Driving Down A Dream

13/04/2019

It seems like a lifetime ago that we were strolling the beautiful streets of San Miguel de Allende. In reality, it's been less than 4 months we were in Mexico. 😮 So much has happened!
We haven't posted content here in quite some time. We've been knee deep in more change & transition.
I thought I would drop info on this platform. It will cover most bases with family & friends. And fellow travelers - we thought you'd appreciate how we arrived at our current destination.
We'd been sitting on a brilliant idea and while in Mexico we decided to make the jump! We felt so good about our decision...but that doesn't always mean it's going to be easy! 🙃
We moved from Las Vegas to Bend, Oregon! We're Oregonians!
While traveling the US full time, we visited Bend in the fall of 2015. We instantly fell in love and it was quickly added to our list of top destinations. We spent several weeks there last summer too. There were other nudges in this direction...but I won't bore you with too many details. 😉
We got home from Mexico, started packing house, secured airbnb in Bend to work w/a realtor, offer accepted, finalized move in Vegas, belongings in storage until closing, Bigs started 2nd semester of traditional HS 😱, endured Snowmeggedon, adjusted to Jeff being gone (commuting to SFO for work), solo parenting, new paint & carpet, and moving into our new place about 1 month ago. Phew!
The stress of the past few months has flared autoimmune symptoms, but I can proudly say I'm feeling like I'm getting my head above water.🌊
A link is posted in our profile with a YouTube walk through of our new house. Basically - a humble brag on all our hard work...& online shopping. Hat 🎩Tip: Wayfair, Overstock & Amazon. 🤗 Oh, and if you're familiar with the Enneagram...I'm a 1...it's painfully obvious! 🤔
If you're in the area, reach out! We're so grateful we had the opportunity to see 49 of the US states. We can confidently say we've found a place that speaks to our hearts. An anchor for our wanderlust.
We're determined to soak up all that summer offers in our new home; something not easily done in the Mojave Desert. 🏜️

29/11/2018

Ruby & I took a cooking class at this new boutique hotel. Oh my. 😍 Beautiful!
It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about traditional Mexican dishes & ingredients. The instructors chuckled when someone asked about burritos.
We made a green pipian sauce with chicken and fried squash. For dessert, necuatole: a roasted yellow pumpkin with brown sugar/anise syrup, roasted pumpkin seeds & homemade vanilla ice cream. Delicious!
@ Hotel Amparo SMA

29/11/2018

A 's dream. The glass floor reveals another level of library below!

Our hotel in Queretaro was so nice. It was our first introduction to the old world charm on the outside and the transformed, modern businesses & courtyards on the inside.

23/11/2018

El Corazon de Mexico = The ❤️ of 🇲🇽.

23/11/2018

We spent Thanksgiving with 40 other worldschoolers on a veranda in 75° weather, overlooking beautiful San Miguel. 👌
We gravitate towards unconventional in lots of ways, including food. So while not typical Thanksgiving fare - my sweet potato & black bean enchiladas will slay your turkey any day. 😋
I'm so grateful for my posse and co-captain...my greatest source of love & belonging. ♥️ Home is wherever we're together. ❤️
@ San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato

05/11/2018

A rich & enchanting experience. Costumes, parades, fragrant marigolds, and candles. If faces painted like ghosts feels like a mockery of death - well, in a way it is. Because it's about the whole "pueblo" (community) JOYFULLY connecting with departed relatives & friends.

17/08/2018

A kombucha tap room. Its sooo Oregon...and I LOVE it! Their hoppy grapefruit is 💣.

16/08/2018

Tram to the top & back without a panic attack! 🎉 Thank you, former-chemistry-professor-turned-forest-ranger 👴 for the lesson on volcanoes and the cool map of tectonic plates. 🗺️ Mt Bachelor (a 9,000 foot 🌋 volcano) was created 4,000 years ago. That's basically yesterday in geologic time. 👶 Who knew Mt Bachelor is the 6th largest ski ⛷️ resort in North America?! After today Cache wants to pursue the hobby of downhill mountain biking. I can't say I don't blame him. What a thrill! The forest fire haze prevented "breathtaking views" but Three Sisters and the Cascade Peaks were still visable. 😍

31/07/2018

So this just happened!!!!!

16/04/2018

"A World of Languages" Our goal is to try and learn as much Spanish before we head to Mexico in October. The big kids are using Rosetta Stone, but don't particularly like it. Any tips or suggestions?

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

10/04/2018

Bad 📸 (sorry, Cache🤦‍♀️), but I had to quickly document our time with . This family is so rad. We briefly met them at a rally in January 2016. Roadschoolers + worldschoolers = 💣. It was so fun to connect in person again. We met up with them fresh off their flight from Mexico. We're grateful for the time they took to tell us about their 6 months (SIX MONTHS) in San Miguel de Allende. As we anticipate our first international travels we obviously still have questions and concerns. They put our minds at ease and now we're all even more excited! 🎉

30/03/2018

We bought our tickets for the ! We couldn't think of a better way to initiate international travel, than with learning from hundreds of seasoned worldschoolers. Bonus: celebrating Dia de Los Mu***os in Mexico! 🇮🇹

📸: Getty Images

24/03/2018

A whole 🌎 of possibilities! For a family of 6, this many passports requires a small fortune. It's been on our bucket list for years. When they arrived in the mail I got verklempt. I'm so excited! We've got big plans for 2018.

15/02/2018

Lots of 💗❤️💗 From 'my small 🌎 world' to yours.
This was our last Disney hurrah for a long while. First time annual pass holders. 🙋‍♀️ We used them 3 times this past year for multiple days. Great value...Or is it? Considering the $$$ we've spent on accommodations & food...so much food. 😋 Well, the joke's on us in the "value" department. But, nonetheless, we had a great time.

I think we watched Frozen Live at the Hyperion Theater 5 times? I'm a sucker for broadway. (Life should be a musical!) And the show gets me every time! 💞
So Happy Valentines with ❄️Frozen❄️ quotes:
I like warm hugs.

Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart.

Some people are worth melting for.

11/02/2018

This takes his animal observation very seriously. A perfect experience for our .
The Safari Park isn't your standard 'zoo' experience. What a beautifully maintained refuge.

22/01/2018

After a lifetime of patriarchy & orthodoxy, finding my voice has been a scary journey. But, I'm raising daughters who will know better and do better and that encourages me.

03/01/2018

Monument Valley!!! OMG!!! It's SO beautiful! And we've lived too close most of our lives to have not seen it with our own eyes. No green screen. This movie backdrop is really this magnificent!
@ Monument Valley

03/01/2018

Four Corners Monument. We had to.
We left Santa Fe a couple of hours before sunrise and headed northwest towards Monument Valley. It was as if the stunning sunrise was wishing us well on our way and beckoning us to come back soon. 😁
Our drive was full of scenic vistas.
@ Four Corners: Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah

01/01/2018

Meow Wolf was completely unexpected. Around every corner it was, "Whoa...wow...no way!" 👀

We're so glad we had seasoned attendees with us or we would've been completely lost and wouldn't have seen more than a 1/3 of the 20,000 square feet.

01/01/2018

🎼Dreams come true.
Yeah they do. In Santa Fe...(Newsies)
It really was a dream come true to finally visit Santa Fe. My heart just loves the .
Our visit was made extra special because my cousin, his wife, & their darling boys are Santa Fe locals. It was a joy to spend time with them - delicious eats, connection & conversation, and they know so much about the area. Thank you for your time and love!

Our airbnb was perfect and within walking distance to downtown. The New Mexican food? Well, it's all fun & games until the pants don't fit anymore! 😳😋🤗

30/12/2017

Art, artisans, & architecture. I'm in love.
@ Palace of the Governors

30/12/2017

All the 💙heart eyes💙 for the beauty of Santa Fe! 😍😍😍😍😍

30/12/2017

Scenes of Santa Fe...

29/12/2017

Arizona. Hot, humid, lush?
It's hard to imagine. But during the Triassic Period (225 million years ago) this region was a tropical landscape. Petrified Forest National Park - remnants of a prehistoric forest.
@ Petrified Forest National Park

27/12/2017

Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona...

"Take It easy, take it easy
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy
Lighten up while you still can
Don't even try to understand
Just find a place to make your stand - and take it easy"

Stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles, Route 66 was a destination in itself. Established in 1926, it was one of the original highways in the US highway system. People hit the road looking for a new life or to just get away from it all. Gas was cheap and magical roadside attractions beckoned you to "get your kicks on Route 66."
@ Wigwam Motel

26/12/2017

Merry Christmas!!!🎄
1) Downtown Summerlin is so festive this time of year! This crew is my FAVORITE.
2) I love my winters where snow is optional. They shoot off "snow" during the Christmas parade.
3) Christmas Eve dinner by candlelight. Because tradition.
4) Somewhere in my ancestral line homemade chicken noodle soup served over mashed potatoes became a thing. A starch fest. Because all of December hasn't been one overindulgence after another. 😳
5) This boy gave me the only gift that made me ugly cry. A card telling me how much he loved me singing him lullabies before bed and for all the yummy food I make. On the front it said, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas." Cache: Because that's your favorite Christmas song. I die! 💓
6) In anticipation of our Christmas road trip to Santa Fe - a pueblo gingerbread creation. I'm just a smidge excited! 💃
7) Oh, and Merry freakin Christmas to me! A new (to us) hybrid to make my mom taxi service dreams come true.

07/09/2017

3 months until the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. We can't recommend this series enough.

12/08/2017

: Unlimited wifi to kill time in the airport. 👊 Oh, and you *can* pack snacks. Thanks, family travel bloggers! You just have to endure the extra bag check through security.

I experienced trepidation before our NE adventure. This was our first bout of extensive travel without our home on wheels. Hotels & Airbnbs mean being without the comfort of our own beds. But, we were surprisingly adaptive. We challenged ourselves to pack minimalist style as we saw this a good test for future worldschooling. Most of us only packed 1 pair of shoes. Because Keens. And all of my planning (read: fretting, scouring reviews, mapping routes, and timing multiple travel(ers) paid off. I think we might be raising travelers yet! We've been bit by the bug. It's always something we'll seek.

10/08/2017

We only had a few hours in Cincinnati before catching our flight back to Vegas. Our rooftop gave us incredible views of downtown. Other first impressions:
1) The traffic on the bridge. 😣 Oh my!
2) Incredibly nice strangers.
3) Hot, hot, hot! Hello, humidity.
4) More hills than I imagined.
6) I wish we'd had more time to explore and check out the premie hippo at the zoo!
A "Rust Belt" city worth visiting.

31/07/2017

Are podcasts your thang? I'm always looking for inspiration!

Podcasts are a great way to refresh yourself as a homeschool mom! They are an amazing (FREE!) resource right at our fingertips. So put on your headphones and check out this guide to almost 100 homeschool podcasts.