It was great to see everyone. We really missed the kids, my mom, and especially Hunter. He wasn't walking when we left, but he sure was when we got back. We were crazy busy this past two weeks that we spent at home. Normally we would have had the house decorated for Christmas including 2 trees and half our shopping done by Thanksgiving. This year, I decorated a small potted plant as out tree and we hung one string of lights inside the trailer. Getting all the shopping done in the past 2 weeks and shipping the gifts to Canada for Bill's family kept us hopping.

My mom and I swore this Christmas we would not buy so many gifts, but once again we failed to cut back. We did manage to get out to a few movies and to a concert with the Irish Tenors at the Allen Event Center. We celebrated Christmas 3 times. On the 23rd we Face-Timed with Bill's older sister Cathy (they were headed to Cuba on Christmas day), then the main event with my family at Mom's on Christmas eve including Thanksgiving dinner since Bill and I we're not home in November. Finally, we Face-Timed with Bill's younger sister's family on Christmas morning.

A lot of the rest of the time was prepping for the trip, packing and readying the trailer for storage. Figuring out the details for this long trip has been a ton of work. We both had multiple doctor visits, and lots of meds to gather up. We have booked >10 flights, 12 hotels, and 3 dive trips. Bill researched winterizing the trailer, motorcycles, and truck. We had to clean out the fridge and remove all food from the pantry. We have been trying to eat everything we had and not buy more for weeks. He also figured out phone and data plans for Thailand and Australia so we can stay connected.

We planned to take 4 checked bags with a total weight of no more than 160 pounds. We were 1/2 of a pound over this morning. A small miracle. :-) After a farewell lunch with the whole family we headed to the airport for our last night in Dallas.

Our flights on Monday are 14 hours to Dubai and then 6 more to Bangkok after a 3 hour layover. We should arrive at 1:00am on the 31st. Just in time for some sleep and to get ready for the New Year celebration.

We are about to test my tolerance for new cultures and cuisines. Wish us luck!!

We will miss you!