We spent a very memorable month in Spokane WA – great weather, nice hikes, fun friends. But when I think back on this month, I will remember how it just kinda grounded us for the trip and gave us a template for our future month-long visits to new cities.

Once we settled into a home, life felt pretty normal for a while. We all had our own rooms again. We’d get our school work done in the mornings and look for new trails and hikes in the afternoon. We made it to a homeschool park day each Wed. and inevitably always brought a new friend along, just like we’d have done in Austin. I even got to check out books from the library by borrowing a friend’s card! Not only that, but I went to a boot camp with another friend pretty much each week as well and felt sore for 4-5 days each time! I’d stock our fridge to cook from home, and Don and I would walk around out neighborhood frequently, just like we’d have done in Austin.

The “normalcy” of it all blew me away the most.

But there were a couple unique highlights:

Entrepreneurship Talk

One of the most meaningful parts of our stay was organizing an event for Don. He ended up giving a fantastic talk, “Preparing Our Kids for Entrepreneurship.” He filled a room with parents and kids who were interested in thinking about the future and building their own businesses. He encouraged people to focus on their strengths, to stay away from becoming a commodity, and practice taking risk and responsibility – because that’s what leaders and owners do.

I was able to connect with several parents afterwards who shared that his talk made a pivotal impact in the way they were raising and teaching their kids. My favorite story has been from a mom who’s emailed us weeks later saying that her girls are waking up hours earlier than usual so that they can quickly get their normal school expectations done – then they have time to focus on thinking about business ideas and deciding on what to sell.

Buck Knife Tour

This factory tour was an unforgettable one for our entire family. The tour guide was amazing, so passionate about knives and about the company. We all wore safety glasses and headsets so we could hear her among the machine buzz of the factory. We saw everything from the naked reels of steel to laser cutters, freezer/ovens, sharpening tools, elk horn handles, etc. It was amazing! Afterwards, we bought a few goodies in the gift shop, of course. The kids love carrying their knives with them, always ready to help open something or whittle a special stick. They are Buck Knife fans for sure.

Packing Up

Some people wonder how this is all working out for us. In some ways it feels like moving into a new home and then moving out completely within 30 days. But we have so much less to pack. We ended up shedding some books we finished reading and some clothes that no longer fit. We even got rid of one huge box that had become a pain to manage. We thought about leaving our bikes and camping gear with someone, but decided to keep it all after all.

So, we loaded up our car again with our shoe bag, jacket bag, book box, swimming bag, soccer ball, cooler and backpacks and hit the road again!