It is 6 a.m. My coffee is keeping me company this morning. And you too! I am not a morning person. But my in-laws just hit the road back to Oregon and I find myself up and unable to go back to bed. And really there is no better time for this mom to write…

Honestly I have been dogged by the cranky, under slept, restless, and stir crazy me. I have no logical reason. I have no excuse. But I feel like the heat is crawling in under my skin, and making me itch all over. I never, ever thought I’d be ready for summer to be over. But…

This was our first trip to the Outdoor Retailer Show. A little overwhelming for us newbies and inspiring all at the same time! But one of the things I (and most my fellow bloggers) want to do is share the outdoor gear we are most excited about. Here is what caught the Kid Project’s eye:…

Supposed to. I hate supposed tos. I am up early this morning, my last minute grab at a bag of coffee for my husband, Dead Point Blend, sitting warmly in my cup. I like it, a lot. Not too bad for a bag of coffee from a small coffee shop called Bongo Billy’s. I bought…

A little something about me: as a kid I hated hiking. I hated skiing. All I wanted was to stay home and [for once] watch Saturday morning cartoons. Somehow that all changed. It has some to do with finding friends that would do these outdoor things with me. But a large part of it was…

Honestly, this is mostly for myself! So next year or next time I can bring up the post and pack my bag. I looked up many a packing list for my three night, all-women’s trip into the Collegiate Wilderness. I added specific brands for items I was particularly impressed with! And I won’t say this…

I love the Olympics. Every two years, I toss that “not-to-much-television” thing out the window and camp out in front of our small screen watching athletes of all types go for gold. When I first got married we didn’t have a TV [yikes] so I frequented my fitness center, spending hours on the elliptical just…

“I was really nervous about this trip,” my mother confessed. So was I. But she went on, “sometimes you wonder if you can even do it, but then you’ll never know unless you do. You just need to step up. Commit.” I felt the same way. And I chuckled to myself. My mom, an empty-nester,…

I am back! And refreshed by the beautiful Colorado Collegiate wilderness. I will share all about my trip soon… for now I will tease by sharing my favorite moment I captured from the trip: But until I can collect my thoughts on everything I learned in Colorado, I want to share about a community of…

Things might be a little quiet on the Kid Project front because this mom is throwing on a loaded backpack and hitting the trail with a group of women for four days. Yes, four days of backpacking and hopefully in the end some refreshed spirits and successful summits of Mt. Belford (14,197′), Mt. Oxford (14,153′)…

Well, we are off on a new type of adventure… an all church campout with a couple hundred people. A different type of camping for us indeed! But I wanted to leave you with some interesting information on sleep…since you know, I am horrible about getting to bed at a reasonable hour in the summer….

Honestly, trip reports really don’t interest a wide audience. But I do them anyways, why? Because I really wish that I could go to a site and see a list of hikes/climbs/etc with all the beta from a PARENT’S perspective. So, we are trying to build that database here at The Kid Project. Awesome family…

Something about me: I hate sunscreen. I hate bug spray. Hate. But of course I hate sunburns and skin cancer and bug bites too. And all of the above is a natural evil when one is accustomed to being outdoors SO much. And not just a nuisance, as recent history has shown, bug bites can…

Today we welcome a guest post, with tons of great tips for fighting the rain while camping! Now I know what you are thinking, if you are in Utah or Colorado, you’d bend down and kiss the ground if only it WOULD rain. But, if you are headed out this 4th of July, check out…

And all I have to say is… This last week was sort of gut wrenching. It wasn’t just one call, one email, one Facebook post. It was many. Cancer and depression and heart problems…hard pregnancies, hard marriages, hot fires. Where are you wife? Chris questioned the vacant expression that accompanied me most of Saturday. I…

Happy hot summer days everyone! We are back today with the second half of our interview with Sara Kreymborg. If you missed us earlier this week, check out why she believes having a common sport has been beneficial for her family: Waterskiing, A Family Portrait. Today we are getting more practical. We are talking lifejackets,…

Us Ericksons, do a lot outdoors. But we don’t even come close to doing everything. We cover climbing, hiking, camping and skiing pretty extensively. But when we get the chance, we love to interview people doing things that are way beyond us. Today [and later this week] I get to share my interview with Sara…

This whole “fear” series has invoked some interesting responses. But by and large, the biggest question we have received is this, “What if my kid is fearless? What about then?” And I get that. In fact, dealing with a fearless kid is often times alarming for all us adults. My daughter, as far as I can…

For the last week we’ve been doing a series on fear. What we fear, what we shouldn’t, and how to help our kids overcome their fears. Today, we are going a different direction: how to deal with things we SHOULD fear –  like extreme weather and the potential danger to our family. A few weeks…

Hi friends! We are smack in the middle of a blogging series, all about fear. Last week we discussed our fears, and what are considered “normal” fears in children. This week we are bouncing between a whole host of fear topics. Today we interviewed Katy Simms about swimming with our kids! Hello Kid Project readers!…