We hope you have a wonderful day celebrating in any way you enjoy. Emerald and Cannon had a very good weekend celebrating and enjoying some fantastic weather.

Today was an off Friday for Cory which meant we had an easy, simple, amazing day!

We started with a family walk to take Cannon to school, it’s much more fun to do it all together. Also the weather was in the 70s today, so we tried to soak it in as much as possible.

Please tell me why she looks 14 here?!?

I got to sleep in (until 6 am) and run outside after dropping Cannon at school.

I ran on one of my trails, I was very happy that it was dry.

I am very much looking forward to things turning green again.

After picking up Cannon we spent some time with my mom on her birthday. It’s so nice to see them again without worry of Covid. My mom’s vaccine was compete yesterday (hooray!).

After Emmy’s nap we went to a favorite playground.

It’s such a fun park, in the summer they have a really neat water feature too, last summer it wasn’t turned on due to Covid so I am really hopeful it can be turned on this year.

We ate outside for both lunch and dinner and it felt like hope and good days to come!

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Is is feeling like spring where you live?

Last year we were only a couple weeks into quarantine and dealing with a new virus that we didn’t know much about. We didn’t get to celebrate with my mom on her day (although we did make her a cake and also ate some in her honor). We didn’t get to be together as much as we normally do in the last year but we found ways to be together as much as we could.

This year things are looking much much better. My Dad got his vaccine a few months ago and my mom has her full immunity today! We are all looking forward to many more adventures and celebrations together this year.

So happy birthday mom, I hope this year is much much better and I can’t wait to celebrate with you!

It’s really starting to feel like spring around here and I am very excited. I am all about more time outside, more walking to school and more meals outside!

Cannon was a bit confused about why he needed his winter jacket and a hat this morning when it is supposed to be 70 today but it was below freezing at school drop off.

The weather the next week is beyond nice, I wonder if we will get any more snow this year.

New month new goals! I didn’t quite make all of my goals last month so many are the same….try, try again!

April Goals

• At least 84 hours outside, more would be better to get caught up on our 1000 hours outside goal.
• At least 4 Hikes this month to work towards our 52 hikes a year goal. If we get to do our Utah trip we will easily exceed this goal.
• 5k a day, every day for April
• Run on a trail at least once a week
• Work on my creation skills by publishing 3 videos this month
• Run/walk at least 100 miles this month

What are some of your goals for April?

I can’t believe March is over! Usually March goes by very slowly as I am so ready for spring but we are still dealing with lots of snow. This year being out of town for the last part of March made it speed by. I think April might scream by as well since we have lots to celebrate and do.

Currently Loving – Spending so much time in our trailer, we spent 11 days out of this month traveling and visiting new places. We are figuring out how to live in the trailer and loving more time outside. We won’t always get to spend this much time away on adventures so we very much enjoyed it while we could.

Currently Going –  We started visiting our local swimming pool again and the kids love it so much! I can’t wait to get them back in swimming lessons.

Currently Researching – Our next trip! We have many trips planned for the summer but want to get something planned for April and May.

Currently Shopping For – Emmy’s upcoming third birthday. I can’t believe she is going to be three and this will be her second birthday during Covid. Her only normal birthday was her first birthday, honestly that makes me a little sad.

Luckily she rolls with it and finds happiness everyday.

Currently Dreaming About- The world getting better and starting whatever our “new normal” will be. Cory and I were able to start the vaccination process and feel so grateful and hopeful.

Currently Running – On the treadmill on dark mornings, but I am so excited to start gettin back outside. It’s getting lighter, warmer and less icy out!

Currently Working On – We are happily working on our 1000 hours outside and 52 hikes challenges. We have enjoyed approximately 100 hours outside and 12 hikes. This month was easy to rack up the hours because of our trip, hopefully as the weather gets warmer we will be spending more afternoons/evenings in the backyard.

What’s current with you?

Let’s just start with the best part, I got my first vaccination shot today and it was so so good. It feels like the begining of the end and I like feeling like I am doing my part. Big thanks so science, scientists and the medical professionals who made this all possible.

Today was the last day of Cannon’s spring break. While I am happy that he gets to go to school, I love having him around and spending family time together. Cannon is really a joy to be around and I am so so profoundly grateful to be his mom.

We are currently riding the spring Colorado weather roller coaster. It was in the mid 70s today with 25 MPH winds but we should expect up to an inch of snow tonight. Also a high of 35 tomorrow….and 80s this weekend?!?

I listened to Billing Yang’s podcast with Brendan Leonard and it was so good. Brendan’s Semi Rad is so funny.

Also his film about running Run Rabbit Run is amazing!

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How was your day?

Today was a very boring, get things done kind of day. It was so nice to wake up in our comfy bed and work through the mountain of laundry we brought home. Since today was not that exciting I though I would share some of our favorites from our trip.

Top marks goes out to our tiny trailer! We love “Kermit” and without our tiny trailer we wouldn’t have been able to camp on this trip. Some people may be happy to camp in low 20s (F) but we aren’t that brave with a 2 and 4 year old!

We love that Kermit is tiny because we like to take it off road and get away from traditional RV parks. We also like that it’s small because the idea is to be outside as much as possible anyway. Some may like a little more luxury in a travel trailer and there is no shame in that, it’s just not what we want. The kids love it, but also would love to have bunks someday soon.

Checking out the view on a cold morning.

Our particular model is a R-Pod by Forrest River RP 171. There is a tiny kitchen, shower, toilet, queen bed and a dinette that converts into a full size bed. One of my favorite parts of towing the trailer is always having a bathroom with us, with Covid it has been very nice not having to use public restrooms, also there is water to wash our hands which is so nice!

Before leaving for our trip I bought two national parks passports for the kids. They loved going into the Visitors Centers and getting stamps as we traveled.

These lunch boxes have been useful than I ever would have guessed:

I grabbed these boxes from Amazon a couple years ago for Cannon’s school snacks, but ended up using something else. I started using them for road trips and now they are a staple of our travels. Most days we are out exploring for lunch so it’s nice to have something to hold our lunches but these little bento boxes really shine when we want the kids to eat in the car. These work well to help the kids keep their food from spilling and they love them and look forward to eating from them.

Our Kelty child carrier backpack was a must have for our trip. Emmy can’t quite hike as far as Cannon can and we did many hikes that were 3+ miles long and often rated difficult.

Emmy loved riding in the pack when the hike gets a little too long for her. Cannon happily rode in this pack when he was little too.

Cannon hiked every single step of the hikes we did, sometimes upwards of six miles a day.

We bought him shoes specifically for hiking from Merrell, he loved them and they really did help him keep his footing on the rocky paths and especially on the slick rock. We are going to get Emmy a pair as well for the summer since they worked so well for Cannon.

Lastly our drone was a fun addition to our trip:

Just a few quick shots from our Mavic Mini.

What are some of your road trip favorites?