Growing up the oldest of five sisters and spending a ton of time helping mom look after the younger ones, plus after earning years of spending money by babysitting neighbors, I was never totally sure that I ever would want kids of my own. I relished the freedom to jump on a plane on a moment’s notice to chase some adventure in a far off corner of the globe.

Then I met this guy, turned 30, stopped competing, moved full time to Nicaragua and all those things together made me suddenly ready to settle down, plant a garden, nurture a pair of dogs, and start thinking about starting a family.

On March 30th, 2013 Kim and I were married in front of a small group of family and friends. You can watch the video from the ceremony here.

A few months later we began planning the best timing to conceive so that the baby would be born in the rainy season and the low season for our business. In December, we lovingly and intentionally conceived a baby and are now eagerly looking forward to meet the little one sometime in early September 2014.

To read more about this process, check out my new blog saltwatermama.com!