Personal Update from on the Road

I just read Jenn's comment from "When In Rome."

Thanks Jenn! For those of you who don't know, Jenn (the author of "A letter from Spain" a blog linked to my blog -- check out over on the right side of your screen) and her family are from Minneapolis as well and entirely independently are living a parallel adventure with their family in Spain!

As she said, we are about half way through our collosal adventure. This requires a bit of reflection.

As we expected after a couple of months, Maggie seems to have fully adjusted. For those of you worried about her from the beginning of our trip, she is doing so well now! She even admits (most of the time) that she really enjoys Dublin and is having a great adventure. We were particularly worried about this long trip to Italy and Greece, what with her friend having just left and the highs of her birthday now behind her. But she is doing well. She now has a couple of friends in school in Sion Hill, with similar interests (i.e. One Direction) and, aside from the huge spring break (two weeks), life seems pretty normal.

I'm sure that it being spring and the trips along with grandma and grandpa's impending visit that life also is looking up.

Johnny seriously rolls with the flow. He is Sheila's son and seeks adventure. He seems to drink it up. Until he's exhausted. Then he's just done. But he has obviously loved the travel.

The trip is, without a doubt, life changing for all of us. Both of our kids have been able to be incredibly free and independent both in Dublin and, now, in yet another country. Maggie has taken the DART by herself, home from basketball games and Johnny can pratically cycle home from school himself.

Sheila and I will probably be the saddest when this is over. We are already sad that it is half way over. This time together is incredible and we have so enjoyed the friends we've made. The Irish are incredibly generous and loving and we're soaking up every minute of it. I hope we can keep them as life-long friends along with our memories.