Happy Birthday, or as they say in Thailand – sùk-sǎn wan-gèrt, to our sweet girl! Alexis turned 14 today and we had a great time celebrating. It’s hard to turn 14 without your friends around, but in her true spirit she embraced the positive and had a wonderful day! Turning Fourteen Halfway Around the World…
Category: Thoughts and Feelings
Gap Year Packing Audit: What We Use, What We Don’t, What We Wish We Had
Before our year of adventure began, I had planned to write a post about what we packed. With only one backpack each, we had to be very intentional about what we brought. However, the week before we left was such a marathon I truly didn’t have time. Then, I guess I just got busy exploring…
Life in Chiang Mai: Daily Walks and Delicious Food
It’s hard to believe we have been in Chiang Mai for almost a week. Today, I was having the slightly panicky feeling I get when we are in a new place and I feel like we haven’t explored enough yet. I was expressing this to Alexis while we were walking and she said “Mom, we’re…
The Halfway Mark: Six Months of Adventure
We have officially reached the halfway mark in our family gap year journey. The surreal feeling of “wow, we are actually doing this” has faded, but still sneaks up on me from time to time. It usually happens during unexpected moments of adventure, like an almost secluded beach on Guam, or riding home in a…
Haircuts and Holidays In Manila
As we weather the perfect storm here in Manila, I’m trying my best to be where my feet are. We went to the mall several times this week to walk and completed all of our holiday shopping. Dave and I are working on learning some Vietnamese language and the kids are wrapping up school assignments…
The Perfect Storm In Manila Philippines
Foreword by Jill: I’ve had several people ask me what we’ve been up to lately, and the answer is not much. We are essentially just putting our heads down and getting through our remaining time here in the Philippines. I’ve mentioned before how hard this location has been. Dave is great at articulating exactly why…
The Halfway Point in the Philippines
Yesterday marked the halfway point of our time here in the Philippines, but who’s counting? When I think about living here for two more weeks it sounds a little exhausting. Alexis is always pointing out the positive things about our location and I admire her outlook. Her extroverted side is loving the constant people and…
Life in Manila: Chess Games, Crushes, and Constant Stares
We’ve been in the Philippines for just over a week and continue to look out of place and feel out of place. When we get off the elevator there are often people waiting to get on. As the doors open and we prepare to exit the scenario is often the same. The locals eyes get…
Patience, Perspective, and Pungent Smells
We’ve all been learning a lot about patience and perspective as we travel across the world. Seeing how people in other countries live has opened our eyes to privileges we didn’t even realize we had. We’ve been pushed beyond our comfort zone in numerous situations, and right now is the most uncomfortable yet. Contributing to…
Soaking in the Familiar, Bracing for the New
It feels like we’ve really settled into life here on Guam more than any other place we’ve been to so far. I make my grocery list based on the layout of the grocery store just like I did in Coloardo, and we eat most of our meals at home. We have a walking route we…