Instilling the Love of the Outdoors

There’s something magical about being active outdoors.  I’m not a runner and I don’t even try to play sports but both Nate and I love going for long walks, hiking, doing water activities, even camping (as long as I have an air-mattress…  My chiropractor doesn’t allow me to sleep on the ground).  Now that Caleb no longer hates nature we are trying to instill a love of the outdoors in his spirit too!

While I was pregnant, Nate got an amazing opportunity to buy a two person kayak for a ridiculously low price.  The kayak even came with a removable child’s seat and we knew it was meant to be.  We finally decided Caleb could potentially be old enough to come kayaking with us so we pulled out the kid’s seat, purchased a life vest for his weight, and prayed that he would love it.

Thankfully our little man was over the moon excited!  After a brief frustration with the bulk of his life vest Caleb handled the trip like a champ.  From running his hand through the water to climbing onto his daddy’s lap to eating crackers (because of course I had crackers) our little dude loved it!

It’s a great reminder to me to try things.  I don’t want to feel as though we can’t try to do something as a family simply because I don’t know how Caleb will react!  I can’t put our family life on hold!  I want to start now in getting him excited about the things Nate and I love just like I try to be excited about the things he loves.