New website!!

It's taken some time, and I still have a few kinks to work out, but we have a new website now.

I'll be continuing the posts on our journey over there!

http://nomadicfamily.ca

Feel free to follow us at our new website!

Hiking at Piper's Lagoon, Nanaimo, BC

Today we went for a hike at Piper's Lagoon. It's short and easy enough for Princess to be able to complete, and those are the types of hikes we are looking for. It's quite a lovely area, and some beautiful scenery overlooking Georgia Strait.

Black Bean Chili Dinner

One of my favourite things to do in the RV is cook new meals. Especially, delicious, and healthy ones. Living in an RV doesn't mean that you must live off of hotdogs over a campfire like you did as a kid. It means you can adjust your recipes to suit smaller appliances.

Last night, I decided to try out one of those dinners in a bag. Black Bean Chili! Basically, all you need to do, is add ground beef (or turkey), water, and a small can of tomato paste.

More engine work ahead

When moving the RV to it's current location, we had some hiccups, the major one being that an important wire burned through and melted. We were able to bridge the gap quickly enough to start and run the engine, but it ran terribly all the way here.

My mechanic friend stopped by to have a look, and the wire was so old and corroded that the copper was barely copper anymore. So, we have a new junction box on the way from that same RV we got the other parts from. As I said before, I am sure happy this is all happening now, and not once we're on the road, and somewhere remote, or somewhere that it's against the rules to work on the engine.

Starting out, with children - what's not told

As you know, we have two young children (3 and almost 1). Throughout all of my reading, not one blog really told me anything about how starting out could be. So, here I am to tell you!

It's insane.

Now, I'm not telling you any of this to discourage you, just to prepare you, because it WILL get better.

Routines are uprooted, noise is more, and light will always be an issue. If you're the type to use blackout blinds, stop. Immediately.

First full day in progress!

Well, it's been a wild (and expensive) ride these past few weeks. Selling a lot of our stuff off, trading some things for smaller things (our huge mixer for a smaller, and our 42" LED TV for a 27"), and then moving a lot more stuff into a storage unit that we're not quite ready to get rid of just yet.

Then working on the RV, changing the oil, replacing a push rod that was very bent, replacing the battery, and cleaning the roof. Moving the stuff we need, and probably a bunch of stuff we don't, into the RV.

Then, yesterday's debacle that will now need to be resolved before we can truly launch.

An interesting first day.

Today, we moved the RV to where we'll stay for about a month, which is at a family members home. It's a very good thing that this was already the plan as well as we had some electrical issues that almost didn't allow us to get here.

Move out completed!

Well, we are utterly exhausted.

Today, we handed back the keys to our three bedroom home to the landlord. This past week and a bit has been filled with constant trips to the storage unit for the things we're holding onto, as well as trips to the dump for the two dozen bags of garbage that we had. When you're getting ready to move into an RV, it's amazing all the trinkets you decide are better off in the trash.

We dropped off a couple boxes of books at the local second hand shop as well as some other things. We even dropped a bunch of stuff on the lawn with a "Free" sign, and that cleared up a lot as well.

Personalizing Princess' Loft

Well, painting Miss princess' loft is complete, and today, she and my wife added in the personalization!

 

Princess was very excited to finally be able to add her stickers. She's been asking for two days, and very unrelenting in it as well.

Floors and Trim Complete. More Painting.

We finally got the flooring completed, and bought some metal guards for the edges near the steps and front of the flooring where it was open and at risk of coming apart if we didn't add it in.

One more thing checked off the list!

Trim has been installed!

It's taken some time, but children are a priority, and even more-so when they are sick. Yesterday, my wife stained our trim after I was able to get it all cut, and today I installed it.

 

Floor is installed, working on trim

It's been a tough go trying to get everything ready in the RV with a teething infant, and a sick toddler. We're ever so slowly making headway, and the results look amazing indeed!

"I had fun Daddy" The reason to live Full Time.

If there was ever a moment that I needed, in order to know that what we are doing is right... Tonight was it.

T-minus 32 Days to launch!

Today, we gave notice to our very cool landlord that we will be vacating for May 1st, 2016.

It's real. It's scary and exciting at the same time.

We're also returning our Alberta bought SUV to save an additional $450/mth on top of the $1300/mth in rent, and $120 in internet and cable. For those counting, we're cutting costs by $1870/mth right off the bat.

The extras come in now as well. I have one more thing to fix in the engine of the RV which is minor before I register and insure it here in BC, where it was last actually registered and insured. Who knows how many years that has been.

Floor Installation Begins!

Finally! Today, I was able to head out and buy a new blade for my saw, and a new square (mine is sitting in Alberta). After asking a few questions on a totally cool Facebook page called RV Remodeling, Decorating, and Renovations, I figured out what I should do about the flooring.

My biggest concern was the gap to leave for expansion, and if it would be an issue with an RV, and the movement. I need to leave 3/8ths of an inch for expansion all the way around, and that looks like a lot. I am concerned about it shifting while moving around. A guy who is on the page commented, and is the owner of a flooring store. He suggested making sure that I keep that gap, and avoiding gluing or stapling it down as it will buckle when it tries to expand/contract.

Flooring has been bought!

As we continue to gear up with our renovations, we need to make sure we get the materials we need when we can get them.

Rona had a sale this week on their laminate flooring. Buy one, get one half off. We needed four, so we really only paid for three.

The next step is to get some power running to the RV so I have power and heat to work. I need to buy a 30amp to 15amp converter plug so I can get those basics running. They're only about $8.00, and then I need the extension cords to run the power to where the RV is. I need two 15 meter cords as the RV is about 80 feet from the nearest outlet.

We went with a lighter grain, but not super light. It should complement the countertop nicely.

I'll get an image up soon, blogger won't upload from an iPad apparently.

Theme change

Changed the theme when I actually looked at it better on a mobile device and it was messed up. The comment posting section was gone, amoung other things.

Kitchen Countertop

Last year, we bought new countertops for the RV to get rid of the crusty and broken ones we currently have. Due to a delay in the stock for the specific design we wanted, I wasn't able to install the countertops before leaving for BC.

This was a blessing in disguise as well as I had a chance to use the RV and see what I wanted to change.

Prep work time again!

the past few months have been rather taxing during the winter months. Getting into the RV to do anything has been very difficult with Goober and his teething, as well as limited light, and constant rain.

Now, things are warming up, and while Goober only has four teeth currently, he's not a needy as he has been. We also came up across another roadblock, which may have been a blessing in disguise. The company I was working for decided to release me, and my sales guy. So, I've been unemployed since February 1st. I filed for EI, and now I'm getting it, and I can more realistically look for an appropriate job.

Small Update

It's been quite some time since I posted an update. To followers of my blog, you know that this can be quite normal as I go from fulltiming to a stickbuilt and back.

Anyways...

Today is a lovely day here on Vancouver Island. The sun is shining, and the weather is warm enough to be outside without a jacket. So, I decided that I really should get some work done on the RV while I can.

The simplest thing I could do was install the new table that I had bought from my wife's company she worked at until last May.