Shoes, soled with layers of dense mud, lined the porch. It had recently rained, turning the dirt driveways and road-side pathways into sludge traps. In this environment, shoes don’t come into the house. This was my front porch in Romania during the wetter seasons. In no time at all, the children’s shoes were trashed. I… Read More The chore of responsbility
It was a new-to-us botanic garden. Shaded pathways led through the foliage of South Africa and plants of New Zealand. Each curve brought curiously shaped leaves and vibrantly blooming flowers. I allowed the three older children, the oldest nine, to explore freely. After an hour of bamboo groves, manzanita habitat and all type of herbage… Read More Children, are you lost?
Seasonal traditions aren’t constrained by climate. I have celebrated many a Christmas in the southern hemisphere, sweat pouring from my brow, dripping onto the wrapping paper on my lap from a just-opened gift. Christmas doesn’t always mean snow, cold, and a warm fire. I have spent Easters anticipating the cool-ish rains, glad to leave the… Read More Pumpkin Patch Island Style – Oahu, Hawaii
It never fails. We save up for a vacation that requires a flight and, on the return, we ask the kids what they liked best. All three, in unison – “the movies on the plane.” Guys, we went to Kauai! This is Hawaii’s garden island, the island with the most miles of beach. This is… Read More Highlights that can’t be bought – Kauai, Hawaii
Parents sometimes go to great lengths to create special moments and learning experiences for children. At the Grand Canyon’s north rim in Arizona, we dutifully assisted our children with completing their ranger booklets (available for free at the ranger station). This took a good part of two days to complete successfully. We hiked several short… Read More The Grand Canyon’s North Rim Duck
I have forgotten her name. I woke up this morning, fresh from a dream about Romania. It’s been over a year since we returned to the United States, so Romania is only a dream now. In the final months of our year-long stay in the rural south, we befriended new neighbors. These neighbors lived around… Read More Forgotten Names in Romania
I have distinct memories of my dad chuckling while silently reading weathered copies of James Herriot’s writings. As an adult, on a one years stint back in Mozambique, I picked up those same copies of Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small series and I read, for the first time, literature I could truly call exquisitely written and heartwarming. Literally.… Read More The World of James Herriot – Thirsk, Yorkshire, England
Our family recently relocated from rural Romania to urban San Diego, California, USA. The southern California climate is known for encouraging an element of indoor/outdoor living. Its outdoorsy culture cannot be overstated. I was not surprised, therefore, to discover that San Diego’s version of Central Park – Balboa Park – recently created a nature play… Read More The Backyard We Didn’t Ask For
It was a dinosaur. There’s no other way to describe the gnashing, crushing jaws, and the swaying neck that toppled the wall into rubble and sent the roof collapsing. In minutes, smiling faces were buried under piles of Lisbon ceramic roof tiles, twisted rebar and mangled air conditioners. We were fascinated, pausing longer than intended… Read More A Demolition, and other forms of unplanned entertainment in Europe
In Europe, bridges don’t look like they used to. Over the course of years, many famous bridges have become weighed down with excess metal in the form of padlocks. Tradition, hearsay and plain nonsense suggests that two lovers who fix a padlock to a bridge and throw the key in the river will seal their… Read More Commitment, Europe’s Bridges and How to Finally Free Your Toddler from the Curse of the Pacifier/Binkie/Dummy
will travel with kids 