Podcast Launch!

It turned out to be an incredible amount of work, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've noticed a trend in myself lately that I have a bizarre power to drastically underestimate how hard or how long or how much a project is going to take to complete. I think it may be "rose colored" glasses, but either way, it's annoying as heck!! By the end of the day, I'm usually left wondering what I got done.

See? ....just that paragraph was longer than I wanted as an intro! :)

At any rate, we launched Family Adventure Podcast!! It's officially on Itunes! and we'd LOVE to have everyone's help in getting the word spread. The best way is to post this link on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc. and see here it goes! www.familyadventurepodcast.com/itunes Also, it's critical to Subscribe, and Rate or Review the podcast on itunes. 

If you're not appley, go through this link to Stitcher: www.familyadventurepodcast.com/stitcher. Stitcher is a popular podcast engine for Android, tablets, etc.  

Thanks in advance for everyone's help! Let us know how you like it (or don't) and we are excited to see what this may lead to!

Erik & Family

A new Chapter.....

As many people have followed this blog over the years, and we've been amazed by the people we've met through our adventures, we had a difficult time simply closing the chapter to the adventure and trying to pick up again with 'normal' life. Some of our reader have been curious how the kids have adjusted back to life on land, living in a new town, and picking up the pieces to their schooling.

Kids are amazingly resilient and adaptable as we've seen, and I think we as the 'grown-ups' have had a more difficult time in some ways. The emotions of this adventure are really hard to simply put on the shelf.

So, we're prepared to embark on a new adventure!! This one is all about helping families do and achieve big dreams and goals. We get asked frequently questions like: "Where do you start planning an adventure like this?" "How much does it cost?" "Weren't you scared of pirates?"

Our plan is to start a new platform called:  www.familyadventurepodcast.com! It is going to be a weekly podcast/radio show where we will interview families who have completed, or are currently traveling and adventuring in all sorts of ways: sailing, biking, RV'ing, etc.

These are families who have left the comforts of home and we are thrilled to meet them and hear their stories of success, failure, things they wish they'd done differently, everything! We want to inspire families to learn what option are out there, and more importantly, how they can set and achieve big goals!

We'd love to have you on the journey with us and please visit us at: www.familyadventurepodcast.com

Thanks for all your support through this website over the years, and we'd love to hear from you!

BIG NEWS!!

So, something pretty amazing happened during Maggie and Levi's trip to Israel that at least deserves it's own blog post!

Josh had asked for Rachel and I's permission several month ago for Maggie's hand in marriage. We love Josh and even more importantly, we know how much he loves Maggie. So, we agreed, not knowing exactly how or when they would be able to get married. The trick with international relationships is visas and residency papers have gotten very complicated all over the world. I don't think any nation is easy these days to get permission to live and work in.

But they are committed to each other and to making their relationship work, so when we sent Maggie and Levi to Israel, we were expecting an excited phone call sometime during the trip to hear about the proposal.

It came only 3 nights after they left. Once Maggie and Levi had arrived in Israel, Josh was anxious to propose and he had a great set up planned for Maggie. She love Nicholas Sparks books, and he had hollowed out a section of her favorite book and hid the engagement ring inside. He then had a dinner set up and afterwards, a quiet dessert set up on a roof top overlooking Jerusalem. He had friends get it all set up with candles and once they were on the roof, he gave her the book. She loved it, but didn't realize you had to open it to get the REAL gift! She was ecstatic and though tears, accepted his proposal.

They then joined the friends who had helped set it all up and had a group celebration! Good times!

Maggie and Levi - Globetrotting on their own....

Things have been moving quickly since we've been back to the US, especially since we've arrived in North Carolina after our road trip last Summer. Maggie and Levi were invited by some dear friends we met in Israel to be in the wedding of their oldest daughter. Of course, Maggie and Levi jumped at the opportunity to make another trip back to Israel and see all of their friends there again.

They also invited their cousin and his wife, Corey and Alida to make the trip with them. So they met in New York City 'on their way' and spent almost 3 weeks traveling around Israel and hanging out. 

It was a bit nerve-wracking for us, partly because our kids were traveling to the other side of the world, but also because we wanted to go with them!! Of course, no complaints at all from Maggie who was able to see her boyfriend who she has been maintaining a long distance relationship with (with a visit in the middle), so she was ecstatic to see him. He's the dashing British bloke in some of the photos. 

They had a great visit and the wedding went well. Corey and Alida also fell in love with Israel. Maggie and Levi were the 'tour guides' showing them some spots they really liked from our time there. Places like the dead sea, En Gedi (a nature walk with waterfalls) and of course, Sea of Galilee. They also spent a lot of time walking and walking and walking around Jerusalem. It is really an ideal city to walk because the weather is usually amazing, and you can hardly throw a falafel over your shoulder without hitting a archaeological site of something incredible. 

Here's a couple pictures from their trip: 

More pictures at: Picasa photo album