Summers of the Past

I’m joining some Blended Blog ladies for a blog hop remembering some summers of the past.  If you are visiting from Carrie’s blog, welcome! So glad you are here!

When I started thinking about past summers I started getting a little nostalgic. My kids are pretty much grown up now. My daughter is entering her senior year of high school and both boys are in college. We don’t have little kids anymore!

One of the things I thought about is all the travel we did when the kids were little. I know people who don’t travel because they have little kids. We did not let that stop us. Here are some examples:

We took Tommy camping in an RV when he was 6 weeks old. He rode around in the sling while Michael and I went on hikes and enjoyed the fall leaves in them mountains.

Timothy went to the south of France when he was 15 months old.  He enjoyed eating baguettes and cheese while we drove around the countryside. He napped in the car and was ready to tackle the markets. On that same trip, my mom watched him while Michael, Tommy and I hiked Le Cinque Terre, Michael carrying 3-year-old Tommy on his back in a backpack.

When Annie was 6 months old she went camping in a tent. I gave her a bath in a dishpan on the picnic table.

When the kids were 4, 6 and 8 we chartered a sailboat in the Bahamas with Michael’s brother’s family.

When Michael ran the Boston marathon in 2004, we all went to Boston. I took the kids to Concord while he ran the race.

We went to Italy many times. Once so we could attend my cousin’s wedding. Annie was the flower girl. Another time we played in the snow on Mt. Etna. They learned to eat gelato and real Italian pizza!

They climbed on lava rock stones at the beach in their Italian bathing suits.

They ate lots and lots of gelato and pizza.

At 10, 12, and 15 we took a trip to Israel and wandered where Jesus walked, learning about Jewish culture and history.

At 15, 17, and 19 we took the family to Italy (again) to visit family now that they were bigger and would remember aunts, uncles and cousins.

Last year, Annie and I went to Italy again, exploring ancient ruins and basically eating our way through Sicily.

I’m happy to say that I have raised kids who like to travel.

This past April Timothy spent a month in Spain with his school and then another month traveling around some and then hanging out at my parents’ house in Sicily.

Thomas is graduating in December and he is currently working on a van he bought this summer, converting it to a tiny house on wheels. He plans to travel for a year after graduation. (You can follow his travel Instagram @charcotravels.)

Annie is ready to go on a road trip with a friend. We just aren’t quite ready for her to do that on her own. 🙂