Why “Back To School Season” Led To Us Buying and Converting a Sprinter Van

Yes, we did the thing! We bought the sprinter van. While I (no longer) need to justify this purchase to myself, our why does run deep and is 100% related to the thought of “back to school”. As active, outdoorsy parents of two kids, here are five motivators for purchasing an adventure van:

1. School Is Coming…

At the time of this post, we have a 3.5 year old and a 10 month old. The back to school season is in full swing which means our countdown to Kindergarten is ON. We have two years until we are following the school schedule like majority of the country, having to take our vacations on school breaks and soak up sweet, sweet summer time between the end of June and early September (we live in the Seattle area so no May to August summer here!).

This fills me with a little bit of dread and panic as taking trips whenever WE want (and not when the rest of the country is) has always been our “go to”. While we know we can take them out when they’re young, eventually, our kids won’t want to miss school or their friends! The window from school starting to preteen years is shorter then it seems (insert scared emoji here).

2. Team Sports

We are big proponents of team sports and giving our kiddos opportunities to try different things and see what takes. This means signing up for the local Y’s soccer team, maybe a t-ball Saturday and getting involved in our kids elementary school programs. This ALSO means giving up some weekends to the commitment of sports (just me over here crossing my fingers that no one chooses baseball with such longgg innings) and having less time for travel in the summer if our kids choose to stick with something.

While there will still be free weekends, I hear over and over again from my clients with older kids who are “into sports” that weekends are packed, they have less time to spend traveling or hanging at home and that it is “crazy”. Of course, we could choose to prioritize travel or adventure over sports but again, we believe that team sports keep kids out of trouble and teach them how to work towards a common goal within their team or community.

3. Our Kids Are Only Little Once

Sure, people say this all. the. time. but really, it’s true. Eventually, they’ll be off hanging with their friends, driving themselves all over town, heading out to evening practices and weekend games and even, dare I say it, working! With two kids, we know there will be a “sweet spot” when both kids are able to keep up on adventures, love hanging out with us (and each other) and aren’t asking for a phone or complaining about leaving their friends behind.

In order to maximize this “sweet spot”, we decided that buying a sprinter camper van, that will still take some time to convert, is more important NOW then in five years. By the time this DIY conversion is 100% ready, we will likely have one kid in Kindergarten and the other ready to start adventuring more at three years old. This will allow us to soak up the “prime time” with our kids before school, sports and friends take over their lives!

4. What is Money Anyways??

Okay, this one is a bit morbid and many of you will disagree but truly, what is money?? We work our whole lives to make it, spend it and save it hopefully building some sort of wealth to pass on to future generations. Yet some of us work SO hard, in jobs we maybe don’t love, without truly enjoying the fruits of our labor while we are here, present and alive. Maybe we are waiting for retirement but as working in neuro rehab for 7 years showed me, nothing is guaranteed. Our health can change in an instant. We may have other family members to care for. Heck, life could shutdown for two years like in COVID! (knock on wood, let’s not do that again).

While there is certainly a balance, my husband and I believe in enjoying life as we go. Not waiting for “someday”. Not keeping are eye on the day we retire. Living in the NOW and taking our kids with us. There is no part of me (or likely you) that wants to look back on our kids childhood and think “Wow, we missed so much of it”. So we will keep working (to fund this van LOL!) while making the most of this season.

Disclaimer: Clearly, you don’t need a sprinter van to make the most of time with your kids!! Maybe it’s taking that roadtrip, booking the flights, finding the used trampoline for sale or simply using more PTO to hang with them. Find the thing that brings you and YOUR family joy.

5. The Memories

From middle school to high school, my family was fortunate enough to have a ski boat! My dad fixed that thing up in what seemed like all his spare time – added a tower, sweet speakers, gizmos and gadgets that made driving the boat easier… we took it camping, spent even a few hours on a Saturday out wakeboarding before I would head home, shower and get to work (at the local ice cream shop!). The memories with my family, sister and friends are endless and oh so priceless.

While my husband and I will never agree on a boat (he’s pro saltwater boat for fishing and I prefer a ski boat for lakes), we DO agree on taking our kids on long roadtrips to explore our beautiful country. Proof of concept has already occurred with FIVE roadtrip to/from Colorado to Washington (three of which were with our son). We dream of more trips to Colorado and Utah for biking, gorgeous drives down the Pacific Coast Highway of California, long ski weekends at our local resorts and even international adventures to our favorite place on earth, British Columbia! Oh, Canada.

Moral of this story….

As parents, it can be hard to keep doing the things we want to do when our kids take precedent. The thing is, as littles, our kids just want to be with us, learning to love what we love. So we will make parenting more fun while also giving them the sweetest memories as we travel near and far. Will there be chaos and arguments and hard times? Of course. But anything “hard” in life, is always, always worth it and isn’t that a lesson worth teaching them young?

Stay tuned for the rollercoaster of a ride this sprinter camper van conversion is sure to be. We will try to keep it real with you all but please, drop any questions in the comment section! Would love to hear from you as well.

With a Little Northwest Attitude,

Katrina