p. 1

the official magazine of the fulltime families camping club april 2011 issue 12

[close]

p. 2

page 2 fulltime families magazine in this issue letter from the editor 3 close to the counters 4 marshmallow bunnies 5 what s in season 6 summer 2011 family reunion astoria or 6 easter egg hunts go high tech 7 focus on the family faith on the road 8 boredom breakers giveaway 9 unveiling the new fulltime families camping club 10 national parks everglades 13 why we re on the road the figueroas 15 great alaskan escape update 17 yogi bear s camp jellystone luray va 17 the best easter egg hunts in the usa 18 want to contribute there s always room just email info@fulltimefamilies.com with your ideas on the cover easter baby photo credit don and lou prebble submit your mothers day photo for our may cover to info@fulltimefamilies.com your ad here who doesn t love an easter egg hunt fulltime families is seeking corporate sponsors get your brand seen from coast to coast email info@fulltimefam ilies.com for more information in the spirit of this great tradition fulltime families magazine is starting a new feature can you find our happy camper somewhere in this issue our happy camper is hidden find him and send an email to info@fulltimefamilies.com with the page number all participants will be automatically entered to win this month s giveaway see the giveaway column for prize details copyright © 2011 fulltime families magazine all rights reserved personal use of this material including one hard copy reproduction is permitted permission to reprint republish and/or distribute this material in whole or in part for any other purposes must be obtained from ff for information on obtaining permission send an e-mail message to info@fulltimefamilies.com by choosing to view this document you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.

[close]

p. 3

april 2011 issue 12 page 3 letter from the editor greetings y all from texas hill country can you believe it s been a year already since our very first issue of fulltime families magazine we ve come a long way in the past year from a simple magazine to the introduction of the ftf family finder the ftf lending libraries and now the much anticipated unveiling of the fulltime families camping club we are so excited about this evolution as it allows us to support your rv adventures and aspirations in so many more ways in june we will be hosting our first family reunion at the astoria koa or this fathers day rally will be a fantastic event with lots of educational activities this is the end of the lewis and clark trail family fun have you see the amenities at the campground and extra special activities for the dads july 1st kicks off our great alaskan escape this 60 day journey is jam packed with opportunities to watch whales pan for gold and make friendships that will last a lifetime through our new affiliate program you ll have the opportunity to earn some gas money by putting our web button to work for you we have been working tirelessly on the site and negotiating contracts with the names you know in the industry like passport america and overnightrvparking.com we have special offers from companies like the digital scrapbooking place to help you capture your trip in stunning albums that will be treasured by those kids you ve been dragging all over the country it s been a long month and i think i m going to have a pay a workers comp claim on chris carpel tunnel ­ as he has built the entire site from scratch we hope you will take some time to explore the new fulltime families and we look forward to seeing you this summer hope to see you down the road kimberly and chris the traveling travaglino s `remembering the alamo march 2011 · · · · · let us put sunglasses on your rv custom fit ­ made at your rv site daytime privacy ­ enjoy the view without being the view black for best unobstructed view blocks up to 98 of uv rays 10-year warranty todd and renee seeley distributors · fulltime families member #81 713 208-5569 · rvsunshade@gmail.com · www.rvsunshadeco.com

[close]

p. 4

april 2011 issue 12 page 4 close to the counters surviving cooking in a 20 sq ft rv kitchen by pam daley as a dedicated internet-junkie i m a member of several online forums email groups topics of interest range from star trek to crochet to free books for the kindle there are of course also a few related to traveling and living full-time in an rv most of the time i skim the daily digests recapping the posts delete and move on to the next recently though the title of one of those emails caught my attention right off the bat 14 ways to stretch kitchen storage space my first thought was score i ll bet a lot of those ideas would work in an rv i dove right in and starting reading idea #1 look around your kitchen and you re sure to find plenty of wall space that can be put to use hmmm i don t know about your kitchen but the only wall space i have is the backsplash behind the stove and the only thing i want to do there is clean it idea 2 everyone has a collection of favorite recipes did you know that your local bookstore carries blank cookbooks with divided vinyl sheets that can be used to hold your treasured family favorites assembling a family cookbook is a terrific project for summertime when kids are out of school when your recipes are all grouped together in one place there s no more guessing where you wrote down grandma s favorite bread pudding i have a better idea scan them all and keep them on your laptop/ipad/ipod touch/kindle choose your poison idea #3 consider installing a shelf above the kitchen counter for your cookbooks this keeps them handy but frees up valuable counter space see idea #2 ­ get digital copies idea #4 think of using shelves and wall hangers to hold other things you use daily small hooks can hold mugs kitchen towels pot holders and utensils shelves out in the open don t really work in an rv that moves a lot but wall hangers and hooks ­ now that s an idea i like and not just for the kitchen cubby hole i m continually `suggesting to my husband that he put up more hooks and no i don t necessarily already know what i m going to put on them but if there is a space on the wall a hook needs to go there idea #5 don t forget to use the space around your kitchen window you can hang shelves here and arrange dishes mugs or even plants for a decorative and useful display there is about 3 inches of clearance on either side of my kitchen window so a shelf isn t going to work here either but now that i think about it hooks there is room there for a few hooks starting new hook list for hubby idea #6 alphabetizing your spices is smart starting with anise in the front and tarragon in the back you ll save yourself the time and trouble of having to look at each jar you know i did actually do this when i had a pantry bigger than a bread box and yes i took a lot of grief from my family friends about it but it was handy when i needed a spice i use once a year like cardamom i ve tried doing this in our motorhome but now most of my spices just live in a basket anyway there were quite a few other ideas in the article ­ alphabetizing canned goods and boxed food among them and more shelves the author really likes shelves but although the majority of them won t really work when your home changes location frequently it s still fun to read these things to remind ourselves that the more room we have the more stuff we have to do alphabetizing canned goods i ll get right on that excerpts taken from linda cobb author of the queen of clean conquers clutter pam her husband mike and teenage daughter sarah are currently in colorado springs spending some quality time with other family members and taking care of lots of dental appointments this month they will be heading to oregon as they continue on their journey to alaska 2011 you can contact her at rvkitchen@fulltimefamilies.com playing with fiber original crochet patterns custom crochet orders.

[close]

p. 5

page 5 the recipe marshmallow bunnies this month s recipe is heavy on the `creative fun side rather than the `cooking side of things since we are hopefully soon to experience some springtime weather i decided to make some marshmallow bunnies and laugh in the face of the forecast for snow here in colorado springs everyone in the family can make these ­ they will each have their own personality and there really is no wrong way to make them use our suggestions as a jumping off point for your own distinct bunnies ingredients · marshmallows we just used big ones but smaller ones would give you some other options · scissors · toothpicks · food coloring instructions · using scissors cut off a small section from the bottom of 1 large marshmallow cut this section into 4 small pieces these are the feet pic #1 · · attach the feet to the bottom of the marshmallow ­ sticky side to sticky side pic #2 from a second large marshmallow cut a slice make it however thick you want the ears to be snip off the bottom of the slice cut a v in the remaining piece for the ears pic #5 make a cut on the top of the marshmallow behind the face ­ this is where you will stick the ears roll the little piece you cut from the bottom of the ears into a ball and stick on for the tail dip a toothpick in food coloring and draw on eyes whiskers pic #8 take a picture and send to me keep a cup of warm to hot water nearby to dip your scissors in after making cuts in the marshmallows taking a minute to dip them and dry with a paper towel makes the next cut so much easier after making any of the cuts the exposed part of the marshmallow will be very sticky take advantage of that stickiness to attach feet tail or whatever part you re working on as quickly as possible we were working in very low humidity so our bunnies dried out quickly causing several reconstructive surgery failures when using the toothpicks food coloring a little goes a long way the color tended to spread out on our bunny faces which made for some strange whiskers on a few · · · tips · · ·

[close]

p. 6

april 2011 issue 12 page 6 april produce eat fresh eat local eat in season stay healthy by eating what s in season each month we will include a list of in season produce here is what s fresh right now vegetables · artichokes · asparagus · avocados · kale · mushrooms fruit · grapefruit · · navel oranges rhubarb availability varies from state to state so check field to plate s seasonal lookup guide to see what s freshest near you make healthy eating an adventure by picking your own check out this great website for a pick your own farm by you http www.pickyourown.org/index.htm · · spinach onions are you coming to the summer ftf family reunion don t miss a minute of the fun we re hosting our summer family reunion on the oregon coast this fathers day rally will be a fantastic event with lots of educational activities this is the end of the lewis and clark trail family fun have you see the amenities at the campground and extra special activities for the dads some planned activities include pancake breakfast ftf birthday bash family pj party movie night ftf minute to win it games and extra special treats for the dads more details coming soon don t miss out go to the family reunions tab at fultimefamilies.com to reserve your spot before april 30th 2011 start your summer off with some of your `ol friends and make some new ones too!

[close]

p. 7

page 7 easter egg hunts go high tech for a twist on the traditional egg hunt throw a gps in your basket and head to boulder junction wisconsin where they will be hosting the 4th annual easter egg geo caching event it s time to stretch the limbs breath in the spring air enjoy the outdoors again with a fun event for families friends boulder junction chamber s 4th annual easter cache hunt takes place on saturday april 23 at boulder junction s winter park the hunt will begin at 10:30am include 12 easter-themed caches each cache will hold numbered easter eggs participants will encouraged to find the eggs with the highest numbers one from each cache once each cache is found and eggs collected the top three teams individuals with the highest scores will win a prize enjoy a lunch at noon hot dogs and potato chips followed by the prize ceremony this event is free donations accepted we will post the 12 event cache coordinates on our website www.boulderjct.org by 12noon on friday april 22nd so that you can load into your gps prior to arriving on saturday morning if you enjoy geocaching don t miss out on this egg-cellent event bring your gps and have a hoppin good time at this year s easter cache hunt rsvp for the event is appreciated but not required can t make it to this event consider attending a cito cache in trash out geocaching event cito s are caching events with a focus on the environment encouraging cachers to clean up trails and litter while caching for these and other worldwide geo caching events go to the events calendar at http www.geocaching.com fulltime families magazine

[close]

p. 8

page 8 focus on the family faith on the road by sam suva a common denominator and a mutual conundrum in campers is the tradition of observing and attending religious services we may be the family that holds to faith in a higher power something we can strive to reach out to beyond ourselves faith based organizations are a way that we fulfill our need to be led by more than ourselves seeing our families socializing with like minded believers and pursuing knowledge that leads us to hope in a society that is more enlightened as a spiritual advice counselor it is important to me to offer praise and weekly worship to our heavenly father for me and my family let s see what are options are in our new lifestyle can we keep our routine of contacting our lord and offering praise to him while we rv weekend camp and full time can we stay in contact with those who share our faith can we find suitable religious services on the road are family based faith groups possible on the road where currently we may go to a building a worship center or a home for religious service we may have a morning or a day set aside to find god s inner peace and his comforting words we may have a tradition of visiting with friends and relatives after services for encouraging association fulltime families magazine

[close]

p. 9

april 2011 issue 12 page 9 ftf april giveaway rand mcnally boredom breakers gift pack rand mcnally s boredom breakers are the most fun you can have in a car hurry entry deadline is april 30th 2011 great for all ages and made to travel these games are sure to have every one excited about the 5 hour drive ahead of them to win this gift pack please read this issue cover to cover and send us an email to info@fulltimefamilies.com when you find our happy camper be sure to include your name address and the page he s hiding on if you like us in real life please take a and no this is not the one keep looking moment to like us on facebook the evansville museum is a great traveling companion take your membership with you as you travel the country with our $35 friend membership which is good for the entire household you can get into over 275 museums across the country ­ free to join today call the director of membership at 812 425-2406 or go online at www.emuseum.org to see a list of participating museums go visit www.astc.org/passport evansville museum of arts history science 411 s e riverside drive evansville in 47713 812 425-2406 fax 812 421-7509 www.emuseum.org

[close]

p. 10

page 10 unveiling the new fulltime families camping club weanswer yo urquestionsabout the new ftf over the past month we have been building the website and building partnerships we know you have questions so here are some answers if you have a question we have not addressed please send it to us via email at info@fulltimefamilies.com a yes the new fulltime families does include a subscription fee for the magazine this is primarily so we can continue to keep generating fresh and pertinent information for our readers our writers are dedicated to creating the best articles and columns for you ­ our readers ­ and we would like to the opportunity to pay them for their hard work and effort q what is the fee a an annual magazine only subscription is $15 a year if you are a re-registering subscriber we want to reward your loyalty with an additional 3 months for the first year ­ making your cost $1 a month an annual family membership is only $30 a year and all re-registering magazine subscribers will receive an additional 6 months for the first year on both their membership and the magazine q why do i need to be a fulltime families family member a the simple answer is there is strength in numbers this is a club ­ the greater the number of members we have ­ the more savings we can negotiate on behalf of ftf ­ the further we can all stretch our dollars q how do i upgrade my membership and how much will it cost a if you are already a registered user on the new site while you are logged in click on the membership details and choose the upgrade option you will only be charged the difference for example if you are a magazine only member and you wish to become an annual family member you will only be charged $15 q who can attend fulltime families events currently benefits include a free e-book savings on passport america overnightrv parking.com the milepost the digital scrapbook place for a complete list of benefits click on the join ftf tab at fulltimefamilies.com q i m already a subscriber ­ do i need to register a yes we have completely revamped the website to add a measure of privacy the reg/login program will allow you to create your own user name and password please take a moment to register at www.fulltimefamilies.com q how do i change my password a when you are logged into the site go to membership details and scroll all the way to the bottom there is a place to change your password down there q i don t get it ­ what s different a fulltime families will still be providing the same great e-mag every month but ftf has evolved to include a nationwide camping club for families while these clubs exist in droves for retirees ­ there is nothing nationwide for young families young families are not seen as a lucrative market but that doesn t mean we don t need the same or more support such as opportunities to socialize and negotiated savings with industry leaders this is also the reason why we kept our membership fees and get together costs to a minimum q wait what ­ there s a subscription fee fulltime families magazine

[close]

p. 11

april 2011 issue 12 page 11 a these events are open to all family members charter lifetime or annual unless otherwise stated q why is there an extra charge for family reunions and family follow me s a there is a nominal administrative fee for these gatherings to cover community supplies that will be used printing costs coordination costs costs for presenters seminars entertainment etc again we know you are working hard to make your fulltime dreams a reality and/or make every dollar count so we have kept these costs to the bare minimum in the hopes of breaking even this fee does not cover your campground fees or food costs unless specifically stated q what s the difference between a charter lifetime family member and a lifetime family member a charter lifetime family membership is reserved to the first 50 lifetime family members in addition to being listed as a charter family these members will receive additional benefits such as locked in pricing on events q how long is a lifetime membership a sounds like a trick question the lifetime membership is good for life for your immediate family however due to a limitation in paypal when you check out ­ it will tell you the membership is good for 5 years please ignore this you will not be charged again your lifetime membership does not expire q who s included in a family membership a family memberships include your immediate family both your kids and your parents this is a family club when you realize one membership covers three generations of campers the lifetime family membership is the most economical option q what happens if you establish more benefits during my membership a all current family members in good standing will be eligible for all members benefits as they become available q there s a free membership ­ what s that about a with the free membership you can access and edit the ftf family finder our affiliate program the members blogs pictures and videos forums and road tips you won t be able to read the current or back issues of fulltime families magazine without at least a magazine only subscription national park week april 16th april 24th free get out and discover something new about your 394 national parks this year s focus healthy parks healthy people highlights the connection between human and environmental health and the vital role america s national parks play in both whether your prefer a 20mile backcountry hike in yosemite or a leisurely stroll around philadelphia s independence hall moving outside is good for you and offers a chance to explore these places you own search the events calendar to find your national park week must-dos

[close]

p. 12

fulltime families magazine

[close]

p. 13

april 2011 issue 12 page 13 our national parks everglades big cypress biscayne in florida by margie lundy photo credit margie lundy our national parks everglades big cypress biscayne in florida in southern florida there are two national parks and a preserve within a two hour drive everglades national park biscayne national park and big cypress national preserve all three are very unique interesting and great to visit during the winter to avoid mosquitoes if you simply drive across alligator alley route 41 and stop at visitor centers along the way you ll see plenty of wildlife including gators along the road and even manatees in the visitor center waterways but for more fun we recommend staying in one of the campgrounds and taking day trips to the parks and their many activities with your national parks pass http www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm camping in big cypress is inexpensive and centrally located midway campground 10/night has electric sites but no internet monument lake campground 8/night has no electric but has internet we split our time between the two both surround beautiful lakes so you camp with gators watch your pets closely for the kids the junior ranger program http www.nps.gov/learn/juniorranger.htm has a bonus patch if you earn badges for all three places four awards in one location was a huge deal in this house well rv and as always we all learned a lot about the parks when you think of the everglades you may picture a desolate swamp with little to do but there are many activities like four-wheel drives hiking canoeing kayaking biking airboat rides ranger programs and more ask about the free ranger-led swamp walks http www.lundy5.com/2011/02 more-everglades.html and back country canoe trips http www.lundy5.com/2011/02/everglades-again.html in the visitor centers and plan ahead as they fill up quickly we also enjoyed the peaceful downtime in a place not filled with tourists and traffic the everglades http www.nps.gov/ever are most known as a river of grass but there are many ecosystems including

[close]

p. 14

april 2011 issue 12 page 14 our national parks continued from page 13 by josh age 11 in big cypress we took a swamp walk led by a ranger that started at the visitor center the ranger told us all about big cypress on the trail at the trail head it was super muddy we walked for a little while then we hit water we walked in it for a while then we saw an alligator we walked for another ten minutes then turned around and went home my dad and i also took a canoe trip with a ranger and some other people we put in and started paddling we stopped and listened to the ranger a few times we saw alligators not very far away we went on for a while longer and stopped for lunch then we turned around and went home josh lundy photo credit margie lundy hammocks mangroves pinelands lowlands sloughs marl prairies cypress and marine besides the popular and numerous alligators you can also find crocodiles deer bear panthers and so many more big cypress http www.nps.gov/bicy is where we enjoyed the ranger-led swamp walks and canoe trips and watched manatees play biscayne http www.nps.gov/bisc is a fascinating underwater park with islands and reefs plus intriguing stories of pirates and shipwrecks at any of the three locations your family is sure to find fun by lizzy age 11 big cypress is a great place to spot alligators manatees turtles and snakes in the campground there were gators in my own yard and i loved it the junior ranger was great i learned that there are only two types of alligators in the world the american and chinese alligators i enjoyed big cypress a lot margie lundy is traveling the usa fulltime with her husband and three children follow their family adventures rving roadschooling scrapbooking and more on http www.lundy5.com and http www.scrapthemap.com is our button making you money join the fulltime families affiliate program to earn 7 of your generated sales go to www.fulltimefamilies.com under the gas money tab for more details

[close]

p. 15

page 15 why we re on the road the figueroa family when kim asked me to write an article sharing why my family and i are on the road i must admit that it was daunting what talents do we bring to the road what do we hope to accomplish who are we making a difference for yikes how can i put into words how many wonderful souls we have met and the amazing places we have been so far what is the best way to describe what we do my daughter is telling me mama you like to write isn t that what you do touché to give you a little background my family has been on the road for twenty months and i am flooded with memories from our time out thus far my husband miguel and i knew that we wanted to fulltime for two years before we actually left our home state of north carolina in july 2009 our businesses were slowing yet we were still finding our life to be overscheduled and ironically empty we took time to plan and sort through all of our household belongings and set a launch date but we didn t want to carry that emptiness with us into our new life we formed a non-profit revolution ministries inc that helps to meet the basic needs of those we come in contact with every situation and person/family is different but the basic needs we ve been able to provide for people have been safe places to sleep food to eat and clothes to wear we work with other non-profits and churches to make this happen miguel has a degree in architecture and we owned and operated a construction and development company our non-profit was an excellent opportunity to incorporate our skills and bring purpose to our time on the road our biggest project to date is a full home makeover for a family in a coal mining town in western kentucky we along with another road family www.share5.org gathered a crew of one hundred plus volunteers to rehab this family s home this was very fulfilling and rewarding to know that a group of people most of whom didn t know each other or this family could rally together to surround this family during their struggle my girls will never forget this experience or the friends they made during our stay there some projects are big and some are small but when there is an immediate need that we can meet no project is too small behind every need is a person if our non-profit isn t able to meet the need we try to network with friends we have met along the way or new people that we meet to make it happen in our sticks and bricks life miguel and i started several businesses and were self-employed for most of the last eight years i find that we are missing our entrepreneurial spirit a bit and are mulling over new ventures to help being income while we travel while revolution ministries inc is a big part of our life on the road it is only a dimension of what we love to do we planted and owned a vineyard and winery for two years and really enjoyed that aspect of hospitality we are tossing around the idea of a vineyard tourism company at the moment and are excited at the possibilities of what that brings construction design and development are also our loves our company built custom homes and we have remodeled two rv s to date we are adding this to our services we provide on the road it is fun to see the transformation from beginning to end miguel and i feel very comfortable in this arena and would like to own another successful company doing this i enjoy writing and do freelance work i put it on the back burner for many years for all the obvious reasons babies work and time but i am so excited to say that because of kim and chris at fulltime families magazine that i am able to gradually put myself out there again i m hoping to hear positive feedback from my publisher about my book soon the figueroa s life on the road has been super fun never easy but so worth it we have met so many awesome families and worked on some really great projects our talents and gifts have played a huge role in our day to day life it is sobering to reflect back on the last two years and see how the four of us have changed and how our non-profit has evolved it s difficult to bulls-eye what we may be working on from week to week but each day is certainly a new adventure fulltime families magazine has been a great support and resource for our family making new friendships and connecting with other like-minded families is a great comfort when we re out on the road i am excited about meeting new people on the road and hope to see you at the next rally miguel avery angel and jennifer figueroa fulltime families magazine

[close]