Wednesday, June 9, 2010

We've Signed On For Some Workamping

Our current location remains:  La Pine, Oregon

Two new "Followers" today....Whoo Hoo!  THANK YOU to La Playa and N&J for joining my group.  I really appreciate the time you give to checking in with our RV adventures.  I hope you enjoy what you read here.

We have signed on for some workamping this summer.  We actually decided to do this before we left Tumwater in March, but I haven't written about it yet.  I figured now was a good time to explain what we will be doing.   Our workamping will not be like that of the "real workampers" I follow on their blogs.  Our work will not involve a free campsite.  Our work will not involve any type of monetary compensation at all.

This is the Expedition Everest roller coast at Walt Disney World.


We have volunteered to babysit with our granddaughters for the summer.  This will enable our daughter and son-in-law to save $1,600 a month on professional daycare.  Stephanie did not ask us to do this.  We saw that she was trying to arrange for a home babysitter and we cancelled any travel plans and offered our services.  She took us up on the offer immediately.  Who wouldn't want to save that amount of money???  In a perfect world we'd be able to pack the "Grands" up with us in the RV and take off on a few adventures for a week or two.  But....Mackenzie is involved in competitive gymnastics and has to go to practice 3 days a week.  That put the brakes on a lengthy trip with Grandma and Papa.  We may still be able to take them out for a 3-day weekend a couple of times.

People on the Everest ride going up the first climb that goes into the mountain.

I enjoy reading the blogs of some of the "real workampers" out there.   I know that Mike and Gerri are enjoying some time working at the FDR State Park in Georgia.  Mike has been cruising around on a giant mower.  And I have really enjoyed learning about Gail and TC and their time at the Hagerstown KOA.  Upstate New York is the summer home for Ken and Nanette.  One thing I've learned from reading their blog is that workamping is a hard job!  Recently I found the blog of Kimberly and Jerry who are working as chefs in Colorado at a dude ranch.  Wow, that is sure interesting stuff to read.  I encourage everyone to check out these blogs if you are interested in workamping.  There are other workampers out there, I know, but these 4 couples are just a random sampling.

Here comes the folks swishing almost straight down towards the end of the scary ride.

Our workamping experience will have us up at 5:30 am. Monday thru Friday.  No time for our usual morning walk before getting ready to go and out the door by 6:45.  We need to be at the kids house before 7:00 each morning.  We'll still try to get over to McDonald's for our English muffin breakfast twice a week and take the girls with us.  The other mornings I'll take our breakfast to their house and we will eat it there.  We will also have to try to get our exercise walking done each day at some point.  We can't shove that aside.

Here I am with the Jungle Book character, Baloo.

Our plan is to take the girls out someplace twice a week.  A park, museum, picnic, hike or something like that.  We don't plan to just sit inside the house staring at the TV all summer!  The other 3 days Mackenzie has practice and we don't want to do heavy physical stuff and wear her out.  Stephanie gets home from work about 3:00 in the afternoon and then we can be excused from our daily job.

Many of you readers may ask, "Why are they doing this?  Aren't they fulltimers traveling the country in their RV?"   The answer is a bit more complex than just the fact that we can save our kids some money on daycare.  That is a factor but not the only one.  You see when our own 2 children were young they had nice grandparents.  Both my parents and Bruce's parents were loving grandparents.  They always gave nice birthday and Christmas gifts each year.  Yippee.  What they never really gave to our kids, however, was the most precious of gifts.  Their time and attention.  I can testify truthfully that not ONE time in our kids young lives did either set of grandparents ask them to come over and stay the night or a weekend.  If we needed to ask that of them for one reason or another, they did it, of course.  But they never extended an invitation just because those were their grandchildren and they wanted to spend time with them.  Sooooo...when we became grandparents we decided that we wanted to share in the lives our the "Grands" not just observe it.  That does mean some personal sacrifice of our own time.  Big deal.  The girls will grow up so fast and we will never be able to regain that time with them.  

These are the only grandchildren we will ever have.  Our son had a daughter that was stillborn in 2003 and he is now divorced and there are no more children in sight.  So we need to love our Zoey and Mackenzie enough to share our time with them.  We are looking forward to it.

In September we will again fly the coop and head south to Pismo Beach, California.  We have reservations at our favorite place...Pismo Coast Village....until the first week in November.  So, at this point we try to blend our own desires for a fulltime RV lifestyle with being there for (and with) our family every few months.  It's working out nicely.

I hope my blog Followers and readers will not leave me during our summer "job".  I'll be posting about our adventures with a lively 5 year old and an almost 9 year old, plus some odd things about our recent trip I haven't had time to get out there.  Seems like there is always something going on with the two of us!

Thanks for listening.

Until next time.....so long for now!

23 comments:

MargieAnne said...

I kind of envy you. This sounds like the freedom to choose how we spend our time.

Surely part of being fee to move around as the spirits takes us is to be there for our children from time to time.

You'll need all your energy. Just as well you are keeping fit.

Jessica Riker said...

I think that's great that you are taking the time this summer to be with your grandkids! And I know exactly what you mean - my husband and I feel the same way. Our grandson is 14 months old, and we travel to see him (and his parents) every month because we want him to really know us. We are still house bound, but when we start RVing, definitely one of the things we are looking forward to is being able to stay in the area where they live for more than a weekend, so we can spend more quality time with our little guy.

Sam&Donna Weibel said...

I for one will never tire of hearing about your Work if that's what you want to call it, Of course Donna after working two jobs all her life will have to have something to do when we do go fulltime and I will probably look into something like Mike & Gerrri do as I go nuts if I sit to long. Being able to spend time with your Grand daughters is heaven sent. I never tire of the time I have been granted to spend with my Grandson Adam. I was lucky and had one Grandfather who made time for my twin brother and I when we were growing up, sort of a role model. I have had members of my family tell Donna I am the reincarnation of my Grandfather.You are a lucky couple that this came when it did, and willcherish these memories foreever, This kids won't forget them either. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Al Bossence said...

What a wonderful opportunity to sacrifice a little to gain ALOT !
Zoey & Mackenzie will always remember the summer of Grandpa & Grandma. Age 5 & 9 will be fun and upbeat.
Mabe you should do a little scrapbook or photo album type thing of their summer adventures, bet Mackenzie would find that fun to do.
Kelly

Kenny And Angela's Adventure said...

We think what you wrote about haveing the chance to give your grandkids time with grandma and grandpa is so true.

Have fun with them and we will stay tuned for your blog.

Sue and Doug said...

you deserve a big thank you!!..one day the girls will be so grateful for the time you have taken to spend with them..they are only little once!

ThE MidLiFe CrUiSeR said...

Margie! I'm betting you and your grandkids will treasure this summer so much!!

My grandparents would come and pick us up (we lived 7 hours away) every summer for the whole summer. My sisters and I had a bond with them that could never be broken...even after they passed away.

They helped me become the person I am today. I wouldn't trade the time I spent with them for all the money in the world.

Nellie
http://midlifecruiser.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Great post Margie,

You and Bruce will be giving the Grands a summer full of memories that they will look back on for years. I belive the greatest gift we can give our children and grand children is our unconditional love and time and it obvious that is what you will be giving them.
Pam

Unknown said...

I think it's great that you will be spending time with your granddaughters.

Jerry and Suzy said...

Good for you! We had live-in grandchildren, the first two, for a while, and while working we were able to spend a lot of time with them. The third "grand" came along later, and there were family tensions that didn't provide the opportunity for us to spend a bunch of time with Sam. Even now, with our 50th anniversary coming up, he will not be with us for the celebration. So glad for you that your together time can be worked into your own version of the FT lifestyle!

Unknown said...

Hi Margie and Bruce,
I have also tried to post and it did not work, that is why I email you sometimes. I will try again
I love your new picture.
We will also be in PCV in Sept.
Look forward to seeing you

Claire and Ted

K and D in the RV said...

I will stay for sure Margie! Kudos to you both. I had grandparents like you and it was wonderful. My children never experienced that with their grandparents - in fact they were never even babysat for a night. Our boys know/knew their grandparents as " a relative'". I am thrilled for all of you - family is everything. Love to hear about the gym meets, zoo outings, whatever - this is life!

KarenInTheWoods said...

Yup, we can understand your position on the grands.

We are kinda in that position right now, but at the opposite end of the spectrum. Little infant grandbabies! We have three kids, each with a grandchild for us to love.

Our newest granddaughter is too little for any of the licensed daycares in our small town. They have to be 6 months or older to get them in. So it's Granmuddah to the rescue! I have her M-F so we still get to go camping on the weekends. They pay us in *fuel cards* each week. Wheeeeeee Steve still works M-F so this gives me a purpose till he retires in 3 years.

Our other granddaughter 35 miles away and is watched by the other grandmother and auntie also gave up their weekdays to take care of her!

So both wee babes are in the care of loving grandparents instead of daycare centers.

Our grandson who is almost 2 is lucky, that set of parents work opposite shifts so he is always with one or the other parent. But we take him on weekends when we can and he goes camping with us.

In 2 weeks I am taking the littlest one with me all alone on a special camping trip for 4 days while Steveio goes fishing with his dad and brothers. The other kids will bring the 2 other grandchildren to come and see us at the campground. It will be great to combine our camping with our daycare duties.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

KarenInTheWoods said...

Yup, we can understand your position on the grands.

We are kinda in that position right now, but at the opposite end of the spectrum. Little infant grandbabies! We have three kids, each with a grandchild for us to love.

Our newest granddaughter is too little for any of the licensed daycares in our small town. They have to be 6 months or older to get them in. So it's Granmuddah to the rescue! I have her M-F so we still get to go camping on the weekends. They pay us in *fuel cards* each week. Wheeeeeee Steve still works M-F so this gives me a purpose till he retires in 3 years.

Our other granddaughter 35 miles away and is watched by the other grandmother and auntie also gave up their weekdays to take care of her!

So both wee babes are in the care of loving grandparents instead of daycare centers.

Our grandson who is almost 2 is lucky, that set of parents work opposite shifts so he is always with one or the other parent. But we take him on weekends when we can and he goes camping with us.

In 2 weeks I am taking the littlest one with me all alone on a special camping trip for 4 days while Steveio goes fishing with his dad and brothers. The other kids will bring the 2 other grandchildren to come and see us at the campground. It will be great to combine our camping with our daycare duties.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

Margie and Roger said...

I think it is nice that you are able to spend this time with the grandchildren. Some memories will be made that they will always remember. Being a full-time RVer is tough when it comes to missing the grandchildren, especially the young ones - you only have that window of opportunity for a short time. Enjoy the summer.

Rick said...

I agree 100% with all of your comments and feelings about your grandchildren. The time spent with you and Bruce will definitely pay off for them too as they grow older. To me, the time spent with them is the greatest investment grandparents can make for the future well being of their grandchildren. It far outweighs the occasional gift at Christmas or a Birthday.

We've always enjoyed having our 2 granddaughters over to stay with us as much as possible and also taking them on vacations whenever we can. Congratulations on being such great, loving Grandparents - the kids will appreciate and remember this for the rest of their lives.

An English Shepherd said...

Sounds like you will be having a busy time :-)

Wizz

Happytrails said...

A loud AMEN and praise the Lord for 2 wonderful grandparents who may sacrifice a little to gain 10 fold in return. Not only will you and your kids gain, but what a joy for your grandchildren to be able to spend such quality time with their grandparents. PRICELESS.
If everyone was family oriented like you guy's, the world or families would be so much better off.
Margie, thanks for the mention you gave us regarding workamping.
Also, we will not leave your blog while you are spending time with your grandkids, we would like to hear of your adventures with them.
Mike & Gerri

Carol K said...

You and Bruce are taking your responsibilities as grandparents seriously. That is a good thing! And yet you are still able to have wonderful travel adventures throughout the year. It sounds like the best of both worlds!

Karyn-Lee said...

You guys are awesome grandparents! Like you said, you never get that time back.
Great that you have the freedom to do this!
I look forward to reading of your summer adventures!!

Paul and Mary said...

Sounds like you two are going to have a fun and memorable summer! We look forward to reading all about it!!!

Cindy said...

Margie..my grandparents were involved in every inch of my life...My children..didn't get the grandparents I had..so Being Nana for me..I am everywhere!! 8 hrs..5 hrs..3 hrs away and local grandchildren..I spend so much time with..daily phone calls..and always time to play with them.What you are doing...well..I don't think there are words to describe it..just lots of memories..and lots of love..and lots of hugs from those girls to you and to them!!!!
I knew you were special..this just proves it!!!!!

hugs..Cindy and Walker

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