Welcome to our sponsor page! This is where we’ll list all of the wonderful people and companies who help us on our way!
Wondering how to get your name in lights on this page?
- “Get On The Bus” with us!
- Host us: for an event, a meal, an overnight, a museum visit or… ???
- Provide something on our “needs” list!
Stuff We Need:
- Gas for the van! It only gets about 10 miles to the gallon and we’re talkin’ 7000 miles, at least!
- New tires & a tune up before we leave
- Places to stay: we have tents & can camp, but we won’t say no to beds!
- Museum & State Park admissions
- An extra measure of patience! The person who bottles this and provides it will get our eternal gratitude and sparkles around his name in lights!
Vivienne McNeny!
Vivienne is the host of The Sociable Homeschooler radio show on Toginet.com. She interviewed Jenn on October 14th about homeschooling and location independent living. You can listen to that interview as a podcast if you’re interested, it’s found in the right hand side bar of the page we’ve linked above. Vivienne homeschooled her children and is an avid traveler. We’re so excited to have her “on the bus” with us! Thanks Vivienne!
Celia Morse!
And her Mama & Papa of course! Celia is one of our youngest followers. Her Mama has been reading along with the Edventure Project aloud to Celia since she was very tiny (she’s five now!) We’ve visited the town she was born in, Malacatan, Guatemala, and I think of her often when we’re living in the deep south.
Today Celia came up to visit us before we blast off. She brought a “Flat Celia” version of herself to go in the van with us. We’re going to share the adventure with her through pictures and postcards from Flat Celia as we go. Your kids are welcome to follow Flat Celia’s antics as well!
Thanks Celia (and parents) for sponsoring the bus and being such enthusiastic participants!! We love you lots and will carry you with us in our hearts!
Gayle Rodgers!
It’s been such a pleasure to meet Gayle through her sponsorship and discover a fellow adventurer! Apparently she’s been following The Edventure Project for a while and took the opportunity to sponsor The Mama Bus and introduce herself to us!
She’s an office manager for a “boutique law firm” in Seattle and here’s what she shared about her adventures: “My travels, to date, have focused on the United States, the Caribbean Islands and multiple trips to England, France and Italy. I am a die-hard walker and averaged about 2,500 miles a year on foot until about 2 years ago when persistent injuries and age began to catch up with me (I celebrated my 60th birthday 2 weeks ago!). I still walk an average of about 25-30 miles weekly. I have trekked the Amalfi Coast of Italy and the Cotswold Trail in England and have backpacked extensively in the Cascade Mountains of OR and WA and northern CA and the Rockies in CO. I have covered about 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail system over my lifetime.”
We’re so happy to have you on the bus Gayle!! Enjoy the ride!
The Muteba Family!
The Allen Family!
The Glines Family!
The Goodales!
We’re so excited to have Mary and her two boys on the bus with us! Anderson & Donovan will fit right in with the 13 year old club! They’re avid boy scouts and fellow adventurers!
Mary is starting her 29th year as a teacher and will be sharing the adventure with her classroom as well as her boys at home… which we LOVE! What a great way to bring a whole class of kids along on the adventure! Be sure to let us know if they have questions for us!!
Thanks for hoppin’ on the Bus with us!!
The Boyce Family!
Mike & Shayna and their adorable twin daughters attend church with the Wood family. Shayna has recently made a career shift that is allowing her to stay home with her girls and Mike is a Systems & Practice Analyst at the local hospital.
They are dedicated to blending old fashioned living into their modern existence and raising their girls to love Jesus and love others. We’re so glad to have them On The Bus and really appreciate their support of education and adventure for all children! We hope you enjoy the ride with us!!
Bob & Janie Hause!
Bob & Janie are Gramps & Grammie to the Wood kids.
The Zwiers Family!
Jen Zwiers is a serious contender for Jenn’s longest uninterrupted friendship. They’ve known each other since they were 15… the age Hannah & Jeremiah are now. They’ve survived high school, university, new husbands, new babies and SO much more together over the years and they’re still very close.
The real question: will Jen still be friends with Jenn after riding on the bus with the herd for eight straight weeks? We’re taking bets!! She and her husband Andrew and their three lovely kids live in Napanee, Ontario, Canada (fun fact: the town Jenn Miller was born in) and they’ll be following along from there. THANKS for being brave enough to Get On The Bus!!
Dennis & Syl Swett!
Tim & Kari O’Brien!
Erica Allen!
The Schenks!
Aunt Dianne and Uncle Walter are on the short list of our kids’ favourite “chosen family.” We’ve known Walter since he was 16 and since before we were married. We’ve shared life with these folks for a very long time!
If the bus was just a tiny bit bigger, we’d be sorely tempted to tuck Dianne and her three little ones in around the edges and make the trip just that much more fun!! We’ll send postcards to add to the children’s collection and take lots of pictures for you!
Chris Filiaci!
Chris is our buddy from Guatemala. Okay, he’s not from Guatemala, he’s American, but we met him there and spent a lovely month with him gracing our dinner table every other night or so, playing soccer in the garden and enjoying his LOVELY guitar playing. He and Hannah played gigs weekly at a restaurant together.
He turned up this week around our campfire in Massachusetts and immediately wanted to sponsor the kids’ trip. He’s a self-proclaimed “Neo-Ludite” so he doesn’t do computers at all, ever. He won’t be following along on here, but we’ll be writing him a few extra personal postcards. Thanks Chris! We love you!!
Marilyn Rockett!
Marilyn is the editor of Homeschooling Today Magazine, one of our corporate sponsors! Jenn has worked with Marilyn off and on for several years and was delighted when Marilyn was excited about featuring the trip in their magazine.
Marilyn homeschooled her four boys back before homeschooling was cool, or easy and now she dedicates her days to encouraging those of us who are currently in the trenches.
As if facilitating the corporate sponsorship wasn’t enough, Marilyn has sponsored us personally as well! Thank you Marilyn!
Yogi & Rebekah Patel!
We’re so excited to invite Yogi & Rebekah onto the bus! Rebekah is a long time friend of the Woods, having been in a youth group they worked with years ago. She’s a high school math teacher and he’s an engineer; they live in New Hampshire.
Thanks so much for supporting us and sending the kids on an educational journey of a lifetime!
Granwa!
Lois’ Mom is Granwa to the kids, and she’s our newest sponsor! Thanks SO MUCH for supporting the kids in their huge effort to make this trip happen. They’ve worked SO hard, you should be very proud. We know that a large part of that work ethic came from you and we appreciate everything you’ve done for us!
It will be so much fun to be on your side of the country and to splash our feet in the Pacific with you in just a few weeks!
Grandma Midge
Grandma Midge joined us as a driver, she’s always been a careful and good driver and of course had a license for many years. She drove until she was about 93 and we’re happy to have her helping us drive The Mama Bus.
Midge is Lois’ Grandma, Great-Grandma to the Wood crew and one of the main reasons Lois wants to head west! We’re looking forward to hugging her hard and thanking her in person very soon, as we introduce her to a few of her Great-Grandchildren that she’s never met!
Homeschooling Today Magazine!
We are beyond delighted to announce our first big corporate sponsorship! Homeschooling Today Magazine is Jenn’s favourite paper mag to write for!
They’ve agreed to sponsor the trip and we’ve granted them the exclusive rights to The Mama Bus story in the home school community. Check out their excellent publication!
The Smith Family!
I (Jenn) met Gayle when we were twelve years old. She was the only person in the entire seventh grade class of my new school in Florida who was nice to me. Eventually there were a few others, but Gayle and I were fast friends from the beginning.
I moved back to Canada & we wrote a lot of letters, for a lot of years.
Then… you know how life is… we lost each other in our early twenties, only to rediscover each other in our mid-thirties.
Thanks so much for getting on the bus! Do you want to be Thelma? Or Louise?
The Richards Family!
Doreen Richards and her daughter Sophia paid an unexpected visit to the Wood Family Farm last week while they were visiting from Florida. They came to pick up some of the cookie dough balls Lois has been selling by the truck load to fund the trip.
To our surprise and delight she WAY over-paid for the cookies and sponsored the trip in a big way! Her daughter Sophia surprised us too, and gave some of her own money in support of the adventure… kids helping kids… how cool is that?
Thanks Doreen & Sophia! We hope you enjoy the ride!
The Shoemaker Family!
We went to church with these wonderful people years ago and we love them much! We’ve kind of lost touch since then and it has blessed the socks right off of our feet to find that they’re following along AND that they sponsored us!! Drew, Gracie and Grady, we’ll be sending you much love and a postcard from the road!! We are SO EXCITED that you’re on the bus with us!!
The Great Family Escape
This awesome website is the brain child of Justin & Heidi Mussler as they work hard toward their goal of lifestyle travel with their kids. They’re an incredibly inspiring family and they’ve made some AMAZING connections in the family travel world. You should definitely check out their website!
A few weeks ago they interviewed the Miller kids about their experiences on Chicken Buses. This went over so well that Justin decided to sponsor The Mama Bus Edventure by offering to pay the oldest eight children ten dollars a piece for a blog post about the journey. Of course the kids agreed! Thanks for the vote of confidence Musslers, and for the help along our way!
The Cochran Family!
Kristen lives in Eastern Ohio, she’s a brand new bus rider and has even offered us a place to stay as we pass through! Kristen’s also a fellow MOMYS (Mothers Of Many Young Siblings) which is an online group that Lois and Jenn both belong to. Thanks Cochrans, and we hope you enjoy the ride!
The Montalvo Family!
With a little luck, they’ll add their six kids to the mix and join us in Yellowstone! The Montalvos are chosen family of the Millers and we’re sending them a HUGE group hug as well as crossed fingers for a meet up!
The Adams Family!
A HUGE THANK YOU to our very first sponsors! Sam & Melissa Adams and their six kids (the youngest two, pictured here with Melissa) earned the first spot on this page and a special treat that we’ll mail to them soon, for getting on the bus so quickly!
You know what’s extra special about this sponsorship? We met these folks when we cycled into their yard as complete strangers in the Czech Republic almost four years ago… how cool is that?
Can’t wait to meet you in real life Melissa!
Would love to host you as a possible stop between Indiana and North Dakota. We are near Cedar Rapids, in SE Iowa, 10 minutes from I-380 We have a large backyard, but we also have a large basement that could house everyone comfortably. I air matress, 1 full bed, 1 couch, 2 roll away beds, 1 cot, 1 small matress. Also 3 couches upstairs and plenty of floor space as well. Also many extra blankets and sleeping bags that could save you unpacking for the night. We would also love to feed you!! If we don’t work out on your iternary that is understandable, but look forward to following your adventure!
Sincerely in Christ,
Crissy Jarmon a MOMYS
Wow! Thanks Crissy, for the generous invite! We may just take you up on that! We’ll let you know once we get the route plan going!! We always love meeting fellow MOMYS!
Tire Rotation and Oil Change for the Mama Bus….
Play in the backyard…. have a bbq with us and come see Garden of the Gods. Stop in Colorado Springs on your way home and visit Uncle Michael and Autie Kim….
.
We’ll be there Bro! We decided to detour to CO Springs in between Mt. Rushmore & Yellowstone. Figured there would be less chance of snow mid-Sept. vs. early Oct. Can’t wait to see you!!
Kim,
How did I not cross paths with you when we lived in C/S for 8 years!? (We lived near Palmer Park)
Yes, Lois and Jennifer, you’ll definitely want to hit the Garden of the Gods. It should be beautiful that time of year.
And if the downtown toy store is still there, check it out! Plus, there’s a fun fountain that’ll be a refreshment if it happens to be hot when you’re there.
Renee
We would certainly love to host you all. We are in Bloomsburg Pa and may just be on your way from NH to GA. We’re 15 min. off I-80 and about 25 min. off I-81. Come stay and play here if you like. Space in or out as well as food provided.
Thanks Jess!! We’ll let you know when we get our route “back” planned out! We appreciate the generous offer!
And feel free to come see us in Northern CA (between Redding and Red Bluff… right off the I-5) There’s a campground a mile away or you’re welcome to pack the kids in the house to join our 8. In the fall they’ll still be sleeping out on the deck under the stars. In the morning we’ll take you to the local lake for swimming, fishing, boating, or crawdad-catching.
Renee
That sounds GREAT! I think we’ll be in your area Sat. Oct 1st -ish… is your calendar clear?!
If San Antonio is on your route when you come through Texas we’d love to have you come stay with us. Lots of fun things to see and do here.
We love going to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota if it isn’t too far off your path. You can spend at least 1/2 a day there.
Have a fabulous trip!
Sheryl
(a fellow MOMYS)
What an Edventure! We are proud to be your sponsor for this amazing trip! Prayers go with you as you travel and we enjoy the trip with you.
Marilyn Rockett
Editor in Chief
Homeschooling Today magazine
We will be happy to see all of you. I’m sure that “THE DADDY’S will be very lonesome. Please drive safely, which we know that you will. Love & Hugs…Dad & Janie