Footwear for kids is tricky… Do you go with a stiff sole or soft? How about traction? And if I finally settle on a pair of shoes, will I have to buy new ones in three months because they’ve already grown out of them?! We’ve put most of the major outdoor brands through the paces…

The sun warmed my skin and the crisp breeze brought a smile to my face. Spring in Telluride. Just talking about it makes me want to go back! My [new] husband and I stumbled into some random store and low-and-behold I found the down vest I’d been looking for, waiting for in fact. Eight years…

There are outdoor brands for every body shape, but rarely is there a brand that fits every body. When I got married, my husband was blown away by how difficult it was to shop for pants with me. I think we both dreaded it more than the dentist. And when we found something that worked,…

Happy Earth Day everyone! In honor of our life-filled-spinning-orbe I figured I’d cover a company that cares as much about the natural products their shoes are made of, as they do how comfortable they are. They strive to use natural products like leather, rubber and Jute in the construction of their shoes. Birki’s, known by us…

Since the moment our kids could hike on their own two feet, we’ve been searching for the right kid pack. And we’ve had mixed success. But at least I can say we’ve tried a ton of backpacks…and I now know exactly what we want in one. As part of our Backpacking Project 2013, we are…

For years we’ve been trudging along in stiff, hard, HEAVY hiking boots. And then trail running emerged on the scene. Along with it, the shoes began to change. People needed/wanted the lightweight comfort of a running shoe but with more stability and traction. Personally, I think this might be one of the best advancements in…

We’ve gotten a fair chance at testing out the Strom snowshoes through the last month or so…but this last week they were put through the ringer. Along with a few adventurous moms, we took our twelve kids on an introductory snowshoe / winter hike in the beautiful Wasatch Range. It was every gear tester’s dream….

We’ve just recently been introduced to DucksDay kid’s clothing products. Our two-year-old is pictured here in the kid’s mitten and DucksDay snow/rain/wind suit (review coming soon). And we are pretty stoked about these products! As an outdoor blogger, I get a LOT of questions about how to keep kids warm, and “are there any mitten…

Is a water bottle just a water bottle? Should it be? I’ve never thought about it all that much till I stumbled across my first Hydroflask at Outdoor Retailer. It is my first multi-tasking tumbler. Well sort of… But I’ll get to that in a minute. What is a Hydroflask? Ready for this mouth full?…

My experience of snowshoeing is limited and…old school. The snowshoes I frequented most often before a month ago were at least 10-12 years old. And for quite a while now I’ve thought, “A snowshoe is a snowshoe. How can they improve on the design?” But Tubbs has worked for over 100 years to make walking on…

What is an Edgie Wedgie and what does it do? The “Edgie” as I call it, is simply a rubber tube with clips on each end that keep your child’s ski tips together. The reason? Keeping the ski tips together aids in teaching a wedge, essential in stopping. A secondary use is for those young…

Better late than never, right? Well, that is my theory for this post. A week and a half ago we scavenged the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Salt Lake City. What was so fun this trip was that I got to try out a bunch of gear, that ended up being awesome. (Yes, we’ve tried…

Each kid is different. Hense each skier is different and what works with one, might not with another. Well, today we are talking all about using a ski harness when skiing with your little ones. If you’d like to see a previous review of the Lucky Bum ski harness, you can find it here: Ski…

There isn’t a parent out there that doesn’t worry about their kids. Kid safety is something we all toss around inside our heads, but often do nothing about. Recently my husband received a RoadID Slim wrist bracelet for running. You know…running lots of miles in the early morning darkness? What if you keel over on…

For years now I have been a big believer in investing in more expensive, high quality kid’s shoes for outdoor activities. If you wonder why, you can visit my post here: Why Investing in Your Kid’s Shoes is Important! But in the next breath, I have been caught (more than once) saying the same was not…

Every once in awhile we have some great idea, an invention so to speak… We share the idea with all our friends. Sometimes jokingly. Sometimes seriously. Like last weekend… we went skiing and my son wore this shirt:  It is a cheap Old Navy shirt we got on clearance, nothing special. But when he spilled…

Giddy. Excited. Inspired. Motivated. All might be feelings after plunking down several months of hard-earned cash (or credit, but hopefully not) on a piece of life-capturing electronic gadgetry. Your first (or second, or third, …) SLR camera. It is a sight to behold, or should at least help you capture some. In the box you find…

You already know what we think of Chacos. We made their factory in Paonia, CO part of our honeymoon tour…and our friends long ago gave up on us “shutting-up” about their shoes when they showed up in Tevas.  Z1, Z2, Hipthong. They rock. I’ve even moved into the more controversial shoes (not sandals) and have…

Hi everyone! Expect[ing] to Thrive has had an awesome week, two weeks really and today I get to introduce to you our go-to piece of baby gear. If you know us, well…you’ve heard our spiel. If not, then know this: If there was only one piece of baby gear I could recommend, it would be…

Do you have a case of the Mondays? Even though we had a long-ish weekend, it still went too fast. But we have an action packed day around here for you! We have a winner from our first giveaway, another giveaway starting today AND an awesome park/anywhere workout that will bless your socks off. Or…