Outside Of The Box Family

A large and out of control fire in NE Tenerife (Arafo-Candelaria fire) that started on August 15th cancelled our plans to go to the Mount Teide Observatory.  Road closures, evacuations and low visibility are a cause for concern.  We prayed over the situation, and continued on with our daily lives.  Because it was a last minute email cancellation, we didn't exactly have a Plan B.  Then we did! Just shy of 20 acres sits a little area in the south called Jungle Park.  With the unusual heat forecast (above 30℃) we thought it would be best to just stay in the shade.  The Jungle Park contains various walks with tunnels, suspension bridges, waterfalls, lagoons, and caves.  The boys loved watching the monkeys swinging around.  Scott just was trying to figure out why they just didn't run away and be free.  There were no fences or anything.  He kept looking up, trying to figure out how to swing from one tree to the next and then hop on people.  This is how my life is entertained. There w

  Being in Puerto Santiago, Tenerife, Canary Islands, we were under alert for high temperatures.  Even a day at the beach can get hot.  Imagine trying to walk from your towel to the cool ocean through hot lava, or black sand.  With the sun shining pretty much the entire day, you're bound to need to discover other adventures.  Onward to Santa Cruz de Tenerife.    The photo above is our walk to the park (not the park).  The whole city is so clean and green! Santa Cruz is more north, greener and a little cooler.  Just an hour drive away and we could already tell the difference.  Even now as I write this at 10 a.m. mid August, it is 24°C in Tenerife and already 31°C here in Puerto Santiago.  Crazy, but true! What's even crazier was the reason we even thought to go to Santa Cruz de Tenerife.  so here's the backstory....after leaving the states you would have thought we would have purchased mask, fins and snorkels by now with all the water fun we have traveling all over Nicaragua

It's been almost a week since Eli took his Discover Scuba Diving class here in Tenerife.  I have been bursting at the seams dying to put my thoughts together about this whole experience.  Finally here I am sitting down on our 10th floor patio surrounded by wet bathing suits, towels and snorkel gear hanging to dry on the patio chairs and smiling at the fact that we have a two children who have fallen in love with the ocean, one who wants to become a certified open water diver! Let me backtrack a little and reminisce.  Scott and I met in 2000 for the sole purpose of diving!  Yes, that was it. My friend, Kimberly and I just needed a place to stay and Scott lived in Key West.  Kimberly asked Scott if that was cool and he said yes, we could couch surf and then he'd take us out on his boat to go dive!  We met, fell in love with each other and our passion for the ocean grew.  Yes, that is the super duper short version of our story.....but you get the idea.  We both love being in the o

One of our biggest concerns when traveling was whether or not we were doing the right thing for our kiddos.  One is typical and the other isn't.  Honestly, they both aren't typical. 😂. Seriously who has a typical family with typical kids.  In fact, who defines typical and show me ONE family who is typical.  I am sure you get the point.   One thing I know, we were all made with a purpose.  God created us for a reason and that reason is to give glory to God.   In the Book of Psalms 139 verse 14, King David's praying to God and he says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” This speaks of the care and attention with which God has made us Regardless, traveling with kiddos and one with special needs was a concern.  Enzo had been in different forms of therapies since he was a baby.  Then, a few years ago, we finally found the right therapists, the right combination of medication and Enzo was doing well.   Thi