image courtesy of paper tiger

I've been daydreaming lately, been tiptoeing off to distant lands, wondering where we'll be in four years. It seems so far away, this year off we've circled on our calender, that I promised myself I wouldn't do what I've been doing until it gets a bit closer. But it's hard to help 'cause everyone has been letting our year off "chasing summer" (thanks AK) slip into everyday conversations at the table, in the bus, on walks home from school. I like that my head is not the only one filling with thoughts of faraway lands. I like that four different people with four different lives and four different personalities are beginning to focus on doing one thing together. Big H. and I weren't (and still aren't sure) how the boys will do spending an entire year with us, the parentals, but the fact that I hear the little people talking about safaris in Africa, ponies in Island, moose-hunting in Alaska, and mountain climbing in South America gives me hope that it will all be okay.

What about you, what do you daydream about?

In a few short weeks, we will begin saving, if the truth be told, earning less (yikes!) for our year off in 2014. The school system in Germany (I heart you) allows their teachers to work a certain number of years, earning less, and then take a year off, but continue getting paid. In the spring, we got word that we were accepted into this programm and in August will begin paying into our "travel pot"; this little pot of gold (or silver depending on where we go) will allow us to take an entire year off as a family and travel the world. I am getting really excited and looking forward to the challenge of living with less money in exchange for a year together exploring, sleeping, eating, and being. The boys have already begun throwing out places they want to visit. Our youngest wants to go to Iceland so he "can see the ponies" and our oldest wants to go to Africa so he "can finally go on a safari". The parentals?? I want a year of summer (of flip-flops, veggies, shorts, and water) and my husband simply wants to go farfaraway. Here're some shots that prompted us to make this decision...











In celebration of dreaming.