• Travel-n-Trips

    Family Gap Year Post #17: 5,000-Mile Road Trip—Our Family Dynamic (June, Part 2)

    Today I’m going to reflect on what our Family Dynamic was like during our 5,000-mile+ road trip. Spending more time together (and hopefully growing closer) as a family is one of the primary reasons we wanted to go on a Family Gap Year.

    Family Dynamic

    Highs

    I’m so glad I wrangled my job into a sensible place (it took a decade!) and put together this trip for our family. I think it’s so, so good for us (even on the hard days).

    We are now a family that reads aloud together. I know most of you have been doing this the whole time! I actually hated reading aloud for the … Read More

  • Travel-n-Trips

    Family Gap Year Post #16: 5,000-Mile Road Trip—Our Adventures (June, Part 1)

    The idea for an epic road trip for the month of June came from the thought that it would be cheaper to ship our car from the mainland to Hawai’i if we drove it to the port in Long Beach, California. We also thought Henry would want to start the summer at Matt’s old sleep away camp in Indiana, so Indiana to Los Angeles became the start and end points of our trip. (In the end, Henry did not want to go to camp.)

    Adventures

    Highs

    So.Many.Fun.Adventures this month!

    We drove from Austin, Texas, to Indiana, Bloomington, in a single day. We used the Roadside America app to find stops … Read More

  • Podcast

    New Podcast Episode—Halfway to Home: Our Mid-Year Check-in

    Our topic today is a reflection about how we are doing toward our annual goals, since we are nearly at the halfway mark. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e. settling into parenting, reducing stress, feeling sluggish, and worrying about the current state of our democracy). Then we shift into Today’s Topic. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (arepas from Trader Joe’s and the Feelings Wheel). Finally, we close out with Facing Forward to share what we want to make true in our lives in the next two weeks as we work to cultivate lives full of joy, purpose, and community.

    YOU CAN FIND Read More