Hi there! We're the Dennings.
We are normal people.
Except that we live a ridiculously awesome life.
In 2007 we decided to sell all our stuff and 'go nomad'.
Our decision was based on a burning desire to live deliberately -- we wanted to consciously design our family lifestyle to include the things that really mattered to us -- travel, adventure, language, culture, fun, education and making a positive impact on the world.
Our aim is to live simply, maximize our freedom, and escape the mundane.
We believe that life is meant to be extraordinary. We dream with eyes wide open. And we dream big.
We love to wander, explore and DISCOVER new things.
On our site we SHARE ideas that will challenge you to live an unconventional family life, to throw off the status quo, escape the peacock pageant and live life on your terms.
Our goal is to INSPIRE you to dream big dreams, and to have the courage to make them come true, creating your own ridiculously awesome life!
A Quick Introduction...
There are eight of us:
Rachel
The voice on this site, in person she's quiet and reserved, although passionate about many things. She's the yin to Greg's yang - the one who makes all his ideas happen. Mom, education mentor, writer, author, photographer and website designer.
Greg
Motivator, hero, doer of all dirty jobs - daddy is the one who carries us through when the going gets tough. Also known as 'a walking anti-depressant.'
Personal mentor and author, he'll challenge you to become your best self on his website,
GregDenning.com
Kyah
A BIG helper and a social butterfly - Kyah makes friends where ever she goes. She was born in Chicago and joined our family when she was five days old (our first child.)
She's not afraid to try new foods or new things. She plays the ukulele. She still LOVES India. And talking.
Parker
Creative, peacemaker, easy-going, obedient, singer. Daddy's adventure partner. Parker makes us feel like our life is a musical.
He'll eat most things. He has a tender heart. Papaya is his favorite fruit.
Kimball
Contrarian. He already marches to the beat of his own drummer. He'll do it - if he wants to (or if his older brother is going to.) He and Parker are best buds, and only 15 months apart.
LOVES to work with daddy and be his helper. Loves tools, building things, cars and trucks, and watermelon.
Aaliyah
Our Little Princess. Likes to sing, loves to make things with clay and play quietly by herself. Has a tender-heart and is often 'shy' when meeting new people.
Goes crazy for cantaloupe and mangos, but says her favorite fruits are grapes and cherries (which she hasn't eaten in a very long time.)
Atlas
The boss of the family who gets what he wants, even more so now that he talks so much. Adored by us all, a barrel of laughs (and demands). Loves to say, "Mom/Dad, I wuv you."
He'll have been to 20 countries by the time he's... five? (fitting name, don't you think).
Saige
She joined our family in February 2014 while living in Costa Rica, our little 'Tica' baby.
Of course, she's adored by everyone, and we're excited to add another member to our family.
Where Are We Now? Where Have We Been?
You can join our mailing list to get current updates on where we in the world.
Our travel adventures began with a move to Costa Rica in 2007, when we sold everything and loaded our (then) four children into our SUV (at the time ages 4, 3, 18 months and 3 months) and drove from Utah, along the Pacific coast of Mexico, through Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and finally to Costa Rica (then later Panama).
On that epic journey we crossed not just political borders, but psychological ones as well.
We pushed the limits of what we believed we could do, and found a latent power that now directs our life.
We spent one wonderful year living in Costa Rica before returning to Utah in 2008.
After a year in Utah, we got itchy feet again, so we packed up and flew to the Dominican Republic, site unseen, where we spent six months enjoying the Caribbean and orchestrating a project which established a library in a rural school, and placed over 400 books in other schools and libraries throughout the northern coast of the DR.
Back to the States again, this time we chose Atlanta, GA, where we spent six months before moving to India, to the Southern state of Tamil Nadu, where my husband worked as the Assistant Director for a school that housed and taught children who's families are affected by leprosy.
Once we discovered baby #5 was on the way, we returned to Atlanta, bought a van, then drove from Atlanta to Utah and finally to Alaska.
Arriving in the land of the midnight sun, we enjoyed the long summer days of Alaska, and then had baby number five - Atlas Sterling Denning, born September 11, 2010.
Six weeks later, on October 30, 2010, our family was hit broadside in the little town of Homer. Three year old Aaliyah broke her femur and spent 14 weeks in a full body cast. That kept us busy (understatement). It was a long, cold and dark winter.
But in April 2011 we finally left Alaska to embark on another epic expedition -- driving overland from Alaska to Argentina.
We spent six months driving through Canada and the United States, before crossing into Mexico once more in October 2011.
Enjoying four fabulous months in that beautiful country, we then drove through Belize before moving on to Guatemala, where we spent a year and a half living, eventually buying land and establishing a humanitarian organization that teaches self-reliance to the indigenous people.
We finally left Guatemala in November 2013, driving through El Salvador and Honduras, to Nicaragua and then Costa Rica where we welcomed number six!
After a year and a half in Costa Rica, realizing that we'd outgrown our overland vehicle and needed to sell it, and so many years in Spanish speaking countries, we discovered we were ready for something new. So we'll be putting our 'Alaska to Argentina' expedition on hold for a time, and are making a leap across the pond to Germany in June 2015.
We plan to explore Europe and Africa for a time, before exploring South America to finish up our trip.
Unless we sail the Mediterranean or something like that...