Roll Dog Adventures

Creative entrepreneurs living in an RV with our two dogs, Leia and Vader. And our cat, Han Solo.

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"I'm on a pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shines ain't always gonna be gold." I love Instagram, but I truly miss real people. I grew up as an only child in a home with five generations of my family: my great-grandmother (Bigma), great-aunt, great-uncle, cousin and my mom.  My Bigma was the matriarch of our family and often times the house was packed with even more people – cousins and friends of the family who needed a place to stay while down on their luck. We weren't rich. It was a four-bedroom house with one bathroom but we always had room for family. Now as an adult, things have changed. My family is distanced. My Bigma passed away 7 years ago at the age of 98, she was my first friend. She would always tell me, "be yourself and nobody else." She taught me that even when you think you have nothing, you have more than enough to share. You would've loved her, she was a total dog lover. The OG Roll Dog. Now that I've given it some thought, I guess that's why these Roll Dog Retreats are so important to me. YOU Roll Dogs are my family. You're the only crazy group of people I know who like to hike, run and spend every waking moment spoiling your dogs. I am so, so grateful that I found my tribe online, but Instagram can't replace real, face-to-face human contact. No matter how much we think we know one another online, there's a barrier between us. There's something magical about spending quality time with people who just get you and that can't be replicated in algorithms. Come to Moab with us! Think of it as a family reunion that's long overdue. Cue the music 🎶 "Family Reunion" - The O'Jays Learn more, rolldogadventures.com

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"While we're young we should just have fun! We should just do whatever we want and tell everyone that we fell in love with each other; that we found the one in one another." We're the lucky ones. I feel so fortunate to wake up every morning knowing I am loved by you unconditionally. I am truly, truly grateful that you see past my imperfections and see light in all I do. I remember the day we drove to Moab. I found myself so intrigued by the changes in the landscape as we drove out of Colorado and into the red rocks of Utah. I'll never forget the astonishment in your eyes too, as you experienced the same – the red dirt, the massive rock formations, the mesas and buttes carved by the Green and Colorado rivers. It was unforgettable. We were alone. We were singing. The windows were down. We took a turn on an unknown dirt road, crossed a few streams; it was a pretty sketchy drive. At last, we found a place to jump out, take in the views and let the dogs run around for a bit. I shoved my toes in the sand and we just stood there completely in awe. These are the most magical, REAL and alive moments of my life. Thank you, my love, for walking hand-in-hand on this journey with me. I know that each day together is a gift and it's truly my pleasure to share your company. "I love you in a place where there's no space or time. I love you for my life, you're a friend of mine. And when my life is over remember when we were together" Forever and always, my love. May we continue to stand together as the miracles of life unfold around us.  #MyRollDog --song credits: "While We're Young" @jheneaiko & Donny Hathaway "A Song for You"

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3 days on the lake kayaking with the dogs, this is absolutely a dream! People have told us, you need to take a vacation without the dogs, just you and Johnny. But those people don’t understand the bond we have with our dogs. We don’t leave our dogs at home. They don’t stay with a dog walker, pet sitter or family. They are our family and every adventure we plan is with them in mind. Hence why we bought an RV. Before, only one of us would take a trip to see the family, while the other stayed with the dogs. Now, we can travel to more places together and have everything we need. That’s also why we bought two 2-person kayaks, we definitely needed room for Leia and Vader to coast the lakes and rivers with us. It gives me so much joy to see them experience new things, gaze out at the beautiful views — they enjoy Roll Dog Adventures just as much as we do! I love to see them spot their first moose, watch a crane fly over the river, stare down ducks as we passed them in the water, swim further than they have before. It gives me so much joy to share this life with the most loving, furry, adventure junkies aka my Roll Dogs for life 

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Love in the now ❤️🐾 it’s a daily practice to be present with the people and dogs you love, and it’s also a challenge because there are so many other things that distract us from being fully aware. This week Johnny and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. We don’t take vacations often because we own our businesses and taking time away from our business takes a lot of planning and cost 2x the amount because we have to pay all our contractors to take over for us. Still, we decided that a vacation was absolutely necessary! We needed time away from the hustle to truly evaluate how life’s going, how we can show up, support each other and sincerely embrace the journey we’re on. We packed up the RV and took a little tour of Colorado with Leia, Vader and Han Solo. No phone service. No business. Just love & adventure. This photo was taken in Vega State Park and right now we’re in the visitor center parking lot in @visitcrestedbutte We’re completely in awe of all the beauty in Colorado. Only in the now can you truly experience the miraculous world around you.

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RVING WITH TWO DOGS AND A CAT

Have you ever been so happy it scares you? Brene’ Brown says it best, “joy is the most vulnerable emotion we experience. If you cannot tolerate joy, what you do is you start dress rehearsing tragedy.” I'm so happy right now! My dogs are loving this Colorado snow (even though it’s May), my hubby is awesome, supportive and amazing, I'm in school learning more about fitness and health, I absolutely love my community and the work I do. Which is why I'm a little afraid that something is about to go wrong. Isn't that ridiculous?!

Johnny and I bought an RV last week and we've just finished painting the inside and moving our stuff in. Watch IG stories for video: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18002596270210602/

WHY AN RV?

Johnny and I have been on our debt-free journey for about 4 years now. We acquired credit card debt when we first started our businesses, we bought a car and I have student loans. In total, we have about $70,000 of debt (including the RV we just bought). A few years ago we read Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and realized that credit didn’t offer us the freedom we want in life. Sure we got travel points, but we couldn’t afford the travel we wanted because we needed to work and pay the debt. Ever since it’s been a dream of ours to pay for EVERYTHING we want in CASH. We currently rent an apartment in Colorado Springs and with utilities included, we spend about $1,000/month on rent. Not bad right? Well, with our dog walking and pet sitting business we spend most of our time doing overnights for our clients, and only about a week a month in our own apartment. We’re paying $1,000 a month for ONE WEEK in our apartment. That’s insane! So we started researching other alternatives. 

We’ve been thinking about an RV for about two years but went back and forth about it because we thought we were supposed to be buying a house and settling down. Three months into the home buying search we found the house we wanted. It was a 1910 fixer-upper on the West side of Colorado Springs. The owner was a client and offered us a great deal for the area, $270,000. Our minds were completely blown at the price of homeownership. This house needed sooo much work, but because of the seller’s market and the location, it was priced at market value. I knew we couldn't afford it at that price but I still went to the first time home buyer class and figured we could negotiate with the owner for a lower price.30 minutes into the home buying class I realized homeownership wasn’t really something I wanted. The instructor talked about his $10,000 roof repair, HOA regulations, leveling his foundation, prices for home inspections, homeowners insurance and I just felt buried in worry. We couldn’t afford to buy a house and replace the roof, or anything else that could go wrong. We were still trying to climb out of debt and where would we find the time and funds to continue traveling with the dogs? Our credit scores were high enough to get us approved for the house and a first time home buyer grant, but it just wasn’t what I wanted anymore. Johnny and I sat down, made a list of the five most important things to us. 

Here’s our list:

• our pet’s safety

• travel

• being debt-free

• living an intentional life

• fitness & health 

Staring at the list, we quickly realized that none of our priorities required buying a house. We also realized that we hadn’t been making decisions based on our priorities, but instead based on what we thought we should be doing at this point in our lives and marriage. So we went back to the drawing board and all roads led us back to RVing.

Here’s our logic: We could get low payments which means more money towards debt and eventually we could travel full-time. So that’s the motivation behind moving into an RV. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats and we’re so excited to always have them with us and travel with them. I’ll continue to blog about the journey each week. Right now, we are in the process of closing on our RV. It’s getting a 100 point inspection and will be ready for pick up on Friday (5/24/19). Our dogs are already pretty used to traveling with us, but I wonder how Han Solo will adjust. Update you soon. Has there ever been anything in your life that you knew wasn't really for you? Did you feel peer pressured to go against your gut? We wanna know your story. Come join the conversation in the Roll Dog Community