In June, my family and I traveled to the beautiful island of Bali for two weeks of R&R. While it wasn’t quite R&R (is it ever when you’re traveling with kids?), it was an adventure and one in which we made some core family memories.

A highlight for me included the lovely Balinese culture - with it’s twice daily offerings to the gods (cigarettes and candy to the evil spirits in the morning, rice and flowers and coins to the merciful spirits in the evenings) and the rituals imbued in everyday life. For my kiddos, it was the animals: monkeys, sacred cows, wild cats, giant koi, baby chickens, bunnies, and the occasional snake and water monitor.

We sweat our body weight many times over and consumed it all back in coconut milk and fruit smoothies. We escaped with only a few welted mosquito bites and no serious sunburns. Three out of the four of us got the stomach flu, but thankfully mine hit once we got home. ;)