The Traveling Titans

Name her. 🤍Help us!

We've had this big, beautiful, blue & black rig for nearly a year and she doesn't have a name. We went to northern Michigan over the weekend in hopes of seeing the northern lights, they didn't show but the stars lit up the sky. Upgrading to our Cyclone 4006 was seriously the best decision we could've ever made.

Winning name gets a prize - what would you name our fifth wheel?

August in pictures. We had so many visitors. 😍😍 We started in Kansas City, visited the Ozarks, Nashville, Mammoth cave and ended the month at friends in Kentucky.

September is going to be eventful. We will be in my home state, we have a birthday, girls trip and lots of exploring to do.

Do you know where we are headed for September? 🤩🤩

1,000. ONE thousand squares. And countless memories made. I started instagram to document our travels - back when it was for pictures. That evolved into far more. 😂 We love that you're a part of our journey and we appreciate all of your support over the years. Here are a few of my favorite pics that I could access quickly on our drive to Austria this morning because I had no clue we were hitting 1,000 posts. Cheers to a thousand more adventures and travel days.
- Blake, Sam, Zora & Atlas ❤️❤️

Can you name the country......it's not as easy as you think. I feel like this beautiful area could be in 3 or even 4 different countries. I've tagged our international travel account where we ❤️

I was thinking of doing a cost/expenses per day as we travel around this little beautiful part of Europe. Yay or nay?

Castles, Spain, ear infections, social media break, good food & wine and family time. 🤍 Sums up the last 7 days for us. It's been a whirlwind with Blake's family visiting. We did some travel and really enjoyed some quality time together hanging at random airbnbs. We hope you had a great week.

Who do you think suffered the double ear infection? The last picture is a major hint. 🥴

The straw that broke the camels 🐪 back. The straw has a name = Blake. More on that later... BUT we did it. We rode camels (dromedaries) in the Sahara. Bucket list ✅

Helpful HINT - watch a video of how camels stand up and sit down so that you're prepared. And if you have littles, have a plan to reach your destination in case the camel ride doesn't go smoothly, you wouldn't want to end up stranded in the desert.🙊

Would you ride camels in the desert in Africa?

Morocco in a single photo. ❤️💚 Atlas is loving this country, we all are.....please add it to your list.

Why did we pick Morocco as our first country to visit while living in Portugal?
1. Atlas Mountains while we didn't name our kid after these North African mountains we definitely always hoped we could visit.
2. Sahara - it was time for us to live what we have watched on National Geographic.
3. Food - you cannot go wrong.
4. Culture - we needed a quick dip of a big cultural change. So far it is delivering.

Confession - I have been feeling a little stuck, we have been traveling for almost 4 years.... and we've never stayed in one place for more than 7 weeks. Last week I was thinking maybe this isn't for me, 3 months in one place. But kiddos are loving school so I would just suck it up.....Well we solved my problem. 🙌🏼 A long weekend road trip to the Algarve was exactly what was needed. We will def be doing as much travel as we can!

What city/country is a MUST visit in Europe?

FIRST day of school ever ..... and in PORTUGAL. While it's not a traditional school it still meant time away from my babies. They were over the moon for their first day. And up and dressed (backpacks and shoes) before they even came in to wake us.

Do you think I cried? What about Blake?

This is a three month program, so we will pick right back up with homeschool after we finish here!

How much time do you spend with your family? How much time do you spend outdoors?

This RV lifestyle and travel abroad means we are always together outside and now that I'm retired 😉 it's even more. When we embarked on this adventure nearly 4 years ago I had in mind that we would do it for 2 years and find somewhere to settle down and put the kids in school. I'd never have thought we would be at it still, homeschooling and eager to finish our the 6 remaining states so we can start re-visiting places we hurriedly saw the first round.

We have some international travel coming up soon but where do you think we should go this summer in the USA? North or west?!

HELP!!! 🆘 What would YOU do with this space? 🤔 Swipe to see before...I took couches out and valances down. Should I ...leave the couches? Dog bed? Maybe a table? Other ideas?

Should I paint the black boards on the ceiling?

Don't be like us... 🤔
..And wait 7 years to visit an all-inclusive with your family. Blake and I used to vacation at "adult only" all-inclusives and I was skeptical about one with kids. Our first all inclusive stay in Mexico was a and 🤩 we were so impressed.

This beautiful resort makes children and families the focus, while still leaving plenty of adult only space. The main pool has the most amazing splash pad and it is in the center of ALL the action. The explorers club was a definite perk for us to have some "parent time" and the activities kept the kids wanting to return every day. 🛝

It's very close to the airport, a quick shuttle ride and you'll find yourself in paradise; gorgeous beach, 🏝️ incredible food options, amazing margaritas and pools that go on for days! The convenience, class and margaritas are just too good to miss! Thank you for welcoming us

Would you visit an all inclusive that allows kids?

Mardi Gras 🎉 &&&& we never get pictures together.... 💜💚🤍

We fell in LOVE with ...for so many reasons, here are the top 5 reasons you should visit!

1️⃣ This is the ONLY family friendly all-inclusive in Tulum!
2️⃣ Family Friendly = everything is designed for the kiddos to have the best experience, from the explorers club to the beach playground and so much more!
3️⃣ Parent Friendly = fabulous swim up bar AND 24 hour room service yummmmy.
4️⃣ Location‼️Minutes away from the ruins and cenotes of Tulum, so much exploring!!
5️⃣ While you're standing on one of the best beaches ( #12) in the world, you're also getting this whole incredible Mexican hacienda feel... the resort is gorgeous! We loved visiting this resort, courtesy of ❤️

Is Tulum on your bucket list?!

⚠️ Mexico was great BUT...I lost my job, our family yeti and my favorite sunglasses.
1️⃣The yeti is the real kicker 😢 because it had all of our national park stickers from the first year of travel on it.

2️⃣The job. Well that will get a post on its own.... but see below.

3️⃣And the sunglasses were a casualty after losing the two above and one too many margaritas, 🤪 fortunately I can buy more.

We've made it home, lots to unpack (literally and figuratively)... we are together, our hearts are full and we had an amazing vacation despite the unexpected obstacles. ❤️ For the past four years we have been following the path less traveled. Sometimes not knowing if we would lose out from not having the most focused and high speed careers. Being in this position now, we know we made the right choice. No second chances.

This is 5. We've been too busy having fun and my photog collection of this year's adventures will have to wait. Here are a few from the last couple weeks. Help me wish Atlas a very happy fifth birthday. 🩵🩵

He's been toothless for years, he is taller than some kids twice his age and he loves chocolate in a way I didn't know possible. He is in love with the ocean and his sister, she does no wrong. He embraces every challenge head on and we are looking forward to this next year and even greater adventures.

It's raining..... buttttttttt we made it to Mexico! We are exploring Yucatán. We flew into CUN and we rented a car. We will be doing some exploring over the next couple weeks. We needed to get away from the cold and to a nice warm beach.

Have you been to Mexico?

List of things that DO NOT change with age when exploring and hiking with kids. 🤪🤪

1. Still need snacks
2. Still complain after a couple miles, it's more time then distance....
3. Have to have "breaks."
4. Must stop and play in all water puddles or mud.
5. Excited to find any and all wildlife.
6. Still want to be carried sporadically.
7. Still won't look at the camera at the same time.
8. Still 100% worth it!

It's been a couple months since we have hiked as a family and today I really could feel that my kids are growing up 😭😭😭 so rather than focus on what's changing... I'm focusing on what remains the same. ❤️❤️

How does it happen so fast?!

A few of my 2023 faves. These were from our adventures after we came back to America after traveling abroad, hard to believe another year has gone by. ❤️
What is your favorite memory from this year?!

Minimalist shminimalist. 🤪🤣 Where did all this crap come from? I feel like we purge weekly but we still have more junk then I ever could've imagined.

How often do you purge? Do you follow any rules?

Send help.

When it all began... I cannot believe we are saying good-bye to this big beast! These pictures were taken when the RV was still in the driveway of our sticks and bricks. So literally when it ALL began. 🥺🥺

Countless memories were made .... We watched our babies grow into two crazy kids who live for adventure. This will forever be the first home they remember. 😭

Happy 248th birthday Marine Corps ❤️💛 AND

Happy Veterans Day and thank each and every one of you for your service.

Ahoy! Happy Halloween to all of you scallywags. 🧡So much sad stuff happening in the world the last couple weeks, I've been doing my best to keep our ship sailing. 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

Can you spot Atlas?! 👀

The part of parenthood where you realize you don’t have babies anymore… because you cannot confirm whether this is an “I love you little brother” or a “do what I say or else…” face.

We are having fun celebrating Halloween for the WHOLE month but eager to travel south to warmer weather.

Are you dressing up for Halloween? 🎃 Blake and I plan dress up this weekend!

Also - this is a witch costume turned WIZARD costume that has been passed down in my family (that’s Zora as a witch in 2021).

Two wildlings. My friend recently referred to my children as wildlings. And you know, I realized that in that moment that’s exactly what my babies are…. Traversing the country, and now the world, they truly are wildlings. Free kids not bound by societal standards, and living life through experiences and moments that create memories daily. Perhaps they are a bit savage (crazy hair, dirty fingernails and a tenacity to overcome all challenges we throw their way) but they truly have grown up with freedom in this life.

Forging a bond that I hope remains unbreakable for the rest of their lives on this earth. Our life is an adventure but my goal as a parent is that they have a love for learning, they are confident with themselves and they continue to explore and ask all the tough questions.