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Stories from our family The Journal. adventure · family · faith · the road

Real stories from a family that just goes. The adventures, the hard days, the faith moments, the things we have learned from living more of our life on the road. Pull up a chair.

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Two of the kids doing school in their van seats on a road trip, notebooks on their laps and sun coming in the window
Roadschooling
What Is Roadschooling? (the long honest answer)

What it is, the laws, what a day looks like, how every subject works on the road, and how to start, from a mom who isn't a full-time roadschooler.

Sept 7, 2026 Read more
Amy and one of the girls outside a little gift shop, a Hello Sunshine chalkboard out front and fall leaves painted on the window
Adventure + travel
A Gilmore girl fall in Utah (the bucket list version)

Where to find that small town fall feeling in Utah, when the leaves turn here, and the 30 item version of the list.

Sept 4, 2026 Read more
Two of the girls under the giant pink Dolly butterfly sign at Dollywood
Adventure + travel
What Dolly Parton Taught My Family About Dreaming Big

We took six kids to Dollywood and a Smoky Mountains cabin and came home Dolly superfans. The shows, the cinnamon bread, and yes, the bear.

Aug 30, 2026 Read more
Lake Crescent in the mist, the far shore fading into the clouds
Faith
Consider the Lilies (or, what twenty years of worrying taught me)

A twenty year old girl in a bed, a little girl in a purple sweatsuit, and what Matthew 6 says when your worries come true. My sacrament talk, in blog form.

Aug 25, 2026 Read more
Amy laughing next to the family van on the Olympic Peninsula
Adventure + travel
Everything in Our Van That Came From Amazon (the master list)

Two years of Amazon orders, one list. Power, car organization for six kids, roadschool gear, the games, and what I film it all with.

Aug 28, 2026 Read more
Amy and all six kids in front of the O'Neal mobile on the afternoon we left, the back windows painted
Adventure + travel
Our 7 Week Fall Road Trip Around the Country (with a map)

Utah to New England in October, NYC by train, DC, the Smokies, the Gulf, and home for Thanksgiving. The whole itinerary, week by week, with the route map.

Aug 27, 2026 Read more
The O'Neal mobile, our big blue Ford Transit, parked at an overlook in the Utah mountains
Family life
Meet the O'Neal Mobile (and how we get up and go with six kids)

A big blue Ford Transit, bunk beds we built ourselves, paint marker on the back window, and why we always leave at 3pm.

Aug 26, 2026 Read more
Our Jackery Explorer 2000 on a picnic blanket in the sand, plugged in and running, with the oatmeal boxes next to it
Adventure + travel
The Jackery: the one thing that changed how we road trip

What we run off it in the van, the girls camp story where the whole camp lined up to charge, and which size to buy.

Aug 29, 2026 Read more
One of the kids at the rail behind the waterfall at Silver Falls State Park
Roadschooling
What Roadschooling Looks Like in Our Van

Audiobooks tied to where we're going, math from a flexible micro school, the backseat travel kit, and the state coloring page my kids still talk about.

Aug 31, 2026 Read more
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No posts in this category yet, but they're coming. Check back soon.

a little gift first

The National Parks bucket list, free.

All 63 parks on one checklist, sized to print big and hang on the wall. Drop your email and I will send it straight over, plus new stories when they land.

I have six kids. I don't have time to spam you. Leave anytime.

psst The Belle Bucket app is coming in 2027 this list hears about it first