An Expert’s Guide to a Summer of Adventure

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Do you ever find yourself in September and looking back over the last 4 months and wondering where the summer went, and how you didn’t get nearly as much done as you had wanted to?

I’ve been there and it’s frustrating! Maddening!!

Now, we’re in a different situation that has given us some perspective. Living overseas, we literally look forward to summer all year – our kids started planning our trip this June last September.  Since we’re traveling the world and exploring new places constantly, we’ve learned just what it take to make adventure happen (and a lot of it)!
Beach 2015-9-12 006

For us, this is the time when we’re back in the US and “at home” in the mountains. We have one simple mission: Pack as much adventure as possible into our 2-3 month stay.

I’m pretty sure that this will be our best summer yet.

While most of it revolves around me being a “single mom” for 6 weeks while Andrew is home working, I’m pretty confident that we can have some amazing adventures without him. In fact, we’re so confident about it, that we’ll be sharing each one of them on Instagram this summer #SummerOfAdventure so make sure you follow us, tag your pictures, and check in frequently in case there are some giveaways going on (wink, wink ;).
(Sneak Peak:  We’ll be kicking our summer tour off early this week as we head to Barcelona where I’ll compete in the Barcelona Ironman 70.3 race, so make sure to check out the awesome time we’re going to have there.)
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Now, to get you off to your own amazing start to summer, we’re here to offer some awesome tips to help you have your
BEST. SUMMER. EVER.

  1. Make a list of things you want to do.

    Beach 2015-9-12 001
    It should be HUGE. So big and awesome that you could never possibly accomplish it all in one summer, but it all goes on the list anyway. Not only will this take out the guess work of “What should we do this weekend?” but will also get you crazy excited about going on adventures with your family. If you’re like us, your list will eventually morph into a bucket list of sorts and start driving your whole year, not just your summer!

  2. Set some goals

    Beach 2015-9-12 074Have you been meaning to teach your daughter to fish for a year, but haven’t gotten around to it? Looking to finally help your son bag his first peak? Want to finally take the kids out on their first camping trip? Write down your goals so that you can prioritize what is most important on your list (and read down to #4 for a great tip on accomplishing goals).
    For us, our big goals are knocking out Ironman 70.3, a mud run, 5k with the kids, a girls only backpacking trip, a trip to Glacier National Park, and some trail rides with Great Grandpa – all things that we’ve been talking about doing for a long time, and are finally going to check off the list!

  3. FILL YOUR CALENDAR!!

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    Photo vis Andreanna Moya Photo via Flickr Creative Commons

    I cannot stress enough how crucial this one is. We are so nuts about this that we have a constant calendar and to-do list sitting on our desk and even though our friends tease us about it, it’s because of that calendar that we’ve been able to have so many amazing adventures (like visiting 18 countries in the last 2 years while still having a regular life and job).   No plan is real until it has a date attached to it on the calendar – the only way things really happen.

    As you do this make sure to be realistic. You don’t want to have a crazy full schedule (even with really awesome stuff) 6 or 7 days a week or you’ll get burned out. Or worse, your kids will get burned out, start revolting, and basically, start making you CRAZY! For us, we’ve found that in our everyday lives, doing something 2 nights a week and then weekend adventures works out well. We also make sure to schedule time in to be around home some weekends for events with friends, lazy days exploring, or completely defeating your children during an epic backyard Nerf gun battle.

*I will be 100% honest when I say that I have a hard time practicing what I preach in this category. Since we are only in the US for a short period, we are constantly on the go – hiking, rafting, camping…pretty much getting our fill of all things outdoor and awesome to get us through the next year of life in the desert! Basically, if I suddenly collapse come July, you’ll know why! HA!!*
  1. Get some help.

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    Photo via Avid4 Adventure

    Let’s be honest, the whole “it takes a village” mentality is what makes the world of outdoor adventure go around. You may want to introduce your kids to rock climbing, but don’t quite know enough to do it on your own. You’d love to get them on the river, but your work schedule doesn’t have time for a paddle session and your weekend family camp out. Or maybe you and your kids just butt heads on some things and you need someone to take the reins for a while. Don’t be afraid to look around to see who can help you out.

    This summer we are thrilled to partner with Avid4 Adventure an amazing summer camp that specializes in exactly that – helping YOU to get YOUR KIDS outdoors. Their goal is to empower and inspire kids through outdoor adventures at their day and overnight summer adventure camps. They want to help shape kids character by connecting them with adventure and giving them the confidence and skills that they need to go out and explore the world around them. Currently based out of Colorado and California, these day and overnight camps are an unconventional approach to the typical summer camp, that helps kids get amazing outdoor skills to help them all throughout their lives. Basically, they have set up a camp that embodies what we’re all about here on Bring The Kids – character, adventure, determination, and courage through outdoor adventuring!

    Home page link: Avid 4 Adventure company logo
    A bit about Avid4 Adventure

  • Avid4 Adventure provides adventure camps in 11 locations:  Colorado (Boulder, Golden, Castle Rock, Stapleton, Washinton Park, Highlands Ranch, Lafayette) and the Bay Area of California (Palo Alto, Saratoga, Oakland, Mill Valley).
  • Campers can choose to have a multi-sport camp where they focus on a different adventure each day (hiking, kayaking, climbing, mountain biking) or a sport specific camp like their popular mountain biking, rock climbing, and kayaking camps.
  • No special skills are necessary. Whether you are a veteran outdoors-kid or a first timer, their instructors are well trained to help each child get the most out of camp.
  • Camp registration starts at $409 here.

With summer just around the corner, you’ll need to act fast to grab some of the last remaining spots, HERE

Stay tuned during early June on Instagram and FB as you can watch what it’s like to go to one of their camps.

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Photo Via Avid4 Adventure

 

About Jessica Averett

Hi, I’m Jessica, a mom of 5 kids and married to my favorite adventure partner. I love to bike, ski, camp and hike. We've visited over 40 countries with our kids, but are equally happy on the road as we are exploring our home state of Utah.

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