The kids have been troopers and seem to enjoy the adventure of reconnecting with old friends and the joy of new experiences. I'm afraid we might be raising a couple of permanent nomads who will easily bore of the scenery doesn't change frequently enough.
Speaking of adventures and changing scenery, I've been anxious to share a little adventure we took in late August, right before we left Albania.
A long time friend was given use of a 4WD truck this month by his boss. Wanting to show us what it could do and part of 'saying goodbye' to us for nearly five months, he offered to take our family on a driving adventure. Initially the kids were a bit grumpy because we had assumed the 4PM excursion was local and would only last an hour or two. We were equipped with only a few water bottles, no snacks, and had barely left home when Reni was complaining of hunger (uh-oh!). Normally I might have been a bit grumpy too, slowly realizing the miscommunication and thinking of my growing to-do list and shrinking timeline before our departure for America, however, it didn't take me long to realize we were going to see some new-to-us places and I wasn't sure when we would see them again, if ever.
It's difficult to describe the variety of terrain we experienced. We left our hot, dry, browning village and crossed a mountain range to cool, lush valley farms abundant with corn, grapes, tomatoes, flowers and berries. We climbed up through forests of trees that looked like autumn had already reached and emerged on a logging road that skimmed the mountain tops. Sheep and goats outnumbered humans. We didn't stop to turn around until we reached a military outpost and it was almost dark (hence the very few photos I captured). I am glad to say the kids' attitudes shifted and it turned into a wonderful, unforgettable 7-hour adventure. They even commented that it was good practice for our epic 80+hour car trip we have planned this fall -- though Ellie hoped the roads would be a bit smoother.
It meant so much that our friend would share so much of his time with us before we left! His job doesn't usually afford much time off...
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