Once again, our family has packed up our suitcase and moved to a new country. It has been far too long since my husband has posted about our family travels. To quickly fill in the gaps, we sadly left Sweden to try to settle back in the USA.  We wanted to put down roots and give M & K a childhood in the states. After three years of comfort food and trying to create a home for the kids, we got itchy feet and packed our bags.  Our home is being together as a family and doesn’t need to be in one destination.

My husband is the writer in this family and I am the photographer. We fit together rather nicely. I try to observe the world around me through my camera and he fills in the details with the exaggerated stories.

For my first post, I thought that I would provide my readers with some logistical details for those of you who like to know how a family of four plus dog moves from northern Virginia to Eastern Europe. (Full disclosure, I love Eagle Creek and I’m secretly hoping that they might send me some free stuff. I’ve read on other blog sites that people can receive promo packages. I love free stuff! We have gone through some luggage in our twenty years of traveling. One suitcase was thrown out and destroyed because of bed bugs (yuck) and another bag was donated to a family who were carrying their clothing in plastic bags. Our suitcases or duffel bags hold our most important items as we move from one country to the next.)

My husband moved before us while the boys and I finished the school year. After K attended flag football summer camp and M earned his purple belt, we tried to decide what needed to fit in the suitcases. I tried to pick out some pairs of shorts, five t-shirts, and plenty of socks and underwear for the boys. My loyalty for luggage is very strong with Eagle Creek. My husband travels with an older discounted hard case and my boys have a duffel that can fit multiple pack-it cubes.

It is hard to pack clothing that will be appropriates for hot summers and cool fall temperatures. We are luckily to have a washer and a dryer so I just need about a weeks worth of clothing. Each family got a medium cube with shirts and shorts and a second medium size cube for socks, underwear, and swimsuits. Since my husband need work clothing, he packed his suitcase with dress clothing and filled up one suitcase for himself. Another suitcase was filled with some plastic plates and cups, loads of family games such as Star Fluxx, Loot, Dragonwood, and Munchkins, toiletries, and snacks. My carry-on held the baby books and important files, while my husband carried the Nintendo and the passports. The kiddos packed their carry-ons with Yu-Gi-Oh cards, Hot Wheels, Lego figurines, and some choice books.

The airplane journey was a piece of cake because my kiddos are seasoned travelers. M loves to watch all the other travelers and hold a parents hand as we take off. K watches movies the entire time and refuses to eat airplane food. (I try to pack snacks because he becomes a ravenous monster as soon as we exit the plane. This was our first time traveling with our family dog, PB. Traveling with an animal adds some stress. We had a giant travel case with extra food and a water bowl attached to the door. PB got a quick walk around the airport and lots of love before we had to say good-bye and trust that he would be delivered to us at our destination. Our dog traveled like an expert. He didn’t bark, settled into his kennel, and happily nestled in to the back of his kennel.

All these details to explain that our family has packed up again and moved to Macedonia. Cue music and credits.

Our family theme song is “No Roots” by Alice Merton. The kiddos love to sing the song because they know the joys and loneliness of moving. Luckily, they have each other to lean on and our family grows stronger as we investigate another area of the world.

Stay tuned for places to see in the FYR Macedonia or FYROM.