A Look Back at Our Years of Fulltime RVing and Worldschooling {A collection of our 'Year in Review' posts}

 Some of my favorite posts to read are the annual reviews. I decided to make it easy and put all of them here for quick reference. While living in the RV for the first five years, I wrote a recap of the previous year on our nomadiversary in April, but I later switched to calendar year. Click on the year to read.

2014: Began Fulltime RVing. 22 States, 33 state & national parks 

2015: 12 states, Hawaii, Japan, 22 national parks, Began birding, work-camping at a National Wildlife Refuge 

2016: Drive to Alaska for the summer. camp hosting. 6 new states and 3 provinces of Canada (Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta). 13 national parks 

2017: East Coast plus New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Downsized from 37ft to 16ft RV! 13 new states, 37 national park sites, first birding festival. Birding the Everglades.

2018: 2 new states, Established a home base, Road trip to Vegas, hosted exchange students, training trip to Kenya with ITEC, Uganda to visit friends, Birding Colombia 

2019: Five months in Ecuador, visit with Waodani in the Amazon Jungle, Birding Ecuador. Colombia, Trip to Ohio, Tennessee 

2020: The good, bad and ugly year. The Keys

2021: Florida Keys. Charleston, South Carolina. Ohio

2022: Four month RV roadtrip out West. Our 50th state together! North Dakota. Minnesota

2023: Three months in South America: Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Tunisia. 

2024: Southeast Asia: A month in Thailand and a month exploring Cambodia, Vietnam and Taiwan.  Turning Teenagers and flying airplanes.

2025: Two months living in a small town in the Colombian Andes (Vélez). Paragliding, caving, discovering new hobbies: playing the Tiple (a traditional Colombian instrument with 12 strings), and smelting coins. 

2024 Year in Review

The highlight of 2024 was spending a couple of months exploring Southeast Asia together. We toured ancient temples in Cambodia, spent time with monks learning about their culture and practices in Thailand, watched monkeys frolicking with their babies, fed elephants, ate a scorpion, kayaked thru caves and bioluminescent water under a starry sky. We trekked thru terraced rice patties, around water buffalo, to waterfalls and to mountain peaks in Vietnam. In Hanoi we attended the famous water puppet theater, dined while a train passed just inches from our feet, and walked thru the infamous prison that held many Americans during the Vietnam War. We boarded fourteen flights, rode tuk-tuks, songthaews, motorcycles, trains, sleeper buses and a cyclo. We swam in the Andaman Sea, Lan Ha Bay and put our feet in the South and East China Sea. We enjoyed many night markets and ate Stinky Tofu in Taiwan. We learned words and phrases in 4 new languages - Thai, Vietnamese, Khmer, and Mandarin. 

While in Vietnam Journey made pottery for the first time. She also had her first babysitting job and got braces. They both went to their first sleep-away summer camp and also stayed at "Camp Tami". (Actually the whole family ended up at Camp Tami later in the year). The three of us joined our church choir. We attended our first ballet, in which Journey's friend, Brooklyn, danced. I began offering Rapid Resolution sessions to help people dealing with thoughts/emotions/reactions that haven't been serving them. 

Back at home Asher and Journey celebrated becoming teenagers (13!) with a beach vacation and ice skating thanks to Meema and her friend, Sandy. 

We helped run a booth at the Sun N Fun Aerospace Expo where the airshow really caught Journey's attention, particularly the aerobatic pilots. We took the opportunity to have her sit in a number of small planes and ask the pilots lots of questions. We toured other aircraft including one of the few Air Force planes that is outfitted with skies for landing in the snowy landscape of Antarctica! It's outfitted with rockets on each side to propel it forward to take off from the ice! 

The pilots told Journey about the Young Eagles program which pairs volunteer pilots with children to take them on their first flight with the hopes of sparking an interest in aviation; whether it be flying, mechanics or air traffic control. Both Journey and Asher went on two flights with the Young Eagles program and even got to fly the plane once they were at a cruising altitude! Since then, Asher has been considering the possibility of a future in the Air Force. 

Journey attended her first book club. It was an adult group which read Heaven is for Real. She and I attended together and the other participants were extremely impressed with her contributions to the conversation. She then read The Book Thief for another club. This book, full of figurative language, was a huge challenge for my very literal Journey, but she powered thru and it stretched her. This coupled with a reading challenge at our local library for the month of April, inspired her to set an ambitious reading goal for 2024, and on December 31st (local time) she finished her 101st book! Asher also read a ton for the April contest. One of the books he really dug into was about the search for the lost Ark of the Covenant.

We continue to love the offerings at our local library. The monthly card making class is fun and Journey and I took some sketching and art classes. 

Asher made his first sale on eBay. He discovered eBay when researching ways to fill in gaps of his coin collection. He's mostly been focused on pennies. He was learning from the local coin dealer who gladly took him under his wing and would spend a good hour with us each visit. Unfortunately the building where the coin shop was located closed unexpectedly, and we lost contact with him. 

My friend, Jim, heard of Asher's interest and sold his penny collection to Asher. That generous act alone filled more than 50 gaps in his collection, and Jim threw in a few wildcards, other types of coins that Asher really loves. 

He regularly makes a trip to our bank to buy rolls of coins to search. One day we asked at a new bank for coins. The teller said they normally only do that for account holders, but made an exception for him. He hit the jackpot! Found a 1909, steel, wheat cents, and proofs in those rolls! He researched how to open an account and did just that to have access to get more coins from them. He is still doing some metal detecting too.

Journey learned how to crochet and joined a weekly yarn club at the library. It's all retired women who have warmly welcomed her into the group, shared their supplies and have taught her many things. 

She started making her own jewelry, mostly beaded bracelets, but also earrings using different materials. She and Asher rented a vendor table at a Saturday market to sell their creations, plus advertise for coins to purchase. He had made some items with Perler Beads. Unfortunately it was not a popular time for the market. Very few people attended and they ended the day with zero sales. That's how business goes sometimes. 

Asher has been cooking more this year. He now makes his own pizza dough, and cinnamon rolls, plus when the U-pick blueberry farm opened, he began making homemade blueberry pies for us!

We caught up with Courtney and DB in Sarasota. Chrissy, Shaun and Wade invited us to stay with them in Hilton Head, SC. We enjoyed time connecting and exploring the area and beach. Spent a couple days with our Israeli friends, the Fugates and the O'briens. 

We rented an RV in the Keys to spend time lobstering, snorkeling and fishing. Asher and I caught fish. Asher kept four large Crevelle Jacks, brought them home filleted them and cooked them over an open fire.

The biggest surprise of the year was when A&J's best friend, Zach, who lives in Michigan, flew down to spend a week with us for his birthday! We took our kids to Universal for the day and Daddy "went to get the truck", and returned with Zach! 

Oh, speaking of Universal, we ended up getting military season passes which were only slightly more than the cost of one day! We had never been to Universal before and the Gebbias live right next to it. We visited them about four times over the year which was a great way to spend time with them!

Thanks to a house swap with friends, we enjoyed a weekend at Crystal River, fishing and kayaking from their house and scalloping for the first time. Asher cleaned and cooked the scallops for us. We definitely ended up with the better end of the deal, considering the swap was for our 12ft overlanding trailer! 

Journey started volunteering with a local ranch, a nonprofit that offers horseback riding to children with special challenges. She leads the horse and has received compliments and glowing feedback from the owner.

Daddy planned and led a camping trip for the men from church. It was a success and will be an annual event. He and Asher also participated again this year in the teen's Fish N Float Campout.

Journey took her first solo trip away, when Josie and Alan invited her to spend spring break with them and their niece in Sarasota. They worked on art projects and visited an animal sanctuary where they fed a bear and a white tiger.

Daddy and I walked thru El Jem, the best preserved Roman collesium, in Tunisia. Unfortunately the flight home caused barotrauma in my good ear! My hearing was impacted, but thankfully it returned within a few weeks. I now have a regimen of meds and techniques to hopefully prevent it on future flights, as the damage can be permanent.

I found out I have food allergies and sensitivities - eggs, wheat, dairy, nuts, beans... Man, oh man.

This year I spent time birding with the Village Birders at St Marks NWR and Fort DeSoto. I also took a trip to Miami with Liz, where we may have had to be rescued by Cor. Tom held a party for our local birders where we could present a dozen photos we took during the year. Journey came with me and presented her photography to the group.

Gio finally left after six years of living with us. It ended like a bad thriller film, complete with deeply personal threats from him, and finally his insistence on being evicted. The stolen items and significant damage he left behind were an extra insult to extraordinary kindness we'd extended over our nearly 20 year friendship. 

Building has begun on our garage/nest. It'll take awhile to finish, but Daddy is excited about having his own gym and workshop!

Dad brought Helen to visit. I was excited to finally show her our home and property. They arrived right as our new shop was going up and helped me plant a new magnolia tree in front of it. I took them to the recharge park and SSSP. 

The kids and I volunteered for the Back to School backpack giveaway event, and the kids finally were old enough to volunteer for Night to Shine with me! They served as paparazzi. Journey also volunteered for KidzXP. The kids and I spent time helping a family at our church who is going thru a challenging time, with cleaning, babysitting and moving. We also served at church for the foster parent date night.  After a particularly brutal hurricane season for the Gulf Coast of Florida, we spent a day clearing out homes and a church that were flooded to 4ft.

We attended something called the "Tent of Miracles" where our kids got to see first hand what a wolf in sheep's clothing looks like. As we walked out we asked them what his message was about. Money, they said. Was he promising things that aren't in the Bible and saying God said them? Yes. Did he even one time in the two and a half hours ever mention the gospel? No! This is why we must know the Bible and measure everything someone says against it. 

2023 {Year in Review}

 

It was a year of adventures in new countries, time spent with friends and family, and one absolutely shocking loss.

Let's start with the good stuff. 

This year's biggest adventure featured three months in South America, starting with two months in Peru between Lima, Arequipa, and Cusco, where we took Spanish classes, saw penguins in the ocean, flamingos and vicuñas in the high desert salt flats, and fighting sea lions in the streets of Pucusana. We peered into Colca Canyon, which is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and home to massive Andean Condors. During our time in the Peruvian Amazon, we enjoyed the most amazing breakfast on a gravel bar of the Madre de Dios River with parrots, parakeets and macaws flying overhead. A night hike thru a water-filled cave where we found Tailless Whip Scorpions and bats was Asher's favorite. We visited Machu Picchu and so many archeological sites. We ate LOTS of ceviche in Lima, tried alpaca and cuy (guinea pig) in Cusco, held a toucan and pet a water buffalo. We toured a nearly 500yr old monastery and saw the actual body of a child who had been sacrificed to a volcano six centuries ago. We saw snow-capped volcanoes, glaciers, and seaside cliffs. We stood at Patapampa Pass, our highest elevation yet, 16,108ft! I dealt with altitude sickness, and we all experienced food sickness. Asher's sickness had the worst timing, forcing him to miss magnificent Machu Picchu. We held baby alpacas and were shocked to learn they are still used in ritual sacrifices today. A local fisherman took us out in the rough waters off of the coast of Peru for fishing and birding. We spent two weeks with a family who is doing wonderful things for children in tough situations, and got to play with the children.

Our final month was spent in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, plus day trips to Paraguay and Uruguay. We rode funiculars in Valparaiso, a cable car in Santiago and tuk tuks in Sacred Valley. We experienced one of the world's largest waterfalls, Iguazu, from both Brazil and Argentina. We hiked "giants" and cerros. In Brazil we learned um pouco Portuguese, but mostly "não falo Portugués." We ate paos and a cheeseburger drowning in cheese sauce. We walked to Paraguay and took a ferry to Uruguay. Asher fished in four of the countries, all but Paraguay. 

During our time in South America, I saw 452 species of birds, 259 were lifers for me! We saw Cappuchin monkeys, Wooly monkeys, Titi monkeys, Howler Monkeys, a Capybara family, a Rainbow Boa, Agoutis, bats, a Bamboo rat, Tailess Whip scorpians, and lots of spiders, caterpillars and butterflies!

Now the gut punch...

One morning in March, my dad called with horrible news. My aunt, who had become one of my closest friends, had died in her sleep. She was in good health so this was TOTALLY unexpected. Journey and I flew to Ohio for her funeral, and visited her house for what would end up being the very last time. Her husband and her dearly loved miniature schnauzer, Zoie, died just five months later. While it's been very difficult for us, she was a Christ-follower, so we know we will see her again in eternity. 

When Daddy picked us up from the airport afterwards, we went directly to my friend, Lisa's, beach house in St Pete for a few days of processing and healing before returning home.

Mama went to summer camp! Thanks to Lisa, in June I had the fantastic opportunity to attend the Harold Albers Teacher Ecology Camp in St Pete, three days of hands-on learning about aquatic wildlife and organisms by drag-netting the bay for species counts, dissecting a lion fish, inspecting actual sharks, finding and identifying dolphins. It was absolutely wonderful, and I got to stay with Lisa! 

A couple of months before our big trip, we decided as a family to try a vegan lifestyle for one month. It went well and some of us stayed with it until some time in Peru. Little did I know, this would become a more permanent change for me. When we returned home Daddy and I both had food allergy and sensitivity testing. Mine came back indicating allergies to cow milk, wheat, and shrimp, and sensitivities to eggs and nuts. Daddy's main culprit is gluten and coconut. Sometime after the alpaca debacle (Journey ate some and then experienced deep regret due to how cute they are), she decided no more meat for her. So now eating for our family who ate literally anything and everything has become quite complicated. We're still figuring it out...

A trip up north for Christmas gave us the opportunity to visit with family, plus our Israeli friends, the Fugates at their new property, and the O'Briens. 

This December officially concluded my term as president of my local birding club. I'm proud of our accomplishments, specifically growing the membership, increasing diversity, creating branding and a new website. I had fun participating in the June challenge with my friends. I ended the year with a total of 683 species, my second highest year. And a life list of 1570!

2022 {Year in Review}

Let's start with the fun stuff:

In 2022 we spent five months traveling by RV to 22 states, including North Dakota and Minnesota! This means we finally hit all 50 states! We started counting states in 2014 when the kids were 3, and now at age 11 they have accomplished something few Americans have experienced. What a blessing to be able to give our children this opportunity. On this trip we explored 20 national park sites, 9 state parks, 7 zoos, and 9 museums. New National Parks this year included, Joshua Tree, Voyageurs, Indiana Dunes, Theodore Roosevelt, Craters of the Moon, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains, Great Basin, Fort Union, Knife River Earth Lodges, Lewis and Clark Historic Trail, Sawtooth NRA, Chiricahua NM, and we finally after two cancelled trips, made it to the spectacular YOSEMITE! New State Parks- Sea Rim, South Llano River, Catalina, Cathedral Gorge, Giant Springs, Itasca, Tettegouche. New National Wildlife Refuges- Benton Lake, Bowdoin, and Chase Lake.

This year we went sledding on sand dunes and snowy mountains, got stuck in a Longhorn traffic jam in North Dakota, where we also had a VERY close encounter with herds of bison battling with young in tow. So close, we could smell them and hear them breathing thru our screened windows! We mined sapphires, and met a man who has actually found a new gold mine. We held a wild desert kingsnake, a friend's pygmy hedgehog, and Journey carefully released a newly-banded hummingbird with a soon-to-be-laid egg inside. We heard Prairie dogs squeak, explored lava fields and caves and saw famous dinosaur bones found near our friend's house in Montana. We spent the night at a sheep farm after getting the tour and sampling the milk and curds. At the Fugate's, we milked the cow, fed the hogs and helped them pack and prep the farm for sale. I added 48 lifers and had the opportunity to witness a couple Birds of Paradise doing their mating displays (at a zoo)! Asher nailed a front flip on the trampoline, and had his first leach. Yuck! They both rode some extreme roller coasters and Journey braved the Slingshot with Lucy! We spent time with so many friends in Vegas, California, Montana and Indiana. Asher fished every state on this trip except Utah,  and learned to fly-fish. Journey did a cartwheel in every state. Daddy published his second book and began working on his third and fourth! A hurricane (Ian) arrived and I became deaf on the same day.

In January 2022, after two years of being very careful to avoid COVID, my mom came to visit, and brought it with her. UGH! Fortunately, it was mild, (the omicron variant) and only Journey caught it. Daddy returned from a week in Colombia the same day and also brought it with him! A perfect storm! Asher and I kept our distance from the other three and managed to avoid it (until November). Journey was very tired, had some freaky, lucid dreams and a couple bouts of breathing problems, but once she healed, we realized, if she could make it thru that, we should not be avoiding our friends and activities anymore. And just like that, my fear of COVID was over. Well, mostly. We still use common sense to avoid it, but we’re no longer watching everyone else carry on while we hole up inside. And with that, we began attending field trips with our local homeschool group. We toured the Board of Elections with our elected Supervisor of Elections as our guide and learned how our county voting process works. We visited Homosassa Springs State Park which is also a wildlife rescue. Afterwards the kids gave a powerpoint presentation on the visit using the photos they took during the tour. Of course they couldn’t wait to pick up rollerskating again. We visited a pawn shop and the owner gave us a lesson on how they work and the cost associated with their loans. This led to more good discussions on proper money management and budgeting. We attended the Overlanding Expo and saw all kinds of new adventure vehicles and gear. There also happened to be a Peruvian Owl Monkey there which we were able to touch and learn about. 

Our friend Helen stayed 5 weeks with us in her overlanding trailer. We didn't know her yet when she called to request a few nights on our RV pad, but it was already booked. I overheard the conversation and asked Daddy to call back and find out the length of her RV. When we learned it was a 10ft overlanding trailer, we invited her to stay in the backyard. As soon as I met her, I knew I liked her. A few days turned into 5 weeks, and she left as part of the family.

When an Israeli family with 13 year old boy/girl twins came to stay for a couple nights, our kids were elated to have kids to play with. We learned about life in Israel, about sirens and bunkers and how some people have less than a minute to escape to safety. We learned some Hebrew, and enjoyed Israeli foods like challa bread. They experienced their first Christmas with us. Mika had been learning arial acrobatics on silk fabric. She hung it on our tree, and soon taught her skills to Journey. Journey in turn taught Mika to play the Ukelele. A really nice friendship blossomed betweeen both families and two days turned into ten and then five weeks! Seeing a trend here? Before they left, we had booked a trip to Yosemite together, and then decided to travel together for a couple months!

Journey began taking gymnastics classes and decided to learn to do the splits, so she found a youtube video and worked on her stretches everyday until she could do it. 

Journey enjoyed a special jam session with some RVers. I introduced them and an hour later they played a song together for me, with Journey on her ukelele, a gift from Aunt Janie. They were impressed with her musical abilities and so was I. She was even given the opportunity to play their fiddle and mandolin. I love the opportunities that arise when hosting travelers! She has also had yoga and drawing sessions with visitors.

Asher caught multiple 24” bass in our backyard, some weighing nearly 6lbs! He looks forward to connecting daily with Zach in Michigan, Jett in Indiana and Brandon, our next-door neighbor thru Xbox. They generally play an hour a day of Minecraft, Rocket League, and Terraria plus Fortnight is allowed on the weekend. Journey often plays with them.

Keith attended training trips to Peru and Colombia with ITEC.

In 2020, I won a photography contest which gave us a membership to our local art museum. Since it was closed, they extended our pass and when we visited, after seeing the exhibits, the kids tried felt cake decorating and drawing self-portraits.  

After serving two years as VP, I became President of my local Audubon chapter. When I joined the club, I was one of the youngest members, maybe even THE youngest member, in a county that was not very active. I saw opportunities to breathe new life into the club starting with a logo, then a new website, social media, in-person promotions and new exclusive activities, all in an effort to draw new, younger people into the club. It was a LOT of work, but I was rewarded with not only a much more active club of all ages, but amazing new friends as a result. At this point I enjoy birding almost weekly with Liz, Alice, Tami, Steven and Darcy, plus many other friends less frequently. 

Birding this year included visits to some of the most iconic places- High Island, Sabine Woods and Bolivar Flats in Texas, Sax Zim Bog in Minnesota, the Chiricahuas and other places in SE Arizona. Plus Florida trips included Lake Okechobee with Nicole plus overnight trips for Spring migration at Fort Desoto and fall migration at St Marks with Alice, Liz and Wendy plus the Village Birders. I added 48 lifers, 46 on our roadtrip, and ended the year with 438 birds, my biggest year in the US. 

Coming in 2023..... the resumption of international travel! 

2020. The No Good, Very Bad Year. {Ok, some good + one miracle}

2020. It was bad.....

Well, I think we all know what happened in 2020. It was a year for which I think we all had high hopes and big plans and before it even really got started, life as we knew it changed as the world screeched to a halt. News of a virus in China. Soon it had a name, COVID-19. As it spread, entire countries began shutting their borders. Shelves emptied and you could not buy toilet paper anywhere. Masks were required, jobs deemed "essential" stayed open while all other businesses closed or required their employees to work from home. Libraries closed. Parks and even the beaches were closed. Church went online. Even restaurants were closed, seemingly only drive-thrus, pharmacies, Walmart and Lowe's remained. Some states and countries even went so far as to declare leaving your house illegal if not for a few exceptions (food, medical help, or essential work). By the middle of the year we knew people with covid. By the end of the year we knew people who had died from covid. But even funerals weren't allowed (no gatherings of more than 10 people). 

Asher and Journey have chronic lung disease as a result of their prematurity. To be honest, living in lockdown was not new to us. We spent 6 months of every year for the first 3 years of their lives sheltering at home. RSV looks like a cold in an adult, but it could be deadly to a premature child like ours. So back into sheltering mode for us. Even as our friends went back to living pretty much normal lives, we just couldn’t take that chance. 

Before the pandemic, Daddy was busy outfitting his Jeep for overlanding. He purchased a 4x8x4 enclosed trailer, customized the inside with a folding couch/mattress, A/C, kitchen, a King-sized rooftop tent, an outdoor shower and an awning on the top. After a couple shake-down trips to Salt Springs and Anastasia State Park, we were finally ready for our big FIVE month overlanding trip out west. Of course you know what happened. All travel was cancelled. Shelter in place orders. Campgrounds and parks even closed. Travelers got stuck with nowhere to go. 

In April, Daddy's mom died. We knew it was coming. Her sickness was, after all, the reason why we postponed our "carry-on only life". It was the right decision. We ended up getting three more years with her. But still, it hurt. And funerals were banned. In July, the beaches finally reopened so the family met to reunite Mom's ashes with Dad's. We gathered for our final goodbye in the morning. Dinner that night was interrupted by another death. My brother-in-law's wife overdosed on fentanyl while we were all in the next room. It was very traumatic and just plain awful.

While still reeling from those losses, two weeks later, Asher, Journey, Daddy and I were T-boned by a drug-impaired woman while we were traveling at 55mph. The JEEP was totaled, but we survived and that is a MIRACLE! I later learned the Holy Spirit put me on the heart of a friend and she had begun praying at 3pm. Our accident happened at 3:11! That's no coincidence! Still I had injuries and would endure 9 months of physical therapy and go 6 months without driving.

Three days later I ended up having a panic attack while driving and then didn't drive again for 6 months. During this time I leaned heavily on God, listened to Louie Giglio talk about his own battle with anxiety and finally I had ONE session of RRT (Rapid Resolution Therapy). RRT offers a shift in perspective which helps clear trauma. If you're dealing with trauma or emotions that aren't serving you, just try it!

.....but also good.

Ever since the twins were born, I had wished for more time to catch up on all the things I felt I needed to do. Turns out I wouldn’t be as productive with the extra time as I had thought. 

We hadn’t realized how busy our lives had become. I was taking the children to homeschool classes on Fridays, library events thru the week. We visited with other homeschooling friends 1-2 times a week, plus Daddy was at the gym everyday and I was out birding when I could. When everything stopped we had more time together again. Since Daddy’s gym was closed, he could stay up and watch a show with me. We, or I took the kids fishing a couple times a week to different lakes nearby. After the accident, when I couldn’t drive, Asher was content with fishing in our backyard. He actually has caught a number of 5lb bass out there! 

The Overland Cafe was born. Daddy noticed there was a need for coffee at some local Crossfit events, so as a homeschool project, he helped the kids create a mobile one-day cafe. Journey took and made orders while Asher processed payments. I was really impressed with their confidence and ability. It was popular enough that we received requests to appear at other events. After three events, we realized, though a fun project, we were actually losing money. Another great lesson. So, the Overland Cafe is officially out of business.  

It was a year of leaning into God. Between the loss, fear and pain we were feeling, we learned again to rely on him. I participated in a Bible study with fellow Fulltime Families Moms thru zoom. Who knew an online Bible Study could work? We took a spontaneous trip to the Keys to spend time with our friends, the Gebbias, a much-needed break! We snorkeled, fished and I got to spend time at the Hawkwatch at Curry Hammock. 90 degree weather plus biting no-see-ums led us to stop at Lazy Days on the way home to “just see what they have”. Famous last words! In the end, we wound up swapping out the 8' overlanding trailer for a 30' travel trailer. Turns out I prefer a bit more luxury with two kids in tow (a toilet and room for all of us to relax under A/C).  An RV wasn’t the only big addition. After years of saying we can’t have a pet, we inherited our sister-in-law’s one year old kitty, Denali, a Snowshoe Siamese. She's turned out to be a great addition to our family!  

We took our new RV for a weekend trip to Otter Creek with ITEC friends, and to Patrick AFB where we watched a rocket launch with old friends.

Daddy went to Burundi with ITEC. I became the VP of our local Audubon chapter.  

While we were in Ecuador in 2019, Daddy’s friend stayed at our house to keep an eye on it for us. By the time we returned, he decided he liked it so much, he wanted to stay. He and Daddy began making plans for a small cabin on our property.  After about a year of living with us, I should add that we have a TWO bedroom house, he moved in to the “TC” (Tiny Cabin) and we all breathed a bit easier. We enjoy having him around and it’s been fun seeing him learn about the nature in our yard. 

Our friends, Natalia, Stefan and their husky, Belle, stayed with us for 7 months. We enjoyed pancakes and great conversations on Sundays. Stefan even taught all four of us to play the guitar. 

So yah, while it was one of the most difficult years of my life, I can definitely look back and see some great blessings and one huge miracle!

2019 {Year in Review}

2019 was an incredible year of new experiences for us. We spent five months living in Ecuador, one month in Colombia, then ended the year with a roadtrip from Florida to Ohio and Tennessee. While living in Shell, Ecuador, on the edge of the Amazon, we experienced earthquakes, and learned when you hear a "train", you run for cover, because that is the sound of serious rainfall headed your way! Asher and Journey attended an actual school for the first time ever, which of course was in Spanish! This freed up Daddy and I to be able to volunteer at ITEC Ecuador, helping with anything from cleaning to accounting to building canoes and airplanes! At school the kids learned to play futbol, and found you don't have to speak the same language to be friends. 

We spent time in the "ring of fire". Rode a tram 10,000ft up a volcano where we then explored on horseback, enjoyed lunch from the rim of one of only two inhabited volcano craters in the world.

We explored Cotopaxi National Park by car, on foot and on horseback and experienced blizzard conditions when we tried to hike up the snow-covered mountain.

In Mindo's cloud forest, we rode a cable car over a deep valley then hiked a popular trail past 7 waterfalls. I saw a Cock-of-the-Rock and a Long-Wattled Umbrellabird. 

Nicole and I spent a week birding like mad from the cloud forest, to the paramo of Cayambe Coca, to the Amazon jungle tallying 380 species of birds, while staying in numerous interesting places, meeting incredible people and improving my spanish. 

We spent four days in the Amazon learning what life is like for the Waodani people. We met Mincaye and Kimo, men who killed our friend's grandfather. The bigger shock is that same friend actually introduced us to these men who are now totally changed Christ-followers. We saw firsthand the power of redemption, forgiveness and true love. I watched Mincaye, hunched in his old age, walk barefoot thru the jungle holding the hand of his bride. If you only knew how she became his, you'd understand why I still get emotional thinking back to this memory. 

With the Waodani we planted crops (plantain and yucca) and ate monkey, piranha, wild boar and chontacuro (palm grubs- Asher) in the jungle. We experienced culture shock when we arrived, and again when we traded jungle life for a high-rise in Medellin. A visit to Comuna 13, one of the most dangerous locations at one time, gave us a new perspective on life and how much can change in a short time, both for the bad and the good. 

Back in the states, I had the pleasure of attending Night to Shine with my buddy, Lisa. We milked a cow for the first time at the Fugate homestead. The Obrien's showed us around Chattanooga and treated us to the aquarium. Daddy finally bought another Jeep Wrangler and began outfitting it for overlanding. 

In Florida the kids took classes in Batik art, archery, volleyball and tried indoor skydiving for the first time! They witnessed the birth of 8 puppies and observed their development and helped with their care. They also learned thru fostering that saying goodbye is hard, but it's still worth doing. Numerous trips to Tallahassee and Sarasota gave us time to spend with family. In Ohio we visited Chrissy & Shaun, toured Shawshank (Mansfield Penitentiary) and attended J's annual Halloween bash. When we left Ohio we had no way of knowing it would be two years before we'd be able to return (upcoming covid pandemic).