the kid project 
“I was up all night,” Chris shared sluggishly over a cup of coffee. “Thinking.” “Me, too,” I said. “What about?” “The reality of living 6 months in a trailer. I am oscillating between moments of excitement and asking myself what on earth we did.” “Me too. I realized last night that we always told ourselves…
If you are part of our Facebook community, then you know that a few weeks ago, we started our all new Kid Project Tip Series! This is the second tip in a series of new tip videos shared every week on our Facebook and YouTube channels! Since it is super easy to miss things via…
Every year we partner with specific outdoor companies – either for certain projects or as year-long ambassadors as we adventure as a family. We are picky over who we partner with. The gear needs to be tried and tested – either personally or from other families we know and trust before we will willingly promote…
For many people, a summer road trip through the inspiring desert landscapes of Southern Utah is a life dream. And I am not here to argue. It should be. Below I highlight our favorite locations, the best hikes, andĀ epic adventures for families in Southern Utah. Itinerary: The route I chose could be followed in opposite…
Huge announcement friends! We are teaming up with our friends from Go Adventure Mom, Tales of a Mountain Mama, and Hike Like a Woman to create a year-long challenge: 365 miles. 1 Year. If there is one thing I have learned from endurance sports [and parenting], is that small deliberate steps can get you to…
Every fall, as the Wasatch starts to light up gold and red, we receive a long list of inquiries on the best places to go for Utah’s fall foliage. So I figured I’d attempt (I am sure it isn’t “all”) to get them in one post. This includes hikes, popular and not so much, trail…
The Sawtooth Mountain Range lies in central Idaho, not far (approx. 45 minutes) from Sun Valley, Idaho. It is a jagged and rough mountain range, dotted with deep and clear lakes, abundant wildflowers and towering summits. TheĀ Sawtooths are also decently accessible and super family friendly both for backpacking and car camping. Though I’d certainly suggest…
When it comes to sun protection, our preference over sunscreen is simply to keep the kids covered (ie. hats) during the hottest parts of the day. But we learned early on that not all hats are created equal. Some are sized better, stay on well, provide greater shade, and are cooler. Sunday Afternoons is our…
I was thinking back a few years… to a time when my largest battle was trying to keep sunglasses on my infants and toddlers. We tried everything, the bungy strap, the velcro strap. In the end we had the best luck with the Julbo Looping 3. Next we moved onto the cheap $5-$10 sunglasses found…
A good pair of water shoes isĀ one of our “family essential items” in the summertime. Whether wearing them just to the pool or waterpark or using them on the trails and lakeside, we are always looking for water shoes that have good traction, durability, and comfort for our kids. M.A.P. Footwear, a childrenās shoe brand…
Last weekend we visited Capitol Reef National Park for the first time. Yes, I know. Five years in Utah and we are only now visiting Capitol Reef… For more information on camping in the area visit: Camping near Capitol Reef National Park. On day number one, we hit the trail around 10 am. During the…
If I am going to keep it real, we never intended to stay at Dead Horse Point State Park on this trip. We intended to visit Island in the Sky/Canyonland National Park, and had a variety of campgrounds on BLM land that weĀ were going to check out. For a full account of our mis-adventures visit…
Not all adventures start off pretty. This one began with a whimsical dream. We literally decided to leave town for the weekend, jumped in the Xterra, hooked on the camper and were on the road within an hour. It was awesome. As a mom that struggles with a hyper-scheduled life, I often dream of the…
I get asked quite frequently if hiking longer distances flies right out the door when you become a parent, along with most your money, good sleep, and sick days. The truth is yes, and no. At first, your new infant is easily packable. The only limits are how far and how much weight you want…
I get it. You saw this glorious photo of your friends and their young kids scampering down the trail, crossing some high alpine meadow, and you are thinking, “Wow, that looks amazing! I wish we did stuff like that.” The truth is you can, anyone can. Ā Hiking with kids doesn’t require super-mad-outdoor skills or awesome…
Gasp. What?! Kid’s complaining about adventures? Never. When we look at other people’s lives, [and most likely when you look at ours] it appears that we are all just frolicking around on an “explorer’s high,” smiles on our faces, all the pieces coming together for perfect journeys, and an endless desire to do it all…
If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ve no doubted noticed we’ve been touring around the desert southwest a bit during the last few weeks. Most of this was due to my firstĀ ultra race, the Antelope Canyon 55k. Ā This is one thing I love about racing! It opens up so many opportunities to explore new…
The more miles our kids hike, the greater the need for good shoes. We’ve found the actual type of shoe depends largely on our kid’s preference. Our boy loves trail runners and doesn’t seem to notice if his feet get wet. But our daughter is more, shall we say timid? She likes her feet dry…
This last weekend we embarked on a mission. To hike Mount Raymond with the kids. Our trusty adventure pals joined us, bringing the kid total to 5, all between the ages of 4 and 8 years old. For most the adults, this was not the first time to have summited Raymond. [ I had done…
We have loved Deuter packs for many years now, using their ACT and Lite series for backpacking, the Comfort Air kid carrierĀ and many of their kid’s backpacks for a variety of adventure. So when I was looking for a day pack that would work for Backcountry ski touring as well as day hikes in the…