2017 Recap – My Favorite Memories – Around the World with Kids

Every year I write a post to recap the year. This year, like many, had its intense highs, and its dizzying lows. But at the end of the year, I’m a year older, a year wiser, and a more reflective of what I have experienced and achieved. Instead of giving you the top five posts this year by clicks, I’m going to list my personal top 5 posts I wrote this year. These were the posts that I put my heart and soul into and deeply impacted me. The ones I took on as a project and spent time making sure they were just right:

5. The Road from LA to San Francisco

I journaled our meandering drive from LA to San Francisco, and the surprises we found along the way

4. Legoland on a Budget

Could we fit in a trip to LegoLand for four during a long weekend for under $1,000? With some creativity and planning, yes we could. I documented how each penny was spent so you too can figure out how to do it.

3. Forced Vacation – How I Spent My Disability Leave

I was forced to take off a few weeks when I had knee surgery. How did someone as type A as I am take the forced vacation…

2. Hard Life Lessons Learned this Thanksgiving

This was the dizzying low part of the year. Losing my cousin and having another accident happen right afterward made me rethink some choices on a trip we were on, and think deeply about what really matters in life.

1. Surrounded by Power and Love

This was the intense high. The whole family participated in the Oakland Woman’s March in January, and got to be a part of history; one of the biggest world-wide mass demonstrations in history. After the devastating election in 2016 we got a chance to stand up and let the world know we would not go quietly into the night. It was my first foray into political action, but hasn’t been my last.

This year wasn’t always pretty. And not everything went the way I expected. But there’s lots to be proud of this year. I experimented more with my blog posts. I’ve launched a Facebook page (facebook.com/aroundtheworldwithkidsblog) and an Instagram Channel (@aroundtheworldwithkidsblog) for people to follow along on a regular basis. I’ve started taking part in photo challenges on WordPress to encourage more writing. And I’m loving every minute of it. Here’s to a wonderful 2018. May you have many travel adventures to enjoy!