packed up and off we go!!

packing for 6 months of traveling is challenging no matter what, but in our case we also had to fit four seasons of clothes into relatively small back packs. we brought outwear that includes puffy jackets, rain jackets and fleeces since we will be at elevation with cold temperatures. we also need thermal underwear, warm hats and gloves.  on the flip side we will be in rather warm weather and sometimes on the beaches, so we also have shorts, tank tops and swim suits.  i read lots (lots!) of travel blogs with packing lists and used those as my template.  i'm sure there will be something i wish i brought, but more likely i packed too much (despite my attempts to go pretty darn minimalist).
one of the best tips i read about again and again was to use packing cubes to keep everything organized and easy to manage in our packs......they are pretty amazing!

riley's stuff all laid out and then in packing cubes....

lucy's stuff....

my stuff....

ultimately we managed to get ourselves into one medium sized pack each (well todd's is a bit bigger). we weighed our packs and the kids came in at about 15lbs each and the adults at about 25lbs, pretty manageable really....

...........and here we are ready to board our plane for six months adventure in south america!!

my goal is to post about once a week (ish), so check in with us from time to time and follow along!!