3 things

I seem to be worried about

1. Leaving the business. What if we lose everything we have worked so hard for?

2. Leaving the house. What if the tenants ruin it? What if all the plants die?

3. Going backwards financially. Are we crazy?

I want to record these worries, so I can look back and think 'what was I worried about?, This is the best thing we have ever done. Look at my little family!'

health

Whenever I am worried about our children's health. I put all my thoughts into our trip. For they are the reason we are going. They are the reason we are making changes to the way we view and live, life.

grateful

Today I am grateful.

Grateful and happy. Grateful for my husband and my children. And their health. And how happy I am that I have my little family. Westmead always seems to put things in perspective for me. Reminding me why we are off on this adventure.

around

At this stage we are planning to leave the South Coast of NSW April 2013.
We are going to head north (chasing the warm weather).

North coast NSW. Coast of QLD. Either all the way to the top or start cutting across to NT from around Cairns. Into Darwin, Katherine, etc. Coast of WA. Broome. Down west coast to Perth. Margaret River. Hug the coast to SA. Adelaide. Great Ocean Road to Melbourne. Home.

If we have time we will do some of the South Coast of NSW, but if not then there is a holiday for another time, close to home.

I really want to concentrate our time on Nth QLD, NT and WA. These destinations are far away from home, and not something we can do in a short holiday.
We are going to have some type of timeline, otherwise we'll take 6mths to get to Brisbane! A balance of planning and being unplanned. How do you find this balance?
I think we'll break up the areas. Nick is excited about the north coast of NSW and QLD. I want to spend all our time in NT, WA and Great Ocean Road. If we each research some areas - we'll know where to go, what to see and where to stay.

LOVE. Lorne. Broome. Monkey Mia. Darwin.

i am so jealous

I hear this a lot, followed by 'I wish we could do something like that'.

You can. You just have to change the way you think. And plan.

• It is okay to go backwards financially. You just need a plan, for when you come home. The memories and adventure will more than make up for the lost income and assets.
• Pick your time to go. For us, we know we need to go, before our eldest starts school. Families travel with older children, and I know we will travel again when the children are older. But for us, this long trip needs to happen before James starts kindergarten.
• Our home will be at a good stage. Most of the outside renovations will be completed. Making it simple. Hopefully making it a good rental too.
• Nick's work is the hardest part of this decision. We have spent years building it up, to the great place it is now. It will be so hard to leave it. But we just cannot let work be the one reason we don't go.
• We are home bodies. Leaving our home will be hard for us. But the caravan will be our new home, and our beautiful home and town will be here waiting for us.
• Time of year. We plan to leave in April 2013. 18 months from now. Time to plan and save. We miss the south coast winter, and get 3 'summers' in a row!

The only 'part' that will affect the trip is the children's health. That part we just have to wait and see. Plan like everything is go.

vehicle

Thankfully the husbands domain.

We are looking at a Toyota Landcruiser or Nissan Patrol or a Mitsubishi Pajero. Or something like that! 4WD. 7 seater. Strong. Comfortable. Car seat archor points.



Yes I could picture me driving something like this.

With this behind it.



Stopping overnight somewhere like this.

Bring it on!

sea change

Nearly 5 months ago, we made a seachange. We have always loved the coastal town we have now moved too. As a couple dating, engaged, married and expecting we use to take day trips for a swim, coffee, lunch or just a drive on a rainy day. We talked about moving here, but it never seemed viable with both our jobs. Fast forward to married and 2 children, about 8 months ago, my husband having a quiet drink at the local pub with my sister & partner. The dream started to become a reality. We were about to take on huge and expensive renovations on our current home, that would make it our forever home. We weighed up the pros and cons, and costs. And put that all aside and followed our heart. If it didn't work we could always move back to the area we were originally from, right? We started looking in our new town, and having agents come and evaluate our current home. The moved happened relatively easily (hmm I seem to have already forgotten how stressful moving with 2 children under 3 is!). We are under taking renovations in our new home, mainly outside this time.

It is taking longer than I thought to truely settle in. I love the beaches, little town and area. But I miss our friends & family, now about 40 minutes drive away. I miss the convience of having a large town so close. And I miss our little house, the house we brought before we were engaged or married, the house we brought both our babies home too. But I know we made the right decision, this will be a gorgeous town and area to bring up our little family. I love the quiet, being able to see the stars in the sky at night, and being able to walk to the beach with no traffic lights or traffic for that matter!

So if we can do this sea change, we can do the adventure that is travelling around Australia with 2 children under 5!