Not only can Viv read a clock, she can BE one!

Jen really REALLY did not want to hold that tarantula but she made herself do it.

And Hud held that spider with a lot more gusto!

First "bird on your shoulder" experience for Viv.

It's hard to tell from this photo, but Hud has a lizard on his head with a parrot on top of the lizard.  Good times!

Policia and goose. A mutually contemplative moment.

It's always a good time for a Moog snuggle.

Travis' dad and his lovely wife Sandy, at Wilson's Restaurant at La Boca

The kitchen at Wilson's Restaurant. This amazing place has no electricity, all of the food is prepared on open fires in a  wooden building.  The cooks literally risk their lives to make these meals for us.

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On the river boat after a trip to La Boca Trick or treating in Cabarete with some of our friends Our friends from SV The Kraken created the BEST Halloween party for our gang of sailor, local, and ex-pat kids. These carved fruits and veggies were part of their spooky decor. Beautiful view at Playa Grande

We had the beach at Playa Preciosa all to ourselves, which prompted a solid hour of uninhibited creative expression from my kids.  Here are a few shots of Viv's modern dance explosion...

Sorting, counting, graphing, comparing.  We love homeschooling!

Sunrise beach walk and a climb on Viv's favorite palm tree, which acquired this angle form Hurricane Maria.

Our sweet boy and our sweet dog at sunrise

The  lovely and simple kitchen of our favorite vegetarian restaurant in this world- Vaina Natural.  We love the re-purposed gas cans-turned stoves.  Brilliant!

Our trip to the Monkey Jungle was so much fun.  These Spider Monkeys climb all over as you and they are off-the-hook adorable. plus, many of them were new mothers, with tiny babies clinging to their backs...

Monkey feeding frenzy!

Trav ziplines with cows

At the Monkey Jungle zipline

Jen has been volunteering drama classes for 3-6 year olds at Charlie's Foundation, a local educational non-profit organization.

Hud and Viv have been Jen's teaching assistants and take turns going with her to Charlie's Foundation for her classes.  Here is Viv, helping the students act out "Little Miss Muffet".

We have been so lucky to have had so many friends and family members visit!  Here we are with Teddy and Sutton Errico from Telluride.

One of our very best friends, Julia came and stayed with us.  SO MUCH FUN!

Sunset SUP with Julia, Hudson, Trav and Kev from SV the Kraken

Viv grabs some zen in a wonderful kids' yoga class

Our gang of sailor friends at Thanksgiving

The  amazing Thanksgiving spread at Wilson's included crab, grilled shrimp, fried fish, a million sides, and turkey (for the meat eaters).   See how psyched we are?!?

Hud and Viv entertained the gang with a few songs post-feast.

Viv had a major breakthrough on our last day of family windsurfing.  Here she is hauling up the sail all by herself- she took off immediately after!

We love Dominican food!  Here is Hud, cleaning off everyone's plate.  (When you surf as much as he does, you need a steady stream of calories.)

Hud mastered backflips on the tramp in his bi-weekly classes with the Cabarete Circus.

Viv takes a spin in the circus silks.

Laura and Marcos are amazing circus instructors, and our kids learned SO much from them.  We were so sad to say goodbye! Hud and Alba break it down at our Cabarete group  goodbye party at La Chabola  Viv sang "How Far I'll Go" from Moana at open mic  Hud played 2 numbers, accompanied by our percussionist friend Kev Our last day of surfing ...sigh. Viv says goodbye to Diony, her surf instructor and beloved friend  On our last day in Cabarete, Hud said goodbye to a bunch of his hair, which was long overdue. (Don't worry, he's still rocking the surfer dude shag.)

Leaving Cabarete was hard.  Really hard.  At the end of our last session of surfing at Playa Encuentro I sat on my board and sobbed.  The Moxie crew set down roots in Cabarete for six glorious months- six months of making friends, learning the ins and outs of the community, volunteering, learning Spanish, learning to surf and kite and windsurf, and developing a family routine.  It was an entirely different experience from our island hopping through the Bahamas and the Turks aboard our sailboat, constantly moving and switching things up.  Staying put for that long in one place, we joined the community in a much more vital, fulfilling, meaningful way, and by the end of our time there, we definitely did not feel like tourists or visitors, we felt as though we belonged. 

Now we are back in good old Luperon, prepping Moxie for the next leg of our journey.  Trav has been working like a fiend, accomplishing a million boat projects in the sweltering heat. We haven't lived aboard Moxie for 6 months and we are so excited for our first night (tonight!), sleeping in our berths and living on the water again.  Sailboat life is definitely harder than cushy condo living, but  Moxie is our home, and we have missed her.

Our crew is currently waiting on a weather window to travel east to Samana, DR, and then on to Puerto Rico.  There are so many unknowns about the next few months...where will we go?  How long will it take for us to get there? Will the wind cooperate?  What will the hurricane damage be like and how can we be helpful to others along our way?  All of these questions are par for the course in our adventuring, and we are ready for the challenges that lie in store for us. 

Here we go again, everybody! Thanks as always, for following along with us.  We love that you are here. xo