Jackson is 12!
Jackson turned 12 this year, and he’s now a 2nd Class Scout. Watching him grow up while we’ve been on the move has been one of the great joys of this season of life.
Adding Color to My Life
This year I continued to practice calligraphy and dabbled with watercolors – making cards and posters for my family, colleagues, and friends. I’ve been photographing the process and sharing it in a few places:
- Pinterest: Letterbox on the Lane
- Instagram: @letterboxonthelane
- Etsy: Letterbox on the Lane shop
I’ve been learning so much, and honestly, just having fun with it.
We Traveled — A Lot
Christmas at Home
In February, Jackson and I flew to Phuket, Thailand for the Chinese New Year holiday. We stayed at the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa and had a genuinely lovely visit. The only rough patch? Leaving — it seemed like everyone else in Phuket was trying to fly out at the exact same time we were.
Spring Break: New Zealand and Australia
In March, we took advantage of being “in the neighborhood” and flew to New Zealand and Australia for Spring Break. Here’s how that trip unfolded:
- Flew into Auckland, picked up a rental car, and drove down to Rotorua, where we visited a Kiwi conservation park and saw real kiwi birds.
- Drove on to Wellington, stopping along the way at my favorite chocolate shop in Greytown — Schoc Chocolates, if you’re ever in the area.
- In Wellington, we caught up with old friends, toured Weta Cave, and — because I’m that person — checked out the local grocery stores.
- Flew down to Dunedin to look for glow worms and penguins. It was there that I learned we had lost Aunt Darlene. It’s strange how a trip full of wonder and a piece of hard news can land in the very same place. I’ve carried both with me since.
- Flew back to Auckland to squeeze in a visit to Hobbiton before heading home.
It was, once again, an amazing trip — until it was time to leave. We hit heavy traffic on the way back into Auckland and missed the rental car return window before the location closed. Our flight home was the next morning, so I figured I’d return the car at the airport location instead. Two problems with that plan: it wasn’t open yet, and it turned out to be several miles from the airport. A fitting end to a very “us” kind of trip.
A Cruise to Nowhere
We managed to squeeze in one more adventure — a Disney Cruise sailing out of Singapore. It was a “cruise to nowhere”: three days at sea with no port stops, just sailing out and back. Simple, and surprisingly fun.
Heading Home for the Summer
By summer, it was time for the big transition. I packed up the house and said goodbye to our life in Indonesia, where we’d lived for four years — the longest I’ve stayed in one place in as long as I can remember, and the longest Jackson has ever lived anywhere.
Jackson went to visit his dad, and I helped my cousin Kelly clean out Aunt Darlene’s house, spent time with my dad, Jerry, and Josh. It was the first time I’d seen my older two boys together in about 14 years — a moment I’m still a little in awe of.
The Road Trip
I picked Jackson up in Charleston, and from there we hit the road for the Smoky Mountains. Highlights included Dollywood, the Titanic Museum, and — I can’t stress this enough — an unusual number of bear sightings. We met up with Kelly and Shawn a few times that week, spent a day at a water park, had dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse, and just enjoyed being together.
From there, the road trip kept going:
- Pittsburgh, to see my brothers and their families — and one more visit with Jerry.
- Washington, D.C., where Jackson attended a Young Diplomats training.
- Paris, for a 24-hour layover before the next leg.
- And finally, Kenya.
And Then We Moved to Africa
New house. New job. New school. New continent, really. It’s been an adventure from day one — and I have a feeling the next update won’t take quite as long to write.
