It's About Time....

My husband, Trent, & me on a couples trip to NYC
October 2011

It's about time I start a blog, at least that's what the voice in my head tells me.  The reality is I live a very busy life.  As I sit here watching the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics in a hotel room in hot-as-heck Las Vegas, I've realized that since I have been married I have never watched the opening ceremonies in the comfort of my own home.  Beijing 2008 I watched from my grandmother's TV, with antennas and all, in San Luis Obispo, California, Athens 2004 I was again in California at my parents' old home in Vacaville.  Sydney 2000 I watched from a closet-sized hotel room in the Hotel Eiffel Tower in Paris France. I remember booking that room thinking I'd have a lovely view of the Eiffel Tower, but instead it had a great view of a buanderette (a self-operated laundry mat).  In 1996, I was back in California visiting my parents as we watched Atlanta host the Olympics.  

Notre Dame Cathedral
with our children Clay, Colton & Bailey
July 2009

Why am I never home during the Summer Olympics?  It easy.... its the summer.  It is time to travel, get out of the heat of Texas and see what's going on in the world.  After being in a foreign country in 2000, I decided that was no way to root on the home team, the good ol' USA, but it hasn't kept me home to watch it on my own big screen.  

St. Thomas USVI with all six kids
Thanksgiving 2011

I love to travel.  My husband and I both do.  We like to travel together, with all of our six children, with only a few of them, with other family members, and with friends.  I love to see all the wonders of the world both natural and man made.  I love to share these sights with others, but mostly I love to share it with my husband, Trent.  We would both rather travel the world than receive a special gift. 

Trent & me in Abu Dhabi at the Grand Mosque
March 2012

So I have decided to start documenting the small tips I have learned as I have traveled around the world.  Tips for women, mothers, families, and any insights I can document to help others as they venture out to discover the world.  In this blog, I will share current trips and trips I've made over the past 18 years since my real adventure began when I married my true love, Trent, in December 1993.  

Bailey and me in KoSamui Thailand
March 2012

I hope this can help other travelers learn from our experiences, our mistakes, our regrets, and the awesome nuggets of knowledge we have gleaned in our travels.  Most importantly, I hope to make the world feel like a smaller, safer, and accessible place for any woman and/or mother out there who might feel a little scared of all things foreign.  

Trent & me in the Waheba Sand Desert in Muscat Oman
March 2012

                                 “All travel has its advantages. 
                                  If the passenger visits better countries, 
                                  he may learn to improve his own. 
                                  And if fortune carries him to worse, 
                                  he may learn to enjoy it.” 
                                  – Samuel Johnson

Clay & Trent helping bring in the day's catch in Colombo, Sri Lanka
March 2012