We love the beach and any excuse to collect seashells. We loaded up two vehicles with 7 adults and 4 kiddos ages 6 and under for a 17 hour drive west to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Our vacation was all about relationships and using them to build our life and our businesses. We mixed business with pleasure and attended a convention that fuels our entrepreneurial ambitions.

Things I have learned on our trip with kiddos to the coast:

1) I am a great mom- I literally stayed up most of the drive contorting myself in awkward positions in order to keep my children comfortable and asleep. I also restrained myself from eating my gas station Twix bar for 5 hours until the girls fell asleep (so hard)! That makes me a good mom because I did not want them to get cavities since road trips usually don’t include tooth brushing breaks.

2) Your vibe attracts your tribe- I couldn’t have enjoyed this road trip without the positively beautiful people that invited my family to join the fun. If I am the medium of the 5 people I spend the most time with…. I am so blessed for the ones that were along for the ride. I enjoyed getting to know them deeper and having rich, meaningful conversation and lots of laughs.

3) My passion is my family and to help others- when people ask me my passions….It use to be hard to pinpoint. I have come to realize that my world revolves around keeping those around me happy. I realize that keeping myself happy is the first step. I enjoy learning what creates the best version of myself and how it affects those around me. It’s not easy to choose happiness. “Life is a privilege, living life to the fullest is a choice.” – Andy Andrews.

4) Be fulfilled in the process, not the goal- Maybe the goal was the destination, perhaps it was gaining knowledge about our businesses, maybe it was to learn about ourselves and each other. The point is every moment spent can be enjoyed and create opportunity for something great. Those opportunities are hard to see without the right attitude and mindset. Gratitude in the moment leads to more moments to be grateful for.

Road Trip highlights:

Day 1: We left Houston around 9pm and drove through the night arriving at our destination around 4pm the next day. Driving through the night is super exhausting, but totally worth it for traveling with children. We had time to go to the beach before heading to our conference that evening. We were all super exhausted when we finally put the kiddos to bed but ended staying up until 2am chatting. I think there might have been a push-up war and it was my 120 pound, friend Christine that beat all the guys! Me and Christine, I am not sure why we are posing like we are going to prom, but I am pretty sure we are still delirious from the drive Madelyn, London and MiaThe Battles- Christine, Justus, Jackie and London

Back from the beach and the showers were full, so we opted for a scenic bath with a view. I may have been out here myself…

Day Two: we walked to the grocery store around the corner spied quite a few different lizards that looked like iguanas. Below Ryan spied a 2 foot iguana and wanted to show the girls. We didn’t get to see it but we spent the rest of our trip in search of lizards. Day 3: While the guys went to hear motivational speakers, the mommy’s took a short field trip to a historic preserve that winded through a property with lush vegetation right by the water. Richardson Historic Park and Nature Preserve has beautiful views and is also a venue for wedding, parties and other events. Day 4: Beach Day with Daddy while mom enjoyed adult learning time and a Mexican lunch with friends at La Bamba. Mia recapped her day with the dads. First they tried a nearby park that ended up being for dogs. Next they found a really cool park that happened to be attached to a museum. They guys were excited until they figured out how much it was going to cost. They quickly decided on the beach again but kept driving in circles because. According to Mia they did not know where they were going because they are not from around here. Finally they made it to the beach. I took a run around the neighborhood. There were so many cool murals. Ryan refused to let me out of the car on the side of the road to snap pictures. A mural run tour was the best I could do….cute little houses is so many different colors. Oh why yes that would be a statue of a man in shorty shorts in someone garden……. Fix your shirt girl!

Day 5: headed home at 7am with an extra passenger and rolling 11 deep between two cars. Highlights: car battery died, Stopped to see live baby gators and try on sun visors and visited Ponce de Leon State Park. We stopped about 8 hours into the drive for some cooling off and snacks. The waterhole is fed by underground springs and only reaches about 65 degrees. The water took my breath away! The girls were not fans but jumped in a few times. Madelyn said she didn’t like Florida because the pools were too cold. It was absolutely gorgeous and worth the stop. Cost per vehicle is only $4. They have pavilions, picnic tables and bbq pits. They also have restrooms and areas to rinse off.

She was afraid I was going to throw her in… again!

_____________________________________________________________________

A few pics from our inspiring business convention! We even ran into some of our cousins! Key note speaker Inky Johnson was so inspiring!! Inky pictured with Ryan below top left corner. More pictures with our amazing team members and celebrating those that have reached amazing milestones in their careers. Ran into our cousins! Can’t believe we found them amongst six thousand attendees!

We made it home at 4am on a Monday allowing Ryan a few hours before he needed to be at work. We are slowly recovering and getting ourselves back to being home. Lots of sleep and laundry happening around here…. and I love it! Until next time.

Stay tuned for our video!!

Love,

Venice