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Everyday Outdoor Family

a kid walking through an ice tunnel at the Ice Castles
Featured Post

How I went from dreading winter to booking a trip to the Arctic Circle

Hi friends, I used to hate winter, but now I have learned to embrace it, and it has changed everything. Like seriously, everything, I just booked a January trip to the Arctic Circle for 2027. (Maybe I have embraced winter *too* hard?) One of my favorite books is There Is No Such Thing as Bad Weather. It completely changed how I think about winter and getting outside. The big takeaway for me was that winter is not something to survive or avoid. It is something you can enjoy if you approach it...

Hi Friends, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the year ahead and what I want our adventures to look like in 2026. Not in a rigid, “new year, new me” way, more like a gentle nudge toward getting outside more, saying yes to trips we’ve been putting off, and making adventure feel a little easier and a lot more fun. I want to share what I’m dreaming about for myself, mostly because putting it in writing helps me actually do it, and because a lot of these ideas come directly from...

Thank You for Supporting My Small Business! Happy Small Business Saturday! Every time you open an email, read a blog, share a reel, or buy one of my products, you support my small business in such a real way. It means more to me and my family than you know. I wanted to give you another way you could support my small business and a way that I could thank you! I asked 5,000 people what their biggest problems were that held them back from exploring more. One of the biggest issues was overwhelm...

I was planning to send a Black Friday email today, but I had a revelation this week and I wanted to share it with you instead. You know those moments when something hits you out of nowhere and makes you stop and smile? I had one of those this week. I was thinking about this community and how much it has grown. When I first started sharing our adventures, I wasn’t sure anyone in KC even wanted to get outside as much as I did. I definitely didn’t expect to find so many people who love exploring...

A girl sitting in the snow smiling because she dressed well for winter

Stay Warm This Winter A few years ago I read the book, No Such Thing as Bad Weather and it changed the way I thought about winter. Before that, I really struggled to get outside in the winter, but I had also never invested in good clothes to keep me warm or learned how to layer properly. Once I got myself decent weather clothes, it made winter so much more tolerable, I daresay, enjoyable even! I still usually hit my winter weather limit around mid-February, but being able to get outdoors...

Spooky Season in the Midwest Spooky season is here. While we love pumpkin patches and apple cider, sometimes it’s fun to add a little thrill to our fall adventures. The Midwest has plenty of haunted legends. I have even experienced a few inexplicable things myself. My spooky story: My husband and I stayed at the Elms Hotel in Excelsior Springs, MO for a romantic night away from the kids. We went on the ghost tour that night and they told us before the tour that our room was one of the stops....

Beautiful fall foliage near the Lutsen mountains, the Minnesota, North Shore, Midwest fall trips

Weekend Escapes- Small Town Fall Vibes For those of you who are following my adventures on social media, you might know I am in Morocco on a women’s trip right now. It feels a little weird to be sharing about weekend trips when I am in another country, but I figure most of you are looking for something a little closer to home. (And I wrote this before I left, don’t worry, I am not working in Morocco!) There’s something magical about small towns in the fall. We visit Weston, MO every year and...

Time to Hit the Trails Fall is my favorite season to hike! There is just something about the colorful trees, crunchy leaves, and cooler weather that makes me happy. Plus the kids actually enjoy being outside because they aren’t melting in the heat. This week I am headed to New England for a fall road trip with my husband to celebrate our 10-year anniversary. This is a bucket list trip for me, and I can’t wait to peep every leaf I can. If you’re looking for some places closer to home to hike,...

The Best Season for Camping If you ask me, fall is the best season for family camping. The kids love collecting leaves, we love sitting by the fire, and no one wakes up sweating in the tent (hallelujah). I also love nature even more when there are fewer mosquitos and ticks. Camping is one of the most affordable ways to get outdoors, travel, and spend time with your family. Even if you just stay at a state park cabin, it's still usually cheaper than a hotel and more fun. 4 Tips for Camping...

boy at pumpkin patch

Pumpkin Patches + Fall Fun for Families Let me tell you a sad story, with a happy ending. Once upon a time, there was a girl who dreamed of doing all the fun fall things she saw in movies, but instead she grew up in the hot land of Texas. Pumpkin patches were just pumpkins on hay bales in grocery store parking lots. The leaves didn’t really change and October never got cool and crisp, it just got less hot. Then when the girl grew up, she moved to the Midwest. She went to a real pumpkin patch...