To say we haven’t been doing much in the past couple months since writing would be the biggest lie ever. It’s pretty crazy how much things can change within a two month span. I’m not sure even where to begin. I suppose I’ll start with the fun stuff then get on the updates!

The end of our summer was non-stop fun and adventures per usual. I (Ashley, who writes the blog portion) turned 32! Woohoo! Not. Although, my birthday was a blast. We spent the weekend up in Welches, Oregon with seven of our friends up in a cabin on the river. Drank and ate way too much. Had a dance party on the deck. You know, the usual birthday shenanigans.

Then! The day after my birthday, I took it upon myself to conquer one of my biggest fears. Flying. I know it sounds ridiculous to be afraid of flying when I love traveling and write a travel blog. But for some reason – it’s been this way since as long as I can remember.

There’s something about just sitting in a metal tube 30,000 feet in the air going 500 mph that really doesn’t sit well with me. So what did I decide to do? Have my friend take Kile and I up in a teeny tiny Cessna! The views of our little city were insane. We even got to fly over PDX – super cool.

We had the most incredible time. And surprisingly – I really enjoyed it. I think my comfort with the whole thing was being able to sit next to a friend I know and trust and watch what he’s doing. Ask questions. Know that everything is “in control.” Honestly? I don’t know if it will help my fear of flying in big jets but we’ll see. I know to most people – this sounds absolutely asinine.

Kile and I also celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary on September 1^st. Eight freaking years! Isn’t that nuts?! This is going to by far our most interesting and challenging year of marriage yet. Why? It’s time for the updates!

UPDATES!!

I got a second job in August! It’s an awesome blog content writer/social media management position. Right now – I’m working 20 additional hours to my 40 at the office job. It’s a bit crazy right now but it’s going to be so worth it. We’re able to practically double our savings every month now. AND! I can work this job from anywhere in the world. That little tidbit right there changes everything for us.

In addition to ramping up our savings for our travel journey – I’m now able to continually make money WHILE we travel. This is freaking huge. Because now? Instead of leaving in June – there’s been a change of plans.

We have a week-long vacation planned mid-January with our close friends to Puerto Rico. I decided I’m going to quit my office job right before we leave for this trip. I even told my boss already! We’re going to be using the entire month of January to sell all of our crap and get out of our studio. Should make for a hectic month, I’m sure.

Come February – we’ll be moving into Kile’s sister’s house for a month. We’ll be using this time to figure out any bills, forwarding addresses, canceling subscriptions, etc. Basically – we’ll be free of most of the things we own and pay for come this time. As of now – I plan on keeping my car, but who knows. Kile will most likely be working up until mid-February as well. I told him I can only be his sugar mama in third world countries…not here.

Then – drum roll please!! In March – we’ve decided to head to Mexico for 2 months! Right now our plan is to head to Playa del Carmen and get a cute apartment somewhere. It’s nice because you get an automatic 90-day visa upon entry. And – we found a lady down there who offers a service to help gringos like us find short-term apartments.

My plan is to continue working my 20-25 hour a week job in hopes to maintain a nice little income in such a cheap area. Again, we’ll have a nice amount of money saved so this is definitely not our only source of dough.

From here – we’ll be flying back to the states in May to start our road trip journey to Dallas, TX to watch my sister graduate. We’ll be stopping in L.A. to see our friends get married and visit family. Hopefully stops in Arizona (for more family) and New Mexico as well.

After Dallas, we’re still not entirely sure of the details but – we’ll be headed to SE Asia somehow! The logistics of that next chapter have yet to be figured out but…all we know is we’re ecstatic.

Three more months – with A LOT of stuff to do and take care of. Wish us luck! More updates to come!