Hi, I am Danielle!
I’m excited to share my travel tips, highlight unforgettable adventures and offer insights to help YOU create the perfect itinerary for your family. I love sharing tips, tricks and itineraries for travel as well as ways to learn from home.
My husband and I met at BYU in 2010 and married the following year. After spending a few years in Seattle, we moved to his hometown, just south of Milan, Italy, with our two young boys. Since then, we’ve welcomed two girls into our family. We are a fully bilingual, bi-cultural family in every sense.
What was meant to be a five-year adventure has now stretched into ten! Living abroad has its challenges and joys, but overall, we love it and see our future here.
Having visited over 50 countries—including 42 in Europe—I’ve learned, through much trial and error, how to plan family trips that are truly magical. I focus on slowing down, discovering unique experiences, and seeking out meaningful moments.
Lastly, I am very passionate about giving kids experiences in the world and reading aloud to them to increase their background knowledge. Whether at home or on the road, it’s always one of my top priorities. I still have a vivid memory of washing dishes in our old kitchen, while listening the podcast that changed my life. The interviewee said, “Research shows that the best predictor of academic success is how much your child ALREADY knows about the world before going to school. And the best way to give them this ‘background knowledge’ is to give them experiences in the world and read books to them.”
I literally froze to take it all in…
The best way to give my kids a strong educational foundation wasn’t flashcards, or teaching them to read at 4, or math worksheets….It was going on adventures together and reading books?!
Not only did that sound much easier, but it also sounded FUN!!
I become obsessed with seeking out experiences…taking them to the zoo, making mosaics, going to the lake, making homemade apple juice and butter, and showing them as much of the world as possible!!
I’ve spent years now taking my kids on adventures near and far and reading aloud to them almost every night.
And it has turned into one of my favorite parts of motherhood, giving us so many amazing memories. Plus I’ve seen the magic work in my kids.
Thank you for being here and happy exploring.