2023 + 3

Back on September 21, 2023, I wrote a post about how my little family and I were going to "go tiny." (See RVidaFam). Three years ago, we got a wild hair up our ass to stop paying an insane amount of money in rent for a small two bedroom one bath home within city limits and make a drastic change for our future selves. We went all in, sold damn near everything we owned and bought a 42" 5th wheel RV to live in, full time. Me, the BF, our infant, the pup and what was needed to continue working and running our construction company. And let me tell you, it was an adventure for sure!

There was a bit of a learning curve at first but our small family of three plus a pup managed to live full time in a 5th wheel/RV trailer and rent space on someone else's ranch. While the time spent there was magical for our son, it slowly became stressful and difficult to really come to and accept that we were ultimately limited to about 425 sq ft. The ranch owners were fantastic and offered us an opportunity to switch RV spots in May of 2025. This gave us some breathing room and most importantly, it gave our son a yard to play in that we fenced off and allowed him to comfortably be outside while a herd of black angus cows roamed the pasture.

To say his childhood is magical living here is an understatment. I strongly believe that a little boy needs to be outside, get dirty, play hard, fall hard and most importantly, learn that life isn't limited to a screen. Now I am not shaming screen kid parents, we just knew that was NOT what we wanted for our son.

Over the last three years, he learned how to properly walk, run, and navigate life on this particular ranch. There is another family on the ranch who have quickly become our dearest friends and hell we have even adopted them as family (there is no getting rid of us now, K, D and H!). H and him have become friends and he asks for H daily. On rainy days, he puts on his boots and goes out to literally splash in puddles, ride the quad over muddy hills and get all the deep belly laughs out. I wouldn't change a thing about the last three years.

He learned how to ride a scooter and a push bike on this property. He saw calves who were minutes to hours old. He got to bottle feed a calf and as best as a 2-yr old could, help our neighbors with all things baby calf while they bottle-fed/hand raised a black angus cow. His best friend is an older horse who as of recently has lost his eyesight. His play yard was a huge barn that has lights and is cemented. Lots of hours spend playing "hockey," riding his powerwheels, his quad, his bike, playing ball, etc.

However, that chapter is coming to a close. We have officially purchased a home! Three years. Three whole years almost to the date. Now there's alot more I can say about the last three years, but to summarize it - I am thankful for what we have been thru, who has been by us, and all that's to come.

Now the fun part - moving.

-J