We are sitting in an empty kitchen using patio furniture as living room furniture and eating off paper plates — and we have never felt more ready for anything in our lives.

Oh my goodness, it is getting real! We leave in 17 days! We literally have 3 more nights sleep in our rental home here in Tahoe.

Before kids, it took us 5 weeks from interview to liquidation to sitting on a plane to get to Korea. This time, we are looking at about 12 weeks. We decided the first week of June that this was what we wanted to do. With the death of my Grandmother it kind of stalled 2 weeks worth of productive time and we spent 1 week in Florida… so in 9 weeks, we have sold everything in a 4 bedroom house, organized the trip, taken care of paperwork and well, made it happen.

As we sit here in our very empty kitchen, paid our last months worth of rent, we are using our patio furniture as living room furniture and reusing paper plates, the excitement is real.

We have Airbnbs booked, plane tickets in hand, international drivers licenses, passports, train tickets, hotels, backpacks, power adaptors, and a rough timeline for the next 2.5 months ready to go. It’s a bit surreal but also at that point where we are so ready to just board that plane and eat some kimchi.

In the last few weeks we have met so many people and shared our story. They are excited for us, to follow our journey, and if that happens to be one of you reading this blog, we thank you for your excitement and support. We have no idea truly what is in store for us, but know that whatever it is, it is our destiny!

The next 17 days will take us to Napa, Vegas, Boise, Seattle and then Seoul. Avilene will turn 2, our cars will be packed with a whole 8 bins of our remaining property and off we will go.

The kids have their backpacks full of $1 section new items to keep them busy on the plane. We are still working on finding the perfect travel stroller…. which we are now on number 3 to test out… but Ill save that for another blog. We have 1 suitcase full of “stuff” including our homeschool materials, computers, a Flip video camera for the boys, power adaptors and that is about it. We also have our REI backpacks for all the clothes and thats where our belongings end. It is unbelievable how little we actually need and how excited we are to go forward with so little.

Most importantly, we have let go. It is so incredibly freeing to destash and free yourself of the weight of things. Making final payments on cars and credit cards and rent. Debt being wiped out and knowing that going forward we are free to start over. That this right here, as of Oct. 2018 will be a fresh start for us as a family, financially and emotionally is huge.

We are always dreaming of our container home (similar to this with some additions), we just don’t know where we want to build it. Where we want to stay. Maybe this trip, this adventure of Worldschooling, Roadschooling and living abroad for a bit will take us to new places and help us to make these decisions. We have our pinterest boards of floor plans and décor, of dreaming… just waiting until the right moment to make that part of our lives happen.

But in the meantime…

As we continually say, seek happiness and make it happen for yourself. We are ready.

Q: How long does it take to prepare for long term international family travel? A: Before kids it took us five weeks from interview to sitting on a plane to Korea. This time with three children we needed twelve weeks — and realistically nine productive ones after accounting for the loss of a grandmother and a week in Florida. In that time we sold everything in a four bedroom house organized international travel for five people sorted paperwork passports and plane tickets and made it happen. It is absolutely possible and the timeline is shorter than most people think.

Q: How do you sell everything and prepare to travel long term with kids? A: Start earlier than you think you need to and ruthlessly prioritize. We ended up with eight bins of remaining property packed into two cars — clothes in REI backpacks one suitcase of essentials including homeschool materials and computers and that was everything. The process of letting go accelerates the closer your departure date gets and what feels impossible in week one feels obvious by week nine.

Q: How do you handle debt and finances before leaving for long term travel? A: We made final payments on cars credit cards and rent and left with a clean financial slate. Knowing that we were starting completely fresh financially and emotionally as of our departure date was one of the most liberating feelings we have ever experienced. Carrying debt while traveling internationally adds a layer of stress that undermines the entire purpose of the adventure.

Q: How do you keep kids entertained on long international flights? A: Dollar section finds from Target loaded into each kid’s backpack have become our secret weapon — new small toys and activities that feel special because they are brand new buy you more time than anything expensive. Combined with downloaded shows and snacks you do not normally allow the flight becomes manageable even with three young children.

Q: What documents do you need for long term international family travel? A: Passports for every family member including children — apply earlier than you think necessary as processing times vary dramatically. International drivers licenses if you plan to rent vehicles. Travel insurance is essential. Depending on your destinations research visa requirements carefully in advance. We also booked Airbnbs train tickets and hotels for the first stretch before leaving so we had a framework even without a rigid plan.