family adventure travel – Mom Dad CuppaKids

Travel Isn’t Always Good.

by Jenn & Chris on November 6, 2017

It may seem glamorous, but it has its dark sides too.

Do you remember when we were walking through the rice fields of Sa Pa and sliding/falling in the mud? Or when the kids giggled the whole time clambering behind that waterfall in Banos? Or the sunsets on Koh Lanta?!!

White Water Rafting in Banos was cheap and awesome!

Sigh… Such good, good times.

It is kind of “be careful what you wish for” isn’t it?

Knowing what we do now, I would go back to long-term travelling in a heart beat.

The sunsets on Koh Lanta, Thailand are burned in my brain

The element of slow travel, of exploration and our plan of no planning/go-where-the-day-takes-us suited us wholeheartedly. As a family we became wicked close. As a couple we were bonded in the desire to make this the best experience of our lives.

And man, was it ever.

But as I wistfully reminisced this morning about all the amazing experiences we had, the hubs reminded me that I was looking at our trip around the world through travel-coloured glasses.

Shit. Yes. I totally am.

There was a magical beauty to being able to see Darwin’s Finches every morning as we ate breakfast in the Galapagos

I am in the trenches of my very first #NaNoWriMo experience. NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month is the concept that you can write a novel in one month if you dedicate the time and energy to doing it. Your goal is to get to 50,000 words by the end of November and can enjoy a community of fellow writers who are talking, supporting and encouraging you through the process. It is way harder than I thought, an average word count required to be written daily in order to stay on task that is a bit daunting. Especially when you haven’t quite found the flow yet. I am writing about our trip and as I write I am deep in reflection mode, working on what nuggets should be pulled out to inspire others to do a similar adventure.

If I can convince people to go here because of our writing, I will consider that a success.

Travel is absolutely something special. Yet there are times that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. We create this sunshine and roses ideal, but here are a few piece of reality that made me giggle today as we talked through those funny/not funny moments of our trip.

- I peed my pants at a World Heritage Site.
- Lauren threw up all over the bus station in Lima (as we left our backpacks entirely unmanned as we went to clean up the puke off of her, me and every piece of clothes we had on).
- Chris paid $30 for 3 apples in Vietnam. Sometimes currency conversions just don’t quite work out.
- Spencer went to the equator but really he just lied on the grass and didn’t move, our very first adventure and he had some kind of flu the whole way through.

We got to an AirBnb in the middle of the night and there was zero, absolutely NO toilet paper. None. (Ha! You try and hold it!)
We had headphones stolen off a bus in Bolivia.
Having to choose meats that are hanging out in hot sun and vegetables in markets that have flies everywhere gives you a stronger sense of “Just deal”.
We almost didn’t get on our flight to New Zealand because we didn’t have our visas to Australia sorted (an important note if ever you are going both places).
Chris thought he might have died in Sri Lanka, I thought I was going to in Cambodia, Spencer was convinced he was in Ecuador. You will get sick at some point. It is what it is.
There will be tight quarters. Claustrophobic level rooms or sharing of beds or kicking one out of bed.
Our first night in Sri Lanka & yes, that foot was in my face all night and Dad slept on the floor
There is absolutely NO such thing as air-conditioning in developing countries at 40+ degrees. It is called a window. Just deal.
We over paid for cabs/tuk tuks in Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Thailand, Vietnam, Greece and Morocco. Shit happens. You can’t get upset. It just all works out in the wash.
We watched corruption at its best in too many countries to count.
We saw really hungry kids and families with nothing. It will make you desperate to want to fix it somehow and yet you will start to realize you can’t.
We witnessed countless piles of garbage, plastic in the ocean, heart-hurting climate change.
Every fish market will always smell bad.
We fought in Napier, New Zealand and the kids were convinced we were going to get divorced. (We hardly ever fight, I was hangry and we were living in a close-quarter caravan for a month. It takes its toll).

You try living in this 24 hrs with your family for almost a month and see how you do 🙂

We can laugh at it all now. Sure, we had some minor challenges along the way but it will never take away from meeting some of the most wonderful people in the world.

We used Booking.com and AirBnb a ton for our trip and as I look at the bad, the opposite is how amazing these hosts made our experiences throughout our travels. It was the people and mother nature that made our trip as special as it was, and I can’t tell you enough how much these folks make me smile.

Alejandro in Quito, Ecuador who dealt with my tears on election night, took us on a tour of Northern Ecuador and introduced us to Otavalo market, local food, hot springs and Bizcochos.

Alejandro our awesome host and tour guide

We got to see how Bizcochos were made from scratch. So much fun.

Maria in Galapagos, Ecuador who coordinated transport and tours and recommended us to local eateries to enjoy life on the island.

Victor in Banos, Ecuador who painstakingly walked us through everything fun to do in Banos and organized zip-lining, white water rafting and cabs (& has the sweetest smile).

Victor was unbelievably kind and we met a TON of fellow travellers at this hostel.

Giovanna in Mancora, Peru who was so welcoming and open to us adding days onto our stay, as well as coordinating pick ups in the middle of the night as we go off the bus.

We adopted or got adopted by a lot of cats & dogs

Normal life became propane stoves and bottled water.

Alfonso in La Serena, Chile who not only picked us up but helped us go shopping at the local grocery stores as soon as we arrived. Plus he spent time in Edmonton so he already knows how awesome Canada is.

Pamela in Puerto Natalas, Chile who introduced us to Matcha and chatted with us about entrepreneurship, femicide and explained all things Chile to us.

The crew at the Circus Hostel in Buenos Aires who took us local to learn to tango & helped us navigate the currency situation in BA.

It was not uncommon for us to share a bed (2 to a single or 3 to a double) This became one of my all time favourite pics of the trip

Hue in Hoi An who helped organize scooters for us and took us on a total off-road adventure in the rain..

Wasunt in Bangkok who gave us an epic back alley scavenger hunt to make Bangkok fun & interesting for the kids and Grandma.

Our back alley adventures took us on a long boat trip through the centre of Bangkok

Ruwan in Ahangama, Sri Lanka who (along with Kumara our tuk-tuk driver) went so far above & beyond in hosting us including being part of a 2nd birthday party, bringing oils when Chris was sick, going over to their family’s house for dinner and for taking me across hell’s half acre translating and trying to get my computer fixed (& also for teaching our son to drive a tuk-tuk!)

Spencer became BFF’s with Kumara and we have been able to keep in touch.

Harrison in Dubai who made us feel fancy as we arrived in Dubai and organized our trips where we needed.

This was by far the fanciest place we stayed on our whole trip. It was perfect. Right beside Dubai Mall and looking out at Burj Kalifa.

Mohammed in Marrakesh who made countless arrangements for tours and meals and talked openly about being muslim and teaching us more about the Koran.

Riad Julia in old town Marrakesh was simply stunning

Mohammed was a lovely host and a genuine human being

As I look back on what we did, I am forever grateful to the human connections we made. They were really the best part of travelling. They are what make me want to do more.

Real Life

Out of Time.

by Jenn & Chris on September 8, 2017

When All Your Reasons Have Run Out.

I have no more excuses. None.

The summer treated us with divine gifts. A series of golden moments with family, friends, as a couple, and on our own.

We embraced new interests and reconnected with old passions.

We sat silently on the dock, and took time to find a deeper gratitude and appreciation for the country we live in.

We even found a place to live and a place to work. Well, Chris did.

Now it’s my turn.

Big Girl Underpants

When we decided to come home, we made a conscious choice to give ourselves peace, time, and space in the summer. We talked a lot about what we wanted to be when we grow up and the parts I loved (and hated) about working in social media, marketing, and events.

It was important to us to figure out ways to continue on our path of living big. To live life fully and make it a priority to follow hearts and follow dreams.

My dream, simply put, is to create and be creative. To get my hands dirty and have tactile, tangible pieces developing in my hands. I have never had such a deep urge to design beautiful things, fun videos, and write words. Many of them.

And if I am truly living big, this is where my next adventure begins.
I have said repeatedly that I want to write a book and write consistently on the blog. I really do. Yet I always seem to find ways to be too busy or overwhelmed by other “stuff” that needs to be done first.

At least that is where I put the blame.

Getting out of your own way

I love taking on challenges. I can and have done uncomfortable time and again. I have climbed mountains, ridden motorcycles, scuba dived, sky dived, zip-lined, and so many more adventurous, physical, and out-of-my comfort zone type of activities.

This challenge feels much different. It is far more getting-out-of-my-own-head kind of game instead of a physical one.

My success is no longer a concrete goal that I can simply accomplish by crossing the finish line. My success is determined now on my skill in telling a story.

I need to create an exciting enough experience for you, the audience, to keep coming along for the ride. And frankly, I’m not quite sure I have that capability.

Putting it out there always makes (some part of it) come true

I have a book (or two) in my head along with a couple of screenplays and dozens and dozens of blog posts of the trip.

And I want to write them all.

I am saying this now on the internet so that it might come true. (While gagging in the process).

Now my husband, friends and family are all holding me accountable. They are asking me how my writing is going and all I want to say is “Sod off, I’m not ready and Thank you”. My discipline and focus not yet refined enough to keep me in my seat. Social media still grabs hold of me too often.

I love them all dearly and can’t tell them enough how much I appreciate the nudge to start this ambition.

So now I must write. I no longer have a reason or excuse not to do this.

It’s time to start pursuing another dream with reckless abandon.

What do you dream of doing? Sometimes just putting it out into the world is the best way to get it started. Drop us a line and we can hold EACH OTHER to living as big as we can.

Real Life

Hitting Reset & The Trust Factor.

by Jenn & Chris on July 31, 2017

We Started Again. In The Middle of Our Lives.

You just gotta believe it will all work out.

We talk a lot about the universe in our world. About it aligning; putting energy into the right place; thinking positive and about trusting the flow of life.

Sure, to some it might seem all a bit Hippity Dippity (as my family/friends have been known to call it).

To me, I can absolutely 100% feel when I am fighting what should be moving along naturally in our life.

I seriously love pushing past my comfort zone. I like taking on challenges.

But trusting and letting go of what should be?

To stop worrying and let things flow to what will?

Mancora Peru beach — Letting things flow led us unexpectedly to one of the most beautiful beaches in South America. Mancora, Peru

Mancora was where we randomly saw humpback whales breaching just off the coast

Well, that’s probably one of the biggest challenges of my life.

Being totally open.

Letting things flow.

Goddamn, F#&%ing trust.

Take all of my life’s baggage, issues and protective barriers, bottle it up into one word and throw me the middle finger.

There you have it. That word is trust.

I hate and love it all at the same time.

Kids swinging swing at the end of the world — Our kids flying high on the swing at the end of the world caused me to work on some trust issues. Banos, Ecuador

Super tight spaces are not our favorite but this was a great lesson in the kids leading our trust & flow as we ventured to Pailon Del Diablo for the day

We have been home for 2 months and I have these panic moments that our trip feels like it’s floating away like a dream.

Before we came home, I cried that we were coming back to Canada.

I wasn’t ready to finish with our travels. Our family was so deeply connected and enjoying every ounce of travelling together. It felt like a special space and one I didn’t want to let go.

Yet we could sense that it was the right time. We had used up the majority of our budget, we were all starting to get tired of laundry and moving every few days and we could all feel an ache to see family & friends. (When the Acropolis came in at #27 of cool things we had done on the trip, we knew we had hit travel weary).

The kids got a chance to reconnect with friends and finish out the school year. It helped with getting ready for the adjustment to a new school, all the requisite kiss-my-ass (did I write that out loud?) IPRC, IEP, transition school meetings were had and we got things tidied up for school plans for the fall.

We came home to living a life of transition. It has felt liberating and like walking a cliff’s edge all at the same time.

We are starting our life again. Finding jobs, a place to live, and creating a plan.

In the past 2 months, I have felt like a rudderless sail, creative inspired, slightly depressed, tearfully grateful, intensely curious, over-stimulated and quiet. The quiet has been good. Taking a step back from the digital space to be fully present with people and nature has been a really healthy choice.

This is, and always will be the place that keeps me grounded – Galla Lake

But we still have had those burning questions that have been asked an infinite amount of times since we got back.

“What are you going to do now?”

This is where that damn trust & flow has played a big role in staying the course. We believed, we focused on the positive and we breathed through those moments that in the past would have sent me straight into an anxiety attack.

A lo and behold.

I am happy to share some big news for our family.

Today, Chris is starting a really exciting venture with Union Foods as the Director of Construction & Design. He will be responsible for overseeing the development of the majority of Union Station’s new food ventures with a forward-thinking, innovative company. (This is also the group that owns the ridiculously delicious Union Chicken at Sherway Gardens). If you haven’t gone for brunch and tried their Chicken & Waffles you are missing out. Trust me.

For me, I am reigniting Hart & Galla with some small upcoming events and select social strategy design for companies that fit well with our personal ethos. I am also putting it here for accountability (Gulp!) that I am working on a book proposal about our trip and plan on putting energy into MomDadCuppaKids daily. I am intent on writing more actively on this blog of personal stories, travel tips, world schooling, simplifying your life, event ideas, and special needs dialogue. My hope is to inspire people with a “hey, if we can do it, you can do it” energy and totally open to any ideas you might have.

We still have no permanent fixed address but for now that is fine.

For now, we will just Trust…& Flow.

Real Life

Hang to Dry – Taking Time to Chill On the Line

by Jenn & Chris on April 30, 2017

Downtime and Laundry Have Me in Heaven

We arrive at our latest place to stay and it feels like we have jumped into a movie set.

The view is insanely beautiful.

We keep waiting for someone to show up and tell us that we have the wrong house. That we should actually be staying in the garage, not the main villa overlooking the water in a small seaside town on the coast of Greece. It is everything you imagine a greek villa should look like, right down to the whitewashed walls and marble in every room.

We have fallen upon this place via a friend and his incredibly generous offer to use his family home. After many months of travel, through guesthouses, hostels, AirBnb’s or caravaning our way through the countryside, this feels like heaven because we are stopping for awhile.

We are chilling out. Taking it easy. No agenda. Nothing to see. Just to be.

Sunrises like these provide opportunity to reflect in gratitude

This feels like heaven because we can unpack.

Fully unpack for 10 days.

Not just our personal packs but the 1 big yellow backpack that encompasses our travel cubes, souvenirs, shoes, cosmetics and usually a big honkin’ bag of laundry.

It’s funny how perspectives shift on the road.

To us now, a chance to unpack could very well be one of the biggest luxuries we enjoy on this trip.

We typically don’t plan any more than a couple days ahead. We like travelling as the day takes us but lately its sped up a bit. I can’t quite tell if it’s because we now have a return date for our trip back to Canada or if we are in places we want to see so much of that we toggle back & forth between “tourist” and “traveller”?

When a travel days wipes out the whole crew

We seem to intuitively anticipate each other’s needs now. We can tell when one (or more of us) are travel weary and start making space and time for relaxing.

Reflection, quiet and sleep are our medicines required to get back on the horse (or camel or tuk tuk) and keep going.

We have all changed, I know that. My OCD on keeping things “neat & clean” has relaxed from a 9 to about a 2 on the peripheral stuff. Those things don’t matter so much anymore. What matters really is us, these experiences and being together.

As our priorities shift to focusing on being present, I can see a shift in everything we do.

For an absolutely incredible book on the practice of being present, I can’t recommend highly enough the book You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh. It has brought a calm and peacefulness to my world that I have never experienced before.

This book will change the way you look at life.

One of the most evident is in how we pack. What we thought we needed and what we really do is so completely different than when we started.

We have 3 distinct styles of packing. They all seem to be focus on eliminating extra time, energy and unnecessary opening of bags.

Here is a quick breakdown of how we roll:

The overnight/carry on travel pack

This includes 1 change of clothes, always a swim suit (thank you Drew Dudley and his tip that a swimsuit is “fun insurance” it has come in handy more than once), flip flops, a pr of PJ’s, toothbrush, and deodorant.

The 2-4 days city pack

1 extra pair of shorts, 2-3 shirts (depending on the mean temperature and how sweaty or smelly we might get as we travel), swim suit, flip flops, sarong (this can go a long way between beach, temple coverage and sun protection), small bag of deodorant, soap, conditioner, brush, and toothbrush.

The 4+ day in one stationary location

This gets me so excited you can’t imagine. Laundry, homemade meals, naps, even being domestic (like establishing some element of “home” for a few days) feels really really good.

Down days are some of my absolute favorites

For awhile, when we started talking about going home, I would picture Fred Flintstone putting his feet down in his car to put on the brakes. I wasn’t feeling ready yet. We still had so much to explore. What I realize now is that I had in my head that this was a singular defining moment for us. Yet life isn’t over after this trip. We can start planning the next one. We can relish in all the adventures we have had. We can cherish the beauty and the specialness of Canada for awhile. We can reconnect with family & friends. We can create & savour new memories back home.

Perhaps we can even welcome some of the amazing people we have met on our adventures to our home land and show them why we are so proud to be Canadian.

Come on over guys. The door is always open.

Family Matters Travel

Last Night I Cried…

by Jenn & Chris on March 31, 2017

Not ready to head home from a life-changing trip around the world.

Last night I cried.

For a person who is quite synonymous with tears, I think my track record over these last many months has been pretty good. There have been only a few crying moments on this trip.

Apart from tears of joy.

My Happiness is all about being around these majestic animals

We knew at the beginning of this adventure that it would change all of us one way or another. Shifted perspectives, maturity/growth in the kids, a deeper understanding of how our world works.

What we didn’t know was exactly how or when we would start to notice that change. If I am being honest, I kept searching for it in the beginning months. I was waiting to be enlightened. Waiting to “feel” different or suddenly have that moment of clarity of where our life would lead. I thought FOR SURE it would be revealed as I sat on the beach and gazed out at the sunset.

You have to admit this sunset IS pretty inspiring. Taken on Koh Lanta, Thailand

Admittedly, I MIGHT be a bit of a hopeless romantic.

The truth is, it didn’t quite happen like that.

What happened instead was the realization that we actually had to go THROUGH this entire journey before we could figure out what it was all about.

Along the way I had the deepest desire to write. To share the experiences we have had with you at home. Hopefully as a source of encouragement, inspiration or to satisfy that travel bug for you in the midst of those bleary winter months. I wanted to write countless tips & travel hacks that we have learned along the way. And post more videos. And pictures.

And we will. Just not yet.

You see one of the biggest a-ha’s we have had on this trip is the difference when we are fully and totally present. We are practicing mindfulness in the moments and with that comes a delay of sharing all the things. I felt guilty for awhile, for not sharing enough. Now? Now I’m good because I believe BEING PRESENT is a big part of our story.

The real reason I started crying last night is because we started planning on when we were going to come home.

Granted, it is almost exactly to the day from our third version of our adventure timeline (initially we were going for 3 months, then 6 months and now it will be closer to 9 months). But we actually started talking and PLANNING how we were going to get home. Yuck.

Our kids (actually, our whole family) have thrived in this choice.

We are healthier. An easy task when your daily dose of Vitamin D goes from the trip between house and car to the entire day outside.

We are happier. Again, when your daily activity surrounds physical activity, laughter and exploration, life feels all together simpler. To watch our kids try new things, to be adventurous, to overcome their fears? God! That makes me happiest of all.

Most importantly, we are so much more connected that we ever could have asked for. Can I say (without judgement) that I believe I love both my kids and my husband more or maybe deeper?

Having had the chance to spend so much quality time together, we have more consideration and respect for one another than we did when we were full of busy.

I believe they in return love me more as well.

I know, I know. Life isn’t over. We still have a couple months to go and trust me, in those months we will be soaking up every moment we can.

I just don’t want it to end.

Just not yet.

Dad Says:

Yup. She cried. It has been few and far between, but this was a doozy. Recognition that we were going to wind up returning home hit hard. It took a bit to get past the inevitable and realize that our future was still unwritten. That what we take from the trip will no doubt determine what we become in the future.

And then she cried again.

Jenn holds the value of being respectful to the core. Yet at the entrance to the Grand Palace she was rejected by some overbearing guard, who decided that she wasn’t properly covered in her overwhelmingly hot capris and would need to purchase a skirt and top to shroud herself in penitent fabric. This, as others strode by in skirts and bare legs.

Oh well, off to a rather shrewdly located shop that sold just the thing. And as you might expect with such a captive audience of cast-offs searching for coverage, big markups and rude service. Can I try this on? NO. CASH ONLY. Tears in eyes she emerged, and covered herself in a blouse that, for all intents and purposes, is not the best look ever. I mean ever. But it got her passed the gate, and, wiping the tears away, we went on to sweat our bits off admiring Bangkok’s best.

And if we are being truthful, she cried one more time.

At the Grand Palace in Thailand, home of the Jade buddha and where the king is laid to rest. The ornate decoration took your breath away. It was awesome, some would say even overwhelming. For Jenn, who feels deeply in every moment, too overwhelming. For her, it was that beautiful.

Sure, a few small occasions of tears but in the end (as it always will), everything worked out fine. Just like us heading home. Whatever happens, it will all work out fine.

Just saying…

Real Life Travel

Cloud Nine – How Airlines Across The World Have Treated Our Special Needs Son

by Jenn & Chris on March 20, 2017

If you were to meet our son anywhere on our world trip, the first thing you would likely hear is “Hi, my name is Spencer. I really love airplanes. Can I tell you about them?”

It’s a script we have worked on to explain his deep passion with planes while helping him practice the social cues of conversation.

You see, Spencer has Autism. While Autism carries a breadth of different behaviours, a common trait is fixating on a particular subject matter that can often nears obsession. Currently, his fascination is everything to do with airplanes. He wants to become a pilot, practices Google flight simulator daily, watches everything he can on YouTube from aircraft investigations to test flights for Airbus and Boeing airplanes.

Flight crews (and especially pilots) are like gods to Spence. The generosity and kindness they have shown him throughout our adventure make them rock stars in my books. More than once their gestures have caused me to tear up simply because people just don’t do that anymore.

Thai Airlines pilots were so very generous with their time. They are definitely near the top of our list.

It is common for Spencer to enter a plane and turn left while the rest of us turn right. Don’t worry. He always asks permission and surprisingly often he is allowed to say a quick hello to the pilots before we head to our seats.

One West Jet flight, he checked in with the pilots to see if they had done their pre-flight checklist. “Jeff and Jeff” were incredibly gracious to him, walking through their flight plans and the controls. As he left the cockpit, he made the entire plane giggle as he said “if you need me, I’m in row 16!”. The beauty of the West Jet brand is that it wasn’t just the pilots. The crew were equally kind, providing us a care package as a send off on our world trip and an experience that Spencer still remembers (& talks about to this day).

When we flew Avianca back from the Galapagos Islands on a near empty airplane, he could hardly believe his good fortune to be able to wander the plane and look out the window from a myriad of locations. We couldn’t believe the patience the flight crew had to let him.

LATAM was by far one of his favourites because they use fancy (see glass) glasses and proper napkins. Spencer’s comment was that we might as well be in first class. A dream of his is to tour first class on an Emirates Airbus A380. If ever there was a brand advocate, he is theirs. Not because of Jennifer Aniston, but because of THIS guy. YouTube can be a very powerful influence. Let’s leave it at that.

Air New Zealand was so very special because we flew on a 787 Dreamliner, one of Spencer’s ultimate aircrafts. Their flight path was interactive, their in-flight entertainment system was the bomb, add in seat to seat texting and meeting the pilots, we will have a sweet spot for Air New Zealand forever and a day.

On Singapore Airlines, the pilot actually came out at the end of the flight and shook Spencer’s hand. I tried not to cringe as he commented and scored them a 7 out of 10 on their landing, suggesting that next time they try to “lightly kiss the ground” when they touch down. Thank god for their sense of humour and openness to hearing this from a 10 year old.

Singapore Airlines pilots were some of the nicest we have ever met

The wild thing is that its not just the general stuff. He knows fuel ratios, flap extension degrees, and all sorts of stuff that is way outside his weight class. When we were standing in line for customs at Brisbane airport, an Emirates flight crew walked up along side us. Spencer vibrated as he met the flight crew who very kindly offered to introduce him to the pilots. You would have thought me were meeting the Queen, as Spence drew in a big breath and approached the pilots with a hand out and his “Hi I’m Spencer” intro. The pilots smiled and listened as Spencer recounted the entire features and benefits list of an Emirates airplane. One pilot in particular (a Canadian) suggested he apply for a job when he is older. An ambition that is now solidly in Spencer’s line of sight.

On Thai Airlines, the flight crew provided an official passport for him to track his flights and for the pilot to sign. At the end of the flight, he went in to see the cockpit and was able to sit in the pilot’s seat. A chance opportunity he will remember for a lifetime.

Spencer perusing the cockpit of the Thai Airlines A330 flight we were on.

Every time we get to an airport, he goes plane-spotting, an opportunity to point out all the incoming planes and what they are. The awesomeness of an airport is determined by how many A380’s we have seen or how many 747, 777 and 787’s were at the terminal. He will tell anyone close how exciting this is and to be honest, his excitement is often infectious.

You see, the irony is that we were told with his Autism, Spencer might never be social. He might never hug us and he might never say I love you.

What we have discovered is that when we shifted our perspective just a little, we stopped focusing on the Autism. Sure. There are and always will be moments along this journey that our son has special needs, but it is far from what defines or drives us. Traveling the world, Spencer has no routine (his preference to his life before travel). Our days are filled with spontaneity and loudness and life. He has learned to deal with so much along the way and he is learning every day how to meet and connect with people from all over the world.

We, along with dozens of flight crews have been witness to an extraordinary little man who’s light and enthusiasm lights up a smile in anyone he meets.

We watch while he turns the coldest hearts into giggling people. Even when he’s talking all things aviation.

Except crashes.

We only have one rule: We don’t talk about plane crashes while we are on a plane.

That one is one even mom can’t handle.