Logsdon's big adventures!

As a rather momentous milestone birthday just passed, I thought I’d ring in year 40 by celebrating 40 fun, amazing or adventurous things I’ve been able to do in my short 40 years here on this Earth.  While I still have so many ambitions to travel to new places and see new things, I have been incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to do so many cool things.  So this post isn’t intended to be a “brag,” rather it is a long list of thankfulness for the opportunities I’ve had!

So, in no particular order, here we go- the fabulous forty!

1. Being able to speak a second language fluently!  I took a few classes in high school, minored in Spanish in college, and became fluent while studying abroad in Latin America.  I have been blessed to be able to teach in bilingual education as well as teaching Spanish classes.  Currently, I’d say I’m a little rusty, but grateful nonetheless.

2. The opportunity to study abroad in college! To say that this was a life-changing experience for me would be an understatement! I lived in San Jose, Costa Rica with the best host family and through the program I was able to travel to Guatemala, Nicaragua and Cuba. This trip awakened my love for traveling and experiencing other cultures!

3. Having the opportunity to host an exchange student (and for a while working for the exchange program- EF High School Exchange Year). After traveling extensively, and then having a baby, we were still able to experience other cultures and parts of the world through the lives of Yi-han and all the other students we had the chance to interact with! We were also so blessed to have her come back and visit us two summers ago and bring her sister along! Yi-Han (and Ruhan) will forever be a part of our family!

4. While on the topic of traveling, we were blessed to be able to live in China for two years (after marriage, but before kids), while teaching at an international school in Qingdao. Although life in China wasn’t always easy (that first year was HARD), we had so many opportunities to travel both within China and be able to see most of Asia. We made some of our closest friends there and made some unforgettable memories!

5. Though not as far as China, I can’t discount the crazy move I made as a young adult (22 years old) from my hometown in Minnesota all the way to San Antonio, Texas. What a wild ride that was! Many people ask me how I ended up in Texas, and if I hadn’t lived it, I would think that younger me was absolutely crazy! But even then, I knew that the Lord was directing my steps and, crazy as it seemed, was calling me to pack up my meager belongings and move across the country on nothing but faith… and that’s what I did!

6. Becoming a teacher. Though the road was long and trying, I have been blessed to teach bilingual 4th grade, 3rd grade, ESL for pre-k through 6th grade, Kindergarten and Pre-K (in China), High School Spanish, and homeschool beginner Spanish. While I was teaching ESL, I had many Somali refugees in my classes and developed such sweet relationships with them and their families in the few years I worked there. Even though I’m not currently teaching in a professional capacity, those years really helped prepare me for what I am doing now- teaching my own littles each and every day! And although I had a rough start and that first year nearly broke me and my spirit, within just a few years I was named “Teacher of the Year” for my campus and was given an “Above and Beyond” award. That is just evidence that God’s calling is sure, and he equips those that He calls!

8. This really should not fall in at number eight (like I said, these are in no particular order), but making the decision to follow Jesus is the biggest and most profound decision I have ever made. It is also the hardest one- requiring the most sacrifice, humility and dying to self. I have been blessed to have great spiritual mentors in my life over the years who have poured into me and discipled me along the way. I also learned and grew so much in my faith in my years at Northwestern Bible College. I’m so grateful for everything I learned there! Really, this is the foundation for everything else on this list- all of this only exists because of the Father’s calling and his grace in my life!

9. One of the biggest blessings in life for me has been my children. One thing I am so grateful for is that I was given the opportunity to give birth to all three of my children naturally, and to have two of my babies in my own home (Jedi was born at a birth center). I know it sounds crazy, and is totally not for everyone, but my birth experiences were so empowering and so beautiful, that I am so glad I was able to do it that way!

10. Being a stay-at-home-mom is not something I necessarily ever really saw myself being… until I had my babies. I’ve worked since I was 13 years old and always envisioned myself doing so. But when I became a teacher, I recognized that I could either be an excellent teacher or an excellent mom, but I could not do both. (Many teachers do and hats off to them! But I could not.) Trent and I decided then and there that I would stay home to raise our babies and we have never looked back. There are a lot of sacrifices we make to be able to live this way, but I am so grateful that I get to stay home with my kiddos and create a life of beauty and adventure for my family! Part of that beauty is the ability to homeschool my kids. We have found so much value in being able to spend so much time together as a family. Our days are spent spending time in nature, taking field trips, learning entrepreneurial skills, reading for pleasure and practicing life skills. I get to spend my days with my kiddos- having conversations, playing games, exploring and learning. We are able to go at our own pace, be flexible when needed, and have so much more freedom to explore, learn experientially and just develop a passion for learning!

11. One of the (many) things on my bucket list was to go to a lantern festival. We had signed up for one and then it kept getting cancelled and it looked like it might have been a scam. But after several reschedules, we finally got the go-ahead. It really was magical! We brought Jedi and little Levi along and thoroughly enjoyed the evening together!

12. I was blessed to be able to play 4 years of collegiate soccer. Those were four very formative years with great leadership and mentorship. Some great friendships came out of those seasons spent together on the soccer field! One of my former teammates is the reason I ended up moving to Texas (well, God’s call on my life was, but Abby was the conduit He used to get me to come), was in my wedding, and even coached Jedi in soccer for a few years! I loved that time playing for the Northwestern Eagles!

13. When we were in China, we were able to attend the biggest ice festival in the world! It’s hosted in Harbin, China, which is north of some parts of Russia. It was FREEZING cold, but it was such a cool experience!

14. We also were able to experience the third largest beer festival in the world (coming in shortly after Oktoberfest in Germany and the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, CO) during our time in Qingdao, China. And when I say “experience” it, I mean… it was an experience! Every August they blocked off 66 hectares near the beach and hosted the Qingdao International Beer Festival– a two-week long carnival along with live music and entertainment every night. Tents were lined up and down the sides and each hosted different kinds of entertainment. There were carnival rides, food and games (like ring a “pet” and take it home with you), exhibitions, contests, and of course, lots of different kinds of beer. It was wild!

15. I’ve had the opportunity to climb several mountains but one of the biggest was in Seoul, South Korea- hiking Bukhansan- all 2,740 feet of it! We also were able to climb both Fushan and Laoshan Mountain which were located at our home base in Qingdao.

16. Mountains are awesome, but so are volcanoes. We did a sunrise hike up Mount Batur, getting up well before the break of dawn. Then at the top, after watching the sun rise over the clouds, we played with monkeys and then explored the volcano… oh yeah, did I mention I had a stomach bug on this particular day. That was quite the adventure… running off to the bushes as my stomach turned over and over again. But the experience was very memorable!

17. I got to visit several Mayan ruins while living and teaching in Southern Mexico one summer. We went to Tenam Puente, Toniná and Palenque and found some smaller ruins out near a swimming hole (that weren’t commercialized but still cool). The ruins were incredible to see up close and very intriguing to explore!

18. We rode through a typhoon… on a motorbike… along the backroads of the Philippines. We had rented the bike and made plans for our final day to visit what had been voted to be one of the Seven New Wonders of the World- the Subterranean River National Park. Sadly, when we set out from Puerta Princesa, the weather took a drastic turn. By the time we arrived a few hours later, it was closed for the day- the red flag was flying, and they’d already had an earlier boat tour capsize. So, we were bummed that we didn’t get to go on the tour, but then the trip home was crazy windy and rainy… and all of that on a tiny little motorbike on dirt roads. Trent’s helmet didn’t even have a visor- thank goodness he had glasses on to help shield his eyes against the whipping rain. When we finally got back to our hostel, we were freezing cold and soaking wet… along with ALL of our stuff. The hostel didn’t have hot water, so we went from cold rain to a cold shower to sitting in a cold room waiting for all of our clothing to dry. I remember using a blow dryer to dry the pages of my Bible while we sat there and waited. Oh, adventures…

19. I have been able to complete 5 half marathons- The Rock and Roll Half Marathon here in San Antonio, then Trent and I drove out to Cali to run the Big Sur Half, we ran (and I do use that term loosely) one on the Great Wall of China (that one was pretty epic), I ran the Chosen Half Marathon (after I had Jedidiah) and finally the Alamo half back here locally (when Levi was almost 1). Although I don’t run much anymore, I do admire the drive, determination and discipline it took to have those in the books! I was also able to run a 10K when we lived in China.

20. Completing the “1000 hours outside” challenge two years in a row. This took quite a bit of determination, intentionality and patience, but we did it! We were blessed with TONS of time together in nature- walking, biking, hiking, camping, exploring, kayaking, swimming, etc. I am so proud of the kids for doing this and am so glad it has become a habit for us to get outside every day!

21. Something I have enjoyed since my youth is horses. I grew up in the city, so I wasn’t around them much, but I read about them, I had pen pals who rode and raised horses, I read “Young Rider” magazine and had horse pictures plastered all over my walls. So horseback riding has been something I really enjoy now that I’m a grown-up! I have been able to ride along the beaches of Costa Rica, through cloud forests and up to the Mayan ruins in Mexico, into the ocean in the Bahamas, through the Black Hills in South Dakota, in the forests of Minnesota, on the island of Bali, and many others that I am probably forgetting. One of my favorite ways to explore and adventure is on horseback!

22. Something I never saw myself doing was coaching basketball… not at all because I didn’t love it, but just because I was never really that good at it. But when our International School needed coaches, Trent and I volunteered to carry the team and we did for both of the years that we taught at QISS. We got to travel to tournaments and meet some really great girls. It was really a blessing to be able to do that!

23. Another thing I am so grateful to have been able to do is to take several different mission trips. My first two were both to Mexico. The first time was to an orphanage in Reynosa and while we helped with all sorts of things around the compound, we mainly worked with and played with the kids. The second was to Baja Mexico- to Ensenada. Here we worked closely with a new church build. We got to know the pastor and his wife and the local workers we worked alongside are people I still hold in high esteem to this day. I also had the opportunity to serve in Nicaragua serving at-risk youth, in Guatemala on a finca (a farm) and in Costa Rica at a women’s rehab clinic. These trips challenged me to have a humble, teachable spirit and I’ve seen how the Lord used these trips to shape me, change me and make me a better person.

24. Even though I had run several half marathons, one thing that had been on my bucket list for quite a while was a mud run/obstacle course. I was invited by a soccer friend of mine to do the Warrior Dash with her, so I did. My brother also joined us and we really had a blast! And along with that, a color run was also something that I had really wanted to do- Trent and I had a lot of fun doing Color me Rad years ago!

25. This one definitely shouldn’t be so far down on this list, but not everyone has the opportunity to marry the love of their life! I had to come all the way to Texas and endure a very difficult year in order to meet Trent. But when I look at all that we have built together- this life that we have- I am so very grateful that God brought us together!

26. This is something people maybe don’t know about me, but I love to dance. Now that I’m “old,” my moves aren’t quite so fresh, but this girl used to get down on the dance floor! Lol. I actually learned how to dance salsa, merengue, bachata and cumbia while I was studying abroad in Costa Rica and I loved our dance lessons. So, when I came back, a girlfriend and I would go almost every weekend to a local salsa bar and dance our hearts out. I have probably forgotten a lot of what I learned, but when that music plays… my body still sways!

27. Another random fact about me- in High School I fell in love with basketball because I watched Allen Iverson play. I’m telling you that watching him on tv was like insane for me. (He also was my celebrity crush for like ever). Anyways, I got to see him play live twice (once with the Sixers and the last time was when he played for the Nuggets) thanks to a friend who knew of my love for AI and had the hookup because she worked at the Target Center. You know who you are- you’re the GOAT!

28. Trent and I were able to explore all the ancient ruins in Cambodia- we did the Tomb Raider run (from the movie)- visiting Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm.

29. I got to be on a movie set in Cuba- our study abroad group (which was the only group who was still being given visas 20 years ago) was exploring downtown Havana and as we were wandering near the University, there were all these guys dressed up like the Newsies. When we asked them about it, they said that they were part of a movie that was being filmed there. We watched a few scenes being filmed and hung out with some of the actors. I didn’t get in any pictures with them, but some of the girls in our group did!

30. I’ve been on TV before, and on the radio (okay, well just my local college radio station) and in the newspaper. My meager brushes with fame included a promo commercial for our old church, I was a guest on a friend’s radio show in college (on KTIS) and was in both my local newspaper as a child and my college newspaper as a young adult. I was also an extra in season 3, episode 8 of The Chosen. Eliza, my mom and I were in the crowd and actually made it into the cut! We found ourselves in a couple of other spots as well. That was a super fun thing to be a part of!

31. Once I got to be a mermaid… okay, well not really, but it was a fun photoshoot anyways. On the beautiful beaches of Boracay in the Philippines. Oh, and our boat almost capsized getting there… it was in the middle of a crazy storm and I remember praying hard during our short boat ride to get out to the island. Thankfully, the next day everything calmed down and we had beautiful weather for the rest of our vacation there!

32. I almost got swept away in a flash flood once. Trent and I were camping with some friends along the Guadalupe River and it began to storm really hard during the night. We finally decided to move to the car (because I was so afraid that a tree was going to fall on our tent and kill us) and not ten minutes later, a deputy came through and over her bullhorn announced that flood waters would be coming through from upstream and we were to get to higher ground immediately. She said leave everything behind and get out, so we did. And we are glad that we did because a huge wall of water did come through there and swept everything away. The next day my friend went back to see if we could recover any of our belongings, and sent me pictures of campers and picnic tables 20 feet up in trees. We lost all of our gear but left with our lives!

33. Toroweap campground. This was the best accident ever. ‘Twas at the beginning of the “MapQuest” era and we naively entered in our destination (coming back from California) as simply “The Grand Canyon.” We drove for hours and finally as dusk was approaching, we made our final turn. According to the map, we would be “there” in a mere 30 miles. The only problem was that this was a dirt road and there was hardly anyone or anything anywhere close to us. I started getting a bad feeling about it and so we flagged down one of the only other cars we saw there the entire trip to double check that this was indeed the way to the Canyon. They assured us that yes, it was, but watch out- the road gets really bad. I’m thinking… how is this dirt road going to get even worse??? Oh, but it did. It was now pitch black, we are completely alone, we’ve seen a coyote cross the road in front of us and we had no idea where we were. Finally, after we couldn’t go any further, we pulled over by the tiniest little “campsite” marker and Trent got out to look around. Far off, he saw a campfire… and heard an accordion! It ended up being the sweetest couple (who, to this day, I’m certain were angels) and they showed us where to camp, fed us the next morning (all we had was trail mix and some beef jerky) and then told us where to hike (like 5 minutes away) to actually see the canyon. They then pulled out the map and showed us where the south rim was (which is where we had assumed that the map was taking us at the beginning) and we took an extra day’s detour to visit there as well. But it ended up being one of our favorite adventures together!

34. Getting the opportunity to visit so many National Parks and National Monuments (in the 28/50 states I’ve visited)! The Golden Gate Bridge, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore, Custer’s Last Stand, Custer State Park, the Grand Canyon, the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the Washington Monument, Big Bend, etc.

35. This one might seem out of place, but when I think back on moments that I was grateful to be a part of, I think of this one. My grandma fell ill very suddenly. I received a message from my grandma’s neighbor, Sandra (I spent my teenage years babysitting her kids), telling me that she had just seen an ambulance take my grandma to the hospital. She didn’t know who to reach out to, so she messaged me. So here am I… all the way in Texas… trying to text my family and siblings to see if someone can follow up and figure out where she is and what’s going on. My grandpa didn’t have a cell phone so we couldn’t get a hold of him. Anyways, eventually my sister messaged back that she had been admitted and was in the ICU. I had no idea how bad it was or if I should make the trip up to Minnesota to see her. I was about 7 months pregnant with Levi and Jedi was only 2. Trent and I prayed about it and even though we really didn’t have the money for a sudden flight to Minnesota, and I’d have to go with Jedi in tow (and Levi by default), we decided I should go. I was able to see my grandma once while she was awake. She was intubated so she couldn’t talk, but she recognized me and I’m sure wondered how and why I had come all this way to see her. But we got to talk to her. I put her hand on my belly so she could feel baby Levi. And that was the last real interaction we had with her. The next day, they took her off of life support, but I got to stand by her bedside, pray over her, sing over her and then be there as she took her peaceful last breath. There are few people in life who make such a profound impact such as that of my grandmother. She embodied grace and love. She was full of faith and lived it out. I will never regret taking that trip and spending her last moments with her, being able to tell her goodbye and how much I loved her. Little did I know it at the time, but that was also the last time I was able to spend with my grandpa. He passed of a broken heart two short months later.

36. I’ve also had lots of unique animal experiences! From petting real, live tigers, to feeding, bathing and riding elephants; from holding alligators to petting stingrays and swimming with dolphins, I’d say we have had some fun! We’ve encountered monkeys trying to steal our motorcycle, bison nearly charging our car, wild donkeys sticking their heads in our windows, ostriches fighting right next to us, watching baby sea turtles make their way to the sea and battling against roosters attacking us! We’ve had plenty of traditional animal encounters as well- farm visits and trips to the zoo, seeing animals at the rodeo, in addition to our own slew of both permanent and temporary animal residents in our own home. These include our typical interactions with local coyotes and foxes and all the kittens that were born in our backyard that we spent months taming.

37. Participating in the QCCI Games in China. When we first heard about this field day, we thought it was just going to be for fun. We had no idea the level of competition that awaited us! Our school ordered matching outfits (which paled in comparison to the entire matching track suits that other teams had!) Trent and I both participated in several events- I ran part of the 4×100, did a shorter sprint and also did the long jump. We also participated in some of the strangest games I have ever seen! To this day, it makes me laugh that these were really a thing. I have epic video of one event but only one picture- we basically had to ride this massive blown-up caterpillar like 50 yards as a team. Another new one for us was also passing this rope ladder (for lack of a better description) through our entire team as we moved forward for a certain distance. We won that one! But I’m happy to report that we got 2nd place overall as a team! And this was one of the most memorable things that we did while we were in China!

38. White water rafting! Back when I was daring and brave, I loved doing this kind of thing! I had the chance to go twice in Costa Rica, once in Mexico and another time with Trent in Colorado! Most were class III (I think one might have been class IV) rapids, but all were fun!

39. Trent and I got the chance to zip line through the canopy of the jungle in Laos. We did this thing called The Gibbon Experience– and it was epic! It was a three-day adventure, and we spent both nights in treehouses high up in the canopy. They were so high up, that you had to zip line into them- there was no other way to enter! It was a wild ride, zipping over the treetops and hiking through the jungle. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

40. Another thing I LOVE doing is dressing up and throwing parties! I combine the two whenever possible, but I have more photos that I could possibly add here of fun times I’ve had dressing up or in costume!

So, there we go! I’m sure I could think of many more, but just documenting and reflecting seems like enough for now! 40 years of fun, adventure and blessings!