Hi! Thanks for being here and for your interest in LuckyBucky. Here is a little more about me… and by a little, I mean a lot. That’s one of the first things you should know about me. I have a lot to say.

I am a doting wife, a typically overwhelmed stay-at-home-mom, daughter of Christ, and eager world traveler. Before choosing to stay home with my children I was a trauma and critical care nurse, which allowed me to live out my commitment to compassionately helping others. My empathy and compassion for people hasn’t changed, but my recipients have.

My travel transformation began when I was 34 and single after multiple failed relationships. I had been abused, neglected, betrayed and misled. I was feeling my desired future of having a family fade away, and the loss of having someone to travel to Italy with me - a dream from childhood having never really known my grandparents, and great aunts and uncles who immigrated from there. Refusing to let that dream pass me by, I packed a backpack and set out on a solo trip to Europe. It was a trip that changed my life.

On day 3 of my 3 week trip, I was pick-pocketed (while being very careful and conscious, I might add). All my cards were stolen, leaving me with only €200 to last me the remainder of the trip. That’s where my transformation began, as well as my affinity for traveling, and neither have stopped. It’s an incredible story that highlights the beauty of humanity, the strengths that lie within us, and the growth that stepping out of your comfort zone can bring.

It’s impossible to ignore how travel has benefited my husband and I individually, and as a couple, so there was no question that we would jump right in to the unknowns of family travel as well. Traveling with our children goes beyond checking boxes. We prefer to dig in. Research shows family travel leads to a plethora of benefits for children, parents, and grandparents! In the US, almost half of all marriages end in divorce, and the negative effects on children are undeniable. Regular travel with your family can improve intimacy with your partner, bonding and connectedness amongst family members, improved well being, and communication - to name just a few. Check out Why You Should Be Traveling With Your Family to learn more about the proven benefits and transformative capability of family travel.

You, too, can experience a transformation. It is my desire to help strengthen family relationships by fostering connection over distraction, mental wellness over anguish, and lighting a new fire in the place of burnout - all through the restorative power of travel.

My travel experiences have given me the unique expertise necessary to intentionally guide parents through the process of planning a family trip designed for each family’s specific needs and desires. As your family travel coach, it is my primary goal to help you discover exactly what those needs and desires are.

It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we finally decide we are done waiting for the experience, the change, the transformation, and we go out and get it.