Hello D-fam. February finds us in a new state and on a new contract! Since writing our last post there has been so much change for us. But isn’t that what we signed up for when we sold everything and began traveling? Surely this past month has taught us to be even more flexible than we ever thought possible.

Flexibility is our middle name!

If you’ve been keeping up with our blog posts you will know we headed to Quartzsite, AZ for a meetup with other full-time traveling YouTubers. However, on the day we planned to leave it snowed. Snow, in Texas!

At that the moment we decided to stay put, delaying our march west by 24 hours. That did the trick! The roads were clear and we left Athens, TX for another great adventure.

Traveling with Friends

Within two days we caught up with our friends, Richard and Hope (X Marx the Spot), and Roger and Tina (Never too Late to RV) to caravan to Quartzsite. If you’ve never caravanned with another family it’s something you should try at least once. It adds relationship to the miles and hours of driving.

(Pro tip: Make sure every vehicle in your armada has a walkie-talkie.)

Quartzsite Fun

By Friday, January 15^th, our entourage arrived at Quartzsite LTVA area and we were greeted by several more wonderful friends. What fun can you have in the desert? So much fun! We shared several meals within our circle, laughed around the campfire, and went to Cowboy Church on Sunday.

[Watch our livestream at Quartzsite here.]

Garrett worked on several RVs and Carolyn was busy with pre-contract requirements (more on that later). A highlight of our time in Quartzsite was participating in a scavenger hunt. Our friends Dean and Shalane of Grassroots Living put together this fun activity [link to video].

Unexpected Opportunity

Our friends, Sharon and Bobby of The Nomadic Ramblers, invited us to their campfire for a very unique reason. An international TV film crew had come to document their life as nomads. The producer was also interested in families with children living on the road. This would be a great chance for us to share with a foreign audience how much we love living and traveling intentionally. It’s funny to think we might show up on someone’s TV in Dubai with voiceover in Arabic. We hope it sparks curiosity in a few hearts.

[Watch our interview with Sharon and Bobby here.]

New Contract- fastest one yet!

As many of you know, Carolyn hasn’t worked since October (about 4 months). It was high time we had finances coming in regularly. Our agency, Atlas MedStaff, began searching for Arizona contracts that might meet our needs. 

At first none of the applications brought interviews. Finally, a hospital in Mesa called. Carolyn felt good about the job being offered to her. A day later Carolyn’s recruiter, Natasha, applied for another position near Tucson. That same afternoon we received another call. It was the Tucson hospital asking to interview.

Friday morning, on our last leg of the journey to Quartzsite, Carolyn got word from Natasha that the Tucson job offered us a contract! Carolyn signed it an hour before we reached our destination.

Be More Flexible

As we settled in to Quartzsite, spending quality time with wonderful people, Carolyn was working on pre-employment requirements such as drug screening and paperwork. Our contract would start February 1st, giving us about 2 weeks to relax and prepare. On Wednesday, January 20^th the manager of the hospital sent a text, giving an orientation date of January 25^th. What?!? Numerous phone calls later our plans had changed. Due to a staffing shortage the hospital needed Carolyn a week earlier.

God gave us a contract in less than 2 weeks! We continue to learn how to be flexible and relaxed about our plans.

Trusting in the Lord

Truthfully, God has blessed us as we have learned to let him direct our path. Garrett did not have as much work in Quartzsite as he had hoped. Receiving a paycheck from Carolyn’s contract a week earlier will make paying the monthly bills easier.

A new state, a new contract; excitement for the coming months is mounting. We have a whole new place to explore. Give us a shout if you are driving through Tucson, Arizona; we would love to meet more of our D-Fam. Email us at connect@diaryofafamily.com.

Diary of a Family

Garrett & Carolyn,
Emma, Timmy, and Edison