type fashion, Dave and I bought an old 1988 Sunview RV.  My Dad was very helpful in getting our RV looked over and checked out for the best quality old RV we could find. We've had this 28 foot monstrosity for only a few days, and Dave has already spent hours tinkering on it! The engine is sound, the upholstery is old, and the ideas in my head for updating it are swarming.

Part of the reason we purchased this RV is for summer fun, but we are also looking forward to taking it on a long, awesome, home school type road trip in the fall. We plan to travel North Dakota, to Minneapolis, to Chicago, to Cleveland, through Pennsylvania, to D.C., up to New York, and back through the great lakes, stopping at Niagara Falls on the way back. While we travel plan to follow the map of our trip, do school, play games, and NOT stop for bathroom and snack breaks on the way! We also plan to try Chicago style pizza, see the Great Lakes, learn more about the Amish communities in Pennsylvania,  see the National Monument, White House and other D.C. sights, eat a philly steak and cheese sandwich in Philadelphia, and visit Lady Liberty. I am so excited for this adventure!

Getting the RV now has turned out to be a good idea. (Thank you, Lord.) Dave needs time to get used to driving it, and it takes a while to figure out how all the parts and pieces of how one of these things works. Plus, we plan to camp one or a few times in it before we leave so that we can see just what we will need when we take it on a two-week extravaganza!

Those Curtains are Already Down

 Please excuse my jacket, baby blanket pile that looks like a cat perching on the couch.

Pull-Down Bed over Cabin

Main Living Space

Here are few inside pics of this slightly stinky, class A motor home. I kinda love it! My RV Pinterest board is growing by the minute!!!!!

Thanks for reading! Love, Amber

Evelyn Claire Stewart

----I started this blog a week and a half ago, but after I was almost done, I lost most of my work. I couldn't get back to it with family in town for a week. So, I am finally finishing.----

In case you haven't heard, we had our 4th sweet daughter on May 5, 2016. And now that I have my computer back from the repair shop, I can write about it on my blog.

Evelyn is a sweet and beautiful blessing. She is well-loved, and very much fought over by her sisters. She is 2.5 weeks old, and the honeymoon has totally not worn off for any of us yet. But, her umbilical cord piece has! Yay!

Evelyn loves to look at lights, look at me, her dad and her sisters. She is going between 3 and 4 hours to eat, and loves to be held. She will take a pacifier sometimes, but doesn't always need one to sleep. We are hoping she doesn't get as attached to her pacifier as Julia and Lydia did, and didn't want her sucking her thumb like Saige does.

Julia meeting and holding Evelyn

Lydia holding and meeting Evelyn

Sweet Sisters

Saige and Her Baby Sister

Evelyn - May 5, 2016

 Evelyn weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz when she was born. She ended up being much bigger at birth than my other three girls. The nurses in Labor and Delivery told me that Evelyn was 21.5 inches long. However, at her first doctor's appointment, the nurse told us that Evelyn was 20.25 inches long. There is no way that Evelyn shrank over an inch in a week! Plus, even at 20 inches, Evelyn is in the 88% for height--which is especially tall for our family. So, I think the measurement of her height at the hospital may have been a bit off. Either way, she will more than likely end up being our tallest girl.

Swaddled and Cute

Beautiful Babe

Grandma Christie and Our Girls

 Christie came and spent a few days with us before Evelyn was born, and got to stay until a couple of days afterward. She was an amazing blessing to us. She took great care of the girls while I was in Labor and Delivery and did a ton of cooking, cleaning and even grocery shopping.

Awake at the Hospital

 Evelyn was about 7 lbs 4 oz when we left the hospital. But she doesn't look teeny tiny in the hospital pics. Even though she was.

Being Discharged

 Evelyn already looks so different since leaving the hospital.

Sweet Girl

 Evelyn didn't want to take pictures. She just wanted to go home and be done with all the fluffy stuff.

 Evelyn is a very strong baby. She lifted her head regularly in the hospital and has been smiling at us from the very beginning. She had a small heart murmur when she was born, but at her 2nd follow-up appointment, our amazing pediatrician told us that she no longer has one. Yay!

2.5 Weeks Old

Evelyn is a super sweet baby. I feel like the two pictures above show just how much this little one changed in just 2.5 weeks. --And now she's 4.5 weeks old, and has grown up all over again. She is getting closer to sleeping through the night, and even rolled over from front to back on Sunday, May 29th. 

A couple days after Christie left, my sister was able to come and take care of us for almost a week. Aubrey was another huge blessing to us. She also cooked, cleaned, went to the grocery and took care of our big girls. Dave and I even snuck out for a date night while she was here. We brought Evelyn with us, but we enjoyed celebrating her birth, our 14th anniversary and Mother's Day all at once. :)

We are loving having our beautiful 6th member of our family with us. She has 10 beautiful and long fingers, and 10 super long toes. She is growing as she should. She is as perfect as they come and she is well-loved! We are thankful!

Thanks for reading about my Evelyn today. I appreciate you stopping by!

Still Pregnant

So, sometimes it shocks me, but I'm still pregnant. With Baby # 4. And Dave and I still have no girl name chosen in case the Lord blesses us with another walking drama mama.

Last week- 28 weeks pregnant

I honestly hate sharing pics of myself, but I guess this blog is more about documenting a time in the life of my family than it is about hiding some vain insecurity issues I deal with. I can almost hear people thinking, "how does she still have 10-11 week left? She looks ready to pop." And I know that before long I won't have to know people are thinking it because they'll go right ahead and say it out loud. At least one person already has, and they did with my other three pregnancies. :/

People keep asking me if this pregnancy seems different than my last three. The answer is a resounding yes. But, then, Saige's pregnancy felt very very different than my first two pregnancies. We still have almost 3 months until this baby arrives and announces their gender, and I will be here....waiting very impatiently.

Since I haven't written in months, I'd like to catch you all up on what's going on with us. Life in the Bakkan has been so different than any life Dave and I ever could have imagined for ourselves. Jobs and real estate and the oil economy are more unpredictable than ever. We find ourselves helping friends move, mourning with friends who are laid-off, missing family, and enjoying close and quickly found relationships with friends who know exactly how we are feeling and what we are going through. It's an unstable time.

This winter has not been "bad" as North Dakota winters go, and we barely have any snow left on the ground. We expect highs in the 50's tomorrow, and our North Dakotan friends are excited and gearing up for an early Spring.

Our girls are still loving homeschool. It's been a little harder for me to be motivated to teach as my belly has grown and I've become increasingly tired, but I am so thankful for the joy the girls and I get out of it as we work through history, geography, language, reading, Spanish, handwriting and gym class together. 

Julia is having a hard time allowing us to convince her that she is NOT a third parent. She is very mature and sweet, and understands a lot for her age. Lydia is still super spunky, witty and interested in having a good time (all the time), and Saige is a sneaky, strong-willed little sweetie pie.  We tease her that she loves sugar because she was born in Sugar Land, TX. For a while there though, I think she tried to use this as an excuse for her lack of discipline when it came to sneaking in a corner and eating candy. What's a parent to do?

Making Valentine Cards

I have been working with some real estate clients lately, and am generally just trying to help people make the best of such a crazy Bakken situation. This market is night and day different than Houston's, and learning the ropes is tedious but rewarding.

We have no idea what God has in store for our Stewart family next. Dave and I often try to put in our two cents, but we mostly just know that nothing is up to us. We try and live by the verse found in Matthew 10:39. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 

Hope to get back on here soon. Blessings! -Amber