My first born enters double digits today.

He’s a remarkable kid and throughout our year away together he proved it over and over again.

In his honour here are 10 moments from our Around the World Trip that make me smile:

 

1.

Mud Pit Ethan

Ethan wasted no time climbing into the volcano in Colombia to test out the buoyant mud pit but leaning back required a little help. His trust in me resulted in an experience neither of us will soon forget.

 

2.

E Thai Elephant

The moment he pressed his hands on the elephant’s trunk and closed his eyes was a reminder of his gentle soul.

3.

E Shanghai orphan

A room full of cribs, kids with mental and physical disabilities and dire circumstances but my guy found a way to keep them all in giggles.

4.

Monkido Ethan

My boy showed his chops when in the middle of his Monkido tree ropes course in Whistler, B.C. a black bear happened on the scene. While his mom freaked out he remained one cool dude.

5.

Chinese Ethan

When being the centre of attention in Beijing got to be a little much we decided to give photo takers something worthy of their efforts. E loved it most of all.

6.

Stampede Ethan

Ethan found his inner cowboy at the Calgary Stampede. It didn’t hurt that the pancake breakfasts introduced him to the idea of putting the bacon inside the pancake and not simply leaving it on the side. (brilliant!).

7.

Taj Jump E

This picture of E jumping in front of the Taj Mahal so perfectly captures his spirit.

8.

Haircut E

At some point every sheep must be shorn. Getting a haircut in China turned into one of our most memorable experiences.

9.

Zipline E

He didn’t want to do it at first and then …..he sooo wanted to do it again.:) Love his nervous but adventurous spirit.

10.

Checkers E Tanzania

This moment before E took over this Checkers Game in Dar es Salaam is one of my most favourite photos of the trip.

There are so many more but we’ll save those for another day.

Happy Birthday E. So glad we met.

E and Me hands