Day 11: From Vanping to Camping to RVing (at least that is the plan lol) How we spend our 3 weeks on the road wisely

A year ago (the very same time) we decided to spend our 3 weeks exploring different National and State Parks. From Texas, we drove all the way to Illinois - Missouri - Kansas - Colorado - Utah - Nevada - California - Arizona - New Mexico then back to Texas. It was one of the best road trip ever with our 2 boys. It is a LOT of driving but definitely worth it.

This photo was taken back at Yosemite National Park. It was one of the cleanest (and the coldest haha) lake I have ever seen here in US. We stayed there for almost a week camping below the Yosemite park. I am glad that the camping site at the park itself is full coz we get to enjoy this very secluded camping site right by the river. It's our favorite campsite so far and everybody out there is very friendly.

We spend most of our time in Yosemite hiking and just enjoying nature. It's definitely incredible! No wonder John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt fell in-love with it's beauty. 

This waterfall known as Horsetail Fall is considered one of the tallest in the world (based on what I read so please correct me if that is not the case). It is definitely breath taking and just amazing!

The 3 weeks we spend on the road is quite an experience. I told most of my friends that in 3 weeks we hardly get to use any gadget other than the time we took some photos. Most of the time we are just together and enjoying everything. My kids don't think it is crazy that we sleep in our old 2008 Honda Van, nor camp in different site. In fact, they love the experience and not complain a bit. I honestly haven't seen my kids so happy like the one captured above. I think the fact that we are not stress about anything and just outside in the nature helps a lot. I sure wish I can bottle that happiness and keep forever.

Here, the boys get to enjoy climbing and running around after we hike the Horsetail Fall trail (nope we didn't get to finish it coz we are told that it gets stiffer and not suitable for the boys who are already half tired from all the walking we did. We told them that we will be back there and will make sure we finish it (hopefully it will happen soon and not years - RV or not we can make it happen with our van lol)

Before our big trip, I ordered a Curt Basket Style Cargo Carrier (Bent Folding Shank style) and this is the one we used to carry most of our camping gears (this way, it free up a lot of room in the van and we can use it for sleeping purposes). It also doubles as my son's day bed, breakfast bed and whatever he wants it to be that day haha. 

This photo was taken In Grand Canyon National Park, we camp there for 3 days (2 nights). I love the site too and how amazing the milkyway is at night! We got lucky that the sky is very clear and I can see so clearly. I even get to see (and wish) on a shooting star - how cool is that!

Lastly, this photo was taken at ArChes National Park. We only spent a day here coz our goal is to go to California and spend majority of our time in there. I think if you have kids, the whole day is enough to experience how amazing this place is. 

Oh, a simple advice - make sure your gas tank is full before you hit the small roads heading here. The gas prices goes up like crazy so you are better off getting it at the city area.

I have so many photos I want to share so I can show you how amazing this trip was. Budget is a huge problem for us but we made it work. Hubby got enough points on his IHG rewards that we used for almost 5 days on our trip. We picked the areas that is not congested so we can use points as low at 15,000 for a night's worth of stay. The rest, like I said we spend on Vanping and Camping. We dont eat out much as well, I did a lot of cooking while we are parked. I think the most we ate out was when we went to San Francisco and they are very very expensive and not that great - we just want the experience so we swallowed the pride lol.

I will post more of our last year's trip so you get an idea how we made it work. 

For now, I keep this one as it is coz my internet is so slow and I can't hardly post a photo grrrr....

Last pointer... With budget our not, please make sure you travel or go somewhere and experience what the world has to offer (you dont have to travel far, just look for parks near you). I think that is the reason why I am a nomad at heart - there is so much to see, experience and learn. I want my kids to have the same passion in life. Enjoy it while you can, if you have kids - more reason to do so! If you are home all the time, we tend to neglect our duty and forget to give our precious TIME to them. They are only young once, soon they will have their own lives and may not have time to spend as much time as you want with them. Spend it wisely and memorably - it is one wealth they will treasure for the rest of their lives.

Thanks for being here.

Remember Life is Short. Explore. Dream. Discover

Day 10: Made my #FlipaClipSplashContest Entry

Day 10: Not the kind of day I plan to have. end up spending half of my day to the clinic so they can find out what's going on with my back and lower abdomen. So far all the test done comes out normal other than an infection but not completely sure which one is infected, taking antibiotics now & some muscle relaxant and see if that will help. What a bummer! Been really excited for the weekends and now I am stuck in bed. Luckily I got FlipaClip app to help me not to feel so depressed.

Anyway, this clip is not the best coz i dont know how to draw but I just love to think of my kids & how I see them happy most of the time lol.

Thanks for being here.

Remember Life is Short. Explore. Dream. Discover

Day 9: The search is on for the Best RV for the family. Questions to answer before buying a RV. Pro's and Con's of RV size - does it really matter?!

#2KidsInApod

Today is one of the most exciting day for the whole family coz we get to go to a RV shop and look around, get an idea & have the feeling of being there. With the Texas heat looking around is not the best idea but I think this two is not minding how hot it is going from RV to another.

After checking a few (new and old). I think the boys are leaning towards the newer model and the bigger one. This one is their favorite I think. It is a 36', have a very homey feeling and definitely have lots of storage for a family of four who are thinking of living full time in RV.

I have to say that I love what it looks and what it offers. I don't like the price tag though, it is way more than what I have in mind and I am not sure if its worth it. My plan is get a used one that is not going to put us in forever debt and be able to enjoy our lives. BUT with others going to be part of the decision and looks like they are all wanting the same - I am not sure if I am going to win this battle.

Just look how happy my boys are...

and how my eldest is already checking every area of this RV.

I tried to explain to them that we have to consider the kind of RV living we will do. With what I have in mind - the bigger RV is not going to make it easy. I told them that most State & National parks have limit on how big RVs are. I remember last year when we were in Grand Canyon, the maximum length was 28' so we are more than what they ask for. Some parks limit it to 30' so I'd rather give up storage and space to be able to be in places we want to explore. We can all downsize everything and just bring what we NEED. I prefer an minimalistic lifestyle now anyway. Beside the gas price will be so expensive. The bigger/longer it is - the expensive it gets.

I also explain to my son that we also have to consider the fact that we would love to travel not just US and the size of the RV will definitely going to be an issue if we decide to make that happen in the future.  Not really sure if my reasonings are good enough BUT I want them to take consideration the Pro's & Con's coz I don't want to be in debt knowing it is not something that we really want to have.

I wonder how others end up to the RV they have and if they end up regretting their decisions in the end. I sure don't want to have any regrets - I just want to have fun, make memories with my family specially with my kids & live our life to the fullest.

Anyway, we are just in the search process & though my kids already thinks they already found the ONE - I still think that we need to spend our time thinking and weighing things out a bit longer.

Thanks for being here & I would love to hear your thoughts.

Remember Life is Short... Explore. Dream. Discover.

Day 8: Finding the BEST Apps for kids while traveling, on the road or at home. Our Review for FlipAClip app

It's Day 8! The kids and I are looking for the apps we think we will use while on the road. I always look for something that I think they can learn from and get creative. Luckily we found one App that we all LOVE. Seriously, this one is a huge hit in the family. Even my 3yo son is having a blast making one. 

What we love about it is that it is very simple to use and if you buy the premium one $5.99 it comes with so many perks that you can easily make one cute/fun cartoons. My eldest loves to draw and loves anime - he thinks this is the coolest app out there and I AGREE. No wonder their app gets rave reviews both on IOS and ANDROID user.

This is the description written on their site about FlipaClip:

FlipaClip makes you relive your childhood and express your creativeness or professional skills in a much cooler way!

Draw your cartoon using frame-by-frame animation. It works just like the old school flipbook but with a modern twist!

Whether you are sketching, storyboarding, animating, or simply playing around FlipaClip offers intuitive tools and is the perfect platform for your creative ideas.

FEATURES
• NEW - Audio Recording, Audio Library*, and Audio Import*!
• Add and draw over videos!
• Build animation in popular formats (MP4, GIF, IMAGE SEQ)
• Share animation videos via (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr) 
• Apple Pencil supported!
• Brushes (Pencil, Pen, Marker, Highlighter, Eraser)
• Insert Text with multiple FREE font options
• Drawing Grid overlay
• Multiple drawing layers
• Animation timeline
• Onion skin
• Frames viewer

The videos shown in this post are the samples of my 9yo working on the app for the first time today. I really think this will help him get more creative and help his story telling thus helping his English subject so it's a win win for us haha.

We love the app so much that I payed $5.99 to get the premium package. We haven't try out the rest of it's feature yet since I decided to do a quick review of them 1st and maybe write more later once we get to know more about FlipaClip.

Click the photo below if you want to download their FREE version

IOS FlipAClip App

Android FlipaClip App

Thanks for being here. We would love to know what you think about the app and if you have other apps that you want us to check out.

Remember Life is Short... Explore. Dream. Discover

RECIPE - How to make Mongolian stir fry from home or while on the road or living your life in RV

I have been listing all our favorite meal so I know exactly what to bring (condiments wise) when we finally go take the leap & move to RV life.

Mongolian Stir Fry is definitely going to make the list because it is very easy to make, lots of nutrients (I can serve different veggies to the kiddos and none of them complain) & easy on my pocket.

This was originally posted on my other blog Frugalisciousmom

Since we move here in Texas I am in the quest of finding the best Mongolian restaurant like we had back in Raleigh, NC. We have tried 4 different places and to our dismay it is never like the one we had back in Bali Hai Restaurant. So tired of not finding "the one" I decided to try to make it at home and see what happens. I try to remember what it taste like and see if I can duplicate it at home and I have to say that I get pretty close on that taste me and hubby are both craving for.

Here's what you need:

• 2 cups of thinly sliced veggies (i have here mushroom, bean sprout, bokchoy, eggplant, onion) You can add whatever veggies you want for as long as it will equivalent to 2 cups.
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced meat (in this case I have beef since that's the one I saw on sale at the store)
• 1 tbsp mongolian stir fry sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp mirin 
• 1 tsp chili garlic sauce (more or less depends on your taste)
• 1 tsp chili flakes (more or less depends on taste)
• 2 stalked green onions (thinly sliced)
• 1 tsp onion flakes
• 1 cup steam rice or fried rice or even noodles
• large pan for cooking

Here's how to cook it:

• heat the pan on high (it needs to be very hot so it cooks correctly like the way they do on Mongolian restaurant)
• place your veggies, green onions and meats and drizzle it with sesame oil
• once you hear a sizzle add the remaining ingredients except rice/noodles
• use a chopstick or fork to mix it until cooked (it took me less than 10min to have it cooked, just make sure you keep your stove on high or at least have the food sizzles as you cook them)
• serve with rice or noodles (when opting for noodles - cook the noodles first and mix it with the meat before serving)
• top it with extra chili garlic sauce if desired (hubby loves it extra spicy so I served it like this)
• ENJOY!

Thanks for being here!

Remember Life is Short. Explore. Dream. Discover.

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Day 7: An hour a day keeps the whiners away 😜

Day 7: An hour a day keeps the whiners away 😜

This is basically what my days looks like whether we are home, traveling or on vacation. My two kids are completely opposite when it comes to their personality. My eldest will be so happy just staying home, not bothered and quiet WHILE my little one is a a very active one. Everyday I will hear him say "let's go hiking or biking or play outside" There's nothing more important than doing something outside so as a mom who values one's opinion I am obligated to go out at least an hour to make sure he experience something new. I think it also helps his brother to enjoy outdoors and spend time with him without them fighting every 5 minutes. I always thought that the age difference (5 years apart) will be a huge plus factor of them not fighting or arguing BUT that is not the case. I will always hear them fight/argue about something so silly and sometimes it gets on my nerves and I end up bringing them for a walk or something else that will make their relationship so much better.

I honestly think that living in RV will help them get closer more, I remember every time we go out even for an hour, or go for hiking and or camping - they are like best friends who never fights. That is one reason why I want them to experience this while they are young and build the relationship like I have with my sister. I want them to depend on each other and love each other and be there. We are not rich and if there is one treasure I want them to keep for the rest of their lives is a great relationship as brothers and friends.

As a mom, I look at this two and wonder where are all the times gone. My eldest told us a few days ago while we are riding our bikes that he will be a teenager soon and I can't help but got teary eyes knowing I cannot stop that fact. All I can do is give him as much of my time as possible and make him remember all the great memories we create together. 

Nobody can prepare you with all the ups and downs of motherhood, sometimes I questioned my abilities and if I am the mom my kids hope to have. I am grateful that my husband is always there for me and that my kids always reminded me how much they love me & that in their eyes I am the best & the perfect mom in the world.

We can't wait for our next journey. I know I will be spending not just an hour with them enjoying outdoors BUT I am not complaining.

Thanks for being here!

Remember Life is Short... Explore. Dream. Discover

Day 6: The meal! How to make it work using $50/wk budget feeding 4 while on the road.

Day 6: The meal! How to make it work using $50/wk budget feeding 4 while on the road. Back in our normal life (just living our lives in our home) I get to plan & make our $50/week meal budget work. Please don't confuse our budget counting the other stuff we need at home. This $50/week is mainly for food/meal alone. You can read my blog post about "How I Manage to Budget $50 per Week on Groceries" to give you an idea. 

Today, my thoughts are all over the place wondering if I can still do the same. Here in TX we don't pay taxes for food & I know this is not the case in different states. I remember when we went to California last year for our 2 weeks camping at Yosemite, it cost more than our 2 months of our budget so this is going to be a tough one for me.

My family loves my cooking, though they said they are not picky when it comes to food - they are definitely the kind that will NOT eat the same stuff over and over again the whole day. I do cook 3x a day and sometimes more depends if they want a snack in between. So part of me is brain storming on how I can make them happy and not give up my budget.

One of the stuff I realized is I can make different soup just like this one. We love Chinese hotpot and every time we go out to eat one it always cost us almost $100 and that is just too much. This one I made probably cost us less that $10 for 4 big bowls. I made the broth but cheated on the hotpot sauces. I finally found the ONE that brings us back when we used to live in China. Hubby even says it brings so much great & fun memories. So my plan is bring a few packet of this sauce and bring with us so we don't have to eat outside and spend too much. I also need to figure out how to keep my vegetable plants growing in the RV (I will be searching Pinterest and see if & how others make it happen). Beside soups, I think I can make different tacos. This is the cheapest so far since I make my own flour tortilla and the meats goes forever (they freezes so well too). Anyway, that is what Pinterest is for right? I don't need to bring all my cookbooks - just need internet haha.

Our goal is to enjoy life and have new experience - from nature, people or situation. I honestly think it is still possible to stick to my $50/week budget, I just need to plan it smarter and make sure I have a good pantry area in the RV to make it happen lol.

Thanks for being here, I would love to hear from you and your recipes too. 

Remember Life is Short... Explore. Dream. Discover.

Day 5: How to keep kids entertained, learning and stay curious while on the road.

Day 5: How to keep kids entertained, learning and stay curious while on the road. This one for us is the easiest one coz we tend to find lots of ways to keep them going no matter what it is. I think the beauty of being on the road is that the opportunities are endless - it is just a matter of making sure you take time and let them be.

Having your kids pick and be part of the process is extremely important, besides, they are the ones who needed it the most. I always let my eldest google/search what are the things to do on that specific area/state and decide from that. If our time permits, they get to enjoy more than what they ask for and that makes it more fun. I also realized that sometimes, the stuff or place they think they won’t like ends up a one of a kind experience so it’s good to throw a place or two to get an unexpected experience for them. It also makes them learn what adjustment mean and grow from it.

Today, we get to enjoy NASA. My eldest sure enjoys it and wish we get to spend more time to be there. Unfortunately, my 2nd one prefers the outdoors and less crowd (can’t blame though, I love science but it gives me headaches when there’s so much loud people lol). We get to enjoy it for a couple of hours until my little one starts whining haha. I told him next time he gets to pick our next adventure - that seems to help and make him feel important.

Long day indeed, their laughters and togetherness sure makes it worthwhile ❤️

Thanks for being here.

Remember Life is short... Explore. Dream. Discover

Day 4: Why the Ikea SLADDA Bicycle trailer is a MUST when living/driving RV

We've had our Ikea SLADDA bicycle trailer for a year & a half now and this thing have proven its worth so many times. We have ride our bikes with our trailer full of snacks, kids (lol), fishing gears,  beach stuff and so much more and it is still looking like new and not showing any problems yet.

Now that we are thinking of living a RV life after a few years I have to say that this one is a MUST to bring with us. It is very easy to install and if you decide to take it apart to maximize space it is easy to put back (just make sure you keep a nice waterproof bag on your trailer to keep the tools needed and the parts so you don't misplace them). 

I can easily see us using this going places like parks, farmers market, beach, river and or wherever it will let us bring it. So if you are interested on getting the SLADDA Bicycle trailer  It is currently priced $179 but if you are an IKEA FAMILY MEMBER you get it for $129 (that's $50 discount just for signing up. yes it is FREE so you don't have to worry about it. Took me about 5min to register).

Another cool thing about this, you don't need to own Ikea's bike or have a new bike to enjoy one. I posted my REVIEW: Ikea SLADDA Bicycle trailer - You dont need to buy Ikea bike to enjoy one! on my old blog and you can read more about it there. 

At the moment, hubby can attached it to his electric scooter. I will do the review when hubby get the chance to write one and show you how he jerry rigged the attachment area. I think it took him about 10min to make it work on his scooter. 

Anyway, just thinking random stuff that I need to make sure we have only what we NEED when we hit the road and this one comes to mind first :)

Thanks for being here!

Remember Life Is Short... Explore. Dream. Discover.

  

Day 3: The quest! How to convert My Big RV Into a Plug-In Hybrid?

Day 3: The quest! How to convert My Big RV Into a Plug-In Hybrid?

This is the big question we have in mind, the goal is to get a RV and convert it to all electric or at least 80% electric if possible. After reading a few blog post about how much it cost to travel with RV (a few says it cost them at least $12,000/year gas alone that's $1,000 each month just for gas) it makes me want to make sure we are capable of lowering the cost of it by turning them to electric or some other ways that we don't have to rely on gas.

As I am doing my research, I saw this company named Netgain Motors, Inc

this is what is written on their About Page:

"NetGain Motors, Inc. is the exclusive worldwide distributor of WarP™, ImPulse™, and TransWarP™ electric motors for use in electric vehicles and electric vehicle conversions. These powerful electric motors may also be used in the conversion of conventional internal combustion engine vehicles to hybrid gas/electric or electric assist vehicles. Our motors are manufactured in Frankfort, Illinois by Warfield Electric Motor Company"

Having read that, the cost of it range from $7,000-$9,000 then you have to add solar panels, batteries, wires & some other stuff so you kinda looking from $15,000-$20,000 cost. Yikes, that is more than the cost of the RV I am looking at from Facebook marketplace, Craigslist and RVTrader site. I told hubby that we will not spend more than $20,000 on RV. 

With that saying is $40K worth it? Part of me is saying YES OF COURSE! I dont want to spend $12,000/yr on gas (& the way I want to travel that can easily double) so I think it is worth it. 

Another option I look at is a RV already converted like EarthRoamer but the used version of it is a whopping $210,000 that is more than our house & I am not willing to be in a huge debt again. The point of us living in RV is to save & be able to live our life to the fullest so that is definitely NOT an option. The EarthRoamers are very cool though and I sure wish I can afford them. 

Now, If Tesla Motors will make an affordable Van/RV or something (conversion parts, cheaper batteries, etc.)  that us dreamers can afford then it will be so awesome. 

For now I think I will keep researching and keep the quest on finding the best option for us. Hopefully by the time we are ready to make our dream come true there is THE ONE that will make it happen without breaking our bank.

If you know something I would love to hear about it. And If I found a new info I will update this quest.

Thanks for being here!

Remember Life Is Short... Explore. Dream. Discover.

Day 2: Finding the area where I can work

Living in a smaller house makes it harder to find an area where I can claim as my own work place, with 2 kids who are constantly needing for help it is almost impossible to get the time I needed UNTIL I realized I can get up really early (earlier than the rest of the family lol) and I can use the dining room as my space. 

So today that is exactly what I did! Got up early! Made me a coffee and off to work. I think I like my little space for now. Though I am not liking the speed of my computer, it is 9yo so Im giving it the reason to be slow. 

Day 2: figuring how to make the website working and designed. Still so much to learn and I'm beginning to question myself but I just keep reminding myself bout the goal & the destination - we'll get there!

Well the little one is up so mommy duty is calling! Planning to take this slow but sure. 

Thanks for being here! 

Remember Life Is Short... Explore. Dream. Discover.

Day 1: Figuring things out

Day 1: done with the logo the mountains represents us (mom, dad & the two kids) and the road we are about to take. It is S shape coz our last name starts with S. So far the family agrees (for now lol)

to be continued....

About

We are a family of 4 dreaming to travel the world and live our life to the fullest. I hate mundane life stye so I need to figure out a way to get out of it. Life is short... Explore. Dream. Discover.