At home

:: Mathilde and I made some felted matryoshka ::

:: We made some clay magnets with leaves imprints ::

:: A little bit of fall gardening ::

 :: Everybody wanted to try Mara's violin ::

 :: I see lots of improvised concerts in the near future! ::

 :: We made an Iroquois long house ::

We also made a wigwam and a whole clan of native Americans out of clay and playdough. The girls worked at it for over two hours! Mathilde and Aisha made a woman cooking the fishes and soup over the fire.

I love that Aisha made some lacrosse players (did you know that the native americans, actually the Iroquois, invented that sport? I sure didn't know! I love learning new things alongside my girls!).

 We went to a Native American celebration and the girls got to make a dream catcher, taste bannock and hear traditional singing.

 :: We received a beautiful package from our penpal in Tasmania : handspun wool, and homemade wooden memory game, a beautiful picture book of the amazing corner of the world and a felt pouch full of great activity ideas. She even included a felt platypus pattern! The girls were over the moon! ::

Her first podium

It was planned even before we returned home from our year-long roadtrip. JF was to run an ultra trail marathon (The UT Harricana in Charlevoix), 65 km of trail running in the beautiful mountains of the Traversée de Charlevoix (an epic 108 km trail in the remote wilderness of Quebec). He had been training for a while, but at the end of July, he got injured, so he could not keep on running and he had to let go of that goal... We knew we still wanted to be part of that great event, so we went as volunteers and the girls ran the children's 1km race. Aisha placed 3rd out of 36 girls (13/81 runners overall) and stepped on the podium for the first time! At such an impressive event, it was a big deal and she was very proud!

 :: It was a lot of driving for a one-day event, so we kept busy in the Westfalia knitting away! ::

  :: Playing peekaboo with the neighbors in our little Westfalia tent city ::

  :: The energy before a race of this magnitude is just incredible! It almost makes a non-runner want to start running. Almost. There was a 1km, 5km, 10km, 28km and 65km race, fun for all! ::

  :: We were volunteering at an aid station, providing water and sport drink to the runners and showing them the way. The girls filled glasses, shouted numbers, pointed the way and had a blast!  ::

  :: I think that what amazed me the most is that many runners, tired, sweaty and focused on their race took the time to thank us for what we were doing! I loved seeing all the women out there running too, young and old. ::

  :: We had to write down the number of each and every runner that came by to make sure nobody got lost, as it sadly happened last year... but nobody got lost this year!!::

  :: This little someone was very proud to be provided with a complimentary lunch for the volunteers ::

  :: We collected birch bark to make a wigwam in our new hanging net that makes our Westfalia feel more organized. And this mama loves organized spaces. ::

  :: Trail running is messy. ::

:: Very messy. ::

 :: But JF and I were sporting our brand new running shoes GIVEN to us by The North Face reps. Yep! You heard me. We did not even win them in a raffle, they were giving lots of demo shoes away and we both scored a pair! ::

  :: The girls could not wait for their race to start. ::

  :: Checking the course. ::

  :: Ready. Set. Go. She pushed hard! ::

  :: At the finish line. ::

  :: Tired, sweaty and proud. ::

  :: The best post-race food: fruits. :: :: On the podium. Shy but so very proud. And you should have seen her papa's face... ::

Wet camping

Camping in the rain is quite a miserable endeavor... especially when you drove over 5 hours to go to the sea. Cape Ann (Gloucester, Massachusetts) is gorgeous under grey threatening skies, but we didn't come there to admire its dramatic side...

We were glad we decided to leave on Thursday night and drive late, because Friday was the only sunny day. We spent the other 3 days there in the rain and everything was wet... very wet. 

Weekend (and long weekend) camping is much more work than living on the road where camping was our norm. I truly miss this lifestyle. When I think about future travels, I dream about more time on the road, camping in the wild, hiking with my family, not visiting museums in Europe, temples in Asia or ruins in Peru. Not that I am against this type of traveling, but it is not what speaks to me at the moment. I long to live in nature. Simply. With less. And at the same time, I see how paradoxal it is to wish for that when my girls need stuff, stuff to create, to read and to learn, and room to put all those things and their beloved treasures, to put their precious dolls and toys...

 

 

The more we stay, the more I wonder how we can all thrive away from a "home"... The girls have asked to start some music lessons (violin for Mara, piano for Aisha and recorder for Mathilde), I see them develop friendships and I see myself really enjoying my tribe, a precious network of friends that we don't have in our day-to-day life when we travel... I also see more and more traveling families that have inspired me deciding to buy a house or rent long term and settle down for that very reason.

I know what you think : why not leave for half of the year only? Well, that's an option... but we find that owning a house (even if we rent it when we are away) AND traveling requires a lot of money, especially if you want to travel slowly. First, having to fly back or drive back home every six months is expensive, and having to maintain a house (especially when you rent it long term...) is also not cheap. This is why most long-term traveling families opt to sell their house and possessions before leaving. We are not particularly attached to our house or our things, but it is a big decision to sell everything and leave for good... It's one thing when you are only two adults, but it's another thing when you have children...

When you live a marginal life and make different choices, I think it is twice as important to ponder the consequences of those choices on your children. Of course, there is no guarantee. And of course, traveling is incredibly rich and full of learning opportunies. And yes, I am confident that my girls will do great in life. However, I also know that the decisions we are making now will affect the persons they will become (in part, of course!), the activities they will pursue or not (if we are never in cold climate it's unlikely they will learn to ski, for instance...) and the relationships they will build. And so, we are taking our time (for once, some might say!) before making a decision about what the future will hold for our little family. It is hard for me to not see around the next corner just yet, but I know for a fact that it will be joyful and incredible!