Sunday, June 22, 2014

Operation Gypsy Summer & The Big Move

This blog post is kind of a big deal. I will be announcing our summer lifestyle change & THE BIG MOVE!!!


If I am posting this blog, it means our bed set is gone...our kitchen table is gone...our couch is gone...all but 2 small blue buckets of clothes have been donated to family or thrown away...We have tossed everything in the kitchen (except the Vitamix of course!!). We have thrown away, sold, or long term tucked away literally EVERYTHING that we don't use on a daily basis.

THIS SUMMER

Clynn is Romani
&
Jaclynn is Gypsy



After much reflection and experience abroad, we have decided to adopt a minimalist lifestyle for the summer. We are packing up everything we NEED into our Dodge Nitro, ordered a nice hitch basket, and are taking to life on the road!

For the next couple months, 
The beach is our living room. 
The park is our playroom. 
The gym is our shower room. 
The city drop off is our dining room.
&
The world is ours for the taking.


August 23, 2014 
we will be relocating to San Antonio, Texas.


Anticipated Questions:

Just WHY??? 
I have been a wanderer at heart for quiet some time and Clynn goes for anything that involves the great outdoors, moving to a warmer climate, and saving money. We were about to spend our hard earned money on yet another rent check, in a city that we don't love, headed a direction we were expected to head...but also didn't love. When I got home from Honduras, I felt so suffocated by all of the STUFF we had collected. When I got home from Guatemala I realized all the space we had built up to. Call it culture shock, call it claustrophobia, call it whatever you like. But we don't want it, and we don't need it. We want less commitment/attachment to worldly collections and comforts. We want to learn to put more value in experience, and less value in things. We want to live the life of twenty somethings, who have every right to collect on the freedoms we've been presented with! <3

Why San Antonio?
My military school was located in San Antonio, TX. As many of you may recall, Clynn came down to see my graduation and we were both smitten with the city. This is the city where we both said "I love you" for the first time. The city I decided to truly dedicate myself to an LDS lifestyle. The city I walked outside, every day, and smiled because I never had to cringe in preparation for annoying Washington rain or cold winds. The city I stayed up perched in my dorm window talking to Clynn and watching the most AMAZING lightning storms until all hours of the night. The city where I found me. The city where people smile, hold doors, and are genuinely friendly towards strangers. A city where Christianity is the main focus and the constitution is still recognized. The city where we found each other after 6 months of separation and both new we had grasped onto something unique & special.

Clynn & I at the River Walk in 2010
Proof that I was ever husky and Clynn was thin. haha
Something I've fixed and Clynn is actively remedying!
My Mom came too!! :D She took these photos.

At my graduation ceremony.
Geesh we were tan!!

We went to Sea World!
You may notice a ring on my left finger here. 
It was one I had made and wore through AIT 
just to send a clear message that I was taken. ;) 
It was a silver wire that twisted to say
"JaClynn"
I must have been feeling pretty ballsy to 
wear it that day on that finger. hahaha
It was that evening that we said, "I love you".
Though, I'm sure we both already knew.


What will you do for money?
I have a big mission in August that will supply the money for us to make it down there with some to spare.
In September, Clynn will be enlisting in the Army Reserves. He will be off to Basic ASAP and be going to a 6 month to year long school that will get us going and up on our feet. When he graduates, we will have saved up enough money for him to be Options trading full time and voila! We should be set for good.

What if it doesn't work out?
No harm, no foul. We had a kick butt fun road trip and we come back to Wa. :)
Not likely...but there it is.

Where will you sleep this summer?
The back of our car folds down COMPLETELY flat, we put down a couple sleeping pads, a sheet, plenty of blankets and pillows. We've slept on it a couple nights already to see how it would go and found it to be more comfortable than our actual mattress that was definitely coming up on need for replacement!
Places to park? 
Car truck stops, Walmart parking lots, Camping sites, Church parking lots, Mountain passes...Really, it won't be difficult.

What is your plan for food?
We bought a two burner propane camping stove, some camping pots and pans, one each of a spoon, knife, fork, bowl/plate, a nice cool produce bag, dutch oven, and each have a water bottle and will keep a few gallons of water on hand. We will stop somewhere and prepare our food as usual. We can make cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, pasta, couscous, quinoa, lasagna, beans, rice, veggie burgers, salads, cobblers, and I'm sure we will be in search of an outlet for the Vitamix. So...pretty much anything you make at home.
We plan on buying fresh produce once every few days to keep on hand and in the cooler bag. 
I am Vegan and Clynn eats Vegetarian when he's not out with friends, so holding meat or dairy long term is never an issue for us!



Is living out of your car safe?
Not entirely. But neither is letting your child walk to school, riding your bike on the road, camping in the forest, having an outdoor storage shed, skateboarding, owning horses, or a professional grade open fire gas stove. BUT WE TAKE THE RISK FOR QUALITY OF LIFE. 
We will lock up our hitch basket storage container, the alarm on our vehicle is fully functioning, and we are armed...literally, and with the priesthood.


The biggest rumor that is sure to spread in our culture:

Jackie & Clynn are homeless. We must help them.


This is about detoxing our life, saving money, and then relocating to an economy and political system that matches our beliefs more closely. No, we don't think anyone else is wrong for the way they live. This is the lifestyle we choose, for now, because it's what we want for us. If we need help, we'll ask. :)


Thank you for hearing us out! We love you all and look forward to visits with family, detoxing our life, and deciphering our own values and traditions. This summer will surly be a memorable one!

Our blog is about to get real interesting...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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