We are in countdown mode!

It sometimes feels somewhat unreal as we started our countdown with 3 digits and now we are down to exactly 30 days!

Here are some of the things we are working on to prepare for the trip:

• Donating, selling, packing (for storage) and giving our items: from clothing to furniture, games, plants and spices… there is a lot to go through! I started doing this for a couple of months and we are pretty bare bone at the moment. There are times kids ask for a specific toy or game and it has already been stored or donated!

• Working on our itinerary: we have been booking our lodging and flights for the first several months of our trip. We are pretty set on our schedule/bookings through mid september (we will be in Dubai). That is approximately 3 1/2 months planned. We are also spending time in deciding what to see in the places we will be visiting. (ie. what museum/hike/store/restaurant/adventure/experience is a MUST in each area…) This can sometimes be tricky as we are a family of 5 (the oldest, being almost 43 and the youngest, being 4!).

• Doctor check ups: we are all getting dentist, optometrist and doctor check ups as well as retrieving our vaccination, health and dental records. These are going to be scanned and readily available when necessary.

• Packing: defining what still needs to be purchased (Jason wanted to travel with 3 pairs of shorts and although I appreciate his minimalism, I told him to go buy some shorts ;-) as well as fine tuning our first aid kit and gathering other misc. items (ie. swimming goggles, hats, games, etc)

• Saying goodbyes: scheduling meet ups with friends and family. Originally we were planning a big cinco de mayo party at our home, but as our house is so bare bone and we will be renting the house back from the new owners (we close on may 2nd), we decided to not have it.

• Spending time together and enjoying Colorado before we go. We just finished this puzzle, as a family. Ironically, the title of the puzzle is “Goodbye America!”.