Week #41 - "Summertime!"
06/20/2025
Chris - “Summer Is Here”
Happy first day of Summer to you! It feels like Summer here. Every time Crystal or I run into town to run an errand, the kids beg to come along… they know that stores have air conditioning! I must be careful not to drip sweat into whatever paint/ epoxy/ engine oil/ freshly sanded wood that I am working on. My work clothes need to be hung up to dry, at the end of the day, before I can put them in the laundry bag…gross. Popsicles and Gatorade have become common afternoon snacks. Everyone’s favorite place on the boat is directly in front of the box-fan.
Last weekend, we celebrated Father’s Day with a beach-day, and with a whole lot of love. I am a blessed man, and my family loves me very well. The beach was a welcome relief to the heat on the boat. We ate. We played. We tried (unsuccessfully) to surf our giant, 12’ paddle board in teams of 2… it was a blast, even if we were not very good at it. I have a fun crew, and I am glad they are with me on this adventure. They work hard, AND they always remind me to play hard too.
I started the week with high hopes for getting the engine running. I started by installing new LED light strips in the engine-room. That project went smoothly, and the visibility is much better in that space now. Next, I performed my first oil change on our Perkins engine. That also went smoothly… that is about all that went smoothly though. I am still struggling to get the engine started. I have followed the advice, and instructions of 3 marine diesel mechanics, read through the owner’s manual 6 times, read SO MUCH content on the internet, and banged my head against every wall I can find down in the engine room, and still the engine will not fire. I made more progress in other areas this week, but the engine problems are taking a toll on my morale. There are only so many things that it can be, and I am sure that, eventually, I will find the right spot to kick that will jump start the dang thing, but for now, it is still a mystery.
On top of that, my phone decided to stop working, quite suddenly, on Monday. The screen just went black, and I have not been able to revive it since… if you are trying to get in touch with me on this week, I promise I am not ignoring you; you’ll have to come knock on the boat if you want to get my attention… or call my wife, I suppose. Hopefully, I will be able to find a way to back up the phone, so I don’t lose all my photos… and “to-do” lists. I will be repairing or replacing the phone in the near future, so don’t despair… I will text you back. It is wild how dependent I am on my phone, and it has been an interesting “digital fasting” exercise to try to work on the boat with just my wit and current “know-how.” I am so used to just looking up every process and boat-part in real-time, as I am working on a project. It gives me deep respect for the sailors/ boat owners of the past that didn’t have the internet available to them 24/7… they just went out there… with no internet… some of them even lived to tell the tale. I would like to be that cool someday, but not today. Today, I want to get my phone back.
I don’t know what God is trying to teach me through these current trials, but I hope it is something really good. Maybe I will know by next week, or maybe it will still be a mystery. I read 2 Timothy 2:3-7 this morning, and I was reminded that good things come on the other side of hard work, and even battles. The verses say, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.” So, I am praying for understanding in all these things that I am “enduring” right now. I am fighting, competing, and planting crops, eagerly awaiting the reward of all this work… and when I am doing it right, I am thanking God, constantly, for His gifts, and praising Him for His faithfulness. It is a good life. He is our joy, and the one that calls us to wild and difficult adventures.
I hope your Summer is amazing, and that you enjoy your week very much. Take care.
~Chris
Crystal - “We….”
-celebrated the best dad I know.
-He’s really the best. He does such a good job of rolling with all our shenanigans. He meets us in our need for answers and cuddles and strength and sarcasm. When I was a teenager a wise woman prayed a prayer over me that the loss of my father would be redeemed in marriage. God is good. Chris has led us through this season of unknown with grace and wisdom beyond his years. We’re grateful for the way he is bold and tender.
-tried to surf a 12’x4’ paddleboard!
-rebuilt a toilet and swapped it out for one that wasn’t working in one of the aft cabins. It won’t function until the seawater intake is up and running but it’s in place and sparkling
-Ellis worked a lot.
-I did a couple boatyard haircuts on the paintcrew’s kids.
-the older boys are working on their nunchuck skills…put that on the resume…it’s as ridiculous as it sounds but still kind of impressive Hah!
-Jasper has been whittling any chance he gets- making a boat!
-Oli and Conrad welded a patch in the roof that had been a rusty mess and it looks profesh!
-we got to give a “boat tour” to our friend-a chief on a US submarine, who recently gave us a tour of his “boat”.
-art- lots of beautiful art happening these days!
-organizing things…still. We have settled into our home but not in a way that will work on the water. We are trying to reorganize in a way that’s more ready
-Chris troubleshot…troubleshooted….He worked through more engine issues and figured some things out, made some progress. But we still don’t really know what is wrong. It won’t start. Jeremy, if you’re reading this, come to Georgia and bring AC.
-Chris’ phone fell victim to the salt life…we are working on that, if you need him in the meantime , text me ;)
-we pouted a little more about still being on land and watching another season pass
There have been so many lessons wound and woven into these many days. One of the ones that seems to be on repeat (probably because we are a little slow to really let it sink in) is that God doesn’t waste the wait. Each of these moments, the good, the scary, the mundane…these are the moments that compile into the memories that become our reality, our legacy, our purpose. He is in them. He’s not waiting for us at the “finish”, he’s yoked with us shoulder to shoulder. The Message says it like this “Walk with me and work with me- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly”-Matthew 11:29-30. We often get ourselves pretty worked up about how “it’s supposed to be” or trying to make some certain thing work the way we think it should. We try to control things that we can’t.
I know I’m late but I am just finding out that C.S.Lewis is a pretty good author. We have been listening to The Space Trilogy on Audible as a family. It’s wordy but I love it. Anyway, the characters who haven’t been warped by sin are so confused by man’s need to control things. I can’t do any justice to it but if you haven’t already, read it…good stuff.
Here’s another good listen if you’re on the way…
Much love from the Mullen crew! Sound off and let us know you’re here!
~Crystal
Ellis - “Surfing a Megalodon!”
Happy late Father’s Day all! To celebrate our studly stud of a Father, we went to Fort Clinch beach down in Florida. If you have never been to such a beach, most public beaches have a flag system to let people know how dangerous the beach is that day: a green flag means that there is very little surf or current, red means pretty dangerous and restricted, double red means you can get a ticket for even touching the water because it’s so dangerous, and purple means there’s a bloom of jellyfish or toxic algae in the water. My favorite is the yellow flag because it means moderate danger; the surf is probably awesome. On Sunday there were about 4-5’ waves with a short interval, so it was nice and wild. Me and Conrad decided to try and surf our 12’x4’ paddle board (named “Megalodon”) and I’m not even joking when I say I think we caught air a few times. We only had maybe 3 or 4 really successful rides, meaning we surfed and didn’t wreck, but we had a whole bunch of epic wipe outs. Soon Dad got in on the fun too. I definitely enjoyed it but I’m honestly surprised none of us got hurt, it was pretty rough! Since then, Dad’s been living and breathing engine room, I’ve been working for Kyle and Rhonda, and the rest of the family’s been keeping busy with random jobs and upkeep. Next Thursday we’ll be celebrating Dad again for his 42nd birthday! I’d tell you guys to shoot him a text or a call but unfortunately he had a little mishap at the beach and broke his phone… the screen is just black now but it seems to be working otherwise so we’re hoping we’ll still be able to save pictures and such. Point is, if you text him and he ignores you, don’t worry, he still probably loves you!
~Ellis
Conrad - “patchy fingers and a patchy boat”
This past week feels like it has flown by. It hasn't been the most eventful week but we have done a bit. The ground around our boat is significantly nicer than it was before. We have done quite a bit of work stowing things and putting stuff away. One of my big jobs this week was creating a space under the foremost bed, Mom and Dad's, for wood and metal material. Most of the wood was already under the bed but it needed sorting and condensing, while preparing some wood for storage I made a little unfortunate mistake. I burned my fingers pretty bad on a bolt that I had been grinding to try and remove.
Since burning myself I have been taking it easy on my hand, but it is doing pretty well so I have been able to keep working. I got a little help and finished the metal and wood storing. I also helped with a metal patch on the top of the cabin. There used to be an old solar fan there but it had basically rusted out. Dad cleaned up the rust hole and made it into a rectangular hole, after that he made a metal patch that fit inside the hole perfectly. Oli, Dad, and I all helped with the welding, but I did most. Dad ground the welds down with the grinder to make them pretty and also to check for cavities. We only found a few cavities and we patched them up with a little more welding. Then we primed it to keep it from rusting. Now, we just need to paint it with topside paint. We haven't done a ton of work in the engine room this week, but we did make a bit of progress. Hopefully we'll be able to wrap it up soon so that we can get in the water.
~Conrad
Oliver - “I’m the Stat-man”
It has been 295 days since we left Montrose, CO, and we have owned the boat for 164 days.
If all of us earned $5.50 (this is minimum wage in Georgia) for every hour we’ve worked in Georgia. We would’ve earned somewhere around $19,851 (assuming we all worked about 31 hours per week.)
We’ve stayed overnight in 20 different places since we left Colorado; Aunt Cathy’s, Beth & Eric’s, Memaw & Bapa’s, 2 hotels, 2 campgrounds, Tyler & Zara’s, Rat house (we weren’t the only ones staying the night), Marcus & Sabrina’s, Steve & Nancy’s, Sick house (we were so sick we almost forgot about this one), Nag’s Head, Emu RV (there was a tamed emu in the yard), Attic house (there was a cool attic), Atari House (there was an old Atari gaming system), Other Mullen’s (Dad’s cousin/ Uncle’s house), Granny House (granny came to visit us), and finally Agnes, our boat.
We’ve been through 15 states; CO, KS, NE, MO, IL, IN, OH, WV, PA, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, and we also went to DC.
So far, we’ve given 14 people an on-boat tour. Since we’ve worked so hard on it, it is always fun to show someone new.
It is impossible to measure the amount of sweat and bug bites, but I am sure it would be impressive.
We have consumed over 3,300 pancakes, and around 250 lbs of flour.
We’ve also been to 5 different churches, and they were all pretty cool; Waterfront, Downtown Hope, School church (we don’t remember the name, but it was in a school), Rock Solid Church, and Three rivers.
I sold one more painting, Thank-you, Ben and Ellen. If anyone would like to purchase a painting, please leave a request in the comments.
Here is a link to a GALLERY of many of my art pieces!! Check it out:
~Oliver
Jasper - “Splish splash bumpity crash”
This past week, our friends gave us access to their house while they were away on a week-long vacation, so we went to their house a few times. Mostly we went for laundry, but sometimes we went for the pool and air conditioning.
The pool is nice, and semi-cool even. The first time we went: Me, Posy, and Dad got in. We threw in a few pool toys and jumped in. We started with just grabbing the pool toys from the bottom then we started practicing holding our breath and quick swims which means: You and Dad are at the same side of the pool. He throws a slowly sinking ring to the other side; you have to grab it before it touches the bottom. As easy as that. But soon it was time to leave.
We came back two days later, but since Dad was still working, he didn’t come that time, it was just me and posy swimming. We split up the toys and began swimming around. We swam, grabbed, and jumped in the pool. We played for about an hour. Then we had to go back home. It was really fun and I hope we will do it again sometime soon. Thank you Piljay’s for the key!
I’m still selling art pieces for $5: sharpie, pen, or pencil.
~Jasper
Posy - “ME AND JASPERS DREAM . . . . . . . .BRO-RITOS!
Its really big but you know it'll hopefully happen. Basically I want the backyard to be a complete chaos garden plants like flowers, food , good smelling, and more inside there's a cellar with a refrigerator that goes to a different level underground were we keep N.W.T.C we can not tell you more about that anyway above the cellar we have the most important room the restaurant were you get food we also have a plant and animal place and a little gallery of art so my brother can sell his paintings there there’s a workout/climbing GYM and a craft room with craft stuff inside be sid that is tattoos, hair, and wood working and of course storage room with resources there’s a bunch of bathrooms we have a bed room for us and some guest rooms, there’s also a stage to play awesome band and other bands well we’ll have to learn how to cook by are mom she can bake basically anything out of thin air meaning she can bake anything without adding wheat, oat, egg, tree nuts, shellfish, mushrooms, tilapia, or poison. The outside of the building I’m to add a mural to the front of the building on top of the building a ginormous floppy guy and maybe a fountain and also behind that in the backyard my trees.
~Posy
Boy did I need to hear this: "God doesn't waste the wait" and "He is not waiting at the finish line, He is yoked with us, shoulder to shoulder." Thank you; for always blessing me with your stories and your journey and also boosting me up with your wisdom. Love you all.