Greening Sam and Avery

the rockies with our little ones

There is no way I can sum up this trip in words. Where to start? 

Well, I will start by telling you why you should take your kids where we went!

We backpacked in the Rainbow Lakes area in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. It was a bit tough to find a campsite that wasn't too close to the lakes but once we found one it turned out to be great for the kids. The hike in was super easy for the girls, even carrying their own backpacks. And the campsite was a quick hike away from several different lakes; lots of places to explore! 

And the views from anywhere in the area were just incredible!

And if catching critters is of interest to your little one these lakes are FULL of great critters. We could see leeches, waterboatman and caddisfly nymphs just be looking down into the lake. 

So the setting that Uncle Craig picked was pretty perfect for little ones! 

There was lots of family time, good food, exploring, cousin bonding and reconnecting with the outdoors. 

We did have a bit of weather issues...hail, lightning, thunder and lots of rain.

But knowing what has been happening all around Colorado we were all just fine with the wet weather! Plus it forced all eight of us into one tent for cards and games which led to lots of laughter and fun! 

*This last photo is taken from the top of Mount Evans which we drove up so the kids could really get a sense of what the top of a mountain looks like!

We had a pretty incredible time! 

To see all of our photos from the vacation check out my facebook page. 

travel day one - a book to get me ready

I am on VACATION!  WOOHOO!  Which means I wrote this post several days ago and scheduled it to go up so that I could take a break from the computer and make memories with me kids! Sure they are just riding in the car memories at this point but still we are on VACATION!

The car is loaded down with all our camping and backpacking gear plus all the clothes and extra things that we need just for a great visit at Uncle Craig's house in Denver. The girls could not be more thrilled about this trip and excited about all the things that we have told them we will be doing. They have NO idea just how many hours they are about to spend in the car...I decided it was better to surprise them with that fun! HA!  

This is a much needed break. A much needed recharge for our family and our first big camping trip as a family of four. Chris and I have both camped all of our lives and we have both backpacked before we were together and as a couple. SO I am so excited to do all of this with the girls and get to experience all of this as a family. With hopefully many more of these in the future.   

But, before any of this could happen I needed to get ready. Which for me meant reaching out to all of you for advice! Go here to see all the great posts that were linked up and be sure to add your own if you have one! Thanks so much to Creekside Learning, Kitchen Counter Chronicles, Curly Bug,  Adventure Tykes and No I Will Not Carry That Rock for linking up and giving me so much great advice! 

Getting ready also meant I needed to find a good book. And I found a great one!

The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping With Kids by Helen Olsson. I got lots of great advice for what to pack, what to expect and advice on how to handle different situations from this book. The most seasoned camper or backpacker may not need the gear section but if they are taking along their kids for the first time they may really need the "Five Ways to Curb Whining" section. And an early childhood educator may have no problem keeping their kids entertained at the camp site but may really struggle with knowing what kind of trip to plan and how long to plan it for. There are literally sections in this book for everyone!

Well organized, well written and a quick read make this a great resource for anybody that plans on taking kids out into the wild for a camping, hiking or backpacking trip!

Okay, I will be popping on here occassionally over the next 10 days but my posts will be brief. If you want to hear more about what we are doing and see photos you should follow me on Facebook! I am going to try and get stuff up there a bit more often. But again, I am on VACATION and plan to be unplugged making memories with my family as much as I can!

camping/backpacking with little ones

We are planning our first ever BIG camping trip with the girls this summer. Actually, we are taking them backpacking for the first time. 

During July we will head to Denver to hit up the foothill areas and then some higher elevation areas for two seperate backpacking trips; a two day trip and then a three day trip. 

We are super excited for this because Uncle Craig, Aunt Lori, Uncle Carl and cousin Chester will all be joining us! Family, hiking, camping and the great outdoors what could be better. 

But today while I was just starting to look at our gear and what we might need to pick up for the trip I realized that besides the books I have been reading it would be great to read up on what other bloggers have done with their little ones. I would really appreciate any advice, tips, tricks, games, supply must-haves, things to not bring, etc. about camping and backpacking with little kids. 

SO please link up any backpacking or camping related posts that you have to share! Or leave your advice in the comments section!

Thanks everyone. 

back at home

After a long weekend in St. Louis we are back at home and settling back in.

The weather down in St. Louis did not exactly cooperate. My poor friend Tracy had to get married in the rain! Literally. She was determined to have the outdoor wedding of her dreams and even though the constant sprinkle was coming down she dealt with it and got married outside anyway. We all got wet but she looked beautiful and the ceremony was perfect. And certainly a wedding I will never forget!

The rain kept on and the boys could not go golfing so instead we took five energetic kids to the St. Louis City Museum. This place is the largest example of upcycleing I have ever seen! The whole place is made out of materials that have been reclaimed from old construction sites, schools, buildings and other places around St. Louis. And the kids can do just about anything; run, climb, create, yell, ride a train, slide, crawl through a maze, explore a hallway of mirrors, and much more!

 

Yup, I did some climbing too!

She got a little too high!

The kids had a blast!

This is certainly a green tourist destination and an awesome place to play with kids! Or grown-ups, they have late night events that include a bar...but you can still do all the fun stuff that the kids can do during the day!!

a great weekend

We skied.

I taught survival skills. We hiked. I shared some great snow play ideas. We talked with lots of new friends, old friends and saw some amazing presentations. We heard a great speech from John Francis, the planet walker.

The Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education put together an amazing Winter Workshop!

And now it is time to recover and get back in the swing of things at home!

she doesn't have to love every kind of outdoor adventure

Deep sea fishing is not for Sam. She was sick pretty much the whole boat ride! We were all very impressed because she never cried, whined or spoke even one word of complaint. She just kept throwing up, everywhere, and on everyone!  Disgusting! 

We had a few minutes at the beginning where she was not sick and then a little time at the very end where she was feeling okay, but other than that her trip was pretty rough. It didn't help that the fishing was horrible and we only caught one fish.

Way to go Uncle Craig.

But Sam got to see some sights and when she wasn't sick she had a great time on the boat.

Sam sat up for a few minutes when she really wasn't feeling well and was able to see a group of humpback whales that were not too far from our boat. It was amazing! Even though she was SO sick I still think she was pretty impressed.

Sam got a chance at the end of the trip when she was feeling better to reel in the bait fish. She was thrilled and thought she had caught a fish! We didn't argue with her.

At the end of the trip the captain was emptying out the bait bins and feeding the birds and sea lions. He got one sea lion to come all the way up on the boat and we pet it!

So cool to see a sea lion that close!

As we headed back to the house Sam told me that she never wanted to go on a boat again. I talked with her about all the great things that we saw but she still insisted that she didn't like it and didn't want to do it again. I don't blame her. If I had gotten that sick I wouldn't want to either. BUT I think I am going to make her take another boat ride while we are down here! I know, I am a mean, bad mom, but hear me out. They have these little tourist boat rides that you can take where you get to see the sea lions in their natural habitat, visit some secluded beautiful beaches and some awesome rock bluffs. The boat stays close to shore the whole time, is a short ride and there are stops to get out along the way. I think this type of trip might be a great way to show her that not all boat rides will make you sick and miserable. There is a risk that even this short and calm ride will make her seasick, but it is a risk I am willing to take so that she goes away with good memories and a willingness to try it again. Do you think I am crazy?

Okay, gotta get ready for the beach later!

outdoor play link up - a great setting helps

Okay, so I have been trying all morning to load pictures of the house and setting that we are in but either my pictures are just too big or the internet here is just not strong enough, I don't know. But the pictures just won't load. I will be working on figuring this out!

Anyway, we are in a beautiful place with a pool, golf course that we can run and play on when golfers aren't there, a beach within walking distance, lots of green space and much more! Can't wait for all the outdoor play we have ahead of us.  

 Hear more about how to create an awesome outdoor play space in a few days (Nov. 30th) when Kristin from Exploring the Outdoor Classroom stops by to guest post!

Now, on to the feature for this week! In think Jada Roo Can Do rocked the outdoor play this week by setting up a whole shoe shop for her kiddos outdoors. How cool is that? Sure it probably took some time to get it all out there and set up but I bet the kids had a blast!  Love how this mom took the initiative to bring toys into a whole area for her kids and turn what is typically indoor play into some very creative outdoor play!

How did your kids play outdoors this week?

Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us! Here’s just a few guidelines for sharing.

• Any kind of children's outdoor play is welcome. If it happened outside, then please link it up!

• Please do not share any competitions, promotions, or posts that are not related to Outdoor Play.

• Please remember to link back to this post and help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play!

• Each week we will feature an activity from the previous week. By contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished.

thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful today for a safe and easy travel day.

I am thankful for a beautiful house and beautiful scenery to spend the next week.

I am thankful for family, both near us and far away.

My daughter's are thankful for "blankies, the pool and you mommy".

Hope you are finding yourself filled with reasons to be thankful today.

preparing for the ocean

We leave in just a few days for the beach! Woohoo!!!

So I have been doing a few things to get the girls ready for our trip and to help them be more comfortable with the ocean. 

We have been reading some of the books that we have that deal with the ocean and beach.

 

We have also been playing with and crafting with the seashells that we have. Sam and I have also been talking about walking the beach to find more shells.

The craft we did was super simple. I made some shapes on paper board, then gave Sam glue, shells and beans. I encouraged her to make her own shapes but she just really wanted to keep glueing on the shapes that I drew.

The shells that we used were a part of a necklace that broke and when we ran out of shells we just switched to beans.

And then we looked at some of the other shells that we have.
`

They liked hearing about the shark's teeth too!

The girls have had some serious hesitations about the ocean in the past. I am hoping that talking about it, getting them excited for playing on the beach and knowing that there are other things we can do there besides just swimming will make them more willing to spend time on the beach. I will keep you posted on how it goes!

Back to packing...

outdoor play party - play while you travel

Once you reach your destination finding time for outdoor play can be easy or at least possible. You may have to make it a priority, ask others to find time for it or make sure that it gets planned into family functions but it can be done. But while you are traveling, between destinations and on your way, outdoor play may not be what is on your mind. For us our most frequently traveled path is by car to visit family. And while we like to "just get there", as I like to say, fitting in some outdoor play has become more important to us recently.

Finding places like Peck's Farm Market along the roadside is great!

We have also learned how to utilize rest stops to their fullest potential. You can read it here.

Planning stops that include exploring and even hiking is a great way to break up a long road trip.

So traveling this week I stuck with the rest stop trick. The girls hit the playground, we searched the green space for natural treasures and played around with comparing sticks that we found. The outdoor play helps my girls to be willing to get back in the car. To be willing to sit and sing songs, look at books and talk to each other for several more hours. The outdoor play, even though it makes the trip longer in time, makes all of us more patient and happier with each other.

Outdoor play on the go, not perfect or incredibly "green", but very important!

Now on to the party...

My feature post this week comes from No One Has More Fun Than Adams'! Her Leaf Hunt post is great for several reasons. First off, I am a sucker for scavenger hunts and I love that this one is not just looking for colors but also comparing size and counting. Plus, it is GREAT when teachers, parents and bloggers are willing to freely share what they created. The print out that she put together is great and I think it is awesome that she shares it!

Be sure to check out her post and if you still have leaves falling give the hunt a try!

How did your kids play outdoors this week?

Share your ideas for outdoor play activities with us! Here’s just a few guidelines for sharing.

• Any kind of children's outdoor play is welcome. If it happened outside, then please link it up!

• Please do not share any competitions, promotions, or posts that are not related to Outdoor Play.

• Please remember to link back to this post and help us spread the word about the importance (and fun!) of outdoor play!

• Each week we will feature an activity from the previous week. By contributing you are giving permission for an image and link to your post to be republished.