Welcome to 2021! We rang in the New Year with cousins, aunts, uncles, dogs, and grandpa. We are lucky to have a family bubble during this time. We missed all of the family and friends we are not able to see now, but hopefully, we will be seeing them all in 2021. We had a phenomenal last meal of 2020.…
2020 has been quite a year. Like many people, there were plenty of things that went wrong. We could dwell on those things, or we can think back on all the things that went right. When we remember 2020, the following are the things we will choose to remember: We went to Disney World! In January, before COVID, we spent…
This past week we lost my stepmother Lois Buerkle after a 3 ½ year battle with cancer. She was surrounded by her family until the end. She is the reason we came back from Nicaragua in August. We have been spending the last three months in Winston-Salem helping to care for Lois and spending time with her and my dad. …
Michael and I had a chance to get away for a couple of days, just the two of us. Aunt Emily, Uncle Jonathan, and Grandpa Richard graciously agreed to keep an eye on Lucas and Henry for us while we went to a little cabin about an hour away in the North Carolina Mountains. This was our first overnight trip…
We took advantage of a warm-weather day and did some hiking in our new temporary backyard at Pilot Mountain, North Carolina. It is only about 20 miles from where we are staying. Pilot Mountain is a state park with hiking trails, rock climbing, water activities, and campsites. Pilot Mountain may look familiar to you even if you have never been…
We were going to stay in North Carolina for two weeks. It has now been 2.5 months. We will be staying here at least through the end of the year. We have stopped trying to make any sort of travel plans. We are still helping my dad and stepmom. Also, COVID is so bad right now that travel for us…
This year, Thanksgiving will not be the Thanksgiving we had imagined, but that is true for many families this year. We planned a large Thanksgiving with family. My brother in California was going to fly to North Carolina with his family. He was going to get to see our Stepmother who is very ill. Cousins were going to see each…
When we quit our jobs last year, we lost our health insurance. When we went to Central America we did not have health insurance that worked there or travel insurance. We did not have any major health issues while we were there. Any medicine we needed was easily accessible and affordable. A big misconception we found out was that our…
We have not had a smooth road heading out on our long term travel journey. Last year our plans were sidelined while Michael battled cancer. Earlier this year our plans were altered because of COVID. Now our plans are shifting again because my stepmother is battling cancer. We came back from Nicaragua at the end of August so that we…
Our Halloween did not involve trick or treating at other houses, but the kids completed a scavenger hunt with their cousins and got to trick or treat around grandma and grandpa’s house. Michael and I are not normally the creative scavenger hunt-creating type of people. With help from my sister, Emily, and her husband, Jonathan, we were able to put…