Well…I’ve finally done it.  Sweetums and I have been talking and praying about this blog/website for a long time…more than a year.  And today….I did it….I started the blog.  I pray that I will be able to provide great information for you about what has worked well for us…and what has not worked so well.  One thing I know for sure….I love to travel.  It is my absolute favorite past time.  I love to research and plan for trips.  I take planning very seriously.  I want to be a great steward of the time and money God has blessed us with so that the trips will be fun, within budget and memorable!

We want our kids to see all 50 states before they graduate from high school.  This usually surprises people!  The first question I always get asked is “So….How many states have y’all visited?”  Followed closely by, “What states are left?” Well, I have an Excel spreadsheet for that!  🙂  (For those who know me well, this will come as no surprise).  I keep track of all the states and the month and year we first visited them.  Here is our current tally along with the yet to be visited states….

Sweetums 48 (Alaska and North Dakota)

Me 46 (Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, and North Dakota)

Emily and JoeJack 44 (Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, and North Dakota)

Skywalkah 31 (Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming)

Here is my spreadsheet if you want to use it for your family too!  State Analysis

As you can tell, we traveled quite a bit before Skywalkah came along, but we have plenty of time for him to catch up!  🙂

Why?  Why even try to accomplish something like this?  We want to expose our kids to all the beauty and geographic diversity this country can provide.  God has created so many incredible places on this continent alone.  We want to build lasting memories with our children…time away from the hustle of daily life.

We are trying to live lives that are intentional.  Intentional in worship to God…intentional in day to day activities….intentional in our major family activities. Time passes so quickly.  We want to make the most of it.

How intentional is the life your family leads?