The last month has been a blur- band concerts, ballet recitals, soccer 5 days/week with six games each weekend, scout advancements, end of the year picnics and field trips, my busiest finals tutoring crunch ever, hosting several really big birthday parties, among many other things.  This week was the busy-ness finale, a grand celebration of the boys friend birthday party, with 45 kids and 20 adults… and today is the last day of school!  We are just weeks away from leaving it all behind!

This year’s theme suit us well- “Camp Hoff” was in full swing.  Because of the crazy schedule and Chuck’s party burnout after hosting a 40th surprise party for me, we barely had time to prep like we usually do, but I think we pulled it all together as well as could be expected. 

We like to start off our birthdays with our family party firest, a gathering of 40 family members.  This was back in early May, so it was a little chillier, but we enjoyed making silver treasures over a campfire before the rain hit.  I think some of our family members were a bit skeptical about making their own dinner, but by the end, they all agreed it was our best party yet!

As far as the friend party, We couldn’t do it without those 20 adults, who help with prepping and serving food,

taking pictures,

running activities, helping kiddos, or just being there for moral support 😉  The schedule of camp activities included a circuit of rock climbing with Ken,

rifle range with our 3 teenage volunteer helpers,

and log slice necklaces as guests arrived. 

They put their necklaces in their gift bags with their flashlights.

By 4:15, the party was in full swing as we kicked off our annual scavenger hunt. 

Chuck and Rich love using that megaphone…

The kids camping and national park knowledge was tested during a special quiz time,

followed by a competitive game of finding clues to put together outdoor phrases and quotes. 

As the kids get older, their competitiveness seems to get more prominent, so this year, we didn’t keep teams together.  Rather, we varied group games with team games of varying sizes.  Next, we let the kids pick out their hobo sticks for bandanas and walking sticks. 

Then, we split the younger and older kids in half, one group playing a memory game where an ipad of 9 pictures was flashed before their eyes and they had to redraw it. 

Chuck let them earn another peak by doing pushups or jumping jacks.

The other group spent their time fishing (in the creek), splunkering (in the hobbit hole), or digging for lost camp pets (aka jump rope for hearts rubber dogs). 

Groups flipped to do the other activity.

The idea of teamwork while camping was emphasized with a fun yardstick activity,

followed by a quick game of predator/prey (bunnies vs foxes). 

By then, the kids were starving, so we pulled out the picnic

during camp story time with Rich by the tent. 

With only an hour left at the “official” party, we had the kids paint their walking sticks. 

Our last couple games include a photography scavenger hunt where the kids had to find printed pictures out in the forest and take pictures with their cameras to bring back to their teams. 

We all know how important water is while camping, and how difficult it can be to find the water source sometimes, so our last game was a relay to fill up cups at the creek and bring them back to their team buckets. 

The first one to overflow won!  

As the kids ate dessert, parents came to pickup. 

Some stayed for campfire entertainment and a less structured trail game;) 

What a great way to finish off the school year!

Here are a few pictures of the kids opening up their gifts.

Another amazing experience was had just days before Braden’s feather find… also in Montana’s gem, Glacier National Park. On several occasions, my cousin Jill, my oldest son Ethan, and I awoke early to fit in a few of the more rigorous hikes that would have proved too grueling for the younger of our five children. On this day, we were hiking 13 miles from the top of Logan Pass along the Highline Trail and connecting to the Loop near the Granite Park Chalet.

We drove Jill’s car up to the top of the pass, and planned to take a shuttle back up from our trail outlet down the pass. One of the coolest aspects of high altitude hiking is the always surprising weather change – it never ceases to amaze me how different it can be up top. On this day, as the sun rose, we discovered we were completely enveloped in misty clouds, with no views in sight. However, Ethan’s dreams of finding a bighorn sheep came true.  Unfortunately, he rushed away into the misty mountains before Jill and I could enjoy the wildlife encounter.

While hiking through and above the clouds proved quite surreal and amazing, we were ‘socked in’ and the views were completely obstructed. We could barely see one another while hiking within feet, but Ethan was psyched about his first big hike. My cousin and I found ourselves doubting the practicality of adding the mile extension we planned to hike straight up the Grinnell Glacier overlook trail. Nonetheless, Ethan (novice, yet avid hiker) was relentless in his position of wanting to continue up this trail, and he eagerly hiked further into nothingness.

We followed him reluctantly, panting profusely while I tried to pinpoint when my first baby had surpassed my adventurous, athletic ability within his young nine years of life. After continual attempts to persuade him back down the mountain, we convinced him to take a snack break. Ethan decided to stop and pray for the clouds to clear, knowing that his minutes were numbered.

Within seconds, the thick clouds that surrounded the mountains were literally sucked up into the sky. Speechless and in awe, the only thing we could muster was, “Well E, God answers prayers.” We continued the rest of our hike with nothing but deep blue skies.

I cannot help but think His presence is even closer at the top of those mountains… Glacier is truly God’s country.

Just like life, camping in weather like this sometimes feels like there is no hope, that clearing up is impossible. Amazingly, Mother Nature reminds us regularly just how quickly conditions can change.

Ethan’s version (and first post): “As we continued on, there were many difficult obstacles, including travelling along a narrow cliff assisted by cables and climbing over a very slippery ice field. Although it was dangerous, it was a beautiful hike. I love hiking because I like setting goals for myself and enjoying all the amazing things along the way. We even got to see waterfalls trickling off the side of the mountains. As we hiked, there was an option to take a side trail to the Grinnell Glacier overlook. When we got near the top, it was so cloudy that I prayed to God that all the clouds would be gone. As I prayed, the clouds disappeared right before my eyes, almost instantly. I was amazed to see that the clouds could disappear so quickly, but was reminded that through God, all things are possible. I was thinking about it the whole time and was amazed that a miracle happened right before my eyes, as we walked down the trail to Granite Park Chalet. When we arrived there, we signed our names in the log of those who had hiked. When we finished our 13 mile hike, we took the bus to the top and drove back down to our campsite.

I couldn’t wait to tell the rest of my family about my expedition. When we got back, I anxiously told everybody about my adventure.   They were amazed. “

“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9

We are just finishing up our Young Author books, and Braden decided to write about his most impactful hiking experience.

Even though he is extremely athletic and loves sports, to our dismay, this boy does not like to hike. However, once that boy gets to the turnaround point, his attitude does the same, so as long as we can get him out there, we know we can get him back with no issues at all 😉  (In fact, here is a picture of that same boy on this particular day, running back).

When we were in Glacier National Park in 2014, we decided to take a ranger guided hike to several waterfalls and back in the Two Medicine area.

We were with another family that we had met the day before, the Day family, and we couldn’t wait to hike with them. We figured if we neglected to tell the kids the hike was 9 miles, they would ‘forget’ they were actually ‘hiking.’  Besides, there were fun things to look forward to along the way like this cool suspension bridge!

Four and a half miles in, we had reached Rockwell Falls,

our destination at the end of our trail.  Braden discovered the most beautiful feather I have ever seen.

Normally, when our kids find one of their ‘treasures,’ I secretly hope they will disappear, which is surprisingly common given the number of unmentionables in our van upon returning. This one was different though – fluffy and white, with beautiful dark spots, almost certainly the snowy owl feather Braden claimed it to be. As I told him that we would have to keep his feather safe, I was whisked away by the girls’ pleas to ‘pee in the woods’ for the first time ever.

Minutes later, Braden (the boy who always seemed to get the raw end of the deal) reported that he had put his feather in his pocket, but that it had disappeared. We looked all over for his feather to no avail.   We continued on our way until my heartbroken middle man began to cry.

I turned around once again, with no intent to move forward until his treasure was found. Once again, we did not find it.

I promised to give Braden the first feather I found, knowing full well it was likely that the next one would be one of the common ugly feathers that disgusted me so. For three miles, I walked with my head down instead of watching for bears like I should while hiking in grizzly country,

searching frantically for a feather to bring my poor guy out of his sorrow. After stopping at another waterfall, we continued on the last mile of our hike. I realized I would not find Braden’s replacement that day.

Almost instantaneously, I glanced up to see a look of pure joy spread across my son’s face as a gorgeous, white, spotted feather twirled down from above and he caught it as it neared his head. (I think Braden captured it perfectly in his book illustration).

Had I not witnessed the whole event, I have to admit I would not have believed it myself. Our entire family stopped to ask him how this special feather had twirled down from the sky, a perfect and miraculous replacement, and Braden responded, “I prayed for it when I lost my feather and God answered my prayer.”

Unbelievable and truly amazing. Not once, but twice in one week (I will share the other occasion another time), our family’s prayers were immediately and beautifully answered. I feel so blessed to have witnessed these faith-building events, and know without a doubt, that these journeys and experiences will be a part of us for the rest of our lives and are molding us into the people we are becoming.  So often, we want  questions answered on our timeline, but in the long run, it all makes more sense and works out even better than we hope when we wait to hear God’s response.  This one was loud and clear.  Sometimes, we look down and keep trekking, when all we really have to do is look up!

“If you believe,

you will receive

whatever you ask

for in prayer.”

                Matthew 21:22

The boys have been working so hard on their Young Author books for school, and I couldn’t have been prouder when they told me they wanted to write about two of my favorite camping stories. Young minds are so impressionable, and it means the world to me that the experiences we have are what they choose to write about and share with their classrooms. It will be so fun to look back on these treasures years from now. Since it’s a rainy spring morning, we will start with Gavin’s story about the flash flood, one of the craziest experiences of all time for the Hoff family.

It was the 4th of July 2015, and we were camping at Hyde Memorial State Park in Santa Fe with some of our favorite travel buddies, the Davids. We were meeting their son Luke for the first time, and they were busy adapting to their first camping trip with a baby.

As we drove further away from Santa Fe, we noticed storm clouds in the distance, but were thankful we were in the clear so far.

We arrived at the Bandelier National Monument Visitor Center and learned that we would need to take a bus back to the other visitor center inside the park and walk to the cliff dwellings. More national parks are moving towards no cars in the parks, and offer free shuttle buses to see the sites. We packed up everything we would need for the day in our backpacks and jumped on the next shuttle. Upon arriving at the next visitor center, we heard thunder in the distance, and crossed our fingers we could make it out to the dwellings and back before getting drenched.

Chasing our 5 kiddos from dwelling to dwelling separated us from the Davids, so we doubled back to check on them.

Luke was due to eat, so we decided they would head back to the visitor center from Long House and wait for us while we hiked out further to explore Alcove House. We zigzagged across a small creek several times before arriving at the massive dwelling. Alcove House is accessible only by climbing 140 feet of ladders, a harrowing experience for sure!

Cliff dwellings are so impressive – the kids loved exploring the ancient home.

We were almost afraid to go back down the ladders, but we finally took the plunge and started heading down.

After going down two of the ladders, we stopped to look down before the last stretch. Suddenly, we heard a load roar like we have never heard before. In awe, we saw a giant wall of muddy water going to what used to be a small stream.

(Unfortunately, we were in total awe and unable to capture the giant wave on camera).

We yelled, “Flash Flood!” to the people crossing the creek below, only to see they were oblivious to the water racing towards them. We watched as they began to scramble up the hill, and the water continued to rise higher and higher. So thankful for our perch above the flood, we watched as the wall continued to wash away every bridge and hope of returning to the visitor center.

The water continued to rise. What once was a creek was now a raging river.

We were stunned that this actually happened. Fascinated by flash floods and unable to imagine what one looked like, we had heard lots about them, and have abandoned several hikes in the past, in fear of potential rain above. You see, what we were in was certainly not a slot canyon, and barely qualified as a canyon if at all. The side the dwelling was on was steep, but the other side of the creek was a slow rising hill. We thought, “How could this happen? It wasn’t even raining.” But it was certainly raining somewhere, as the signs had indicated earlier…

After watching the river’s water level for awhile, we were finally convinced it was no longer rising. We continued down the last ladder and watched, as several other stranded hikers crossed a giant tree that was lodged over the raging river.

With 5 children in tow, we knew this was not an option for us. Too dangerous. Close to lunchtime and with nowhere to go, we sat down to eat lunch. Thankfully, we had packed plenty of water, snacks, and rain gear in case it started to downpour. Others stranded with us made decisions about whether to cross the tree, or wait for the water to recede. One old couple chose to continue further out on a trail that led to some sort of campground, in hopes it connected with the road. Somewhere, a ranger spoke over some sort of speaker not to attempt to cross the river. In the distance, we thought we heard him say they would attempt a rescue when it was safe. We waited, and waited. The kids played on the downed trees, and expressed their concern about getting back to the visitor center.

Hours went by. Surely, the Davids would be worried. With no cell reception, we had no way to contact them.

Chuck started carrying downed trees and collecting them near the widest part of the river, in hopes of building our own bridge.

During this process, the ranger arrived via the ‘dangerous’ tree. After telling him about the old couple who had hiked further down the trail, he raced after them. The campground they were attempting to get to was only a backcountry site miles and miles away, certainly not near any road. After waiting nearly another hour for him to bring them back, the river had finally receded enough to construct our bridge. The ranger and Chuck threw the trees across the smaller sections of creek. At last, we had a way out.

After helping the kids across, we discussed how we would get back. The many crossings would pose a problem, so we decided to hike up the hilly side and bushwhack back to the visitor center with no trail.

At last, we made it! No surprise, the Davids were nowhere in sight, so we waited for the next shuttle so we could get back to our car and cell reception. After arriving, we called and left them a message, and within minutes, they returned to us. We shared our story and headed back to our campsite near Santa Fe, thankful to have experienced a flash flood from the safety of an ancient cliff dwelling. We couldn’t have planned it better. The kids spent several weeks after recreating flash floods in our campsites. This experience will be engrained in our memories forever!

As the weather warms up, who isn’t excited to go outside and/or camp?! Living in Chicagoland is not exactly ideal for an outdoor/camping-loving family, but there are plenty of places to get out there and really enjoy the beauty around us for some great camping! These are a few of our favorite camping areas within a 3 hour drive, easily doable for a weekend or even longer.

1) Indiana Dunes State Park (Chesterton, IN) – There are several campgrounds at the Dunes (including the National Lakeshore campground and even Warren Dunes just over the Michigan border), but our favorite is Indiana Dunes State Park, which is less than an hour from home. I grew up having summer family campouts at the Dunes every year, and these are some of my best childhood memories.

Camping with my cousins has even continued into adulthood with a few of them.

Indiana Dunes State Park is a great place for hiking, with miles and miles of trails, hanging out on the beach, or digging and running down the dunes.   The campground is really nice, with level pads,

electric, nice bathrooms, a great playground, lots of shade, and right along the dunes, with a short trail to the beach. The nature center is a short walk from the campground, and there is a park store if you forgot some essentials, or just want an ice cream treat for the kids.

If you need a little more civilization, the town of Chesterton is a 5 minute drive, with all the amenities. Another highlight is the Michigan City Outlet Mall, which is about 10 miles away. Also in Michigan City, Mt Baldy is a huge dune that we loved taking a day trip to, and if you have pets, they are even allowed on the beach there.

2) Starved Rock State Park (Oglesby, IL) – It’s hard to believe once you get there, but Starved Rock is also less than an hour from home. The windy road through tall trees takes you into a little haven in the woods. Miles of trails take you past sandstone cliffs and waterfalls,

and when you are ready for a break, you can head over to the river to look for eagles or the beautiful lodge for a delicious dinner.

If camping isn’t your thing, they even have cabins or lodge rooms for you to stay, or you could head out a little further to the Grand Bear Resort for some water park fun. The only down side to Starved Rock is the campground is not well kept. Fortunately, there are private campgrounds nearby for a cleaner stay 😉

Right around the corner from Starved Rock is it’s best kept secret, Matthiessen State Park. There are no campgrounds here, but if we have a chance for a day trip out to Oglesby, this is our destination of choice. There are less visitors, and the state park allows you full access to the canyon, for a hands on hiking experience.

The kids love crossing back and forth over the creek, and they forget they are hiking, leaving us with few complaints as we play along the way through the canyon to the falls. (we recommend Keens or water shoes and swim suits or a change of clothes for the full experience).

A little tangent- it’s been years since we have done it, but there is a great 70 mile bike trail along the I&M Canal from Rockdale to LaSalle, near Starved Rock. One of our favorite stops after hiking or biking is the Country Cupboard, a cute little ice cream shop in Utica.   We can’t wait to ride the trail someday soon, as the boys get old enough!

3) Yogi Bear Jellystone Park (Millbrook, IL) – Little did we know this destination was also less than an hour away, but last fall was the first time we have been there. With many of our favorite camping friends,

it was far from a secluded weekend getaway in the woods, but it was a super fun, social camping party!

They have plenty to do in the summer too, but they have three weekends solely devoted to fall festivities,

including trick-or-treating,

hay rides,

a haunted forest, a costume contest (which our friends the McDermotts seem to dominate!),

movies, and more.  We even got to see our favorite magician and balloon artist, Magic Matt.

The kids also enjoyed the miniature golf course (which is free if you bring your own ball)

and bingo (free with candy bar donation).

We enjoyed closing out the camping season with this fun celebration, and have already booked this fall’s reservation, and will soon book 2017, as the campground fills quickly for big rigs like our new one!

4) Turkey Run State Park (Marshall, IN) – Since it’s a three hour drive, it has been awhile since we have been here, which only makes us want to go more. Turkey Run is a much bigger version of Starved Rock. The canyons are deeper, with longer trails, and more access than Starved Rock allows these days.

I remember swinging on vines in the campground as a kid,

and loved going up and down all the ladders on the trails. There is a beautiful river to go canoeing in also.

While my aunt and uncle lived near here for several years, Turkey Run is kind of in the middle of nowhere. The visitor center and lodge are very nice, and the pool there is nice and affordable for a change of pace if you visit in the summer.

5) Devil’s Lake State Park (Baraboo, WI) – This gem is also a little over 3 hours from home, but well worth it.

Devil’s Lake is a beautiful small lake surrounded by mountains of boulders to play in.

There are trails all the way around the lake, and beaches on both sides, with swimming, boat rentals, and concessions.

There is also some great fishing.

The state campground can be difficult to get a spot in unless you are ready to plan your trip when the system opens the first of the year. However, there are also great private campgrounds here, with nicer bathrooms, and some with pools. The one we frequent is Nordic Pines, which is very affordable and right across from the state park, so we always have easy access. The kids really loved our last campsites there because both had awesome trees in them.

While cell reception is limited, the town of Baraboo is nearby, with a local farm and fleet, Walmart, and the infamous circus museum. The last time we were there, our trip got rained out, and luckily, Wisconsin Dells is a short drive north, and Madison is just south, allowing us to visit the awesome children’s museum on the way out. We love getting a museum membership and using reciprocity to visit others on our travels!

The beautiful warm weather makes me want to camp sooo badly! We have so many memories from these great spots, and more. Let us know where your favorite local spots are, and what your favorite memories are! When is your next camping trip? It’s definitely time!

We arrived in Washington DC late Wednesday night and crashed the Paquin crew in their 4 story DC home near the Navy Yard.

We have come a long way since our college dorm and housing days at MTU, where the three of us went to school to become engineers (which ironically, none of us are currently)! Tom and Heather live just minutes from the river, metro, Nationals Park, and the Capital building. Talk about an awesome location, right in the middle of all the action. I admit, I am not much of a city girl, but I like our kids to learn about and see how much DC has to offer. Plus, T & H had the perfect upper level “suite” for our crew with a great view of the city,

and…. we love catching up with these guys! Just several years ago, prior to having their two kiddos, they lived overseas, and followed it up by hiking the Appalachian Trail from end to end, giving them a unique perspective on life that I really admire.
We have travelled with a stroller for the last 10+ years. This was our first trip without it- it was both scary and liberating at the same time. In each location, we had occasions when the girls were really sick of walking, or just plain tired after nearly 10 miles of sightseeing, but we did it! Once in awhile, we (or the boys) piggy backed or carried them, but not much.

It was so nice not to have to worry about finding the elevators in the metro and museums, or have to find room for it in the car.   We even got to ride a super cool escalator from the metro!

Excited to see all the sites, our first full day was a marathon of activities. We started off with an exciting metro ride (if nothing else, this amazing commuter system is reason enough to visit DC!)

to the National Zoo, where the kids loved seeing the pandas and other animals.  One of the best things about DC is that the zoo, museums, and other activities are FREE, so we made sure f squeeze in as many as we could!

After the zoo, we headed back to the metro, and on our way, tried out the super cool capital bikes (that are free for the first half hour!) to see if they would work for a bike excursion later that day- they were just a bit too big for the boys 😉

From there, we continued on our way to Arlington Cemetery,

where we saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the changing of the guard ceremony.

Through the last week of touring so many areas rich in American history, we have had some interesting conversations with the kids about war, military, and death, and I was proud that they all came out of Arlington with a new and greater respect for those who defend our country. We took the metro back to the Paquins for a delicious home cooked meal (we definitely need that baked spaghetti recipe Heather), and got the bikes ready for an evening monument cruise. The weather looked rainy for our next two days, so we wanted to squeeze in as many outdoor activities as possible during the beautifully sunny and 75 degree day. Seeing the monuments all lit up at sunset and after was amazing… Definitely my highlight of the DC part of the trip- what a great idea guys!!

We are so thankful for neighbors who share their bikes and Tom’s amazing electric assist commuter bike that carried 4 of the 7 kids – I want one ;).

I still can’t believe the kids hung in there all day, but they loved it!  I think my favorite monuments are still Vietnam and the Korean Memorials.  Nothing can prepare you seeing that many names on the Vietnam Memorial, and the Korean eerily makes you feel like you were right there with our soldiers.

The next day was another story, as we had to wake everybody up early for our tour of the Capital building at 8am Eastern time ? We arrived early only to discover we couldn’t bring any food in as we suspected, so we quickly downed all our afternoon treats before going in.

We enjoyed the tour, but it was much abbreviated from the tours both Chuck and I have taken with our school groups in the past, and the rotunda was under major repair.

One tour guide showed us the one statue in the Capital that could be touched… Helen Keller, because there was braille on it.

We took the tunnel to the Library of Congress, which totally mystified the kids by the time we took the old elevator down and exited, looking back at how far the Capital was from us.

The Library was so ornate- the kids loved playing a fun scavenger hunt for animal sculptures.

From there, we walked down the mall area, enjoying the now 80 degree sunny day, hitting the Botanical Garden (where we met and heard the author read his book ‘The Bee Tree,’),

American Indian Museum, Air and Space,

and American History Museum.   The girls loved getting to see Dorothy’s red slippers.

We really wanted to get to the Holocaust Museum, but by now, everybody was exhausted, and despite the fact that the harder stuff is barricaded so little ones can’t see, we decided this wasn’t our year for it.  Since everyone was wiped out, we headed back to the Paquins for dinner and ice cream.  After getting off the metro, we discovered all the fountains were on by their house, and of course the temp was in the 80s, so the kids had some fun.

My guess is this may be one of their top memories from the visit (spontaneity certainly has its benefits).  After an ice cream social dished up city style (to ours and then a dozen or so neigbors, which was a good lesson in sharing for our suburb kids),

we were able to get everybody to bed early enough to enjoy learning a new game, Splendor, which I see being added to the Hoff game collection in the near future.
Saturday started out rainy, so we were able to get workouts in while the kids had some downtime.  DC doesn’t seem to wake up when other cities wake up, so Chuck likes to take a morning landmark run there, where he often gets a semi- or private White House and memorial viewings, so if you are an early riser, plan to do the same when you head to DC!

As the weather cleared up, we walked the couple blocks to watch the Nationals play a pre-season game against the Twins.  Can’t beat $5 tickets!

It was an exciting game, and the first professional one for the Hoff kids- our little athlete Braden claimed it was the highlight of our vacation.

He insisted on staying until the end, and the little ones loved the playground in the ballpark near the end.

We walked back along the river park

and spent the afternoon and evening relaxing, playing ball in their yard,

and grilling before gathering our things for the early 11 hour drive the next morning. Thank you Tom, Heather, Avery, and Alexi for the great stay!

Leaving the Smokies was hard, but we knew we had so much to look forward to! I justified bringing the Easter baskets because I knew C would go for food in the new car with the baskets serving as a mini ‘trough.’ He even joined in the fun.

The drive through North Carolina was gorgeous, and we couldn’t wait to see the Pienkowskis in Virginia Beach after our 8 hour drive (we went to high school with John and Patti, and John and Chuck were the best man in each other’s weddings). They were the perfect hosts, with dinner ready for us and the boys giving up a bed and sharing a bedroom with our boys. It’s been way too long since we spent some quality time with them.

One of the biggest reasons we love traveling is holding on and keeping these friendships authentic. The last time we spent more than an hour or two with them was when they honeymooned at our house when we lived in Colorado 17 years ago and a quick visit to California when they had their first baby 15 years ago. It’s hard to believe, but since then, Patti has become a school nurse, and John retired from the navy after serving as the commander of the Mesa Verde, and has joined us in the field of teaching. Their boys are now 15 and 12, and couldn’t have been more welcoming to our family.

E, B, and G had a blast with them talking Star Wars, Minecraft, Hobbit, Legos, and more.

The girls even adopted a perfect camping light that they wouldn’t sleep without.

The next day, the Pienkowskis treated us to Crazy Good Donuts, freshly made and customized to your own liking.

Next, we enjoyed a morning hike to Ben’s Scout eagle project, a bridge he built in a local forest preserve to allow bikers and hikers access further down a trail. The trail certainly needed it.

Our little scouts were so impressed! They are already talking about what they might do to become Eagle Scouts!

The girls and Gav loved flying back to the car like all the butterflies we saw.

After a quick lunch, we raced off to Virginia Beach to enjoy the sunshine and the kids first view of the Atlantic.

In addition to digging human sized holes,

football,

frisbee, and a remote control dune-riding car, we even got to watch a pod of dolphins near the shore.

Seeing the pelicans fly overhead was another special treat.

The girls loved finding ‘treasures’ in the ‘pixie dust’ 😉

We love seeing the world through the eyes of our sweet two four year olds.  Of course, we needed to make sand angels.

In fact, all the kids have crazy imaginations and great ideas.

After dinner at their house, John enthusiastically enlisted our boys in a long battle of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ game, which he purchased on their recent trip to the real Hobbiton in the shire.

Of course, this only encouraged Chuck to continue his extension on our original hobbit house in the yard. The girls loved making homemade ice cream with Patti

and petting their bearded dragon, Cody.

In fact, so did the boys 😉

After another great sleep, John was able to take us on base to the Norfolk Naval Station where he served as Commander of this $3 billion ship, the Mesa Verde.

Talk about impressive! This was definitely the most touching moment of this trip, knowing the sacrifice and dedication John has had to our country over the last 20+ years, and seeing the enthusiasm and devotion he has transferred fully to his family now.  He showed us aircraft carriers, helicopters, and even a submarine too.

He also took us to Oceana, where we checked out old planes

and experienced tons of F-18s flying right overhead. They were so fast… And incredibly loud!

We headed back to the Pienkowskis one last time to pack up and say our goodbyes. We needed to hit the road to get to part III of our trip in DC with the Paquins. The Hampton tunnel was backed up all the way, so we opted for the bridge and under ocean tunnel near Newport News.  How cool is that?!

We made it to colonial Williamsburg for a quick stop to hear the canons and watch a reenactment before continuing on our 4 hour trek to DC.

We reminisced spending our last night in Williamsburg on our 4000 mile bike trip 13 years ago.

We loved getting to see our good friends for a couple days, and are looking forward to visiting more friends in DC tonight!

It’s been a mild winter in IL, so instead of making the trip down to Florida for a spring ‘break’ from the cold, we decided to change it up this year. The Pacygas, one of our favorite Boy Scout families, was daring enough to take a little adventure with us down to the Smoky Mountains. We left right after school ended Thursday afternoon and made it 6 hours down to Lexington, Kentucky, where we hotwired a room at the Comfort Suites for a whopping $53. The only traffic we hit was going through Louisville, where the girls proclaimed this bridge the ‘light rainbow.’

We loved the nice pool, free breakfast, and getting to see our friend Amy from long ago. We were so grateful she was able to squeeze in time away from work to catch up for a bit.
The drive down to the Smokies was less than 4 hours from there, and we love driving south and watching the leaves sprout as spring begins right before our eyes.

It is such a beautiful drive, and my favorite sights are the green mountains and purple red buds.
We used homeaway.com to find a highly rated and affordable home to share, but had no idea our cabin was going to be high atop what felt like the most treacherous road ever. ‘Smoky Mountain Diamond’ truly was just that, but it sure did get my adrenaline pumping every time we had to take the 5 mile drive up and past all the houses on stilts that didn’t seem legally constructed. Ayyy! Our driveway was equally scary, but lucky for us, we were able to park one car up top and the other on a flat spot half way up. I can’t imagine driving that in winter!

Upon arrival, we rejoiced the 70 degree weather and the kids raced around the 3 bedroom cabin, claiming their areas and changing their minds as they saw more. Ultimately, we ended up putting all 4 boys down in the “man cave,” complete with king bedroom, bathroom, pullout bed, pool table, hot tub, and pacman arcade game.

The Pacygas claimed the loft with Ellie on the futon, and we stayed in the main floor bedroom, with the girls sleeping on the couch mattress.

The great room and kitchen combo made for a peaceful adult space to cook and play our favorite game, Ticket to Ride, while the kids played in the man cave.

The wraparound porch was great for coloring eggs and cooking the most delicious ribs on Ken’s smoker.

The fire pit was great for roasting our Easter egg marshmallows.

There were also several hard core nightly runs up and down the mountain with the boys.

We spent a beautiful Saturday exploring Smoky Mountain National Park.

Even though both girls had fevers, we were thankful they did a great job of sightseeing. The drive up to 6600 foot Clingman’s Dome is a bit long, and the weather dropped about 20 degrees (we always pack a bag with coats on mountain adventures just for this occasion), but the high altitude rewards are impressive!

Even in the summer, temps can be cool. Here’s a pic from many years ago before children.

DCF 1.0

It definitely made us appreciate the warm temperatures as we ate lunch at the Chimney Tops picnic area.

We continued farther down to Laurel Falls.

The 2.6 mile round trip hike is easy and rewarding. There is even a paved path if you prefer to push a stroller up with little ones.

From there, we went into Elkmont to fill up our water bottles (water sources are scarce in the park) and check out the historically rich cabins there. It’s always so surprising to see the run down shacks and learn that they were once used as affluent summer getaways.

Upon returning to the cabin, we relaxed in our mountain refuge as the boys took a run, followed by Joyelle’s delicious lasagna (we split meals and freeze them for the trip down to make for fast, easy, and affordable meals on the road. This trip’s meals included bagels, pancakes, Easter eggs, fruit, snacks, granola bars, trail mix, sloppy joes, tacos, lasagna, sandwiches, hot dogs, ribs, and creamy Italian chicken).

We started Easter Sunday with a fun egg hunt in the cabin.

It would have been fun to do it outside, but we were informed that the bears were bold and hungry 😉 We went back into the park after breakfast and took the long drive along the Little River to Cade’s Cove, which is an 11 mile one way loop road

with areas of interest to stop at like the first settlers cabins, churches, cemeteries, and the mill area.

A guide book to read about the stops is available at the visitor center, and the kids got a huge kick out of hearing about how things operated there in the old days. Next time, I would love to bring bikes. We thought it was so interesting that wild hogs have upset the balance in the park so much that they have spent decades trying to eradicate them.

We have seen plenty of bear in the park on other trips, but not this time, despite big efforts to watch for them. After Cade’s Cove, we went back up to the cabin to paint eggs, relax, and enjoy our last evening in the cabin.
We were thankful we found a back road around Gatlinburg to our cabin; the traffic in that downtown area can be horrendous. If you’re not afraid to spend some money, there are so many things to do in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge (such as Dollywood). Our large family, money- saving mentality, and constant travel plans prohibit us from doing that, although we are content to spend our time in the national park instead.
Because our travel plans included a visit to Virginia Beach and Washington DC this time, we were unable to spend another day, but if we had, we would have spent a little time hiking around the Sugarlands Visitor Center,

drove the Roaring Fork loop and hiked the 2.6 mile roundtrip hike to Grotto Falls, and hiked part of our favorite trail- Ramsey Cascades, a trail outside the main entrance, off the beaten path, and away from the rush of visitors.

Even the drive back to the trailhead is an adventure and well worth it!

Had we done it over, we would have loved at least one more night in the Smokies. Next time! If we travel back to Illinois from the Smokies, we love stopping in Nashville at Opryland to walk around – what an amazing place!

We are on our way to Virginia Beach to visit Chuck’s best man and his awesome wife, both of whom we were fortunate enough to go to high school with. Stay tuned!

We have visited Yellowstone more than a dozen occasions, yet every time, the excitement of the unknown keeps us coming back for more. Why? We wonder which animals we will encounter, what the unpredictable weather will hold, where our newfound favorite spot will be, when the geysers will erupt, and who will join us for another adventure in one of our favorite parks.

We typically come up from the Tetons, so our first stop is Grant Village and campground, and we like to stay 2-3 nights. Grant has a large campground with lots of larger sized sites, a gas station, restaurant, diner, gift shop, gas station, visitor center, laundry, and lodging options for any non-campers. It is on Yellowstone Lake, and the West Thumb Geyser Basin is only a couple miles away.

The lake is big, so it is very cold to swim in, but we enjoy taking a stroll through the campground along the many paths to the lake and over our favorite, yet terrifying suspension bridge.

Because the weather is so unpredictable in the park, we like being in the bigger villages like Grant because there is always somewhere to go if being outside is not an option. In addition, your $28 campsite earns you 2 free showers per night (showers are in the Laundromat), a welcome treat after being in the Tetons for a few days. Despite the inconsistent weather, you are almost always guaranteed seeing elk near Grant. One year, we watched an elk give birth near the West Thumb.

Another time, we pulled into Grant only to find out it was opening day! Because of bear activity in the spring when cutthroat trout spawn, Grant Campground does not open until mid to late June. The old Fishing Bridge tent campground closed down permanently years ago due to human-bear conflicts. Now, the only RV Park in the park exists at Fishing Bridge, allowing only hard-sided campers. At $50 per night, it is the only campground in the park with electric, but it does not allow fires or have picnic tables. Fortunately, it is located between our two favorite campgrounds, Grant and Canyon, so if you have to have electric, it has a good location.

Visiting Old Faithful is always a hit. Since there are no campgrounds there, we visit while we are staying at Grant. If we have friends with us, sometimes they choose to spend a night or two at Old Faithful, which I definitely plan to do in my lifetime, possibly on a winter trip to Yellowstone someday (only the Old Faithful Snow Lodge is open in the winter here). The world famous geyser erupts almost every hour, and scientists have the predicted eruption time down to minutes, so you are guaranteed a viewing if you have allowed to spend at least an hour or two. The park has invested a lot of money into this area, and we typically stay almost a whole day there.

The Old Faithful Inn is one of the most impressive log structures of all time, so we love sitting inside, touring the different levels, checking out the gift shop, relaxing on the deck while watching Old Faithful erupt, or even enjoying the delicious brunch there.

It is a welcome break to the monotony of camp foods, especially since we have not been to the grocery stores in days at this point. The visitor center is one of the best in the park, and the extensive boardwalked trails through the geyser basin surrounding Old Faithful is nothing short of amazing.

It is not uncommon to run into a bison or two here, or other wild animals such as coyotes there.  It is always surprising to see the large percentage of tourists from countries other than the US.  The girls had their own paparazzi  last summer – the Chinese could not resist the blonde twin oddity, and we caught them taking pictures on the sly many times – here’s one time they were bold enough to ask and swarm the area to snap a pic of our little cuties.

Yellowstone is great because despite having some of the best backpacking trails in the US, it also has some of the most rewarding short trails, so we have never been at a loss for things to do with little ones. The boardwalked trails around Old Faithful, and other areas such as West Thumb, Mammoth Hot Springs, and Norris are great for families because they are short and entertaining.

(and yes, we have been hit by the flying mud)

Most of the geysers or hot springs have names, and some of them bubble, shoot mud, or their turquoise waters appear to be infinitely deep.

The kids always enjoy picking a favorite and love having their pictures taken with them.

There are several basins as we drive a little further past Old Faithful to the Madison area. All of them are unique, so we try to stop at as many as we have time for. Another favorite is the area along the Firehole River, where the scorching geyser water mixes with the cold river, creating a wonderfully warm play area along the Firehole Canyon Drive. It took us years to learn about this park secret, but we always make it a point to go and play in the river now.

The kids love swimming the warm waters and visiting the caves along the river.

The big kids like to jump into the rapids area, where you feel like you get sucked underwater and shot out downstream. (My cousin John mastered this skill last summer).

If we have a little more time, we leave Firehole and head for Madison to visit the junior ranger station, or the many bison in the area.

Madison is another reservable campground, but because it doesn’t have many amenities, we usually opt for Grant and Canyon. If you are looking for a little more civilization, West Yellowstone is close to Madison and has plenty of places to stay, restaurants, and even museums.

When we leave Grant campground, we head north through Hayden Valley, which is rich in bison and other wildlife. Lake Campground is also reservable, but not our favorite. We may have gotten scared away the year we woke up in the grassy grounds to discover a bison right outside our tent 😉 Last year, we were delayed more than two hours by a herd of bison that refused to open the road to vehicles on this route. (The drive to Canyon is less than 30 miles, but it can take hours, depending on what animals are blocking the road)!

We also get a kick out of seeing how close the bison get to the geysers.

One of our favorite stops along the way is the Dragon’s Mouth geyser and basin.

If you let your imagine run wild, you truly believe there is a dragon behind the violent, rumbling, and steaming geyser. This is probably my favorite geyser!

Canyon Village has so much going on, all the time. The visitor center is large and beautiful,

there are several gift shops and restaurants, and the lodges were recently redone and so nice. The campground is one of the most popular, and it is difficult to reserve a spot, especially the larger 40 foot ones that are few and far between.

We try to reserve far in advance, but since sites can be booked so far out, and can be booked for several nights by depositing the first with no cancellation fee 30 days in advance. We have finally gotten smart and starting playing the game by booking windows of time and cancelling the nights we will not use when ours plans are finalized.  We prefer to spend 3-4 nights at Canyon if time allows, but can squeeze in our highlights in just a couple days if we have to.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is one of the most spectacular sights in the park.  I love taking my biggest little hiking buddy back to the same spot for an age progression here 😉

It is magnificently colorful and unrealistically deep, making it hard to tear your eyes away from the beauty. You can take the rim drive and stop at all the overlooks or walk partway down to get a closer view of the falls. We love wearing the kids out on the long staircases.

Our favorite super kid-friendly hike in the park is a flat four mile loop trail near the south rim that gives you a rewarding walk along the rim, a taste of backcountry geysers, views of Clear and Lily Pond Lakes, and usually, a great story of bison on Uncle Tom’s Trail.

Last year, we waited so long to even get on the trail while a bison herd monopolized it, only to come upon a ranger almost a mile up the trail who said the trail was closed due to more bison. We turned around and went the other direction on the loop and made it all the way without seeing another bison on the trail. For as slow as they appear, those large animals can sure move along quickly when they choose. Chuck literally ran into a bear along this trail while running one early morning, an incident that will be discussed in more detail another time, but one that spooked and prompted him to make more noise and carry bear spray religiously when out alone on his early morning runs.

From Canyon, we like to spend at least one day travelling north to Tower Falls

and ultimately, our favorite place in the park, Lamar Valley.

The best non-reservable campground in Yellowstone is Slough Creek, in the heart of the wildest and least civilized part of the park.

Before children, we used Slough Creek as a base camp for morning drives out into the valley, where we saw wolves from the Druid pack almost every time. You were almost guaranteed a view through someone’s telescope at whatever wolf was out from one of the most studied packs in the world. Lucky for us, the pack denned on one side of the road, and hunted on the other in the valley. We have not camped at Slough Creek in years, mainly due to the fact that our children refuse to use pit toilets, and also because it is difficult to get a site due to increased popularity. Someday, we will return.

For now, we visit on day trips. If you didn’t get enough bison elsewhere in the park, Lamar Valley is your place. There are so many bison, you can’t help but be stopped by herds of them on the road. On almost every trip out to the valley, we have also encountered bears.

One year, we saw the cutest cub chasing butterflies. Another, we stopped at a picnic area to cook dinner and stake out bears, only to have a Wyoming native stop to warn us that a couple grizzlies were making their way across the river towards us… more on that another time.

We have never packed up our dinner faster!  We always stop at that picnic area (rain or shine) for a stakeout though 😉

Depending which way we head out of the park, we try to stop at Norris (one of the stinkiest and most expansive geyser basins) and Mammoth Hot Springs.

Mammoth is the fifth reservable campground, but after staying there once among the sage brush covered campground, we choose to go elsewhere. In the northwest corner of the park, we find it to be one of the busiest areas, with hotels, shops, a museum, and herds of elk throughout the city.

However, Mammoth Campground is open year round, so if you are visiting throughout the year, Mammoth may be your place. If we head out of the park through the north, that usually means we are headed north to Glacier.

Can’t wait to share some of the stories from another one of our favorite parks!

I have been anxious to get busy sharing camping stories, and I had originally told myself I wouldn’t write about our second trip to Four Lakes this year. Besides, it wasn’t something we really wanted to do this weekend anyway. We had purchased two sets of groupons (one groupon, one living social) to ski months before, when there was an extra discount on it since it has sold out in the past. The kids had a blast there last year, and we had even gone three times. There was no way we were going to let that groupon get wasted as the winter season comes to a close, but this time, our thoughts were somewhere else…

With all the extra gear, we didn’t really fit in the loaner car we have had for 2 weeks while they continue to look for the problem with our brand new Suburban.

Who would have known the last two weekends would be in the 60s already? It was too warm to ski.

The tow rope was soaked, so our hands would be freezing all day.

There was slush all over the hill.

We had been skiing in some really great places in the last month, so Four Lakes didn’t sound exciting.

Chuck was still not feeling well, after a full week of being sick.

In fact, all of us were wiped out, so all we really wanted to do was hang out at home and play in the yard.

But as all us parents know, sometimes you have to put on a smiley face and spread your enthusiasm to the kids to pull them over to the happy side.   Actually, spring skiing reminds me of one of my favorite and most pivotal days of all time, so it wasn’t difficult for me.

Almost twenty years ago, I was in college and interning in Colorado. I was snowboarding in the slush at A-Basin on the 4th of July and loving it. As I was getting on the chairlift that day, another person jumped in front of the chair behind me and sent it flailing. I attempted to move out of the way and let that chair pass, but the guy I was going up with grabbed on to my hand and I found myself hanging from the chair as it lifted higher into the air. It was that moment that I was rescued by one of the people I admire most in this world. Tommy came to my rescue as I fell from the lift, and we spent the rest of the day talking about what we really wanted out of life. I ended up snowboarding and learning to windsurf with Tommy in that same day, creating an all time high. What could have been a disastrous day proved to change the course of my life, as I questioned the current path I was taking as I finished my college career in engineering. How lucky was I to fall off the chairlift that day?

Every time we have gone skiing, a lesson has been learned. How great is it that something we love to do is teaching our kids such important life skills?

We arrived to a hill with barely anyone there, so there was no line to go up the tow rope, and open runs going down.

The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the warm temps allowed us to stay warm, despite our wet hands.

We were with good friends, so we were excited to spend some time with them.

The slushy snow was different to ski on, but it was actually really fun!

It didn’t take long for the smiles to spread to all of our faces. In fact, at the end of the day, we could not drag them off those slopes!

It is all a matter of perspective… sometimes, you just have to look at the bright side and choose to be happy. We are in a phase of life where every minute counts. We put our effort into trying not to waste any time – we learn something new every day. It’s so much more fun that way. Better yet, our kids learned that firsthand too this weekend. We were all so glad we went!

We are always in such a hurry to zip out west at the beginning of summer, we have found it difficult to get up to Marquette in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to visit my sister and her family. Besides, she puts a great effort into coming down to Chi-town to visit all of us pretty often.  It is beautiful there, and we especially love camping at the city park during the fall color change. The children’s museum is like no other too!

  It’s been a couple years since our last visit.

Thanks to her prompting and a long weekend break from school, we landed there for two nights last weekend! My sister takes pride in living in a ‘tiny house’ with her sweet family, so we are unable to stay with her, but managed to snag a great deal on hotwire (plus an additional discount with our discover card) at the Holiday Inn. We don’t stay in hotels very often (we make quite a ruckus when we do and our kids have to sleep in strange places to fit),

but we have found that even with AAA, the hotels cost almost twice as much as hotwire typically. The catch with hotwire is… you don’t get to see which hotel it is until after you book it, but we have always been able to do a little research given the amenities and narrow it down to one or two. I get a kick out of booking with hotwire – we enjoy trying to figure out which one it is, and like the surprise when we find out where we will be staying. Our whole family enjoyed soaking up almost 4 hours of swim time in the giant pool over the two days, and had probably the best brunch we have ever had with the Valentine’s Day kids eat free deal. Sweet!

We were wishing we could have made it up there Friday night for the start of the 200 mile dog sled race in downtown Marquette, but we couldn’t make the 8 hour drive until Saturday. I was able to participate in my dear friend Kim’s (bakingforblessing.com) bake and share on Friday, bringing the yummy heart-shaped vanilla bean donuts to my sister’s family. Lucy was ecstatic when she opened the box of pink treats. (L also happens to have the sweetest blue eyes ever).

We were even able to see some of the teams come back in on Sunday near the lakefront. They looked so tired, but what an accomplishment!  We even saw two bald eagles by Superior.

Even with the seven of us and my mom, we were able to fit in the skis and snowboards for a little snow fun, thanks to the front bench seat in the new suburban. We had never been to Marquette Mountain, and it was a treat to leave the girls and Gav (who was under the weather this weekend) back with their cousins for Valentine Date Night skiing with the two older boys.

We snagged the greatest deal! After 4pm, skiing costs $29, with kids under 10 skiing free with an adult ticket, and under 6 free no matter what. Because it was ‘date night,’ our own tickets were buy one get one free, and they let both boys ski free too. Score! Ethan and Braden had never snowboarded on such a big mountain, so they worked hard to improve the skills! The boys can’t wait to explore more of the mountain another time (Due to the cold temps, Ethan looked like a ninja, and Braden got snow-bombed by a snow maker).

  My sister’s husband has a large family, and as luck had it, they had already planned a get-together and rented out a cabin and the tubing hill in Ishpeming. It was a blast to see M’s family and jump in on the fun, even with the frigid northern temps! They even had a lift to get back up, which the kids appreciated after repeatedly hiking up the mountain in Colorado a couple weeks ago.

We were surprised so much time has passed since we have seen the ‘D’ family, but are hoping to see M’s family (as well as my sister’s) again sooner than later!  Hoping you will have us back… even after spreading our winter germs your way 😉

One of my favorite ways to pass the cold early months each year is to plan out our summer trip. It’s amazing to me how things have changed, and that we know what the year’s trip will look like so many months prior… who will go with us, what we will do, when we will leave and come home, where we will go, and so on. I go back and forth between wishing we could succumb to the thrill and change plans along the way and happily daydreaming about the concrete details, knowing without a doubt, it will be another great summer. I equate it to one year when we decided the winter had been too harsh and took a last minute trip to Fort Wilderness at Disney World, all planned within a couple weeks. The next year, we planned along the 180 day prior guideline, plotting out dining reservations, making t-shirts, and researching fast passes. Both were a complete blast. Despite all the certainty of all those details, there is surely a great deal of unknown to keep the excitement and adventure living on!

Years ago, we took off for the summer without a care in the world or thought about where we may end up. We threw our tent in the car and went wherever the wind blew us. In fact, we drove all the way to Alaska for a whole summer without one night of reservations. We thought we might spend weeks exploring Denali National Park, but upon being dropped off by bus and spending a night backpacking along the Teklanika River with grizzlies and wolves walking near us, and another backpacking in the bush near the end of the road at Kantishna, we decided the Kenai Peninsula was more our style. It was easy to redirect with just the two of us, our small RAV4, and REI Taj tent. Campgrounds rarely filled, and it was easy enough to get a site without planning it out way in advance.

These days, things are a bit more complicated. Camping has become so much more popular! With our 5 kids, Suburban, and 27 foot camper, we are limited in our options. We still want to go to all the remote national parks we have always gone to, but need one of the bigger sites in those parks. We chose our camper carefully so that we could still travel where we like, but in a little more luxury. Our new camper fridge will finally accommodate a gallon of milk, and there is actually a freezer!

This summer, we will have electric for 25 nights and 27 without. There were summers we hesitated to be without electric for even a night, but after a couple years of doing it this way, it doesn’t faze us anymore. Even better, we don’t have to rely on wifi any longer for a second master’s program! We are learning about solar panels and how to use our new camper and vehicle. It’s scary and exciting at the same time. Reservations were booked before Christmas, early New Years Day, and others were booked on whatever the designated opening day, often 6 months prior to your arrival day. Even though we booked these so early, we had to get creative with some of our locations. This was a big frustration last year for me – even though I booked in February, I had to check religiously on a daily basis to snatch up cancellations in the places we wanted to be most in California. In the end, some of that was rearranged anyway when our engine blew in the Mohave Desert.

With our new vehicle and camper, we hope that this year will be the first in 4 years without troubles, although we have come to expect it, and are pleasantly surprised when it doesn’t. We go by the motto, “Expect the best, but plan for the worst.” Thankfully, we haven’t seen the worst and have had enough time each summer to adjust when troubles come our way. Whatever comes our way, the entire Hoffpack looks forward to the day our 2016 summer adventure begins!

Skiing with 5 kids 10 years old and under is just like comedian Jim Gaffigan’s analogy, “Imagine you’re drowning, then someone hands you a baby.” I am not the most patient person, so I try to use it as a self-improvement and learning experience, but it sure is hard to enjoy something you love when half of your offspring haven’t learned to appreciate it yet!

The first time we went skiing in Colorado (last year), it was a last minute, surprise trip. The older two boys had been skiing on a small hill before, but the younger three had never done it. In fact, I am a snowboarder, and had only gone skiing once myself. However, teaching two three year olds and a five year old required I abandon my allegiance and put on the skis. Lucky for us, the M family had enough equipment for all of us, so no rentals were required. In addition, kids under 6 ski for free, and adult lift tickets at Granby Ranch are $35 with a 4 pack, or only $20 if you know you will be staying on the bunny hill for the day.

Both Chuck and I harnessed our twin daughters to us and practiced on the magic carpet, first-timer Gavin included.

From the beginning, the girls did not adjust easily to the stiff boots and awkward skis.

However, Gav was a natural, quickly progressing to the “bunny hill,” which was bigger than most Midwest ski hills.

His tenacious, cheerful, never give up demeanor netted him a full day on the slopes, pretty much self-taught with our hands occupied elsewhere.   Gav said, “Mom and Dad gave me a few tips, and I just watched people and even learned how to do tricks. I tried my best. Skiing is so fun!” Eek – parents of the year right there.

Lucky for us, the M family has the whole process down to a science, with boots worn to the mountain, and skis dropped off at the lift by sled.

To top it off, their big kids are pretty self-sufficient, with all trails leading down to the same lift and radios in their pocket to stay in touch. Even though the big boys are also snowboarders at heart, E and B are able to take off on skis up the mountain and hang with the M family kids.

  This year was a bit easier than last year for us, as we managed to take the girls and Gav all the way to the top and ski green all the way down… and what a workout with the girls in tow!

We love all the little caves, tunnels, jumps, and side paths at Granby Ranch.

Formerly Sol Vista, this is a great place for families, and is a much more affordable Rockies ski destination for us than its neighbors Winter Park, Breckenridge, Vail, etc. I am pretty sure a full weekend in the Colorado mountains (including flights) with the resourceful M family is a cheaper option for us than a trip up to Wisconsin. A full run with the girls took a long time since we were slowing them down to a speed they could manage, but when one of them folded, the other was quick to follow, full twin sympathy in effect. Because of that, we even managed a couple “girl-free” runs with the boys while Julie kept the girls occupied inside by the fire.

This is a great spot to take a lunch break and still be able to see your other skiers out the window.

We were so thankful for those moments to just breathe and replenish our patience.

On one run, we noted and appreciated what a rare opportunity it was that both Chuck and I could give Gav our full attention.

While part of me longs for the day I can pull out my board and ride easily, knowing all my kids are right there with me having a blast, and without having to worry about someone losing interest half way down the mountain, I’m happy that they are learning the ropes now. I truly believe the experiences our kids have now are forming the character traits we hope they will use as the building blocks for their future. Fortunately and unfortunately, those days are nearer than I know. Once again, I find myself again wishing I could freeze time. For now, I will take solace in the fact that these are the best moments of our lives, and I will always look back on them with complete joy!

For a family who prides ourselves on being pretty independent, the last 3 years, we have been rescued in one way or another by the M family. When our popup camper crashed down on our first night out in Nebraska, they were more than happy to take us in for the night while our cable was repaired. The following year, our van had transmission problems once again in Nebraska, and they not only offered to tow us to Denver if we ran into trouble, but took us in again, this time for several days, as we waited for parts to arrive at Honda. There is nothing like being stranded in Colorado with friends who like to play hard, and have all the toys to do it 😉

This year, we arrived with only our backpacks,

ready to visit and play with some of our favorite people, fully realizing that the forcasted storm may cause travel over Berthoud Pass to be difficult with predicted prime avalanche conditions.

Worse yet, a storm would arrive in Denver the day we were to fly home. Sometimes, we seriously wonder if we bring trouble. The first day there, the water went out in their mountain home, so we poured buckets of water from the neighbors into the backup toilet tanks, and filled containers for drinking and hand washing. Did the well go out, or maybe the pump broke? Only the M family could be relaxed enough to sleep on it, wake up, and plan for a weekend of fun while trouble shooting what may end up being a really big problem for months on end until a new well could be drilled.

While we watched a big bull moose wander along the ridge above their home,

and the kids entertained themselves with a car stuck in the driveway of a neighbor’s rental property,

the guys handily figured out the issue was a severed wire and subsequently blown fuse. Only Rick could go from an unresolved problem like that to pulling out a fleet of snowmobiles for 8 kids to play with.

Despite the fact that I am not the biggest snowmobile fan, my kids think they are the ideal form of snow play.

Chuck even had his turn with Rick one early morning.

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The boys loved hearing the tales of dad’s adventure.

In the meantime, Julie managed to pull together breakfast, lunch, and dinner so that cooking time didn’t interfere with mountain fun.

Last year, they happily agreed for us to come for a last minute visit when we found a similar deal, already knowing they would be entertaining for 30 that weekend.

Seriously, they are the coolest.

As we headed to SMR while Rick finished the pump repairs, we received the first warning that our flight may be cancelled or delayed.

We could either head back to Denver quickly, in hopes of getting out the next day, or take our chances and hope for the best. Knowing we didn’t want to leave without some good mountain fun, we decided as a group to take our chances and enjoy our much anticipated time with our friends.

After a day at Snow Mountain, and another full day of skiing, we spent our last morning in the high country snowshoeing.

While this is one of my favorite snow activities, the kids didn’t agree so much on a colder morning.

It was a stark difference to the year before, when everybody had a blast.

Chuck pulled the girls all the way up the mountain in the sled,

only to discover they all wanted nothing more than returning to the M family’s mountain palace.

Sometimes, I wish for a kid free hour or two to enjoy the peaceful quiet of the snowy mountains, but I love introducing them to what we love and I enjoy spending time with all of them. Plus, I do believe the outdoor challenges build character for them, and much-needed patience for me.

Even though our Monday night flight was cancelled

and rescheduled for early Tuesday morning, we were in a hurry to get over the pass and back to Denver before roads closed. Fortunately, they were not terrible, and we made it back to their Denver home in a couple hours without any trouble.

The snow continued to fall throughout the day, and conditions worsened throughout the night. We were concerned our new flight would get cancelled too, and knowing the only other flight of the day was full, we thought we may get stuck in Denver for a few days. It seemed that our 7am plane would never fly, but upon our 4am wakeup, our flight said ‘on-time.’ Roads were closed past Denver all the way to Kansas and schools were closed, but aside from a very early and long drive for Rick,

and lots of de-icing on the runway, we made it out without any hitches!

Call it fate or an unwillingness to leave a place we love more than anywhere, but time and again, we find ourselves stranded or voluntarily extending our stay. What family could have the patience for seven surprise visitors over and over?! We were reintroduced to the M family the first time we came back to Colorado with 5 kids in tow. Rick invited us over for dinner, and thankfully his adventurous wife agreed.

From the day we met Julie and the kids, they embraced us with open arms, making an instant connection that we are thankful for daily.  They have seen us at our best, and unfortunately, also our worst.

We laugh and play together so well, and count down the days until we are reunited this summer.  Thank you M family!

As I have shared before, one of our favorite places is Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA Camp, between Winter Park and Granby, Colorado. It is one of two YMCA of the Rockies locations, providing endless mountain fun for families. On our winter trip to Colorado this past weekend, we were fortunate enough to be able to visit SMR for a day.

You have not experienced sledding until you have gone tubing at Snow Mountain Ranch. After this weekend, I fear that my children have been spoiled for life. Never have I experienced such a smooth, yet ridiculously fast ride.  Check out the video below!

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Unlike the summer tubing hill there, the winter hill does not have a conveyer belt back up, so it can be quite the workout, especially if you choose to pull your smallest ones back up in the tubes like me.

I haven’t had many chances to exercise recently, so I was happy to do it. Boy, is it a blast though! All of our kids were smiling ear to ear-

we were having so much fun there, we spent most of our day racing up and riding down, so we never found time to partake in other winter activities during the day, but we will be back again another time!

Most of the winter activities at Snow Mountain are done at Camp Ouray, which is on SMR property, but closed during the summer to SMR visitors due to residential campers. Winter activities include a Nordic Center to sit and eat lunch, ice skating, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing (they have rentals if you don’t have your own).

We always manage to find time to roller skate while there, so after the tubing hill wore us out, we raced over to the Kiva to practice our skills (the Kiva also has indoor rock climbing and archery during the winter for $5/person). The skates are free to use, or you are able to bring in your own rollerblades or skates if you prefer. The first couple times we tried skating, it was difficult with 5 kids to teach, but all of them have surprised us and love roller skating as much as any other SMR activity.

Snow Mountain is famous for their popular free s’mores schedule. When we saw they were doing s’mores down at the craft center, you can bet we made sure to made it down to the campfire for a tasty afternoon treat.

As daylight came to an end, the snow continued to come down, so we headed over to the Buckboard Grill for some free tea

and a little cartoon downtime while I picked up some of the kids’ favorite fuzzy little creatures from our favorite little gift shop right there next to the front desk.

What a great way to spend our first full day in the mountains!

Last year, we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a $80 roundtrip airfare to Denver on theflightdeal.com and had the time of our lives visiting our dear friends, the M family!

This year, I went looking for a similar deal and found one on Frontier for $81 rt, after taxes and fees were added to the $15 fares.

There was one catch – flying on Frontier means you have to pay $40 for a carry-on each way, which would be as much as one of our round trip tickets. Of course, we would not do that! So… we were limited to bringing just a ‘personal item,’ and a backpack qualifies. I was up for the challenge, and excited to travel with less, so we unloaded our school backpacks and reloaded them with our Colorado essentials.

A few friends were baffled as to how we would achieve that with snow gear and all, so I took a few pictures of what we deemed important for 4 days in the mountains (or 5 when your flight ends up getting cancelled)!

Due to lack of available space, we knew everybody would have to wear their boots and snow pants on the plane.

We packed an extra pair of shoes, which ended up unused, but I was happy to have them in case of emergency. As far as clothes, layering was key. We have these fabulous waterproof/breathable coats from Lands’ End with a zip in fleece to accommodate different weather conditions that I was able to get 50% off the clearance prices on and make great travelling coats.

In addition, each of us had another heavy layer packed away for extra warmth when needed. You never really know what kind of conditions you might have in Colorado. Last year, we landed in Denver when it was in the 70s, and this year, it was in the 60s.

In the mountains, it was in the 40s and 50s last year, yet it was in the 10s and 20s this time. Everybody had a couple t-shirts, long sleeve tees, 3 pairs of pants, pajamas, hats, gloves, underwear, socks, and water bottles in their own backpack.

Additionally, one pack had a few snacks for the airport, including pizza muffins (courtesy of my friend Cassie), granola bars, and gum and suckers for the plane.

Another had deodorant and toothbrushes, and one had all our ski goggles.

Mine had our charging devices and cameras, and Chuck’s had our GoPro and swim suits.

We had enough space to pack a few books, DSs for a little plane entertainment, coloring books, fuzzy friends, and the much needed cozy blankets.

We are always fortunate to visit these amazing friends, who pick us up at the airport in their extra vehicle, already loaded with car seats and boosters for our crew,

and enough skis, helmets, snowshoes, and skis to support our big family in addition to their own. Everybody needs friends like the M family with a fun winter getaway destination 😉

It made for such easy packing since we didn’t have much space, and ironically, we probably didn’t use half of what we brought! Honestly, when you are going through security with 7 backpacks, 5 kids, coats, and snow pants, it feels as if you packed a ridiculous amount and we found ourselves wishing we had even less.

After this trip, I hope we can travel this way more often.

It was refreshing not to have a bunch of junk to lug around and worry about, and easy to load up our small packs in the car for our adventures each day. We are looking forward to sharing some of the winter fun we had while we were in Colorado.

We spent years living down the street from Four Lakes Ski Area in Lisle, noses turned up at the small hill with the tow ropes. You see, I learned how to snowboard in college in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, boarding almost every day at MTU owned Mont Ripley.

From there, we moved to Colorado, and had season passes to Breckenridge, Keystone, and A-Basin.

Moving back to Illinois was all for family, so we leave part of our hearts in the mountains every time we visit.

Last year, we gave Four Lakes a try with the kids and loved it. The small ski area is on Groupon and Living Social often, so it was a cheap and easy way to let the boys try it out without a big investment timewise or financially. Since it is only 1/2 hour from home, it was a doable way to ski, leaving the girls with Grandma for the day and spend some time with friends.

We went a couple times with the older kids before heading there with all 5 kids after a successful winter trip to Colorado skiing with all 5 in 2015.

Yes, the tow ropes are a bit of a pain, but it’s a perfect hill for the kids to learn on… and they love it! Braden, who has gone back and forth between skiing and using his snowboard, wanted to share his first blog post with you all about his experience this past weekend 🙂

I was so happy to go snowboarding when I heard the news. It was just what I wanted to do. Best of all, the Beintums were coming with us.  They are a family we have known for a long time.

As my mom packed our stuff, I went right to the car. Once we were loaded up, we left for Four Lakes and I watched the Lorax on the way there with my brothers Gavin and Ethan, who were coming too. It is so fun to go with them too.

When we got there, we got out of the car and went to get our tickets. After that, we got all our stuff on, I hooked on my snowboard and went snowboarding. When I got there, the Beintums were already there. I started at the little hill first. After I did the small hill a few times, I felt very bad. I could not go down even one time well with the snowboard, even though I had done it last year. I did the big hill a few times, but the snow was very sticky and I was doing so bad at snowboarding. I did one more time before lunch, and I almost quit. After lunch, I went right down the hill to the bottom, smiling all the way. I did the turns well, and everything good. When we were done, I had so much fun and I learned never to give up!

I was so proud of Braden for working through his discouragement and seeing that sometimes things don’t come easily, but that they are worth the effort. In addition, I was so happy that he wanted to join in the blog writing to share it with you all!

Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons are magnetizing to me. We can’t get within 200 miles of them without taking a swift turn to the north or south to spend a few days or even longer there. It’s a destination almost always en route (or we make it that way) to wherever our annual trip takes us, which is why despite its long 3 day drive from Chicagoland, we’ve been there more than a dozen times. Almost like you’ve landed on another planet, everyone should get the privilege to visit there at least once in their lifetime. With several friends making a trip there this coming summer (including us), I wanted to tell you a few of our highlights!

While the Tetons are almost considered second fiddle to Yellowstone in regards to number of visitors, I would have to say it is my favorite of the two parks. We like to start our trip from the south near Jackson and head north into Yellowstone. Jackson is quite possibly my favorite of all towns. Nothing says ‘west’ like the antler entrances throughout

and the nightly shootouts.

If you head a little outside of town, take your pick of an adventurous river raft trip or many other activities. If you like a little challenge, hiking Snow King and taking the chairlift down will fill your cup.

This appeals to my thrifty side too – taking the lift down is only a couple dollars, as opposed to going both ways.

Speaking of thrifty, Jackson is your last chance to stock up on groceries before heading into the parks, so we try to stock up on a week to 10 days worth of groceries, so we don’t have to buy food from the expensive shops in the parks. In order to spend a day in town, we stay at Gros Ventre Campground, which is on the south end of the park near Moose.

Since it’s kind of on the outskirts of the park, it is easy to get a site at the non-reservable campground before heading into the heart of the park.

We have been fortunate enough to see nesting baby owls

and moose in the campground.

From the Jackson area, we head north through the park to Colter Bay. We love staying at Colter Bay because it is a large campground and there are so many options there. It’s on the lake, so we spend a lot of time swimming,

throwing rocks,

and watching the sunset behind one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in America.

As opposed to the aged, rounded peaks in Colorado, the Grand Tetons are sharp, jagged, and covered in snow.

There is a visitor center, gift shops, laundry, horse stable,

and several restaurants, so if the weather gets bad, we always have somewhere to hang out. The hiking trails around there are flat and easy, perfect for kids or a nice run.

Colter Bay is also non-reservable, but we have never had trouble getting a site when we make it a point to arrive late morning. Campsites are reasonably priced at $22/night.

The Colter Bay RV Park does take reservations and offers electric sites, but we have never wanted to fork over the $70/night to stay there. One of the most popular campgrounds in the park is Jenny Lake, but campers and popups are not allowed, so we have not been there in years.

Other campgrounds in the park include Signal Mountain, Lizard Creek, and Headwaters Campground. There are also several wonderful lodging options in the Tetons including cabins at Colter Bay, Jackson Lake, Jenny Lake, and Signal Mountain Lodges, as well as several others. I especially love the view from awe-inspiring Jenny Lake Lodge.

While there are many, our favorite hike in the Tetons is Hidden Falls from the Jenny Lake Trailhead. It is about a 5 mile hike roundtrip, generally flat hike along the lake to a pretty impressive waterfall,

and Inspiration Point if you go a little further.

It’s an easy one to do with kids – depending on the time of year, we have picked some great berries along the way.

One of the best parts about this hike is that you can take a boat there if you choose. If you take the boat both ways, you shorten the hike to 1 mile roundtrip, or if you hike one way and take the boat the other, your hike ends up being 3 miles. We have taken the boat once, but usually try to deter the group from the temptation.

Adults cost $15 roundtrip and $9 one way, while children are $8 rt and $6 one way. Children under 2 are free, It would cost a small fortune for our family! Once in awhile, we split the group and those wanting to mix in the boat do that, some walk back the short way, and others continue all the way around the lake for the 8 mile loop.

We love to pair this hike with a swim in String or Leigh Lake afterward to cool off.   While we do enjoy swimming in Colter Bay, it is a little colder in the big lake, so String and Leigh Lake’s shallow depth allows for them to be a little warmer when the bugs aren’t too bad there. There are even a few boulders in the middle to jump off. Many enjoy paddle boarding on these lakes, which we are hoping to try one of these days!

Camping in the Tetons is relaxing, and semi-primitive. There are hundreds of sites in Colter Bay, yet they are large and private, surrounded by trees.

There is spotty phone service in the Tetons, so coming up with plans to meet friends there is always a reminder of how complicated it was in the ‘old days.’ We usually set a day and time to meet at the visitor center, be there or be square! If you really need service, we have been able to get wifi by the laundry center or restaurants, and cell service if we drive south about 10 miles outside of Colter Bay. While some may consider the Tetons to be busy, in this stage of our life, we consider the Tetons to be our “off the grid.” No electric, no phones, no disruption to the great outdoors, yet we are fortunate to have flush toilets (our kids wouldn’t have it any other way) and cold running water for hand washing… They even have showers if you choose to pay for one! The only downside in our books is what we call the ‘dish toilet.’

Of course, you ask what is this?! Grizzlies frequent the Tetons, so there are bear boxes on each site to store all food and toiletries, and dishwater should not be disposed of on the ground.

The dish toilets are provided for you to dump and flush your used dish water – enjoy 😉 At this point in our travels, we miss the provided dish sinks with hot water and dish soap provided at SMR, one of the many reasons we like to ease ourselves into the national park campgrounds by stopping at Snow Mountain on the way!

However, we love spending summers enjoying the wonders of our national parks, regardless of the facilities or lack thereof. Nothing compares to the grandeur of the Grand Tetons. As we get ready to leave the Tetons, the excitement continues as we head into Yellowstone on each visit. Stay tuned…

Our number one recommendation for travel is consistently Snow Mountain Ranch, between Winter Park and Granby in Colorado. If I see you on a regular basis, chances are, I have probably talked to you about it, and at this point, many of you have been there now, or plan to visit soon, with or without us. Why? The reasons are endless, but here are our top 5.

1) It’s easy to be there.

We went to Snow Mountain Ranch on a friend’s recommendation. The first time we went there, we weren’t even comfortable in our own skin. As I’ve said before, even family parties were difficult with 5 children in tow.

At SMR, the people are nice, and the weather is almost always beautiful. If it’s not, don’t worry, it will clear up within an hour or two most of the time… and rainbows almost always follow. Better yet, there are no mosquitoes at high altitude.

There is a 360 degree view, with paradise all around you. Wherever you turn, beauty surrounds you.

2) Affordability

Snow Mountain is a YMCA camp, so it’s affordable. The activities range from $5-10, and many of them are free. Last summer, there were free s’mores available almost every day.

Lodging ranges from $38-150. If you have a YMCA membership anywhere, you get a $15/night discount. Every year we have been there, someone we know (or us) have won a two night cabin stay (with close to a $500 value, this feels like winning the lottery after camping for two months) at ‘Cookies and Company.’

There are two big grocery stores within a 10 minute drive in either direction, so you don’t really have to plan ahead much as far as meals go. In fact, gas grills are provided at the campground and the yurt village.

If you prefer to eat out, there is a grille on property,

as well as a full-functioning dining hall (which is free for kids 5 and under).

You can even pick up a free cup of coffee or tea from the library or grille.  SMR is only two hours from Denver, and you can sometimes find round trip airfare for under $100 (start following theflightdeal.com), making it an affordable, yet remote destination if you need to beat the 16 hour drive from Chicagoland.

3) Accommodations for all

They have accommodations ranging from camping to yurts to lodge rooms to small or reunion sized cabins. Our favorite accommodation is the campground of course. The sites are big and beautiful, and the kids make it their home within the first 10 minutes of arriving. The bathrooms are very clean, and perhaps the most unique feature is the infestation of hummingbirds, encouraged by the carefully supplied feeders.

There is a new shelter, where we like to meet friends to enjoy meals, protected from the sun.

The yurts are my number one recommendation for non-campers. Friends who don’t like to camp seem to be interested in an adventure, and the yurts appeal to almost all of them. The yurts accommodate 8, with a queen bed and two sets of twin bunk beds, and the option to sleep two more by sharing beds or setting up a small tent outside. They have a small fridge and microwave inside, and gas grills provided outside. The bathroom facility looks the same as the campground, but in reality, there are individually carded bathrooms that even have bathtubs inside. There is also a laundry room inside the bathhouse, unlike the campground (but the laundry facility for others is right next to the miniature golf course, so there is always something to do).

The lodge rooms are also a great option if you like a more traditional accommodation with your own bathroom. There are a few lodge choices, which range in price. The cabins are the most expensive option, but if you like having lots of space, your own kitchen, and a view like no other, the cabins are for you.

SMR has worked hard to get wi-fi in most parts of the grounds, so it is easy to communicate and keep up on work or what’s happening in the world.

4) There are activities for anyone and everyone

As a die-hard outdoor enthusiast, even I realize that the kids don’t want to be in a national park day in and day out, with options limited to hiking daily. While SMR does have hikes (guided or not),

there are so many choices of somewhere to go or something to do at Snow Mountain, and it’s all right there on property. If you are in a group and some of you don’t like one idea, there’s plenty of options, making for flexible planning galore. Many of the activities are free, or very cheap. When you stay at SMR, free activities include a great miniature golf course,

roller skating (free rentals too),

a variety of parks (as well as activities like horse shoes, tennis, or disc golf),

swimming in the pool, ball checkout or sports in the KIVA,

a library (you can play or check out books, games, and movies),

program activities like kite flying and dodge ball, geocaching (our first cache was discovered in the cave on property),

making walking sticks,

or just hanging out at the homestead,

presentations on dog-sledding,

and night programming such as a birds of prey presentation,

square dancing,

amazing presentations by Paralympic athletes, and a visiting medicine man.

One of our best kept secrets is the trike park with endless fun for kids and adults.

Where else could you get the opportunity to paint a real pony,

have the kids participate in human hungry, hungry hippos,

or compete in their own rodeo?!

The newest addition to the free activity list is the very popular summer tubing hill, which even has a conveyer belt so you don’t have to hike back up.

In the winter, the sledding is like no other. Rock climbing (indoor or outdoor) and archery are $5

and zip-lining is $10.

Head down to the reservoir for canoeing or fishing with a fisherman.

Take a fly fishing class, or rent a bike to tour the trails. During snowy months, you can rent cross country skis and snowshoes if you don’t have your own. They even have a day camp, so if your kids need a break from you (or vice versa ;)), you can sign them up for a day or two (they have different themes each week and a variety of activities, depending on the day). Perhaps our kids favorite activity is the craft studio, where visitors of all ages can choose crafts from $1 up.

You can make family tie-dye shirts or adults can tap their creative side and sign up to take a pottery or jewelry making class.

There is also a privately run stable on property, where you can take a pony ride, go for a longer one, or even do a dinner barbeque ride.

You can stop by the stable anytime to pet the sheep and goats too.

If you decide to venture out, Winter Park is right around the corner and Rocky Mountain National Park is only minutes away.

One of our favorite activities is hiking Adams Falls

and heading into the town of Grand Lake for ice cream and swimming.

If you get lucky, you might even see a moose or two.

Granby Ranch offers an affordable ski alternative to Winter Park, and in the summer, they open up their lifts for hiking, great vistas, or picnicking for free.. or a small fee for mountain bikers.

You can also stop in nearby Granby at the castle park.

5) We are there… for a long time!

We would love to show you the ropes. This year, we will be there for almost 3 weeks. There is nothing like spending time on vacation with friends and family without normal daily obligations and distractions.

It gives you a chance to know each other on a different level, and brings lifelong memories that will keep you laughing for decades. The kids love waking up and being able to walk over to their favorite playmates site to start the day.

Even though we are fortunate enough to spend our time at SMR with many friends and family this year, we will miss seeing several of our favorite families, who will be there during a different time period. All joking aside, whether we are there or not, this is a place that any family would enjoy. There’s something for everyone, and we can’t think of a better place to make some fabulous memories!

I will never claim to be an expert on anything, but one thing we do is spend lots of time vacationing with little people. While opportunities have changed from the days we biked cross country, climbed 14ers, and kayaked Lake Superior, we will never regret taking our children on wild adventurous vacations. In fact, we are forming childhood memories that last a lifetime. Additionally, this is the investment we cherish now more than any earthly possession. We have 18 precious years to spend with them before their lives continue without us. DON’T WAIT. We understand naps and schedules just like everybody else, but children adapt better than we do. The more you get out, the more pliable your children will become. Pliable kids grow into resilient, happy, and versatile adults.

As another new year begins, I thought it was a good time to encourage you all to invest in your memories. There’s always a reason or excuse to put off an outing or dream vacation until ‘next year,’ but your time is now. The older kids get, the harder it is to prioritize your own plans. We encouraged one family of friends with four very active kids to join us on a trip a couple years ago. They knew it would be hard to fit in to their busy summer, but sadly, also realized it was the last summer they could do it. Because they moved so quickly, they were able to squeeze in every activity they wanted to do and more… in a very short time – no regrets! Our oldest is not even in middle school yet, but he already has commitments for summer band and cross country camp that we are skipping out on as we prioritize our own family plans. We hope to continue finding ways to spend time on family trips, but I envision it getting more difficult with every passing year. Be creative.

On the flip side, the kids aren’t too young. They will still get their naps, some way, somehow. We were always worried that upon returning, their schedules were lost, only to discover they easily fell right back into their former routines. There have been years we have considered talking ourselves out of certain trips… forest fires in Colorado, a home addition in progress, too many things on our plate, or fear of flooding our basement again. Yet we have never regretted it – I can’t imagine having lost some of those memories by succumbing to the stresses of life. Yes, they may not remember, but you will… and you will have pictures that help develop memories… and they will ask about them often. No, they might not walk or hike well. True, you might have to carry them. In reality, this works to your benefit. We have had a much easier time carrying kids around in a backpack instead of talking them through a mental battle of how far we are hiking… and, we got some extra exercise with their weight! If you don’t have one, we have two – ask me and you can borrow them.

No matter what, money is always hard to come by. I don’t particularly like to talk about it. It’s a sensitive topic and one that I will always say first and foremost is completely personal. What may be important to you may not be to me. I understand – I have only met a few people in my lifetime as frugal as me. We are proud of the discipline we have used since we were married in 1998 to set ourselves up for financial freedom, and happy with the options that are open to us now. If it’s important to you, prioritize it. If it’s not, skip it. Make tough choices. Give up cable TV for a few months or even more, stay away from your favorite store, skip going out to eat, put away the credit cards for awhile, or find a way to make a little extra money. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Perhaps the most difficult factor is time. Early in our marriage, my husband had summers off as a teacher, and I worked year round, longer hours as an environmental engineer. I went to an extreme, going back to school to get my master’s degree in teaching – probably the most critical decision to our happiness. If it’s something you really want, make it happen. Work your time off around holidays to boost your vacation time, take a mini-trip close to home, or follow websites like theflightdeal.com. We miss living in Colorado like crazy, but didn’t really see living there as a viable option with all our family in Chicagoland. When an $80 roundtrip airfare deal to Colorado pops up, we can make it happen and get by with a day or two off work. Upon looking back over 2015, both Chuck and I agreed this trip was our best memory of the year… spontaneous, unexpected, and blissfully fun. With good friends who take us in and supply us with gear and transportation, the trip ends up costing us less than a ski trip up to Wisconsin. Find what works for you!

If all of this is not a priority for you, there is no pressure to do it. This was simply a way for me to encourage others to jump outside their comfort zone and make things happen in 2016. If it’s not a vacation, make it a day trip – places like Matthiessen State Park and Indiana Dunes State Park are only an hour away from home. This may be less than your daily work commute. Camping works best for us because it’s affordable, beautiful, and fun for us to spend time outdoors, but maybe a water park or Disney resort is more your style. All of us our different and that makes the world a special place. Find your happy place. You won’t regret it – I promise.

Don’t let life get in the way.  LIVE 🙂