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Snapshots of Banff Fall Color

We are spending our Fall Break in the Canadian Rockies, and the Banff Fall Color is absolutely stunning. The trees are a sparkling gold instead of just yellow. Against the pine trees and the blue sky, the color shines so bright.  As we are hiking through this part of the Canadian Rockies this week, we …

Cruisazy Cruise Video

I’ve been back for a few days from our cruise (which we hashtagged #cruisazy), and the kids and Taido are back from camp. We’ve been buried in laundry and are all a wee bit tired, but this video that Whitney made with photos from our cruise is making me smile! I will be watching it …

Magic Carpet

I’m not gonna lie. Simon’s favorite part of Spring Break was unlimited access to Mario Cart and Toy Story 3 on the Nintendo DS in the Ski Lodge. But, he was also pretty fond of the Magic Carpet at Copper Mountain. We spent 2 1/2 hours riding this baby one afternoon. Then we went back …

Mt Windom, Colorado

Remember all those different blog posts about our trip to Colorado last summer? I guess I got a little burned out on mountain pictures, because I neglected to put these up from Ben’s inaugural backpacking trip. My dad, Taido and Bobby take the graduating seniors backpacking every summer before they head off to college. They …

Taos Ski Valley

I’ve said before that we love the mountains. We love to be in the mountains.  We love to hike and bike in the summer.  We love to ski in the winter. Snow skiing tends to be a little (or a lot) hard on the pocketbook, but it was a huge part of both mine and …

missouri camping, autumn, fall leaves, fall camping, missouri state parks, camping with kids

Missouri Camping

This week, Simon and I got to escape to Missouri for a couple of nights camping with my dad, my sister and her kids. Anna’s kids were out of school Monday and Tuesday, so we all left on Sunday and met about halfway between here and Chicago at St. Francois State Park. We’ve only camped …

Rifle, Colorado

We spent a lovely two days in the area of Rifle, Colorado, a place I had never even heard tell of before last week.  Though we enjoyed our time there, we probably won’t go back since it is so far west in Colorado. Unless, of course, I take up rock climbing, which is about as …

Crested Butte Yoga

Crested Butte Yoga in Colorado at Yoga For The Peaceful If you’ve been following me since our last visit to Crested Butte, you know that I enjoy some mountain yoga.  I went to four different classes the last time I was here, and wrote about every single one of them. (See yoga archives.) When we …

Surprise! A Day in Nashville

How we got to Spend a Surprise Day in Nashville So where were we in our trip?  That’s right.  Broken down a little bit past Nashville. Simon was asleep when we first broke down and the other kids were watching a movie on my computer, so for about an hour we sat while Taido tried …

The Smoky Mountains

We recently returned from a rainy week in the Smoky Mountains with my entire family.  The last time we all camped together was five years ago in Colorado.  Since everyone remembers that week as being very cold, we decided to meet somewhere a little warmer.  And a little closer!  We have been planning this trip …

canadian rockies tour, glaciers, banff, icefield, jasper to banff highway

Canadian Rockies Tour

Canadian Rockies Tour: Of Glaciers and Grizzlies I am currently in the Canadian Rockies with my four children and my parents. Oh yes, Taido got a relief driver and gave us the slip so he could study without interruption for the final two weeks. So far he has missed a lot of time in the …

Berry Picking in the Pacific Northwest, Family Vacation, Fun Family Outings

Berry Picking

  Berry picking has got to be one of the greatest pastimes ever. Besides being great entertainment, the reward for your work is so great. If you love berries like I do, then you should definitely make plans to visit the Pacific Northwest the last week in July or the first week of August one …

trader joes shopping bag, trader joe's camping menu

Trader Joe’s Camping Menu

If you are going camping this weekend or sometime soon and you happen to be near a Trader Joe’s, as I happily happen to find myself again, then you might like to discover, as I have, that you can get several days’ worth of relatively easy and healthy camping meals in one quick stop. Cooking …