I know that today is the first day of fall, but thinking about that got me thinking about this summer. I felt like it went by so fast!! Just me? Anyone else?

Anyway, I had the privilege to go to visit my family this summer for 2 weeks, and it was just awesome! A little backstory for those who may not know, my parents and my brother and his wife and four kids, all live in Nicaragua as missionaries. {Fun fact about me: I grew up as a preacher’s kid and then as a missionary kid during my teen years!}

Living so far from my family is really, truly hard at times, especially around the holidays. Before this trip, I hadn’t seen my parents since October 2021 and I had not seen my brother and his family in over a year! Since having my own children, not being able to see my family much and my kids not being able to play with their cousins is hard. My husband is an only child so the only cousins my kids have are my nieces and nephews. I tend to get pretty emotional around the holidays because I just want to be with my family. I don’t say this to have people pity me or feel sorry for me, because I am truly blessed and so thankful for the sacrifice my family has made (it’s hard for them too!), and I know they are doing what God has called them to do. But, just being real with y’all – it’s hard and I just say to those who have family nearby, don’t take that for granted!

Okay, enough of that!

So, this summer, we were able to go visit my family. As I mentioned, my family lives in Nicaragua, which is above Costa Rica. They only live a few hours from Costa Rica, so we all decided to meet up there, get an Airbnb, and have a family vacation at the beach! It was SO fun! The house had a pool and we went swimming every day, went to the beach, horseback riding, and just had a blast.

The second week we were there, we went back to my parent’s house in Nicaragua and spent more time with Papa and Grandmama. My husband was only able to stay with us for the first week because of work so he flew home without us. It was a special time and I’m so thankful my kid got the chance to spend some time with their grandparents and cousins. Though I will say, I had to fly home by myself with the two kids – I told my husband I wouldn’t do that again, at least not internationally!

We certainly had a wonderful time visiting my family, but, we all missed daddy!

I am thankful that we were able to go since I don’t know when we will be able to again. I’m just thankful for the memories made and the sweet moments!

Here are a few more photos from our summer adventure to Central America!