How the adventure started
In 2025, my husband accepted a new job opportunity in South Florida. It was a BIG move for our family—from Washington State all the way to Florida—and I decided that if we were going to uproot our lives, we might as well turn it into an adventure.
After selling most of our belongings and packing the past seven years of our life into a moving pod, I decided to skip the easy option of flying and make the cross-country journey by road instead. My husband had already arrived in Florida, so my sister and I packed up my SUV and headed from Washington State to South Florida with 4 kids.
Because apparently one cross-country road trip wasn't enough, we eventually did it again! We took a different route back, this time with my husband and sister and two vehicles, left the nieces home with their dad and traded off driving along the way. Somewhere between the miles of highways, questionable gas-station snacks, and figuring out where we'd sleep next, I realized that I genuinely loved turning travel and the outdoors into an adventure.
That's a big part of why I started this page.
Learning to adventure with little ones
I also want to share places worth visiting, practical tips, packing ideas, and answers to the questions that come up when you're adventuring with little ones.
When I became a new parent, I quickly realized that many of the things I loved doing weren't quite as practical with small children—and, honestly, I wasn't sure how to do them anymore. Suddenly, a simple hike required planning, snacks, backup snacks, the right clothes, extra clothes, and somehow an emergency plan for a child who definitely wasn't going to need an emergency plan.
And packing lists? They are constantly changing depending on the season, the ages of your children, and their personalities. What works beautifully one weekend can become completely useless the next.
Over the past four or five years, we've spent a lot of time outdoors, and I've learned that some of the best adventures happen when you let go of your expectations. Things don't always go according to plan. The weather has opinions. Trails have surprises. And children have their own very strong ideas about how an adventure should go.
I'm learning to go with the flow, stay open-minded, and focus less on creating the perfect outdoor experience and more on simply being outside together.
What I hope you find here
My hope is that this page gives you the confidence, inspiration, and maybe even a little laugh along the way to get outside with your own little explorers. Because you don't need the perfect gear, the perfect plan, or perfectly behaved children to have an amazing adventure.
Sometimes you just need to step outside and see what happens.