Spanish Springs - The Guide Hog

For the second year in a row, we’re not spending the summer in Lake Orion, Michigan. It’s weird. For 10 years, we traveled from wherever we lived at the time – Laos, India, Chile – to meet up with my extended family at our lake house. We poured thousands of dollars into updating and renovating. We lit flares, watched fireworks, and otherwise reveled in the lake culture at the Fourth of July. We sat on the grass while the kids waded, snorkeled, collected little shells, jumped off the dock, and eventually grew big enough to kayak around the island.

Now, life has taken us in a new direction. Our house is on the market. Check it out here.

And we have a new rental property in Florida. Check it out here.

My parents live just a few houses down the road from our Florida house, and my sister Megan and her family moved to Destin, a 6-hour drive away. For a family of nomads, it seems Florida is the reunion destination for now.

We kicked off our “winter break” from school in Chile with a visit to my sister’s house in Destin. My other sister Kate drove from Michigan with her three boys. We saw “Toy Story 4,” had a perfect beach day, set up the bouncy slide, played Quizlet, and reconnected.

After a few days, we all drove to The Villages to meet up with my parents. My brother, Mike, brought his family from Abu Dhabi, where he and Summer teach at the American Community School. Tony and I had planned to stay at our rental house. We hauled in our bags, unpacked a bit, and then got a message from my property manager saying someone had booked the place. I had forgotten to block the dates! So, we repacked, cleaned, and headed to a hotel.

We spent mornings by the hotel pool with all seven kids splashing and playing together. We met up for lunch and dinner and filled the afternoons with hanging out, chatting, watching the wildlife in my parents’ backyard, playing, and bowling. Dancing in the Spanish Springs town square in the evening is always a hoot with these little guys!