Thank you for stopping by to meet the crew. This website was created from out passion for the outdoors. We decided to create a website/blog that focuses more on a family approach to the outdoors. My name is Brooks, I am married to my high school sweet heart and we have 3 children together. Make that 6 if you count our cat and 2 dogs. You will often see almost as much of them as you do of the kids and us.
You can skip all the talking here and go directly to the bottom to meet everyone!
I overheard someone at work the other day at our potluck. They were staring at the unusual looking macaroni salad that had some unidentifiable ingredients. One co worker said to the other… “Come on, try it! Live a little.” I really started thinking about that commonly used phrase. “Live a little”. It made me think about how often we get caught up in our work lives and forget to live. That phrase was created as a reminder to try and live life to it’s fullest from time to time. A few hours later I started thinking more about that phrase. It drives me insane that people have to remind themselves to “live a little”. Why not “Live A LOT!” Let’s kick that old phrase to the curb and start living with more of a “Live A Lot” mentality. Live life to it’s fullest everyday, and avoid using a phrase like “live a little”. It was a couple days later that I started brainstorming this website and about a week later that I launched it. We want to help people “Live A Lot”!
My wife and I have always been active in the outdoors. Bringing children into our lives has made for some pretty unique challenges. It’s really not all that easy to have kids and make time to spend in the outdoors. This is especially true when the children are young. Camping or hiking with a baby is especially challenging. We wanted to bring our eleven years of experience to being in the outdoors with our children and as a family to you. We hope that we may be able to provide advise and tips that only someone who has done it can provide.
What we have noticed with many of our friends is that they simply just give up. We often hear that “it’s too hard” or “taking the baby is just too much work”. Which is pretty sad to me. Not only are you depriving yourself from something you love to do, but your depriving your baby/children from enjoying mother nature. The outdoors should be experienced by all, young or old. And having kids should not be a reason to stop spending time in the outdoors. We hope we can provide advice and tips to help make the experience easier and more enjoyable for you. We are going to provide advice and tips on all the latest and best gear to help your enjoy your time outdoors with your children.
With all that being said, I think it’s time you meet our crew. I apologize that there are multiple photos, we have not been able to get a good family picture for a bit, so all our group photos are outdated. You will get to meet my wife and I as well as the 6 kids (including the dogs and cat).
I am pretty bummed I could not do the Spartan Race with them. I was fresh off knee surgery and am still recovering. Hopefully next year!
Let’s actually meet everyone!
Say hello to the boss. This is my lovely wife Heather. She is the foundation of this family. Her strength and will is what keeps us all going all the time. Working absolutely insane schedules but always being there when we need her most. She always finds time for the kids. I’m not sure how she does it. She somehow fits 48 hours worth of stuff into a 24 hour day. She hasn’t admitted it yet, but I’m pretty sure she has super powers. She has to stop time somehow, but I’m just not sure how yet. I’m so thankful to have her in my life, say hello to Heather everyone. She’s decked out in her spartan race day gear below and is proudly displaying her Trifecta Medal, also displayed are 2 out of 3 of her most proud achievements, Connor and Cam!
That’s me! I’m the mediocre to bad writer that is usually the one blabbing on the site. I absolutely adore my wife and family. They are my drive and what keeps me going all the time. Nothing makes me happier than being present for all my kids events, helping coach when I can and watching them turn into amazing people. I love sports, especially college basketball and NFL football. My teams are the Duke Blue Devils (Go Coach K!) and the San Francisco 49ers. I’m addicted to fantasy football (no seriously, it’s a problem) and my family hates me on Sundays sometimes because of it! I’m always down to get out of the house and go camping, hiking, kayaking or even just a drive in the back roads. Football means nothing, when those options present themselves! Most of my time is taken by attend sports practices including dance for my daughter. Sorry I didn’t have a better photo, I’m usually the one behind the camera! Ill update if I get a better one, Go NINERS!
Say hello to Cailyn, our oldest daughter. At the time of writing this, she is 12 years old. Cailyn is an independent and amazing person. She does what she wants and does NOT care what you think. She tends to go against the grain, which I love about her. She is incredibly smart and talented. She has been in the schools challenge program and has already started attending honor classes in her 7th grade year. She has the best taste in music, loving the Beatles, 21 Pilots and Panic at the Disco. I often find myself enjoying her playlists on Spotify! This girl is going to move mountains, I can’t wait to see what her future holds.
This is Connor, he’s our middle child. At the time of writing this, he just turned 10. He is our athlete, but is also in the challenge program and pulls straight A’s. He has a serious passion for anything basketball. He loves the Portland Trailblazers and I often find him researching older players YouTube, he’s an old soul. He works very hard at AAU basketball and loves playing flag football. He loves getting on YouTube and watching videos about basketball, football and yes… Minecraft. He loves his video games and mostly plays Madden and NBA2K, but finds time to get in some Minecraft and other various games. This kid is going to be a star one day!
Here is Cam the man! This is our youngest and he is tough to keep up with. He is a ball of ever lasting energy. He’s up at 6:30 and doesn’t go to sleep until 10. Naps? Ya right… He has so much character and personality, he keeps us all on our toes and entertained. He’s following in his brothers footsteps and loves sports. He demands that we take him to “his own” basketball practice. Soon buddy, soon. He’s 3 but going on 13 right now mostly thanks to his older brother. He’s got a big heart and loves his puppies. Sometimes he’s sweet, but almost always he’s full of life and energy!
This is Frannie. She’s our 3 year old German Shepherd and Yellow Lab mix. Frannie basically just wants to be on a walk or up in the woods all the time. She’s recently been coping with having a new younger sister (who you get to meet next.) Frannie is the most loyal dog I have ever met. She always comes to us, no matter the circumstance. She always has to be with us, follows us to every room in the house. Yes, including the bathroom. Ive never had a dog that’s as loyal as her, I have no doubt that she would fight a bear for us. We love her dearly!
This cute little thing is Nova. She’s our newest edition and has been absolutely wonderful. We love having this energetic little dog around. Frannie was excited at first, but is showing signs of irritation. Frannie’s not much of a morning dog, and Nova is. Nova is ready to play by 6 AM. She’s only 12 weeks but is already mostly house trained and is working her way through puppy school. She can sit, lay down and is getting good at heeling. She’s a quick learner and I think she’s going to be a very smart dog. She’s a little more independent than Frannie, she wont’ sleep on any ones bed and would rather be on the floor. Not that Frannie would have her on the bed with us. We are so excited to have this beautiful little girl in our family!
Last but not least is Sophie. She’s about 10 years old and mostly just hangs out in some sun rays or hunts mice outside. She’s a great snuggle cat and has always been very tolerant of the littler kids. She’s not very fond of the dogs and mostly just keeps her distance from them. If they get too close though, they quickly remember who the boss animal of the house is. We have heard many yelps come our way after she reminds them with her claws out. She always finds us in our bed in the middle of the night and nestles between Heather and I. She waits until were asleep though, because we move her if were awake. She’s been a great cat, and were lucky to have her as part of our family.
