After our travels in Italy, we hopped on the 45-minute ferry from Sardegna to southern Corsica and spent two days there.  Then another overnight ferry from Corsica to Genoa led us to a day’s drive through Monaco up to Chamonix, France where we stayed in a fantastic Airbnb in a valley village of Vallorcine to visit our friends the Inamdars.  The mountains and valleys and glaciers of the Chamonix and Mont Blanc area were simply stunning and great way to finish our European tour.

Highlights:

1. Corsica is a Beautiful place
2. Mountain lake of Bavella
3. Hilltop village with Airbnb and incredible views
4. Cap du Corse and black stone beach
5. Drive to Monaco
6. Incredible Vallorcine Airbnb chalet
7. Fun activities with our friends the Inamdars

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After our wonderful weekend in Switzerland, we headed south to Italy.  We drove through Milan to Cinque Terre, then through various towns in Tuscany (Lucca, San Gimignano, Siena, Orte) followed by a few days in Rome.  We took the overnight ferry from Civitavecchia to Sardegna for a few days to finish our Italian tour. In this post, I’ve asked Tera and each of the children to join me in writing up some of the highlights so you’ll get to hear from them as well.

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After 3 fantastic weeks spent in Spain and Portugal, we set off on a bit of a sprint across the Iberian Peninsula and France.  We were excited to see our good Swiss friends Isa and Alain and their two girls, who we met while living in the Netherlands, and to see Switzerland again.  So, we set off for two 9-hour days of driving with some minimal sightseeing along the way.

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After two weeks of relative downtime in Valencia, we geared up for a few weeks on the road.  Our trip south would take us through Granada, past Gibraltar to the southernmost tip of Spain in Tarifa, then across the Mediterranean Sea to Africa for a day-trip to Tangiers, Morocco, then northwest to Sevilla and then to Portimão and Lisbon, Portugal.  We were going further south and getting further into the summer, so the weather was turning warmer, but still not the unbearable mid-July heat that was sure to come.  The weather was still only warm, and the crowds were still not overwhelming.

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During this first half of 2018, we've visited two active volcanos and witnessed the bright red/yellow/orange lava erupting from both.  In January we visited the Kiluaea volcano in Hawaii, watching the boiling crater spit up lava globules, and we also visited relatives in Vacationland and snorkeled in the Kapaho tidepools there on the east side of the big island.  Then in May we climbed up the Acetenango volcano in Guatemala and spent the night admiring the adjacent erupting Volcan de Fuego which showed regular small, but impressive, eruptions every 20-30 minutes.

Now in June both volcanos have erupted with great force. 

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After a fantastic week in Wassenaar, we picked up the rental car at the Schipol airport and packed up all of our suitcases before heading south to Spain.  On the 3-day drive down, we stopped for a Versailles gardens afternoon, overnighted in France, drove through the mountains and valleys of Andorra, spent an afternoon at the beach and walking streets of Barcelona, and finally arrived in Valencia where we have been for the last two weeks.

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After 9 days in Southern England, we flew to the Netherlands, officially completing our round-trip ticket which had begun back in October when we repatriated to the US (I’ll explain that one later).  It was a delight to return to people and places that we had grown to love over our four years there.  It was so very comfortable to insert ourselves back into the community and culture for a very short period of time. The kids especially had an absolute ball, seeing old friends and teachers, and enjoying the freedom that comes from biking, and knowing your surroundings and neighbors.
 
Highlights:
 
1. Biking culture of the Netherlands
2. Scattering kids across the community
3. Renewing friendships
4. Public Transporation in the Netherlands
5. Eating out at favorite neighborhood restaurants
6. Escape room Date night
7. Church youth group activities
8. A very favorable Shell policy on repatriation transportation
 
Lowlights:
9. More acute recognition of the loss of an employer (Shell)
10. Our nuclear family unit temporarily dissolved.

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After a fantastic two weeks in Dallas and Utah, we hopped on a flight with only our 4 youngest kids and headed to London.  All of us, except Megan, had been to the city before. It was fun to return to see new sights and some old ones. We spent a few days in the city, visited some friends in London and Kings Langley, and then began a week long-journey along the coast of Southern England - which we loved from start to finish.
 
Highlights:

1. Old English and Norman Castles
2. Learning about English History
3. London Shows on West End
4. English scenery along the southern coast (Dover cliffs, Beachy Head and Seven Sisters, Durdle Door and Jurassic Coast)
5. Windsor Castle preparing for the Harry and Meghan Wedding
6. Stonehenge Celtic Site
7. HMS Victory at Portsmouth Naval Museum
8. Roman ruins at Bath 

 
Lowlights:
      9.  6-person single room Airbnb in a slightly uncomfortable house
      10.  Some dreary cold and rainy days in May

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We had a triumphant return to Grapevine, and received a very warm welcome by Tera’s parents. The house was immaculately clean, and I felt a bit guilty as we unloaded the car and brought all of our “stuff” back into their house, filling up the hallways and corners. We promptly settled back into the house, to the room attic upstairs where all 6 kids sleep, and the guest room that Tera and I get to claim when there. But we still had a lot to squeeze into 2 weeks -  one week for the upcoming wedding, getting driver's licenses for Nathan and Anna, and repacking everyone for our next 8 months of the year; and one week to settle in the two oldest kids at BYU.
 
Highlights:
1. Week full of activities at Grammy and Grampy’s
2. A full house with relatives
3. Playing string quintet music for Mary’s wedding
4. Getting Nathan and Emily settled at BYU
 
Lowlights:
5. Spending 7 hours to get Anna’s driver’s license
6. Packing and repacking

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While our original trip through Mexico to come to Guatemala took almost 10 days, we decided on a faster trip back home.  The temple schedules weren’t lining up at Villahermosa, and the Veracruz temple was closed, and we were a little mayan ruin’d out, to want to take the time and effort to go to Palenque (notoriously bad roads, and many hours out of the way, though apparently an amazing ruin site).  So we chose a more direct route along the southern border out of Guatemala, then cutting up north past Tuxtla Guttierez to the Atlantic border from Veracruz to Brownsville, lasting only 5 days.

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