Today marks 18 days until we hit the road! And, life has been WILD lately as we prepare for this next chapter.
Some days it feels like we have a million things happening at once… because we do. But when I stop and really look around, I’m reminded that this season is filled with so many moments we will never forget.
This isn’t just a countdown to a road trip. It’s the beginning of a completely different way of living. And getting here has been a whirlwind.
So first… an update on our girls:
Lowina finished 1st grade strong and celebrated with multiple awards from school. We couldn’t be prouder of the thoughtful, curious, determined little human she is becoming. We celebrated with an extra special experience: a bucket list trip to Atlanta to watch South Africa play in the World Cup!
Watching our girls cheer for their birth country and celebrate that connection was such a powerful reminder of why we want our girls to always remember & respect their stories, their roots, and the world around them. We were so excited South Africa made it out of the group stage (even though their tournament ended after that first knockout game). The outcome wasn’t what we hoped for, but the memories we made were absolutely worth it.
And our adoption journey is still progressing... our dossier FINALLY made its way to South Africa, which feels like such a huge milestone after all the paperwork, waiting and preparation. Now we’re working through the next steps, including more updated paperwork we need to complete before we leave for our upcoming travels.
There is still a long road ahead, but every step forward brings us closer to bringing Indy home and becoming a family of five.
This entire season has reminded me that sometimes the biggest adventures aren’t the ones you plan on a map. They’re often the ones that change your family forever.
Speaking of more big changes… our camper transformation is officially underway!
I quickly realized there was no way I could do ALL the things myself. Between running businesses, parenting, preparing for full-time travel, managing adoption paperwork, and trying to soak up these final weeks in our home… something had to give.
So I asked for help.
Huge thank you to my friend Amanda at Vessel Designworks for helping bring my vision to life. This camper has become so much more than a renovation project. It’s the foundation & our home for this next chapter.
One of John’s insurance customers is taking over to paint the camper, and he starts this week! Once that’s finished, we can finally start organizing, moving things in, and making this little home on wheels feel even more like ours.
We also had a full camper diagnosis done while John and I were in St. Lucia to make sure everything was ready for this adventure. Thankfully, only minor issues were found, and those have now been fixed.
We booked a campground for our final week before moving in officially, so we have time to settle, organize, and make sure we catch any little bugs before we officially hit the road.
And then there was the great purge…
We hosted a garage sale to start clearing out years of accumulated stuff, and thanks to so many amazing friends and family members who donated items, we were able to raise over $5,000 toward our adoption. I’m still blown away by the generosity and support surrounding our family.
While we’re packing up what’s going into storage, we’re also preparing our house to become an Airbnb while we travel full-time. Our rental posting is live, and we're slowly moving stuff we're leaving behind into storage and waiting for our deep clean before our first renters check in!
Plus we’re soaking up every last bit of this home. Pool days. Field trips. Family adventures. Making memories in the spaces that have held so many chapters of our story.
John and I also snuck away for a much-needed trip just the two of us to St. Lucia. As a travel advisor, I’ve been booking a lot of Sandals vacations, and getting to experience all three Sandals resorts in St. Lucia was incredible.
But beyond the work side, this trip was about reconnecting. We needed time away to talk through everything that has happened, everything that is changing, and everything that is coming next. There have been a lot of big conversations, big decisions, and big moves happening behind the scenes.
We relaxed. We explored. We laughed. We partied just a little. We talked about the future.
And we are so grateful to Kaiyana and my in-laws for loving on our girls and our boys (yes, the cats and dogs too) while we were gone. We truly couldn’t do any of this without our village.
This past weekend, we also hosted SheWolf Summer Camp here at the house, which was a mix of family field day, creative connection, and an overnight women’s-only sleepover.
Once we transitioned to the sleepover portion, Candice from Co-Create with Candice joined us to spend time learning more about ourselves and the people around us through astrology. One of the exercises led me to this excerpt from my birthday page in The Power of Birthdays, Stars & Numbers: The Complete Personology Reference Guide:
“A turning point occurs at the age of thirty-six, when your progressed Sun moves into Sagittarius, stimulating you to be more adventurous and freedom-loving or to widen your horizons.”
WHAT. A. QUOTE.
Especially right now as I'm approaching my 36th birthday.
With our home changing. Our family changing. Our definition of "normal" changing.
It was just the reminder that I needed to prove that this season isn’t random.
It inspired me to dive deeper into my own and our family astrology, cardology, and numerology, not because these things define us, but because I love anything that helps us better understand ourselves and each other.
How do we support each other? How do we honor each person’s strengths? How do we create a family culture where everyone feels known and loved?
As we enter this next chapter, I’ll be sharing pieces of our family blueprint that I built as a part of these exercises, because I think it beautifully captures WHY we’re doing this.
Our family motto: "Adventure boldly. Love deeply. Stay curious. Come home to each other."
Our family legacy: "We hope our daughters remember that we didn’t chase adventure because we were escaping ordinary life. We chased it because we believed an intentional life is built through curiosity, courage, connection, and love.
We hope they remember that home was never defined by an address, but by the people around the table, the stories around the campfire, the miles traveled together, and the certainty that they were deeply known and deeply loved.
If they grow into women who are kind, courageous, curious, grounded, and confident enough to build lives that reflect their own values rather than someone else’s expectations, then our greatest dream will already have come true.”
I’m hoping to share these Wagners on Wheels updates weekly as we count down to departure… but if there’s one thing this season has taught me, it’s that life loves throwing a few unexpected wrenches into the plan.
So no promises that I’ll perfectly document every single step in the middle of the chaos, but I do want to bring you along for the real version... the messy, exciting, overwhelming, beautiful process of creating a completely different life.
Starting in August, you can expect to hear from me weekly as we officially hit the road and begin this next chapter.
18 days.
18 days until Wagners on Wheels officially begins.
Although it's really already started.
Here’s to the chaos, the uncertainty, the memories, the miles, and the family we are still becoming.
Thanks for riding along with us this week, and for letting our travels inspire your own. Your next adventure is closer than you think.🤍
Until the next stop,
The Wagner Family
