Texas upkeep

It has come to my attention that some of you are bored by my farmer's market reviews (Bill) and wish that Mark would step in and make some manly posts about spark plugs and tow bars. Since that is never going to happen, I thought I would dedicate an entire post to fixin stuff and not mention farmer's markets at all (except the one we went to in New Braunfels on Saturday. It was cold so there were only a couple of produce vendors, but we still got broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots...in January. I love fresh, local produce!)

Ok, so when we left the Bounder with the dealership in Phoenix, they suggested that we get the brakes fixed. They said it wasn't urgent, but would definitely need to be done. Mark decided that we should wait, save the $2200 and he would do them himself this summer. Well, the Bounder didn't want to wait that long. By the time we got into Texas they were grinding...a lot. So when we got here, he decided to go ahead and fix them. But to do that, he would need some tools. Luckily, Dan had a six ton jack, so Mark used that. Then he picked up some new brake pads and some jack stands. And with that, he turned a $2200 fix into a $100 project.

He jacked up the Bounder, put the jack stands in place, removed the wheels, took off the caliper, took the old pads off, used the C clamp to push in the piston, and then put on the new pads. Tada!   

The kids were super helpful. Even Precious came over to lend a hand (playing with Sawyer).

While Mark was outside taking care of that project, I was inside tackling the everyday upkeep that RV living requires. When you clean a house, it is clean for a day or two. When you clean an RV, it is clean for a minute or two. A few minutes of playing gives you this...

The next day, Mark took care of the other side, and the breaks were completed!

The old pad next to the new pad.

The next big project was figuring out our sleeping situation. When we first moved in, Mark had made a little bed on either side of the queen sized bed for the kids. In theory that was great, but the beds were so small that, most of the time, the kids refused to sleep in them. Here's a reminder of the old setup So we started folding out all the beds (the couch and the kitchen table both turn into beds) and taking turns sleeping in various places. But Mark likes to stay up late and watch tv, so no one was getting any sleep that way either. After seeing the Thiede's bedroom set up for their four kids, we were inspired to try a bunk bed. So Mark got to work making plans, buying supplies, and unscrewing, dismantling, and rearranging the current bedroom situation. 

All of the mattresses, pillows, and blankets were plied into the kitchen and living room, which the lids LOVED. They played king of the castle, jumped, and rolled.

It was cold outside the day that Mark did the actual construction, but he powered through it. Dan had a circular saw, which made things a lot easier. The kids bundled up and helped him. Judah was his assistant.

Then they came inside to warm up and have a snack on the once table, now pillow, mattress, and blanket storage area.

Mark brought everything inside and assembled the new bunk. It was going to be cold for a few days, so we decided to just use it raw and then paint it when it was warmer.

And while he was doing that, the kids made a ski hill out of the big mattress and took turns sliding down it.

Then they tried out the new bunk!

Judah loved it so much that he immediately wanted to get in it and snuggle up.

When it finally warmed up, Mark brought the bunk bed back outside for some last minute adjustments.

And Judah and I painted it. 

Then we brought it back inside, set everything up for a final time, and we had sleeping room for everyone! It has only been a few days with the new arrangements, but it is going well. The kids are sleeping in their beds and Mark and I get to stretch out again (well, stretch out as much as you can in a queen sized bed with two adults, two dogs, and an in again out again nursling. I think a bunk bed for the dogs should be our next project.) Sawyer has even taken to waking up less at night! Needless to say, I love the new bunk beds.  

And while I don't have any photographic evidence of it, Mark also changed the oil yesterday. He picked up seven quarts of oil and a new oil filter and pounded out in about thirty minutes. What a guy.

 So there you go. Fixin stuff. Love it.