Some Trip Reflections

What was your favorite memory from Buenos Aires?

D: the urban living experience and the food (also see Doug's post re: BA)

B: walking everywhere and being surrounded by 'the life of the city'

S: the zoo

H: the zoo & the steak

What was your favorite memory from Bariloche?

D: the panoramic views of the mountains and lakes

B: being surrounded by God's breathtaking and beautiful creation – some of the most beautiful I've seen.

S: chocolate and gondolas

H: the hot chocolate

What was your favorite memory from Mendoza?

D: meeting other travelers and the day trip to the Andes – also sampling Argentina wines.

B: meeting interesting people and the beauty of the Andes and vineyards.

S: meeting Olivia, Doug & Lydia and going to wineries learning how wine is made

H: the playgrounds & the wineries

What was your favorite memory from Punta Uva?

D: building sand castles and staying right on the beach

B: being right on the beach & relaxing

S: living on the beach & seeing animals

H: Batidos & living on the beach

What was your favorite memory from Escazu?

D: Shepherd's Gate & La Paz

B: visiting Shepherd's Gate & La Paz

S: coffee tour, pool & Poaz, La Paz & Shepherd's Gate

H: everything

What was your favorite memory from Arenal?

D: enjoying the view of the volcano from our hotel deck

B: the hotel and the hot springs

S: the hotel and the lava walk

H: all of it except throwing up

What was your favorite memory from Samara?

D: lots of time to read and study

B: having monkeys in our yard & having a new, clean house

S: monkeys, stairs and pool

H: Iggy (our resident Iguana)

What was your favorite memory from Manuel Antonio?

D: working with the kids in swimming & the National Park (beaches and animals)

B: the beautiful beaches and seeing the wild animals close-up

S: having lots of stairs and the pool

H: the pool

What are some things you learned on this trip?

D: that we have a brave, adventurous family that I am proud of. I really like going to new places and meeting new people. I learned to truly enjoy time with my kids (most of the time).

B: a lot about myself & more about God's design for marriage (through our Bible Studies, recorded sermons & discussions) & how to live more simply. Also, that our whole family loves to travel and we did as well as could be expected.

S: swimming, tread water, be more courageous & not afraid to meet people, be creative and use my imagination

H: swimming (after question 2, we had a hard time getting detailed answers out of Hudson J)

Is there anything we want to do differently at home as a result of this trip?

D: Make Brooke & kids a higher priority on a daily basis; to continue practice of reflection and continue dialogue with Brooke about marriage & family priorities. And, do another family adventure like this in 7 years.

B: hopefully, be able to continue to live more simply, carve out more time for God & family & apply what I've learned about God's design for marriage. And, hopefully travel more!

S: we don't want Daddy to go back to work, we can have less toys and give some of ours away to poor kids.

H: we don't want Daddy to go back to work & give all my toys away, but keep one.

What did you miss the most from home or were the most excited to come back to?

D: seeing friends, church, good grocery stores, free drinking water in restaurants, and high speed internet.

B: Cleanliness, order, no humidity, Trader Joe's & Whole Foods, church.

S: Polly (her remote control puppy), church

H: his firetruck and 'bike' (his big wheel)

And, Kerrigan did amazingly well. She is such a great baby and really seemed to enjoy everything! She and her sweet demeanor and adaptability are a big reason this trip was successful. She plays a very important role in our family. We all love her very much.

We are very glad we made this trip and very thankful for the opportunity to do so. It really was much of what we hoped it would be. Yes, traveling with three kids had its difficulties and challenges (we, obviously, would have had a much different trip without the kids), but we knew it'd be that way. One of the best parts was seeing the kids be so brave and adventurous and learn so much. They, thankfully, enjoyed the trip as much as we did. It was also great practice and training for more travel! (We hope to do this again every 7 years or so). It was also good for Doug to see, firsthand, what it takes to take care of 3 kids all day :). He has a much better understanding of my days when he's at work.

Doug & I enjoyed a date night our first Friday back and just returned from camping in Yosemite, just the two of us. (Thanks to my Mom & Wayne for watching the kids!) It was nice to have some alone time after spending every minute with the kids for 2 months :).

Overall, we'd say we loved Argentina and liked Costa Rica. We're not sure what is in store for our future, still. We're definitely open to the idea of finding a job that will post Doug & us abroad for a year or two, so the kids can learn Spanish fluently and to add to our adventures. For now, we're going to take another month traveling small trips to visit friends and family in SoCal, Oregon & Illinois. Then, Doug, will try to be back working by the end of summer. We'll miss him. The kids have said many times 'We don't want you to go back to work!'

So, stay tuned here for more of our small travels or visit our website!