Magical Moments We’ve Experienced While Traveling the World

Travel is definitely not all rainbows and butterflies. There are a lot of ups and downs and it takes a lot of hard work. But, we like to try to remember the good times. And we’ve had lots of good times. But even better than good is magical. And you can’t top magical. They are imprinted in our minds forever. These are the magical moments we’ve experienced while traveling the world. And they’re pretty awesome.

Fireflies in Bali

We spent 2 weeks in Bali, Indonesia and we loved our time there! We stayed in a gorgeous AirBnB home that was surrounded by rice fields. It was quiet. It was peaceful. It was secluded. And it was pretty heavenly.

The weather was perfect enough that we could keep the doors and windows open all day and evening. But we usually closed the curtains after some time and hunkered down for the night. One evening, the weather was exceptionally beautiful, so we kept the curtains open a little longer. And boy are we glad we did!

I had just tucked the kids into bed when Cody started yelling for us to come downstairs to take a look! Out in the garden, there were fireflies flying around everywhere! You could see them dancing in the rice fields and drifting in the yard. It was such a beautiful sight! We had fun for the rest of the evening trying to catch them, inspect them, and release them. It was magical!!

Snow in London

Our kids have been in the snow and have played in the snow. But they have never seen snow fall. We knew it would be cold when we visited London at the beginning of spring, but we didn’t except it to be cold enough to snow!! But it did!

As we were getting ready for the day, we looked out the window and saw what turned from a light rainfall to a snowfall. The kids were mesmerized! They decked themselves out in the warmest clothing they had and headed out to play in the snow. With their mitten-less hands, they made tiny little snowmen. They inspected the snow on their hands. They caught snow on their tongues. They didn’t play for long because of our lack of warm clothing and winter gear, but they played until they were satisfied.

The snow fell on and off for 2 days and it made for the most beautiful London scene in Nottinghill. We were in a beautiful home, in a charming neighborhood, with light white snowfall. It was magical!

Baptism in Dominican Republic

In our church, once you reach the age of 8, you have the choice to get baptized. Our son, Trevor, turned 8 when we were in Thailand. And he decided he wanted to get baptized where his dad served a mission for our church 18 years ago in the Dominican Republic in the ocean. We had planned this months in advance. Both sets of grandparents flew to the DR to be there for the special occasion. We got permission from the Bishop in that area to baptize him in the ocean and we were good to go for the big day.

You know how when you plan something for months and you have high expectations and you just hope it turns out to be as awesome as you imagine? Well, the baptism really was as awesome as we imagined!

The day of, we went on a drive to find the perfect location to have such a special event take place. Trevor found the prime spot. We organized a simple program. And we were ready!

The Bishop brought a carload of people along with him. Ten of the friendliest and warmest Dominicans drove an hour to support Trevor. It was so sweet and thoughtful. We had a simple program right there on the beach. We stood in a circle and sang, prayed, and listened to two talks.

When it came time for Trevor to be baptized, he and Cody walked out into the middle of the ocean and performed the special ordinance. The sky was a beautiful blue. The water was a bright turquoise. And Cody and Trevor stood out in their crisp white clothes. It was a picture-perfect scene. When Trevor immerged from the water, he had a huge smile on his face! It was oh so precious.

While Cody and Trevor were getting dried off and changed, the church members sang songs to us on Spanish. It was so tender and sweet. It brought a strong spirit to the beach. We closed the special event off with a song and prayer, all huddled together in a warm circle. It was the perfect day. It was magical!!

These simple things may seem insignificant, but they sure brought magic to our moments while traveling the world. Life is so much sweeter when you look for those extra special moments and imprint them into your memories.