A Day in the Life...

Unconventional.  That word 100% describes our world right now. As we've made the move back to Utah and started to establish  new routines, we're doing very little the normal way...and we are loving it completely!  Now that we're a few months in it's time to start sharing again with all of you the fun and easy ways we find to get out exploring.  But before we begin, we've teamed up with Taralyn at Keep Moving Forward With Me for her "Day In the Life of a Blogger" series.  Here's a glimpse into how we're living our way, and fitting it all in...

First off, we've all done a little growing...

"B" is now in 2nd grade

"P" will soon turn 5

And "The Babies" are no longer really babies.

The second noticeable change is that my husband is now working from 2pm-midnight.  That schedule is  AMAZING for our family.  He's home with us during the day to help out around the house, to let me run errands or just have some time away,  Most importantly, though, it gives our family the opportunity to get out and do things together every single day!  Yes, we still have preschool classes and doctors appointments and normal things we do, but free mornings and empty hours quickly fill up with snowshoeing or bicycling (thank you, weather gods for the most fabulously mild Utah winter!), hiking, and geocaching.  Instead of coming home at dinnertime and only being part of the getting-ready-for-bed routine, time with Daddy is full of adventure and quality time all week!

The third piece of the puzzle making up this unconventional world we've created is that we are now fully homeschooling.  We dabbled with it when "B" was in kindergarten, then sent him to public school during our year in Iowa.  Now "B" & "P" are schooling at home with me and we (mostly) love it every day.  With the 2nd shift schedule it works out perfectly for us to play all day and then crack open the books before and after dinnertime.  We're all learning and the boys are getting hands-on lessons from both their parents in the most incredible outdoor classroom every time we go wandering.

So what about me...and, oh yeah, the blogging...?  

(Can I  quick say "thank you" for being interested in the things that bring passion to me?  Without you reading, I'd lose my outlet to share what I love and you do that for me.)

8PM-midnight are my working hours and it all happens in my pajamas.  It's another huge perk of the 2nd shift schedule.  The kids go to bed and I have 100% me-time until I crash in bed or my husband comes home.  I do freelance work through Elance.com and fill in every extra minute with the behind-the-scenes legwork it takes to make blogging more than just a passing fancy.

 I LOVE networking and all too often waste away my precious working hours asking other people to share their interests with me.  My blogging focus while in Iowa was at Freemples, where I do product reviews. I find myself more on the enduring end with the legwork it takes to search and promote myself there. filling out applications and responding to emails.  However, it gives my family opportunities we would never have if I quit so I'm more than willing to make the nightly sacrifice.   

And all this brings me back to A Local Wander.  I cannot shout it loud enough how excited I am to get back in the swing of things here!  I hope you never doubt this vagabond's passion for adventure and sharing the fruits of my labor with you.  It's fun legwork and the 6 of us are looking forward to getting back out into the wide unknown and coming back to share it with you!