Life by Jen

Travel is what I live for. It’s this weird feeling, where it’s almost like I can’t not do it. With four kids ranging in ages, a crazy schedule, and a lot of logistics to sort out, I should think that it’s a terrible idea. But I never do. My brain always says, “We could totally do this.” There are definitely moments later on when I realize I was completely full of it. Moments when I go, “Ohhhhhhhh, maybe I should start liking to stay home.”

Thankfully, my husband is up for the challenge. He is definitely the more pragmatic one, with realistic ideas of how it will all play out. In the end, it usually works out. We make fantastic memories and have a lot of, “Can you believe we pulled that off!?” moments. I am so thankful we, and our kids, will have so many, many memories of our travels and adventures. They have seen us go with the flow so many times, adjust plans as challenges happen, and ride the wave of the adventures.

Now, normally I have a few places I’d like to go, a few places we consistently like to go, and then my eyes on the deals. The last one is my favourite. The universe can tell me where we should go! I mean, if I want to see it all, it’s like the deal roulette. It is how we ended up with a stop in Iceland. It’s how we ended up staying in a castle in England. It’s also nice to pick up a deal when you’re travelling with 6 people. I haven’t ventured into the credit card points arena. Though, I have kept going back and looking at the Instagrams and blogs of people who do, and it really does look tempting. Maybe one day.

My current mission is to plan our next trip. I have some scheduling challenges to wade through, but I’m super excited to get to come up with an idea. Maybe a long overdue return to Disneyland, Scotland with the whole family, a Vegas getaway. Yellowstone in Wyoming is another contender. I have been itching to see that! I have no idea. So exciting!

In the meantime, I’m watching deals. I love Travel Pirates for flights out of the US, and in Canada there are a few excellent deal sites for our city and nearby ones. I don’t mind driving across the border to catch a deal. We are closest to Seattle, so a flight deal out of Seattle means a trip to the outlets in Everett, Pike Place, and some other fun stops.

I am excited to document some of our travels. I have so many travel favourites and travel ideas I am looking forward to putting down into words. I hope that they bring some enjoyment to others because I am a huge fan of reading about travelling to places with some insight. I love to read what travellers find outside of the travel books. The real reviews about towns, the little unknown must-do’s, and the places that don’t always live up to the hype (or might be less realistic travelling with kids).

I am not sure exactly where we will go next, but right now I’m basking in the sensation of not knowing where we will go next, with all opportunities open. Let the deal hunting commence!