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Colorado State Parks

The Art of Naming Objects While on a Road Trip

“You know – that thing. The flash bag, “ I said to Sam as we hike up the trail to Rife Falls.

“When you say ‘flash bag’ I think of strobes & speedlights,” Sam says.

“Right…I guess I do have one of those. I meant the REI backpack. What are we going to call it? It needs a name.”

Turns out when you have a car full of stuff and very little space, having names for things really helps. Especially when you are trying to find something in a hurry or figure out what in the world the other person is talking about. We could always play 20 questions but that would take longer than I’d like since I’m not very good at it.

“Let’s just call it the diaper bag. That’s what I’m using it for anyway,” I say.

Perfect.

 

Hiking Rifle Falls & Camping at Rifle Gap

 

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Video

Getting Started

Wait… you are going where? And doing what?

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Faith Most Popular Posts

Take a Deep Breath, then Leap

I rolled over in bed this morning, and lay there quietly watching the sun filter through our curtains. The kids were still asleep in their beds and for the moment, all was still. “This is it,” I thought to myself. “This is the day we finally leave.”

 We have been planning and scheming since last March. So many late nights, dreams, aspirations, and excitement all rolled into one adventure. Sam mentioned to me that this is really our chance to start over – even though our travels are not permanent, even though we will eventually come home, for now, we can be whomever we want to be. Our family can be whatever we want it to be. I don’t know what to expect. I feel like we are standing on the edge of the light looking into the darkness, the unknown. I think it takes a lot of faith to do what we’re doing – and I hope the faith I have is enough.

Sam and I linger slightly in bed, but soon its time to get up and get going. My calm before the storm moment is over. Sam is up first and he dashes down the stairs to figure out a DVD burning problem for one of my clients. I hop in the shower, getting that over with so that I can put the last load of towels in the washing machine. As I’m drying my hair and putting my make up, Rachel wanders into our room, still heavy-eyed with sleepy.

 “Mom?” she says, “will you cuddle me? I’m scared.” This is a first for her. Up until now its been excitement and anticipation, but I think the reality of what we are doing is finally starting to sink in. We cuddle in the bed for just a few moments before I need to get up and get going again. Hopefully it was enough to reassure her that everything will be okay.

Pandemonium ensues.

There’s something about the last 2 days before a big vacation. No matter how much you prepare, how much you clean, there’s still enough to do that it is almost overhwelming. Pack up the bathroom. Wipe down the sinks. Get the kids breakfast. Burn photo CD’s for clients. Don’t forget to put everyone’s PJ’s in their suitcase. Too much bathroom stuff – not going to fit in the duffel. Cara has an accident – have to clean her up. Shove shoes in corners and under seats in the car. Pack the cooler for lunch on the road.

Everything is finally loaded, the sheets have been cleaned and put back on the beds ready for those who will sleep in them over the next 6 months, and the rooms have been double-checked for anything we might have left. Walking through our house is almost surreal. Its so…. empty. Nothing in the closets, all the toys put away, the floors swept. It’s time. We say a family prayer of thanksgiving and ask for protection before streaming out the door and climbing into the car.

We take a deep breath, and then its time to leap.

 

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Mommy Diaries

Spring Cleaning

 

If only it were THAT easy. Wow. Remember all the cleaning that, as a house owner, you are “supposed” to do on a regular basis? Blinds? Baseboards? Wiping cupboards inside and out? How many of you actually DO this? Don’t be shy. Raise your hands where I can see them! Hopefully most of you are better than me, as I seem to be very talented and putting this type of housework off until.. well… never.

In 3 weeks we’ll be house swapping with another family for a few months. Never just became tomorrow.

Out comes the dust mop, and the broom, and the insane long honey-do list of everything we ever meant to do with the house since we moved in.  Suddenly every speck of dirt laughs at me, and every smudge on the wall is mocking my efforts. I sat down with the kids and we made “The List”. Everything that needed to be cleaned, washed, wiped down, wiped out, or removed before we left. Its long. And scary. And daunting. Even more so when your cleaning help consists of a 7, 5, and 3 year old. I decided that we would pick 1 thing everyday and just do it. Little things like “wipe down all the doors in the hallway” or “wipe baseboards in 1 bedroom” or “wash walls in the kitchen”. It has definitely been more manageable in bite sized chunks, but after only 2 weeks of this we are completely and utterly slacking. Gone. Poof! It doesn’t help that we’ve been sick (cleaning up after my 5 year old at 1:00 am on my birthday is a total riot – let me tell you!) so I’m hoping that starting… umm.. next week, we can get back on track.

In the meantime, our house swapping partner and I have agreed to not judge.

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Most Popular Posts Outdoor Gear

Best Seat on the Trail

For the past 7 years, most family hikes involved the littlest child riding in a kid backpack. We once hiked a 9 mile, 4,000 ft up, 5,000 ft down trail with Rachel on my back. I have fond memories of singing songs while we hiked, and passing snacks over my shoulder to little waiting hands.

Little Rachel and Jess, 2007

We bought one when our oldest child outgrew the infant sized front carriers. While a sizeable investment for some newly married students, it has paid off handsomely in the years since then. At the time, the Kelty kid carriers were not well designed, and we bought a Deuter Kid Comfort. I considered it to be an investment that would guide our family activities, and it has performed as expected. We have hiked more, and longer, as a result of having a good way to carry a tired child. When young, they took naps during hikes. As they got older, more and more time was spent hiking, taking riding breaks to rest tired feet.

Deuter has been a fantastic brand. Kelty has stepped up their game, and they have some good options as well. Whatever brand you consider, look for the following features:

A built in sunshade  Sleeping kids burn easily. The sunshade on our Deuter has been awesome. It’s attached, so I can’t forget it, and it deploys in seconds.
A hydration bladder. When you are carrying the load, having a drink when you need it is really convenient.
Nice grab handles. Nice handles on both front and back of the top come in very handy when you need to unload in a less than flat terrain.

After years of hiking kids, our littlest is almost grown out of it. On our recent hiking in Arches National Park, little Cara hiked 3 miles of our 4 mile hike. She spent two short segments riding: one at her request, and the other I insisted upon to speed a rocky descent. Though she’s nearly outgrown it, she still loves a ride when her feet get tired. She happily (and loudly) sang songs as we hiked, and I paused briefly to capture one of my favorites.