RIVERVIEW, Fla. — The Florida RV Trade Association (FRVTA) will host the 29th Annual 2014 Florida RV SuperShow,Wednesday, January 15 through Sunday, January 19. The Florida RV SuperShow will again be held at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida and a special visitor to the SuperShow will be the Kellogg Family. A couple of years ago this family of 14 (Mom, Dad and 12 kids) moved everyone into an RV and took to the road.
“Every single day is a weekend.”
That’s how Susie Kellogg, mother of 12, describes family life these days, after she and her husband, Dan, decided to sell their Glenwood Springs, Colorado home in the fall of 2012, fill up an RV with their children—all of them—and travel the country in search of adventure. Permanently.
All but one of the Kellogg children—aged 3 months to 19 years, each with names ending in a “y”—are home-, er, RV-schooled in the morning. In the afternoon, they explore: kayaking, hiking, camping—anything they want.
“This is what freedom is,” Dan Kellogg told the “Today” show. “You go after it.”
“I want them to live life in the moment and not be living for tomorrow or ‘After my kids are grown’ or ‘Thank God it’s Friday,’” Susie added.
The eldest child—Kerry, who graduated from high school in the spring of 2012—gave up a chance to go to college, opting to join the family on the road and work on graphic design.
“[At first] I thought that going in an RV wasn’t normal and was weird,” she told the “Today” show. But “we can do anything we want now. Anything. And nothing is holding us back.”
“I am so ready for this,” Kerry told Denver’s Fox 31. “I am over Glenwood. I just want to enjoy new adventures and see new places.”
The Kelloggs have a website (
KelloggShow.com), Twitter feed, Facebook page and YouTube channel to document their travels and promote their unusual way of life. They even penned a parenting guide—”Raising a Badass Family”—that Dan calls “a ramped-up, modern version of that which Dr. Spock and Dr. T. Berry Brazelton pioneered in both the 1940s and 1990s.”
Filled with practical and compassionate advice for both new parents as well as those knee-deep in their parenting journey, it is a must read for all anxious parents, those suffering from parenting overload and those that simply need a swift kick in the pants. “Raising a Badass Family” delves deeply into the hot issues parents must face today, such as spanking, co-sleeping, daycare, homeschooling, raising teens and so much more.
It’s like a real-life, supersized version of the Griswolds.
The Kellogg kids are undeniably close—both figuratively and literally—but Susie says the children are encouraged to socialize, even on the road.
“Our kids encourage each other, they coach each other, they police each other and they love each other,” Susie wrote in a recent blog post. “They have built-in BFFs and they are meeting new people in every new stop—both kids and adults.”
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This lifestyle also allows our kids to remain kids for as long as they wish. They run, climb trees, build fires, play pranks, wrestle, yell, scream, holler and laugh all day every day. Dally summed up the enticement of RV life in one simple sentence: “I like having my house on wheels because I can go anywhere I want without having to pack and plan.” Yes! Freedom. Freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want! We don’t play well by other people’s rules. We don’t like to be told what we can and cannot do. This nomad life is exactly what we were born to do!
And it doesn’t hurt that sometimes we are treated like rock stars by people who recognize us from YouTube or our blog! I wouldn’t trade my life for anything in the world.
Admission to the SuperShow is only $10.00 for adults and that includes a second day admission for the cost of one day and children under 16 are FREE. The SuperShow hours are Wednesday – Saturday 9am – 6pm and Sunday 9am – 5pm. Wednesdayis Senior Citizens Day with seniors receiving $1.00 off the cost of admission (not valid with other discounts).
For more information on the 2014 Florida RV SuperShow contact the Florida RV Trade Association at 10510 Gibsonton Drive, Riverview, Florida 33578,
(813) 741-0488, or visit our web-site at
www.frvta.org.
That is so cool! You guys are making the most out of life. Thank you for setting the bar so high for “wanna be’s” like the Texas T’s.
That’s awesome for you guys! I wish I could come but I live too far away I will have to take a plane to get there! Vlog and show us what it’s like down there! I really want to go down there sometime! Wishing you guys a lot of luck! Hope it’s fun down there! God bless to Kellogg Show and see if travels! I will be praying for you guys that you have safe travels down there! Remember to post stuff on Facebook! Also, tell Rowdy happy early 7th birthday from me! Tell Rowdy I hope it’s a good one! God bless the Kellogg Show!
Sincerely,
Colton
Can’t wait to meet you all.
See you Wednesday.
I absolutely love what you guys are doing. A few years back I thought about it and shuddered at the thought of taking our kids on one roadtrip. But life happened and I had a medical situation happen that opened my eyes to living in the now, bc that’s really all we have. I would love to take a small van/camper/something and travel around for a few months to a year and do some hikes with the dogs and make some memories with the family. If you have any tips or advice at all, pls feel free to shoot me an email if you get a chance. I would love to hear from you! Oh and will you be at the next RV show in Florida?
Oh that’s such a difficult question as it’s different for everyone. All I can tell you is not to think to much about it. I think most people overthink things to the point of making dreams not happen. Just do it. If it doesn’t work, you can always go back to the life you have now … not that much to lose, really!!! 🙂