Friday 15th of august: 

The fire is still there… Megan and Jillian had a lot of talks with their parents. The fire is coming closer and closer and they are still there. We are checking the apps every hour if not more. In the evening they finally decided to leave and go somewhere more safe. We wanted them to come to us, but they wanted to stay close. The smoke was so thick that you could see it on the satellite images.

Saturday 16th of august: 

Officially Jillian was going to her parents today, but we all decided that it was smarter to wait a bit. They are now close to the fire and could see where it stopped. So we tried to have a nice day, but that was easier said than done.

Sunday 17th of august: 

The fire is under control where the parents of Jillan and Megan are, so they chose to go back to their land. Luckily for them the wind shifted, but now it is going our way. We are still far away, but we are checking the apps for big changes in wind and the fire spreading our way.

Monday 18th of august: 

We woke up and opened the camper door. We knew immediately: We are packing our stuff today. The sky was orange and ash was falling from the sky. We looked at the apps and the fire spread rapidly our way… So the fire is not that far now. Megan went up to wake Jillan and called her parents to pick Jillian and the 3 kittens up. We begin to pack just in case. Every hour we saw the apps showing us that it would be smart to go. Our English friends were also packing their stuff and decided to drive today! We needed to wait for Jillian’s parents first, before we could leave. Around 2 o’clock the English family left. We waited for Jillian and Megan’s parents and when they came we were ready to leave. We said our goodbye’s to Michel, Jillian and the kittens and set off to Spain. We drove for 3- 4 hours to a campside with bad cell reception. There we were planning to stay 2 nights and see how the fire was going. We wanted to go back, but the fire is still going that way. 

In the evening Jan decided he didn’t want to stay in the camper and missed his freedom already so he jumped out and we ran after him.. We caught him in the end.

Tuesday 19th of august: 

We woke up in Spain and when we saw how far the fire had come we had to make a decision. Are we going back to the Netherlands or stay here until the fire is out? The English family are going back to England. We called Michel and told him the news: We are going back home! Back to the Netherlands and make a new plan. The English family is going tomorrow in the early morning. So in the evening we said our goodbye’s and went to bed.

Wednesday 20th of august:

The English family already left when we woke up. We also packed up our stuff and drove off. We drove for a little while before we had to stop to fill Betsy with some fuel. When we wanted to drive further Betsy didn’t want to go. Megan had to sit behind the wheel while Bryan pushed. We stood still for a little while to figure out why our camper decided she didn’t want to go anymore. Luckily the English family knew what to do and we could drive further. We stopped at the border of France to sleep and drive on tomorrow. And then we heard the news… Michel and Mirande’s quinta didn’t escape the fire. Most of the animals and Michel got out in time after fighting against the fire, but the fire won.

Thursday 21st of august: 

We got more news! Michel went back to see what was left and luckily not everything was turned to ash! Most of the animals are fine and their house is still there! But the fire got to a lot of the forest and their camper… We were sad, but happy that a lot survived! So on that note we left our sleepspot in Spain and drove to the border of France. Megan wanted to go back to a place we stayed at on the trip down, but we didn’t know if we could make it. After a long drive we made it and were there at 21:30.

Friday 22nd of august: 

Because of the sudden leaving Megan had to work on the road today. Bryan drove and Megan worked. We didn’t do much else than talk besides that. We do not know where to go in the Netherlands, but we will figure something out. At the end of the day we stopped at the border of Belgium. Tomorrow we will be home!

Saturday 23th of august: 

The last big trip for now! We talked the whole way about the things we had missed this last 6 months. And we decided that it was: ‘Kapsalon’. 1 o’clock we crossed the border. We called our great friend (Thom) in the Netherlands and decided to go to his house and play a game to relax from the long drive. When we were in the Netherlands Megan wanted something to eat and drink, but wanted to go somewhere she had seen on instagram. The strawberry drive through. So we did! And then we could turn off our google maps for the first time in a little while! We knew the road. The evening was amazing and we showed Kim the Netherlands! 

So that is how this trip comes to an end, but don’t be sad, we will go on a new adventure soon enough. But first time to settle down and think about what to do!

Friday 8th of august:

Today Megan had a lesson with the girls and she decided to make some cookies. First they had to make the dough and then it was waiting time. They drew some drawings while they waited for the cookies to bake. When the cookies were done it was time to eat!  

The chickens are growing very fast. The chickens we brought outside just a few days ago are ready to eat big chicken food! In the evening we had a less nice time.. One of the teen chickens wasn’t drinking or eating anymore. We were afraid it was a disease in the chicken coop. We coated the chickens in with a white powder: Diatomaceous earth. We even put the powder over our arms and places we held the chickens.

Saturday 9th of august: 

The chicken sadly died. We are hoping that not more of the chickens will die. The rest of the day we took it slow. Megan was feeling ill and slept most of the day. In the evening we were outside and saw a beautiful moon. The moon was red in color. We tried taking a picture, but none of us took a good one…

Sunday 10th of august: 

Michel is on his way back to us! But the weather was so hot that even the car didn’t want to drive anymore. We were sweating from top to bottom. So today was going to be a pool day. 

After going to the pool we waited for Michel to come home! It was late, but he made it!

Monday 11th of august: 

We decided that our dream of getting married here is not doable. We tried multiple times, but every time they wanted something else. We called the government in the Netherlands and we could get married in September without all the trouble. So we are going back to the Netherlands soon!

Tuesday 12th of august: 

Floris was getting used to Jillian being here, and decided that he wanted to wake her up. And so he did. Jumping in the tent and laying beside Jillian. We had a lovely day, but the fires are getting more and more intense these days. We know what we need to do, but it is still scary. A few places in Portugal were expecting rain. We were hoping, but it didn’t come…

Wednesday 13th of august: 

Today we went a day outside of the quinta! Jillian and Megan went to a bookstore and bought a book each. The boys were shopping.

Thursday 14th of august: 

The ducks found a new chill spot.. On the roof of a caravan. Why? Don’t ask us. Jillian and Megan called their parents and there was a fire close by… After hearing that we started to take a bit more time looking at the fire apps. In the evening, to get our minds off the fires we played Mario Kart and Koos (which now wanders outside) decided to join us.

1st of august

For the last couple of months we have been trying to get married. The last piece of the puzzle was a document to prove that we are allowed to get married, and Megan’s sister brought the document with her. So today we went to Fundao to try and fix everything for our marriage. But it didn’t go as planned. We went there and the only thing the person could say to us was that we needed a translator. So disappointed we went back and enjoyed the rest of the day.

2nd of august

This day we were in a good mood and we were drawing our future houses. And we went to a big china store with Megan’s sister. After shopping we went to the pool to cool off. When we came back from the pool Jillian walked with Flora and we did the other farmjobs. Not long after Megan heard Jillian shouting her name. Flora escaped and ran after a man with a dog. Megan ran after her and Bryan followed soon after. When we got there the man was saying he would call the police and then a few other things we didn’t get, because they didn’t make sense. We called Mirande afterwards and explained the whole situation. We brought Flora inside and carried on with our jobs. After work Jillian and Megan walked with their kittens and had a lovely time with them.

3th of august

The man from yesterday texted Mirande and the texts were very weird, but the police will not be called luckily! 

Megan decided that today was a good day to play gardener, so she put on some music and went to work. In the evening Megan wanted to let Jillian hear the chicklets and they will be hatching soon!

4th of august

The chicklets are coming!! The first egg is cracking. We have a few different eggs and we will see how many of each type of chicken we will get. There are silky’s, brahmah’s and surprise eggs. But the first one is a silky! At first we thought that we would have no silky’s, because when we candled the eggs most of the silky’s were not showing progress. The rest of the day we walked back and forth between jobs and looking at the chickens! By the end of the day we had 5 chicks.

5th of august

We woke up with a lot of noise coming from the bathroom. We had 3 more chicks coming out of the eggs. One of them had a bit of mold inside the shell so Megan contacted Mirande for advice. We put the chick in a safe space and throw the moldy egg away. He/She did survive! The 5 chicks from yesterday are now out of the incubator and start eating and drinking.

6th of august

11 chicks this morning. We had to move some over to the big pen and we checked on the ones who were having a little trouble coming out of the eggs. Luckily they are all doing okay. One of the chicks was looking very rough and we thought he/she wouldn’t make it. So Megan taped the legs together and cared for it gently. Tomorrow we will know more.

7th of august

Fruttle (The chick that we thought wouldn’t make it) is doing oke! It is still away from the others, but we see progress.

25th of july

Today was a day about taking care of a few things in our personal life to continue our journey. We spoke with the family and the farm-life continued.

26th of july

We are fighting a battle with the ducks and the waterplants in the pond. To save the waterplants we placed a fence around the pond, but the baby ducks could go through the fence so we placed an extra fence, but still they find ways to enter the pond… Things we did not know about babyducks, they are crazy fast and to get them out of the fence was a new experience.

27th of july

The morning started with preparations for a person that will be joining us on the farm. Megan called with Mirande and Bryan with Michel and together we got everything ready for her arrival. 

Flora (the dog) had a nice cooling walk today and lay in the pond to cool off.

28th of july

Today was a cleaning day. We are now living in 3 spaces, so we have 3 spaces to clean… At the end of the day we saw a fire close by. When the sun was going under you saw a red glow, but that night we had 2 red glows… one east and one west…

29th of july

Today Megan’s sister flew to Portugal to join us. First she will stay in Lissabon with Megan’s parents. On the farm everything continued as well, the little ducks are growing fast en still going strong with 12 little ducks!

At night we watched the meteor shower and we saw a few!

30th of july

Megan had a lesson with the girls, we went all around the property to find leaves and make an art project with them. It turned out very cool and the girls had a lot of fun. 

We had a busy day with cleaning up and when we got home to the house of Michel and Mirande we weren’t happy with Koos (the cat). He dropped a plant on the floor, so there was soil everywhere…. But we ended the day with playtime with the cats in the house. Karel and Koos liked it very much. 

31st of july

Today Megan’s sister is coming to us! It is a hot day today, so we decided that we wanted to go to the pool when she gets here! Time to relax and talk.

Friday 18th of july

Today was a productive workday. Megan worked on some worksheets and Bryan started building a chicken coop with Jonny. Then good news came from Megan’s Parents: They officially bought their land! In the evening we moved the chickens from inside, to the coop and they loved it! A bit more space to walk around. With the chickens outside, it was a bit more quiet inside. So we decided to take our own kitten with us to the house. Which went better than expected. She didn’t mind the dogs, but Koos didn’t like the sign of Kim walking around in his house. Which is weird considering they grew up together and lived side by side for the last couple of months. But two weeks apart was too much for him. 

Saturday 19th of july 

In the morning we brought Kim down to her brother and sisters and cuddled with them all. Kim is getting used to the feeling of the harness, but still most cats don’t like it (understandably). We did our morning routine and then it was time for an adventure! We drove one hour to a hiking spot with waterfalls and it was beautiful!  After a long walk we went back and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Sunday 20th of july

A relaxing day today. After a few weeks of continuous work and other jobs it was time to relax for a day. We are falling in love with poker at this moment in time, but wanted to play with chips. Which turned out to be more difficult than we expected. There were no chips to be found in any of the nearby shops, so we decided to make them ourselves. Cutting up a stick sanding it down and painting it in the correct colors. After a few hours we were done, so we thought. The paint we used is oil paint, so it needs a good time before it is dry… We now only need to wait until we can play. In the afternoon we had a reservation by a burger place in town and we had a lovely meal.

Monday 21st of july 

It was time to talk with some family today. First Megan called her ‘little’ sister who will be joining us in 10 days time. She was doing fine and was going to a sleepover today. After a nice conversation Megan called with her great uncle and he was doing fine as well. And finally she called her grandpa and grandma. After all that, it was time for work. In the evening we had a nice time playing some card games.

Tuesday 22nd of july

Today we had a hot day again. Megan had a lesson with the girls and made nameplates in the shade. We had a lovely time. When the sun was under we checked the eggs Megan’s parents brought and a few of them showed progress. In the evening we had a little surprise… Flora escaped out of the fence so we looked everywhere to see where she could come out.

Wednesday 23rd of july 

a day of relaxing and finishing tasks. We had a shower and Megan didn’t needed to work. In the evening we broughed Kim upstairs and we went to bed with 2 fighting kittens.

Thursday 24rd of july 

We woke up tired from all the fighting and in the morning they didn’t stop, so we had no choice to just go out of bed and start our day.

Friday 11th of july

This morning we started by transferring the chicks from the incubator to a container where they will stay for a week with a heat plate to keep them warm. We have a few different colors and it is fun to watch them walk around. We have a punk chick and a tiger one! After doing our morning jobs we went to the supermarket to get the supplies for the birthday party. Meanwhile Megan’s parents arrived in Portugal and will come and visit us in a couple of days to bring more eggs to put in the incubator.

Saturday 12th of july

Mercy’s birthday weekend starters today! So we baked a cake and for lunch drove to a burger king. After eating we went to the lake to go fishing. While Bryan, Jonny Mercy and Nova were fishing, Dana and Megan were reading a book and enjoying the view. We had a lovely time only to find out that there were leaches in the water… Bryan and Mercy had to pull off a few before driving back to the farm. When we got back we did our jobs and rested for the rest of the evening.

Sunday 13th of july

Today it is Mercy’s birthday! She turned 8 years old today and we celebrated with gifts! She got a tattoo set so we were filled with tattoos by the end of the morning. After tattoos it was time for the pool! It wasn’t that hot today, but nice enough to go to the pool. We had to wash off a few tattoos afraid they wouldn’t let us swim with all that ink. When we got back it was time to decorate the cake! Jonny was making steak dinner for everyone and we had an amazing meal. After dinner it was time for cake and blowing out the candles. After cake we needed to go to bed. It was a long day and we were all feeling tired. A good birthday! 

Monday 14th of july

A surprise this morning. Baby ducks! We thought the eggs didn’t come out so we lost hope about 3 days ago. But this morning Jonny came up to us to tell us he saw mama duck with more than 10 baby ducks! So I called Mirande and we were all in shock. Mama hid the babies for a long time so we didn’t know they were born. After looking at the cute babies it was time for our morning jobs and then to make everything ready for Megan’s parents to arrive. At 11 her parents showed up and we first brought 60 fertilised eggs to a safe place to stay for the next 24 hours. Then we sat down and talked about the last few months while they were back in the Netherlands. They brought some supplies from the Netherlands that we couldn’t find here. They even brought some Dutch snacks from the Netherlands to let our English friends try. They liked the stroopwafels, but the Bokkepootjes were a bit weird for them. When Megan was talking with her parents Bryan went down to pick up Ruby for a family meeting. She was very excited and wanted to go everywhere but on someone’s lap. We cuddled for a bit and then it was time for Megan’s parents to leave again. They will come back in a couple of weeks to bring Megan’s sister. After they left Megan had a lesson with the girls about making cupcakes and they turned out very nice! After baking Megan had another lesson and in the evening there was some relaxing time. 

Tuesday 15th of july

The morning started with the normal jobs and Megan called with Mirande to make sure the incubators were on the correct settings before putting in the eggs. Luckily all the eggs fit and now we need to wait. It was very hot today and we were all sweating and did not do much the rest of the day because of the heat. In the evening we all ate together again and we found a strange bug. We took a picture and it turned out to be a death beetle. It looked cool and we let him be.

Wednesday 16th of july

Another hot day, but we knew we would go to the pool today so that was nice! And then we remembered… The lumber was coming today so the boys took off their shirts and unloaded the truck with the lumber. Megan helped by giving the boys a glass of cold water. After the lumber was unloaded we put on our swimming costume and walked to the pool. We enjoyed our time there but we needed to go back for our jobs. On the way back Megan was starting to feel poorly and when we made it back to the house she needed to take a nap. After her nap she didn’t feel any better so Bryan had to take over a few of her jobs for the evening. By dinner it was a bit better, but the headache stayed. We went to bed earlier than normal and were hooping for the best in the morning.

Thursday 17th of july

Megan woke up feeling a bit better, but the night was the same. Koos was keeping us awake for a good amount of time. We did our jobs and walked down to our friends. Bryan and Jonny went out shopping and Megan took some pictures of the kittens. After that it was time to work. First on the computer doing some administration and afterwards a clay-lesson with the kids. When we were done with the lesson Megan went back to work until there was a woman walking on the property. We said hello and asked what she was doing here. Her car broke down a couple of minutes away and knew Michel en Mirande, so she came here to ask if someone could help her. Jonny drove her to her appointment and Bryan and Megan walked to the car to see if we could change the tire. Luckily Bryan knew what he needed to do. After a while the woman returned and the tire was fixed. We went back to work for a bit longer and then called it a day.

Friday 4th of july

This morning we woke up earlier than normal, because our friends are coming. We first cleaned up a little bit and drove the camper down to our new spot. Then we walked up to the gate to wait for them and let them know where they needed to be. When they arrived we were all very happy and talked about everything that happened while not together. We set up everything and then it was time to cuddle some chickens. It was still very hot so a new ice bottle for the kittens and one for us to stay a bit cooler.

Saturday 5th of july

Today we needed some groceries and we went to the supermarket together. Because of the heat we did not do much else this day. In the evening we had a barbeque with Michel, Mirande, our friends and some friends of Michel and Mirande. We had a lovely evening and the girls had some kids from England to play with.

Sunday 6th of july

It was still hot today so we went to the swimming pool to cool off. We need some time to adjust to the heat here in this area, but it is july so it is supposed to be hot now. We give the kittens every morning a frozen bottle of water and in the evening it is still cold luckily so the kittens can cool off.

Monday 7th of july

Today Megan called with her friend from the Netherlands and it was nice to speak to her again. Megan also wrote the blog. After that it was time to prepare for a birthday party. Mercy  is almost 8 years old so we let her choose a cake we will bake on her birthday. In the evening Megan had to work and we ate together afterwards.

Tuesday 8th of july

Fire. We had a few fires the last couple of days, but today it got a bit closer then the last few. We know what we need to do if we need to evacuate, but it still is scary if you see the fire so close. While this was going on Michel and Mirande got bad news from home. They had to go to the Netherlands for family business. At the same time Lut needed to go home to Belgium. So we needed to learn how to keep the farm running while they are away. We talked almost the whole day about the ins and outs of the farm and we wrote everything down. They will leave tomorrow so we have a bit of time to prepare ourselves. We are very grateful that they trust us enough to let us run the farm while they are away. It is a big responsibility, but also a very good practice for when we have our own farm.

Wednesday 9th of july

This morning we walked through all the things we needed to know one more time and some things that slipped our minds the day before. Bryan and Jonny are in charge of the electricity and some maintenance. Megan is in charge of the little chicks and the new eggs that will arrive shortly. Jonny and Mercy will take care of the chickens in the morning. Bryan and Megan will sleep in the house of Michel and Mirande so their cat is not alone at night. 

In the afternoon Michel and Mirande were ready to drive to the Netherlands and we said our goodbye’s and after that we had a bit of time to relax at the pool before work started. We watered the plants when we got back from the pool and gave the chickens their food. When Megan looked to see if there were more chicks born, we had a bit more little chicks running around in the incubator.

Thursday 10th of July

Woke up in the house with Koos (the kitten) chewing at our feet, Flora (the dog) laying on top of Megan and a lot of noise from the bathroom. We got out of bed and let Karel (the cat) and Flora out of the house and went to check on the noise coming from the bathroom. 7 more chicks came out of their shell and were all walking around and chirping. After all that we checked the time and it was 6 in the morning. We needed to go out by 8 not 6 so it was very early for us, but going back to bed would not help, so we started our jobs a bit earlier.  Megan wasn’t feeling the best today so we took it slow. In the afternoon she was feeling a bit better and had enough energy to give the girls their lesson. We did outdoor bingo and walked around taking pictures of the things on the bingo kart. In the evening we did our jobs and ate together in the outdoor kitchen.

Friday 27th of june

Today we had to go to the vet again. Mirande drove us down to the vet and the kittens got their vaccinations. They also have their rabies vaccination now. So we just have to wait 21 days before they can travel across the border to the Netherlands. The vet told us to just let the kittens out, we asked him if he was sure but he said yes. You can see on the video that the cats loved it, but the vet understood why we asked if he was sure. Donna and Ad were running around and Ruby even climbed up the vets leg and on to the table to see what was on there. Kim was very chill at first but not long after wanted to play with her brother and sister. All the vaccinations were done quickly and we went back to Quinta do Vale Verde. 

We walked outside with the kittens and played with them. Later in the afternoon it was time for Megan to work. After work we called with a few friends and after that the sun was gone and the stars were there. We watched the stars because there was a meteor shower planned for tonight. We saw a few falling stars and we even saw a few satellites. It was a lovely evening.

Saturday 28th of june

Today was a special day! We were going to see a plot of land for the first time. When we got there it was really hot already. We met up with the person that would show us the place and we saw how many trees there were. First we were happy to see so many trees, but we heard from Michel and Mirande that it wasn’t a tree that is nice to have on your land: Mimosa trees. If you cut one down, ten more will fill the place. And they were everywhere! Then we found out how steep the way up was and more issues followed after. So not the place we were looking for. When we went back we stopped at a terras to get a cold beer and apple cider to discuss what we had seen. Michel ordered snails so it was a new experience for us: eating snails for the first time. It was better than expected! The rest of the day we relaxed and called friends to tell them about the viewing of the land.

Sunday 29th of june

We made friends at the place we were before and we are still in contact with them. We missed them and we are now looking to get them to the place we are now. Only there is no power here so they have to be able to get off-grid. So Bryan was helping Jonny to get a solar power system. While that was happening Mirande wanted to show the neighbors property. They are planning on selling and we were happy to see the place. It is much more the way we wanted, so it is an option. We have to think about it some more, before we make a decision.

Monday 30th of june

We woke up and it was already very warm today. Even the cats didn’t enjoy the warm weather anymore. We put a blanket under water and put it in the freezer to cool them off. At first they hesitated by stepping on a cold and wet blanket, but after a little while all four kittens slept peacefully next to each other on the ice cold blanket. Megan had to work today again so we tried to keep the camper cool, but in weather more than 40 degrees that is a challenge. Bryan designed a chicken ramp today for a few chicklets to walk outside in this heat. By the end of the day we talked with our friends again about the move here and they are planning to come here in the next couple of weeks. They think it will be around 2 weeks from now. 

Tuesday 1st of july

Today we started with the chicken ramp and when it was done we waited for the chicklets to come out. but after a few hours only a few looked out from the top of the ramp. Later we heard that a few got out, but they need to learn how to use the ramp. 

Today a new month started, so that means doing some administration. After the administration Megan had to work a little and Bryan cleaned up outside.

Wednesday 2nd of july

A chill day today. The last couple of days the weather has been so warm we couldn’t do anything in the midday. We sat by the water looking at the ducks. Megan wanted to do something but because of the heat it took a while before some movement was made. Megan drew out a birdhouse and was planning on making it by hand and painting it after. After drawing it out she started collecting materials and started sawing, but after 1 little plank it was too warm… Bryan came to help after a little while and Megan started the sanding. When it was almost 5 o’clock we were done. Mirande came by and asked us if we would like to go to the pool and we happily answered yes! We went for 2 hours and it was nice to cool off. We were supposed to do something after swimming, but that didn’t happen.

Thursday 3rd of july

We woke up with chickens going through our stuff, so that was a nice wake up call. After cleaning up Megan continued with the birdhouse and came close to finishing it. After creative time it was time to work. Megan had a lesson with Nova and Mercy, the children of our friends, and we also talked about them coming to us a bit earlier. After the lesson Megan went with Lut to the river and they had a lovely time exploring and swimming together. When they got back we got the text! Our friends will be here tomorrow! We were really excited to see them again. So we went to bed early and they will be here by the morning. 

Friday 20th of june

Today was cleaning day. We will be leaving this place tomorrow and the camper is still a mess. So we did the laundry, packed everything up and by the afternoon we could see that it was almost ready to drive again. Then we had our last pizza party and we had a lovely time. After the pizza party we went down with Dana, Jonny and the kids to play some games. We made it a bit too late so tomorrow we will be leaving a bit later than we had planned. 

Saturday 21st of june

Leaving day is today so packing up the last bits and saying our goodbye’s. We were ready to leave by 12 and we were driving up the hill when it happened again…. Because the driveway is so steep the tank thought it was empty… Bryan had to roll the camper down and we had to get some diesel. Luckily Hugo had some left over, but it wasn’t enough. Jonny, our hero, came up to take Megan to the gas station to fill up a jerrycan. After filling up the tank and helping Betsy (the camper) to start again we were off. Our first stop was by the castle. All the cats were in the car so we didn’t stay long. We walked around for about an hour and it was lovely. Megan made some pictures and Bryan made some pictures of Megan. When we got back to the camper we saw a few people looking at the camper and we knew. The kittens are a nice thing to look at. We asked them if they wanted to cuddle one of two and we had a lovely conversation. They just got married in the castle! After saying our goodbye’s again we continued our drive. When we were close to our next location we stopped to get some food, groceries and other supplies. We found a nice parking spot in the shade and went into the mall. When we got back we had a new problem. The kittens pressed the buttons in the camper and because of the shaded place we parked in the accu didn’t recharge. Luckily after a few tries we made it back into the sun and could drive again. We knew that the weather was going to be hot these days so we stopped by decathlon to get a tent for the shade. By then we were warm, tired and just wanted to go to the location. When we got there we got greeted by Mirande and we were led to the place we will be staying. It is a lovely spot with a bit of shade. Jan had enough of driving so we let him out straight away. He loved it until he saw Floris the dog. He ran off but we knew that he would come back again. We settled in and let Koos out for the first time. We made an arrangement to slowly let him get used to being outside and meet his forever home. 

Sunday 22nd of june

We slept amazing tonight. And for a long time. We already love this place and Mirande came to say hello in the morning. She had some water plants and we like to help her place them. We had a lovely time and talked about a lot. After helping we sat in the shade and met some new people. Koos came along and he didn’t like the chickens. 

At the end of the day we called home. Bryan called with his family and Megan with hers to let them know that we had moved and we had an okay trip here.

Monday 23rd of june

In the morning we called Bryan’s mother, because it was her birthday! We talked for a bit and it was nice to speak to her. After that we worked on the blog. After the needed time on our blog Megan and Bryan worked on their own jobs. In the afternoon we called with our great friends from last place and we had a lovely time. And we started to talk about meeting with each other again, because we are missing each other’s company. We are looking for the place after the place we are now to be there with all 6 of us. We found something and Megan left a response. We will see in the morning.

Tuesday 24th of june

We got a reply. Unfortunately not the reply we were hoping for, but we will keep looking.After a while we found another place, but that also didn’t work out. While we were talking about a place to live together we also discussed lessons for the girls. Every Tuesday and Thursday. We had a meeting and let the children decide what they wanted to learn about. After the lesson Megan had a few ideas and was ready to work on them.

Wednesday 25th of june

We woke up and didn’t have a plan for this day. We are relaxed and are ready to work if needed. We helped a bit in the garden and walked around the place.

Thursday 26th of june

Because our English friends don’t have a solar powered system yet we talked today and the days that follow a lot about systems and how to make things work on our land later and also to try and get them to where we are now. Then it was time to work in the garden and we found a gecko! After talking with Mirande it turned out it wasn’t that special, but we still were very happy with our finding. In the evening we called again with our friends and went to bed on time. 

Friday 13th of june:

The week is almost at its end, but the work isn’t done yet. Today Bryan worked Megan’s last hours for the week and Megan had tutoring lessons. The weather was warm and we were glad the day was over. At the end of the day Megan called her ‘little’ sister and it was nice to speak with her again. We closed the day with a BBQ with our new friends Dana, Jonny and the kids.

Saturday 14th of june:

Today was a cleaning day, because yesterday was a workday. Megan still had some tutoring lessons today, so when we found out our mattress was moldy we were stressed. We got the mattress out of the camper, cleaned as much as possible. Then Megan started teaching. After teaching we drove to a mattress-store to get a new one. Luckily everything was in stock and we even bought a slatted base, so the air flow was better. After all this we drove to the supermarket and got our groceries for the week. When we got back we ate our dinner and went down to Dana and Jonny for some relaxing time.

Sunday 15th of june:

We slept on the new mattress and it was a bit thicker than the original. We didn’t put the slatted base in yet, because it was too wide. Bryan cut the sides off today so tonight we can put it in along with the topper. Megan had to work again for a few hours and we cleaned the rest of the camper. At the end of the day we were tired, but there was a party going on and we wanted to say hi. We stayed a bit longer than we had planned, but it was an amazing fun time. Bryan and Jonny played a game against each other and Dana and Megan made pictures and talked for a while. The children were playing on the swing. We went to bed in our new bed with the topper, but that turned out to be a bit difficult. Because the mattress was a bit bigger and the slatted base and topper added a few centimeters, the space from the bed to the ceiling was a bit tiny now. We got in but are thinking to remove the topper later on.

Monday 16th of june:

It felt like we didn’t have a weekend and it is monday already. The weather this week is going to be very hot and we are preparing for the heat. We worked in the garden today. Megan pulled some weeds and Bryan helped Jonny. After lunch Megan had to tutor again and Bryan jumped in the pool to cool off with Jonny and the kids. When Megan was done with tutoring she joined and we talked about going out to dinner and a pancake night. We are leaving this place soon so we want to make the most of our time here. In the evening we relaxed.

Tuesday 17th of june:

Today is a hot day. Megan decided not to work in the heat today and just focus on tutoring for the day. Bryan was willing to work, but the heat was too much. He did some hours, but after a little while you are just dripping in sweat. When tutoring was done and the sun was a little bit less warm we went out to dinner with Dana, Jonny and the kids. But getting there was a bit difficult if the kittens pushed all sorts of buttons and the camper accu was empty. We waited for a little bit and luckily it started again. We went to a chinese restaurant with an all-you-can eat buffet and we had an amazing time. Discussing all we want to do in the coming years and our plans for the future. The kids had an amazing time, trying new foods. We did have a little scare that night, because we can’t go anywhere without the kittens. So they stayed in the camper. Megan and Jonny went to check on them half way through, but then saw some kittens under the camper. We were afraid that the kittens escaped, but luckily it was a mother with other kittens, and our kittens were still playing in the camper. When we got back it was time for bed.

Wednesday 17th of june:

Wednesday started by working again. Megan cleaned the BBQ and Bryan helped to bring stuff down with the tractor. After that he started preparations for the windows. After lunch we continued with our work. Megan cleaned the driveway and Bryan sanded the windows. After a little while it was too hot and we had a swim break. We worked a bit afterwards and then it was time for the pancake party. We went down to Dana, Jonny and the girls and ate pancakes until our bellies were full.

Thursday 18th of june:

We had some hours left to do in the garden so Megan helped Bryan with the windows. After lunch Bryan continued and Megan gave some tutoring lessons. After work we were tired and relaxed in the camper. Megan wasn’t feeling the best and so did Dana, so we postponed the game night we had planned.