Picture it… We had been exploring for hours… not much around us. Jared was working so it was Me… by myself with our kids. And I had a kid insisting on using the Porta Potty Bathroom. Thankfully there happened to be a porta potty. Here’s the kicker… It wasn’t exactly clean. At all… like the kind of rest room that makes you want to bathe in sanitizer. I had a little boy committed to the idea that he was going to sit down to go potty. Y’all I was not going to let him sit down in that! The other three kids waited right outside the propped door so I could keep an eye on all four kids at the same time. My kiddo trying to use the bathroom started crying loudly… “my pee pee hurts” as I can imagine he had to go to the bathroom pretty badly. I tried talking him into standing but he just screamed louder! That’s when my sweet girl said “mom, there are people coming quick.” As I can imagine every normal person would when they hear a kid screaming that from a bathroom. So I kept trying to explain as loud as I could to my kid hoping the stranger would hear as well. that if you will just stand up to go it won’t hurt any more. We went round and round. and round and the stranger seemed to think everything was ok and kept on their way. As for me I was completely mortified by the silence of nature and the screams of my kiddo. He refused. and you know what he stayed strong and made it all the way home.
I learned a few things-
1- he can hold it way longer than I ever imagined and I don’t think anyone has died from embarrassment just yet… (although I thought I might)
2- no adventure will ever be a breeze with our crew. It’s hard stinking work. But taking the adventure is so worth it every time.
3- time is flying so fast. We only get this one shot to invest into those little hearts of theirs. Rhi informed me today that she’d be driving in 7 years. WHAT???? But seriously, I want to be a student of my family. I want to watch their expressions. I want to really see them. I want to build them up and equip them to do great things in life. I want them to create memories with each other.. and that takes an investment of time away from distractions (which is such a hard one for me!!!) to get quiet and soak it all in. So 2018 is going to be our best year yet! Keep reading to hear more.
Being outdoors brings life to my heart… seeing new places… taking it all in. As I was planning for 2018 the blog series #better2getheradventures came to life. I believe wholeheartedly that for our family… and other families out there we are so much better together. We can conquer things together that we could never dream of doing alone. So we creatively brainstormed what this might look like and we did a lot of research. Let me tell you there are some adventuring… trail blazing… blogging… mountain climbing amazing families out there! Seriously my heroes! While we always want to dream big… and we always want to challenge ourselves in all we do… We know that our heart is to bring very doable explorations to you. We want to share what works for our crew of 6 and maybe even what doesn’t work. We want to be a weekly resource to tell everyday adventurers which adventures to hit this week. We want to feature people, adventures, places, and products that encourage connection between couples and families. We are committed to exploring new places as a family and sharing a lot of what we find. Right now the dream is to provide a lot of local California resources, hiking trails, and adventures but excited to see where those adventures might take us. Part of this blog series will also include what we are calling our “One-hundred dollar days.” (#onehundreddollardays) Sheesh it sure adds up with a big family and fast. You can hardly even go to the movies and dinner with $100. But we know it’s possible to get out… get local… and take advantage of some of the landscape and resources we have in our area. On those days we will share where we went, how much it cost and some other helpful tips…
Photo Credit: R
This was pretty much how our entire day adventuring was… R headed up every exploration with K closely behind him. R wasn’t too sure she was up for any of it and J just went in the opposite direction… Makes me chuckle seeing them do their thing!
I love them learning to test themselves and learn their own strength.
This is a real life moment right here… how can we pick on sister to start a fight. Here’s the scoop. Not much would be different if we were at home. there would be fighting and arguing but at least out here we can run, explore, laugh and take it all in together. I know the kids will laugh at me some day soon. There was a moment where we practiced our different senses. Sat for a minute with our eyes closed just listening to the wind and the water rushing in the river. Then we smelled all of the fresh misty air. Super nerdy but super fun!
This moment we all got a good chuckle. I work so hard to create spaces for them to explore, get their hands dirty and play… Ryder was climbing on the trees and totally fell through them… He caught himself but the kids thought it was pretty stinking funny.
This crew… man they absolutely have my heart!
So dream with us a little bit. We need your help…
As we create these adventures we want to know if there is a set group of questions you want answered each time…
Like “can we take a stroller”
Or “park hours”
or are “pets allowed”
As we begin blogging we would love to do the research for you… and make it easy on other families to make those adventures happen!
*** We also need your help for suggestions of where to explore! Is there a recreation area you and your family are in love with? Are you a small business owner specializing in an adventure or unique way to connect? We are looking for passionate people to collaborate with as we capture and blog these adventures. Comment on this post… drop us an email at koriandjared@gmail.com or connect with us on one of these social media outlets…
Pinterest: One-Hundred Dollar Days
This is the evidence of a day well spent! And I also am learning what I need to pack! 
“Mama,
You were given these children – you. No one else.
You were given these children because you are who they need.
You have the soul to love them even on hard days. You have the motivation and
love to give these children everything they need.
You have the heart to wake up every morning and
do it all over again, even when you are exhausted.
You have the smile that they crave and the touch
to make everything okay. You are their sunshine
and their comfort. You are theirs and they are yours
mama.
On those days you are questioning yourself,
remember this. You’ve got this!”
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