Layering kids for cold weather adventures
Keeping kids cozy during cold weather adventures is important, but knowing how to properly dress can be stressful if you are new to winter adventures with little ones. The key to happy kids in the cold is proper layering! We use this layering technique for all cold weather outdoor adventures. The last layer changes depending on the activity.
Read MoreA guide to learning to ride a bike without training wheels
If you told us that our daughter would learn to ride a bike without training wheels long before she turned 3, we never would have believed it. Thanks to a tip from family, we learned about balance bikes and never looked back. If you want to give it a try, we’d say go for it! Each child is different, but here are some tips that worked for us.
Read MoreTire Upsize & Upgrade for Mercedes Sprinter 4×4
After a little over 3 years since we purchased our van, our Sprinter van’s odometer finally ticked past the 50,000 mark. Bruce is the van’s name, for those who care about that sort of thing. We bought the van new, and maintained the stock Continental Vanco “four season” M+S tires and the stock steel 16 inch rims. Although these tires were anything but “off-road”, they carried us across rugged terrain and icy conditions pretty well…with some help from the van’s 4×4 transmission, some basic air-down techniques, and tire chains (more on our original tire chains for the stock tires check out our blog post here).
At 50,000 miles it was finally time to buy a new set of tires. We only had two decisions before beginning to search for brands and models. First, we easily decided to stick with the stock black steel 16 inch wheels in order to save several hundred dollars. Second, we needed to decide if we were going to upsize. Although upsizing would require the purchase of a full-sized spare and new tire chains, we quickly decided we wanted to do it. According to friends with more off-road experience than we have, and a few Sprinter forums, upsizing would improve performance on- and off-road. Maybe more importantly, larger tires will also look better. 🙂
Read MoreTips to help your child sleep when camping
Lighting cues
This is our newest and BEST hack. We started using this nightlight at home. It changes colors to give a visual reminder to the kids that it’s bedtime or morning. We picked blue for bedtime, red for stay in bed, and green for get up and go! We can change the color using an app on our phone. It has been tremendously helpful for us at home and camping. The key is using it consistently so when you go camping, the kiddos are already familiar with how it works. We have power in our van so we use the same light we have at home, but if you need a battery operated version there’s several out there. (Something like this nightlight might work) We also noted that this light helps illuminate their sleeping area. Our daughter used to wake up scared at night when it was too dark in the van because she didn’t know where she was. Seeing her familiar light and being able to see where she was has also helped if she wakes during the night.
Read MoreNut Loaf Recipe
The PBD (Plant-Based Diet) Nut Loaf has been a staple for years. We LOVE this recipe! It has very simple ingredients, it’s easy to make, and is filled with a powerhouse of nutrients including protein, fiber, folate, vitamins E, K, A, and copper. We usually serve it with a side of redskin potatoes and steamed spinach. It’s the perfect dish for a chilly night and makes great leftovers.
Read MoreHow we stay warm in our van during the winter
We do not have a diesel heater in our van, but we are able to keep cozy during the winter months camping with the following tricks:
what to wear hiking and backpacking
Wearing comfortable, breathable, and durable clothing hiking and backpacking is critical for remaining comfortable throughout your adventure. We organized the clothing, shoes, and hats we wear by each person.
Tent camping with kids
We’ve camped everywhere from the beach and the desert, to the mountains and everything in-between with our kids. Sleeping in a tent with little ones was a big departure from our former days as backpackers sans kiddos. Now with kids, we’ve tried lots of different options and we are sharing our experience, good and bad. There’s so many different factors that go into camping in a tent with kids such as professional organization guidelines, family preferences, child needs, and style of camping to name a few. For this reason, what we are sharing in this blog is not recommendations for what you should do, but rather a description of what WE do. Plus, what we do continues to evolve as our children grow and new equipment is developed in the ever expanding realm of outdoor gear.
Read MoreSummer hiking Tips
There’s nothing like summer hiking. The beautiful flowers, refreshing lakes, and long days are what dreams are made of. But summer hiking can be a nightmare filled with sunburns, over heating, and bugs without the proper preparation. After years of hiking we learned that certain pieces of gear and a few tips make all the difference to squeeze the most out of those long summer days on the trail.
Read Morecamping gear list
We are self-proclaimed gear junkies. We love having the right “stuff” to make any adventure a little easier or more fun. Across countless camping outings we have discovered that quality gear is important in order to make the camping experience a blast.
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