Hi! Welcome! We are a family of four with a deep love of travel, the outdoors, staying active, and new adventures of any kind. We are passionate about sharing our experiences adventuring with our little ones. We hope that other families can get inspiration, tips, and tools they need to embark on adventures of their own. Questions? Email us!
Back Road Family
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Today you are one. Nothing marks the passing of time like a growing child. This year was fierce and fast, sweet and slow. Shiloh, you are (most likely) our last baby and that makes my heart sting. I love being a Mother. I love birthing and breastfeeding, I love soft snuggles, peach-smelling skin, tiny toes, round bellies, sweet cheeks, and dimples. I love watching babies observe their world and I love being reminded that they are wiser than we think. While this year was precious it was also challenging. Thankfully the painful sleep deprivation and relentless illness of the past 5 months were eased by the beautifully simple, magical moments that made it all worth it. The more babies I have the more I want and the more I realize how exquisite this time is. Each year and stage brings new blessings, but there is no blessing quite like time with a baby. Shiloh, If you end up being our last baby, I take comfort knowing that I slowed down and enjoyed you. I kissed you a gazillion times, took deep grateful breaths while you nursed, got to know the meanings of every cry, celebrated you, and relished in how lucky l am to be your mother. I can’t imagine life without you Shy Shy. I love you. We all do.Look no further for your homeschooling inspiration cause we’re nailing it.You guys, this is how my husband does the school commute. We weren’t joking when we said we moved to Oregon to get out of the damn car! #biketoschool #3kidsintow #dadbeastBreaking news!!!!! The sun came out today!!!! It has been a long time. Or maybe I haven’t noticed because I’ve been inside for 4 weeks with sick kids 🤷🏼♀️ Regardless, the sun came out and we got out. 🙌🏼 and Shiloh’s wearing wool overalls so there’s that too.On our family hike I got reeeeeeeaaaaally serious about making a few resolutions. In no particular order... I resolve to participate in a January detox that includes mostly bacon, cheese, and sourdough bread. I resolve to figure out how many grams of sugar we consumed in the month of December and next December we will double it! I resolve to brush my teeth twice a day. I resolve to keep Shiloh 9 months old forever. I resolve to create an exact replica of the garlic sauce at Kebaba. I resolve to befriend someone with a sheep farm. Free wool? I resolve to air fry edamame. I resolve to discover where the car smell is coming from. I resolve to take a picture of the kids drinking hot chocolate when they get their little behinds up this mountain. Whoohoo, one resolution completed! Here are some pics from our hot chocolate hike including my favorite view of the rocks and the river (the light is so good!) while trying to coordinate a family pic in the foreground 🙄 Happy 2020All 3 kids got on the mountain today for a full day of⛷ awesomeness. Can you find Shiloh? I do love growin’ the babies but since I’m not 🤰🏼, I’m skiing and I really love that too! Woot woot!
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Sage summits South Sister
As we drove through town, Sage looked out the window and pointed to a peak in the distance, “Mama, what’s the name of that big mountain?” I told her it was called South Sister. “Is it hard to get to the top?” I said, “yes, it’s a very hard hike to the top.” In typical Sage fashion she replied…”Ok then, I want to do it.”
Posted in hiking, Uncategorized
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Nepal
My niece is spending a semester abroad in Nepal. In honor of her adventure, it’s time I finally publish our adventure in Nepal… from… ahem… two years ago. So yeah, that pregnancy and baby thing really set me back on our travel posts. Better late than never! We booked our trip with grand expectations. Himalayan adventures in films and magazines put Nepal at the top of our list. We were living in Abu Dhabi and given that Kathmandu was a four hour flight, we didn’t hesitate to book a trip.
Our dream for Nepal consisted of a strenuous multi-week adventure to the remote regions of the Himalayas but we only had a few days so we decided on a multi-DAY trek instead. If Nepal was as amazing as we hoped, we would return.
So here’s the big take-a-way. Our trip didn’t meet our expectations and was a disappointment. Fortunately though, Sabine is experiencing a very different Nepal. One that is living up to her expectations. Her pictures and stories are making me want to go back and recreate our dream adventure. But for now, here is our trip in a nutshell. And maybe a few things to think about if you decide to plan a visit.
Posted in Asia, Destinations, Uncategorized
Tagged Ghorepani, ghorepani poon hill trek, Himalayas, Kathmandu, Nepal, Pokhara, Poon Hill, travel with kids, Trekking
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Mount Motherload
When our fiery wills met to build Sage, they didn’t cancel each other out as two similar forces should. They quietly grew for 23 months and then on a dark and stormy night they colluded and turned my soft cherub into a pocket sized … Continue reading
Cedar’s Homebirth
Given that Cedar’s birth happened at home, it seemed fitting to include the story on our family adventure blog. As it was, in its own way, our family’s biggest adventure. My hope is that with this post, we can raise awareness about birth choices and inspire informed and empowered decisions about childbirth. A woman’s experience deserves respect. She matters and birth matters. Here is our story.
Posted in Lifestyle and Parenting, Uncategorized
Tagged birth matters, doula, home birth, midwife, natural child birth
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Climbing in Red Rocks
We love Las Vegas but maybe not for the obvious reasons. Our favorite part of Vegas lies just outside of the city. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is a climbing paradise. It’s also a great place to bring your kid! We found an area of Red Rocks where our 2 year old (at the time) had a blast climbing and swinging. Continue reading to find out where it is and to see how much fun it was.
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The Next Chapter
On our first date, before the waiter spilled a beer on Peter, we spoke about our dreams. Our conversation exploded into all our hopes for traveling the world. Climbing Kilimanjaro (✓), sailing to Australia, rock-climbing Thailand (✓), trekking the Himalayas, visiting … Continue reading
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Lake Lopez
This summer’s Lake Lopez kick off
Posted in Camping/Outdoors, Roadtrips, Uncategorized, windsurfing
Tagged camping, San Luis Obispo, windsurfing
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First family hike and camping trip!
Four weeks after Sage’s birth my body finally felt good enough to go on our first family hike.
Sedona, Arizona
Because Christmas landed on a Sunday this year, Peter had Monday off! So, we decided to take a road trip to Sedona.
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Joshua Tree, Biking, Sailing, Vegas
This fall has been exciting and busy. September-October was filled with some wonderful weekend trips but due to being in the throws of weeks 9-17 of my pregnancy, I felt too sick to blog about most of it.
Pre Gorgonio Mountain Hike
It’s 4:30am and I know I need to kick my own ass again before we attempt Kilimanjaro
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Maui Engagement photos
We are in fervent anticipation for our wedding pictures so to stop our nail biting, Mike our photographer sent over the pictures we took the Friday before we were married.
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Santiago Peak 1 point. Liz 0.
Peter and I, both sick with colds, decided this morning at 6:00am that we were still going to attempt getting to the top of Santiago Peak. Standing at 5,689 feet, Santiago Peak is the highest peak in the Santa Ana … Continue reading
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Laguna Beach Bachelorette weekend
After this weekend, I have caught myself in daydreams, reflecting on family, reflecting on friends and more keenly, on friendship.
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Thailand: Made it Railay
Hi! We are in Railay in the south of Thailand. I have so much good stuff for my next unofficial blog post but it will take some time for me to put it all together. Nothing like an “off the … Continue reading
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