The Fulgham Family on the Road

It Has Been Awhile

2010-11-18T16:34:00.002-06:00

So I have decided that I need to be more vigalant on writing on this thing. I know it is a good way for me to document our travels for the kids. So we have been to Cavalier, North Dakota, West Helena, Arkansas, Minden, Louisiana over the past year and we are currently in Elko, Nevada. So I am choosing to skip writing about the past year and try to start with our current travels!!

Elko, Nevada is not a very interesting place except for the beautiful backdrop! The mountains are beautiful here, but there is not a lot of activities for the kids. We are trying to make the best of it despite a rough start. We took off the top of our camper, had reservations at the worst campground in the country, and had to stay in a hotel for a week! Things are looking better now!

We have met some wonderful friends here. Our closest friends here are from Illinois and they have been great. Dawn homeschools her nine year old son, Briar so Hunter has a friend to play with.....EVERYDAY!! No, it is good for him....and me too! Dawn has been a huge social support for me. This job has been hard because it is the furtherest away from home than we have ever been. It makes me sad with the holidays coming up, but I feel like we have met enough friends here to help us through!

I will be posting pictures as soon as I can get them all together!! We miss all of our friends and families very much, but are thankful for our pipeline friends!!

7 Month Update

2009-07-03T19:50:00.012-05:00

So.....I can't believe that it has been seven months since I have updated on this blog!! So let me go back to our time in Cinncinnati, OH. The kids loved the Children's Museum in the city. It is a wonderful city, but very cold during the winter!

These pictures are from the Children's Museum and a dinosaur exhibit there.

These are pictures from our daily life in Wilmington, OH. Makayla in gymnastics, Hunter in Karate, Ava in her snowsuit, and Hunter and Makayla with another pipeline family that the kids became friends with.

More will come when I don't have a screaming baby!! Until next time.....

Picture Update

2009-01-21T17:25:00.016-06:00

Alright....well my computer is running very slow so I am just going to put pictures on this blog. I will try again tomorrow to see if the service will be better. Hope you enjoy.

This is on our way to Wilmington, Ohio. Do you think our car is packed!?!
This is us at the Cincinnati Zoo for the festival of lights......we just thought that it was cold that night!!

This was our first "snow" after arriving in Wilmington......they refer to this as "dusting."

Ava and dad in the snow.....Nice camper behind them, huh....no really.....the guy is really nice.....he just saved himself ALOT of money and went the cheaper route!

This is Hunter and Shannon playing in the snow!

This is Ava's "boo boo" from falling off of the bed....she is now crawling all over the place and didn't realize that the bed and floor are very far apart.

This was one of our field trips to the Air Force Museum in Dayton. It is really neat! We will have to go back to see the rest of the place. It is HUGE!! Hunter really liked this field trip!

O.K. Well I will try to download some pictures from the kids' camera tomorrow. We hope everyone is doing well and miss you all!!

2009-01-09T16:21:00.003-06:00

Alright....so Ava is not letting me get much sleep. I am so sleep deprived right now. I guess I was spoiled with Hunter and Makayla. They never had any issues with sleeping, but Ava...I should have known since she did come out facing the world (she was an OB baby). Well anyway she is not letting me get much sleep.

On to another topic.....I am so glad that Makayla loves playing with Barbies, but do you think that they could have made it a little to put clothes on the things. I am so tired of putting clothes on Barbie!!

Well, there is still snow on the ground with another front coming through tonight or tomorrow. I don't mind it too much, but it does melt....inside the camper. Needless to say we leave a towel by the door to clean up the water.

Until next time...

Where to begin?

2009-01-03T13:22:00.003-06:00

Here is the deal....we have had ALOT going on in the past month!! O.K. so now we are in Wilmington, Ohio, which is about 45 minutes northeast of Cinncinati. It is freakin' cold here!! I just realized that I REALLY don't like the cold.
This is probably not going to be a long blog because Ava is crawling everywhere and it is hard to focus in a library with three kids!!
So let me start by saying that we had to move out five years worth of stuff in three weeks while Hunter had the pink eye, then Makayla (in both eyes), and the rain!! Anyway, we got it done!! Although, Shannon had to buy me two cargo storage compartments for my car.....we have alot of stuff!! We didn't finish with the house until 2:00 Christmas Eve and had to be at Shannon's grandmother's two hours away at 6:00. So we left town around 4:00 and on the way up Makayla threw up all over the car and herself!! We were on the side of the road with Makayla naked trying to clean up the car and her......did I mention that it was raining. So obviously when we got to Shannon's grandmother's house, Makayla and I stayed in the car. Shannon brought dinner to me and Makayla's presents to her. We left there and headed toward my sister's house in Starkville. On the way there we heard a thump, thump from the top of my car. I said either Santa just lost some gifts out of his sleigh or we just lost luggage. Sure enough it was the latter. Makayla's bag flew out, her school box, and the top to Hunter's school box!! We recovered Makayla's luggage. We arrived at my sister, Jeanna's, around 11 o'clock, gave Makayla a bath, and sent the kids to sleep for Santa Claus.....only to realize that Santa left half of the kids stuff in Jackson. What a wonderful adventure. Anyway, so we are here in Ohio now and trying to get adjusted to life in the camper again!! I will try to get pictures on here as soon as I figure out the easiest way for us to get on-line. Anyway, we miss everyone very much and love you all!!

A busy month

2008-12-11T18:38:00.003-06:00

O.K....I am sorry that I haven't been writing on this thing, but we have been SOOO busy!! We had to pack the house up in a week....except for the things we need on a daily basis. The next week we had to get ready for the moving sale. We managed to sale the Tahoe, four-wheeler, Shannon's welder, and about $260 worth of stuff! I was so relieved to make some money. Last Friday, Shannon got the call to go back to work.......yeah!!! Although we are going to Ohio.....I hear it is cold up there. Although Shannon left yesterday with our snow gear and guess what....it snowed here in Jackson, MS...who would have thought?! Anyway, so things at the Fulgham residence are crazy right now and we are ready to get back to normal.....ironically enough I think that normalcy is in the camper! The kids seem to behave better. The only foreseen trouble is going to be Ava. She doesn't seem to want to sleep if there is anything going on around her.....guess what there will be lots going on around her....not much privacy. Alright.....Shannon took the computer with him so I will try to get on to blog when I get a chance....Hope everyone is doing well and we miss our dear friends in Texas...love you all!

Waiting on Go

2008-11-20T21:56:00.004-06:00

Alright....so I have a few minutes to update everyone on what is going on in our lives. Shannon is currently in between jobs. We have decided to rent our house out and take full ownership of life in the camper. We are currently packing up our house, which is not much fun with three kids. My sister-in-law has a house in Bogue Chitto that is not being occupied. Shannon and I have decided to move our stuff down there after renovations.

The kids are doing great in school.......although I will enjoy the week off next week.

We have enjoyed being home for awhile.....maybe too much. Ava is becoming increasing spoiled. She wants to be rocked to sleep......yeah, we don't have a rocker in the camper. Speaking of, I am ready to start traveling again! I miss the simplistic life on the road. I believe that me and the kids are going to wait until after Christmas before we go anywhere. There is just so much to do and it is very costly for just a few weeks worth of traveling. Anyway, until something interesting happens...hope all is well....and for this blog....I miss my friends in Texas!

This is Ava wanting to grab my brother's bird. She was really facinated by it!!

I am so sorry

2008-11-14T22:05:00.003-06:00

For all of my friends who have been following us as we travel, I am so sorry that I have not updated my blog. There has been soooo much going on that I have not even had time to think!! I will work more on it tomorrow to update everyone on EVERYTHING that has been going on in the past four weeks! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Pictures from the Beach

2008-10-23T18:07:00.001-05:00

These are all pictures from the beach!!

Picture of My Family....minus my husband :)

2008-10-23T18:01:00.002-05:00

This is a picture of all of us at Orange Beach! Wish I was still there! This is my brother, Dorsey....my mom, Barbara.....my sister, Jeanna....me and Ava....my nephew, Blake....Hunter.....Makayla......my nephew, Drew.

Mixed Feelings

2008-10-23T17:41:00.003-05:00

Well, we got to Jackson, MS from Orange Beach, AL last night around 6 o'clock. We had a really good time and my sister turned FORTY yesterday!! Happy Birthday Sis! Makayla thought that the condo was our new home.......that is a nice thought! We did a lot of resting and had a good time as a family. Hunter was so excited to be with his cousins, Blake and Drew.

Alright, well I have mixed feelings about Shannon not working in Texas anymore. I will miss my friend Erin and her dear family VERY much!! It makes me very sad at the thought of not seeing her anymore for a while. I really liked living in the greater Houston area. There is so much more there for me and the kids to do to spend time together. Don't get me wrong....I like being in my house with my stuff, but a part of me wishes that it was in Houston. For my friends here, don't get me wrong, I love seeing you guys, I just really feel comfortable in Conroe!!

I am so glad Shannon is back

2008-10-14T16:30:00.013-05:00

It has been close to the longest two weeks of my life. Shannon flew in on Saturday morning and not a moment too soon. Ava's acid reflux started acting up again and it is very difficult to see your baby in so much pain and not be able to do anything about it! Anyway, things are better now! Saturday after we picked up Shannon, we went to meet my step-sister, Melissa and her family and went to a pumpkin patch and then to the Katy Rice Harvest Fesitval in downtown Katy. The kids had a great time.

Last Friday my friend Laurie took Makayla to Libby Lu. She wanted to look like Sharpey from High School Musical.

We will be leaving for Gulf Shores on Saturday morning. We are so ready for the beach for a little while. We will leave there and head to Jackson for a few days before going to Starkville for Joey's murder trial. Not really looking foward to that!
On a lighter note, Shannon found out that this job should be over soon, which is not good for so many reasons. It sucks to finally met another female that I have such a connection with. She (Erin) and I have become really good friends and she has helped me out so much!! Last Thursday, she cooked supper for us and it was delicious!! I am sad at the thought of leaving so soon after meeting her.

The other reason that it is not good is finacial reasons. We have not had consistant income because of Shannon going to school and this trial coming up. It is uncertain if there will be any work for awhile after this job ends....really not a good thing.
Yesterday we went with Erin and her boys to the Houston zoo. About 1/4 of Houston's population was there, but we had a really good day!

Well, until next time. We miss everyone and love everyone very much!!

Thank God for Good Friends

2008-10-06T16:12:00.000-05:00

I dearly miss all of my friends back home, but I have met some really genuine friends here. Laurie (the one who lives here on the campgrounds) was nice enough to schedule me a haircut because she knows that I would not have done it otherwise. Her husband, Mark, kept Hunter yesterday afternoon so that the girls could go have a few hours of girl time. I got my haircut....short....and Laurie gave me her expert advise on some new clothes. I can't remember the last time that I bought myself some new clothes, but it felt really good.

Erin, my dear friend that I met at the park, has kept me busy the rest of my time. She is one of the sweetest people that I have ever met! Hunter played baseball with her son, Tyler, on Saturday for about five hours. He really needed that time with other kids! She was gracious enough to let Hunter play at their house for a few hours while I got Makayla and Ava down for a nap......and yes, I took one too! We stayed over there until about 7 Saturday night. It was really nice! She also told me about a Bible Study that she has been going to on Monday mornings. She was not able to go this morning, but I went. I didn't know what to do with myself having all three kids in childcare and having two hours with other women.

Oh, and last Friday I took the kids to a local county fair......it is nothing like the Jackson fair! There was more livestock there than people. The kids had fun, but they would not make it on a farm!

I will post pictures of our new friends soon!

Anyway, hope everyone is doing well and please keep us in your prayers!

Life is.......

2008-10-01T20:51:00.000-05:00

Well I will let you fill in your own blank. For me life right this moment is challenging. You want to leave a good legacy for your children, but what does that intel? I feel as though I am constantly correcting them, but am I over correcting them? I want them to have good morals and values, but I don't want them to remember me as a nagging mother. I am trying to learn to let the less important things pass....although it is difficult to determine what needs to be corrected and what needs to roll off my back. Uhh...why didn't they(whoever that is) tell me parenting was so hard!! I am trying to take it all in stride and enjoy the little moments that so many people let pass by. I just question myself....a lot.
Anyway, on a lighter note, I met a friend today at the park (I know...I sound like one of the kids...huh?). Her name is Erin and she has three kids. She has given me soooo many resources to get plugged into. I think God really knew what I needed. At this point I think she is an angel. She told me about a playgroup that meets two to three times a month, a weekly bible study group (WITH FREE CHILDCARE), MOPS that meets every other Friday, another baseball league for Hunter, and a Girl's Night Out Group!! Wow!! I finally get to use my calendar again!
Anyway, I think that I will go to sleep now. I hope everyone is doing well and know that we miss everyone!
Until next time....

Another Adjustment

2008-09-28T17:46:00.000-05:00

Well Shannon left today for Indiana. He will be there for two weeks. I know that doesn't sound long, right? Well, when you only know two people it is very depressing. I am fighting with the notion that I should return to Mississippi for the two weeks, drive back to Texas for a week, and then to Gulf Shores for a family get away (of course without Shannon). Crazy, right? I think that would only cost about $500 in gas...not to mention driving to Jackson with three kids by myself. I am going to try to stick it out. I just want the kids to get into a routine and I know they are tired of moving around so much, but on the other hand I am no good to them without my sanity. So which is the worse of two evils? I know...I have a lot of questions on this blog. Any suggestions would be nice. Anyway, I am going to fix supper right now......although with just me and the kids it won't be much. :) Hope everyone is doing well and know that you all are dearly missed!!

Pictures from Our Evacuation

2008-09-28T16:40:00.001-05:00

These are some pictures from our week in San Antonio.

Life is a Journey. Wear Good Shoes.

2008-09-24T16:38:00.000-05:00

Life is a Journey. Wear good shoes.

This was a billboard that I saw on the way to San Antonio after being evacuated from the greater Houston area. I thought that it was very fitting for my life right now.

Where do I begin? Well on the Thursday before the hurricane I was told by a neighbor that we had to be out of the park by 6 p.m. So I spent the entire day packing up everything and figuring out where we needed to go. I asked the employees where they were going and they said Lake Medina. I thought that sounded good so I made a reservation and got the GPS out. We pulled out at around 4 p.m. Well it was suppose to be a four and a half hour trip…..yeah right!! Ava’s acid reflux started acting up the minute we started traveling. We had to stop a million times! Not to mention all the rest of Houston evacuated also!! UH! We got to the park around midnight, spent an hour looking for a spot, spent an hour backing up the camper and setting it up and finally getting everyone asleep at 3 a.m.!!! Needless to say, the next day we spent sleeping and hanging out around the park. Deer were EVERYWHERE!! The kids could feed them out of their hands. It was incredible! We had a great time in San Antonio. We visited the River walk (beautiful!!) and the Missions (very educational!). It is a beautiful area!! On Wednesday, we found out that Shannon would not have to be at work until Monday. We looked at each other and said “Let’s go home.” We found a campsite around Columbus, TX (which is about 60 miles west of Houston). We dropped the camper and headed home. We got at home around 3 a.m. on Thursday morning. We enjoyed our time at home and had to leave early Sunday morning (sorry to everyone that we could not see while we were there). We got into Columbus around 7:30 p.m. That night when I woke up to check on Ava, I feel down our stairs and broke my pinky toe! It feels wonderful (yeah right)! This week has been awful with the kids!! They are not wanting to do school work nor are they wanting to take a nap! UHH!! I am ready to scream! To add to it all, Shannon found out that he has to go to school next Monday for two weeks……in INDIANA!! So I guess the kids and I are coming back home!! I will be so glad for some normalcy……….like that will ever happen!!

Anyway, I have not had internet service and probably will not be able to blog again until I get back home. I will add pictures to this blog when I can. We hope all is well and miss everyone…..although I guess we will see you all soon! Hope everyone has a great week!!

A Better Day

2008-09-09T20:02:00.000-05:00

Well, today was a much better day. School went well this morning and Hunter is working on a science experiment with growing Tulips....an update will follow.

We went today to visit Mother's Day Out at the First Baptist Church in Willis. Makayla loved it. The room that she will be in had her doll house from home so she did not want to leave. It was a very relieving feeling knowing that she wants to go!! I think it will help me out alot! We will start on Tuesday.

I will say that the only plus to leaving in a camper is that it takes me about five minutes to clean the ENTIRE house!! Love it!

Ava seems to be doing better today. She is sleeping alot today (probably because she has not slept in the past three days!).

Anyway, I have to finish bathing Makayla, feed Ava, and get them all to bed (all within 30 minutes).

We miss and love everyone!!

Until tomorrow.....hopefully!

Pictures from the Inside

2008-09-08T17:55:00.000-05:00

O.K. I am posting some pictures of the camper since some people have requested pictures of the inside.

This is Makayla's bed.

Ava's bed and washer/dryer

Living Room/Kitchen/Hunter's room

Alright, that is all for now....Ava is screaming!

Wow.....what a couple of days!!!

2008-09-08T16:00:00.000-05:00

Well....let be start by saying that Ava's acid reflux medicine has stopped working. Saturday night I was up until 5 a.m. Sunday morning. She could not sleep and neither could anyone else! Luckily, I had another prescription that I got filled and the pharmacist said that the medicine she is currently taken is probably not working anymore.....I could have used that bit of information before it stopped working! Needless to say we did not make it to church (which is my only adult interaction) so I was really upset.

Last night Ava did a little better. She only woke up five times! The other two didn't go to sleep until 10 and both were up early. We started school and both were too tired to concentrate so we had to take naps early today!!....like at 10:30 a.m.

Makayla's devotion last night were just the words that I needed to hear. Isaiah 46:9-10....I am God, and there is no one else like me. Only I can tell you what is going to happen even before it happens. Then her prayer was Lord, you know what tomorrow will bring, Help me to trust you for everything. Wow, those were the words that I needed!

Anyway, yesterday afternoon the kids played on the go cart bicycles that they rent here.....yes, you have to pay for these things.

Well, finally after two weeks of being here it is raining.....I know right...and Jackson has been flooding.......and everyone was worried about US and Gustov. The only thing that Gustov has brought here are lovebugs!

We hope all is well and I know that God knows what tomorrow will bring.....I just hope that I know how to handle it.

We love and Miss Everyone!!........Until next time!

The First Blog of the Great Adventure

2008-09-06T17:08:00.000-05:00

Well for those of you who recieved my email you know about our first week. It was definately and adventure to start out with.

We have settled into the campsite and have any met a couple of people from the area. They have been really helpful and brought Ava a blinging pacifier.

We started homeschooling this week and it went well. Makayla can already spell her name and Hunter has learned alot.

There is so much to learn about life in a camper, but we are trying to view it as a short/long term adventure if that makes sense.

We registared Hunter for fall baseball today and it will be nice to have some adult interaction. This has been a lot harder than I imagined, but I know it will get better.

We miss everyone at home and hope all is well.

Until tomorrow........or the next day.........or maybe the next.....ha!