And so it begins

It 4:30 am and we're getting in some time with Domino before we leave. The weather looks good, the flights are on schedule, and we are finally packed. Our next post will be from Uganda or Kenya!.....And so it begins.

Making a Difference

Our fundraising efforts are up and going!  For all of you we haven't reached yet, Sam and I will be fundraising throughout our trip.  The funds will go towards all of the non-for- profits for which we will be volunteering along the way.  There are four different sites where we be volunteering, and you can read all about them on the ‘Volunteering’ page on our blog.  All of the money we collect during our travels will be split evenly between our volunteer sites to help with the projects each focus on. The money that we raise while traveling will NOT be used to pay for our trip in any way or even for our volunteer fees at the sites.

So please donate! It's just a couple simple steps.  Here’s how:
1.    Hit the “DONATE” button on the right side of our home page the page
2.    Sign in to Paypal to transfer money to “Sam and Erin’s Volunteer Abroad"
OR
       Enter payment information in as a guest to donate to “Sam and Erin’s 
       Volunteer Abroad” with a credit card or straight from a bank account

Thanks to everyone who has donated so far! All donations make a big difference for the organizations and people in need!

We leave tomorrow morning!! We are finishing packing and saying our goodbyes. There's a list that still needs to be checked and then we'll try to get some sleep tonight...maybe.

The faces we'll miss when we're gone

Our departure on the trip is only a week away from today. While our excitement is definitely building for all the great adventures we're about to embark on, we will definitely miss many people while we're gone.  We've been trying to see or talk to everyone just one last time before we go.

Our family especially will be missed!  Our trip is rather unconventional for any young married couple (or really anyone!).  Although we plan to check in often, we will still be gone for the holidays, and we know our parents' worries and qualms won't be eased until we're back on U.S. soil.  We want to take this chance to thank our families for being so supportive.  They may have been surprised about the whole idea in the beginning, but they have been behind us through so many months of planning!

Erin' s Family

From left to right: Mom (Lisa), Dad (Brian), my sister Katie, then me and Sam

 In September, my sister got engaged!  So we will be welcoming her fiance, Andrew, into the family next summer when Sam and I return.  I'm disappointed that I'll miss a lot of the wedding planning, but we tried to squeeze in as much as possible over that past couple months.

Katie and Andrew

Sam's Family

 From left to right: Sarah and Tim (Sam's brother) and their twin baby girls, Sam, Annie (Sam's sister), myself,  Mom (Kathy), Jenny (Sam's sister), and Dad (Joe).  Jenny's boys and our nephews Drew and Connor in front

This is Sam's immediate family at his younger sister, Annie's wedding last summer (2012).  For some reason Tyler, Annie's husband was left out of the picture!  Here they are below, looking so happy just after the ceremony:

Elaina

Isabella

And of course we're going to miss these two little goobers!  We've had so much fun seeing these two grow over the past 5 1/2 months, especially since we live right next door and get to see them almost every day. It's hard to imagine that they will be 1 year old by the time we get back.

Finally, we are definitely going to miss being greeted every day with a friendly howl and wagging tail from our dog, Domino.  We know he'll be in good hands though with Tim and Sarah most of the time while we're gone (and my parents and/or Katie sometimes too!).  

2 Weeks Left

Erin's big test is finished and we had an awesome weekend with the Weber family in Lafayette, IN! Erin got stuck with taking her test on her birthday last weekend, but now that it's over, we can switch places. She is now taking care of the remaining trip stuff that we have to get finished, which includes applying to Galapagos ICE, packing, and tons of other small things that will add up. I will now begin to cram for my exam which is on Oct. 26th (too soon)...