I’m a big, big fan of valuing my time. I’m an even bigger fan of paying someone to do something, even if I can do it, when I think that my time is worth more to me than what I’m paying.

That’s why I’ve paid someone to cut my lawn for the last two years or so. That is until we recently needed a new septic tank…

Since the money tree in the backyard must have been taken by the previous owners, it’s back to doing some things around the house that I previously paid people to take care of.

Cutting the grass being near the top of the list.

Getting Back In The Groove

Like I mentioned, it had been about two years or so since I cut the grass myself and the lawnmower hasn’t been fired up once in that time. But, being the truly gifted mechanic that I am (he says tongue firmly placed in cheek), I was able to get it running without much trouble. Internal combustion engines really only need three things – fuel, air and ignition. Make sure that your engine gets those three things and you’ll cure 90% of what ails you when it comes to engine trouble.

But, after a cut or two, I was noticing that the blades of grass just weren’t getting a clean cut to them. A quick look under the lawnmower showed that the blade was in pretty rough shape. Time for a replacement.

Basics Of Changing A Lawnmower Blade

For just about the price I paid for a weekly lawn service, I was able to bring my lawnmower back into top form. Here’s how I did it:

1. Safety first – you want to rule out the possibility of a rogue start-up while your working on the blade so disconnect the spark plug.
2.  As you tilt the lawnmower on its side, you’re going to want to catch the fuel as it spills out. Make sure you have a catch pan underneath the fuel cap. If the pan is clean, you can probably reuse the fuel. If not, make sure you properly dispose of it.
3.  Using a sturdy glove to protect your hand from the blade, take a first grasp of it with one hand. With the other hand, use your socket wrench or box end wrench to loosen the bolt holding the blade on.
4.  Once the bolt is loose, remove it from the drive. The blade should pop off at this point.
5.  Place the new blade back on making sure that the sharp edge is on the bottom side where it will cut the grass.
6.  Hand tighten the bolt and align any washers that you may need. I was able to reuse the centering plate that came on my mower, but you may need to use some of the hardware provided with the new blade.
7.  Grasp the blade with your gloved hand and tighten the bolt using a socket wrench or box end wrench.
8.  Flip the lawnmower back over onto its wheel, replace the fuel and reconnect the spark plug. You’re ready to go!

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This process is a relatively easy way to turn your beat up lawnmower back into a lean, mean grass cutting machine. These easy steps along with some simple maintenance to the spark plug and air filter should keep your machine running well for years to come.

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What You Missed This Week

Here’s a list of the original content we posted on the site this week:

• How Can You Know The Stove Will Burn Without Touching It? - Kids can either be coddled or allowed to learn about the world through trial and error. What kind of dad are you – overprotective or willing to let them learn?
• Keep Your Head In The Game!- A day of distractions leads me to realize how much I let them run my life and interfere with my kids. This self-realization manifests itself into a challenge!

In The News

In addition to our original content, we passed along a few gems from the world at large this week:

• Some people actually think that we should stop babying our kids and – GASP! – let kids play like kids. What a novel concept!
• Maurice Sendak, author of the wildly famous children’s book “Where The Wild Things Are” passed away this week at the age of 83. This book was a favorite of mine as a kid and is currently a favorite of my kids. God bless Mr. Sendak and thank you for all the great memories.
• We learn that dinosaur farts may have contributed to global warming. Hey, the more you know…
• Getting asked out on your first date is a monumental moment in any little girls life – but it’s hell on dear old Dad!

Like what you see here? Want more? Be sure to stop by our Facebook Page and become a fan!

Thanks for reading! If you would like to leave a comment on this post, please click here: Weekly Wrap-Up | May 12, 2012

Holy crap has distraction taken hold today. I came home from a doctor’s visit around about two hours ago with every intention of sitting down and writing a post for the site…and I’m just getting started.

First, I had to eat lunch.

Then I had to try on the new neoprene calf support sleeve I got from Amazon.

Then I absolutely had to skip over my Google Reader followed by checking all my email addresses.

Of course, at that point, I needed to use check ALL my social media pages. And, obviously, I had to respond to a few things on each site…which lead down the rabbit hole of reading some of the absurd links people post on them – did I really need to see that Durex is selling staying power pillows?

I followed all this up with making a cup of coffee and downloading OmmWriter so that I wouldn’t be distracted while writing.

Phew! I’m tired just thinking about all of that!

All of these distractions got me thinking about how, as a dad, sometimes I put off the things I should be doing for no good reason.

Avoid The Kids – We All Do It

Don’t lie to yourself – you’ve done it.

Your kids are quasi-occupied and you pick up your iPhone with the intent of checking something quickly‘ Next thing you know, a half-hour has passed, the witching hour is upon you and the kids have horns coming out the side of their heads…pitchforks aren’t far behind.

Maybe it’s not an iPhone – maybe it’s the latest Sports Illustrated issue or the daily newspaper. Or maybe you just want to see how that TV show or ballgame ends.

Whatever it is, you became engrossed in it and it distracted you from your kids.

First off, it’s OK. You’re human. You’re gonna fuck up.

And you know what? You might even like it.

I’ll fully admit that there are times when my kids are quiet (and sometimes when they’re not) that I just check out mentally. I’m not proud of it in retrospect but, in that moment, I’m enjoying the hell out of it. I’m in my own world and they’re someone else problem. I know it sounds horrible to say it that way, but don’t tell me the thought hasn’t crossed your mind at least once.

Consequences Of Our Actions

Think about what we’re missing though.

Our kids are only young once – and only for a short time. Is that email really that important? Can the article you desperately need to read wait until after bedtime? Haven’t you ever heard of DVR? Does any of that stuff in any way, shape or form more important than building a relationship with your mini-me?

On top of what we’re missing as parents, think about what message we are sending to our kids. They’re only important to us sometimes? They don’t deserve our unbridled attention? Or, my absolute favorite, that ignoring people is acceptable behavior?

Yeah, that last one definitely won’t come back to bite you in the ass!

For better or worse, we – as parents – are the role models our kids look up to. Moreover, as fathers, we’re what our sons aspire to be and who our daughters aspire to be with.

If you’re present but not really there, your son is going think that he can ignore his family when he’s grown up and your daughter is going to expect minimal attention from her spouse.

Break The Cycle – A One Month Challenge

Here’s my challenge to you:

QUIT! Cold Turkey!

For the next month, I challenge you to never have your phone in your hand when your kids are around. Ditch the newspaper when you’re with them. Put the magazine aside and keep the TV turned off when they’re awake. Engage your kids, make them part of your life in a way that you never have before.

I’m going to attempt this approach for the next month. What do I expect to gain from it? I don’t know. But I’ll bet you a six-pack that at the end of the month, I’ll have a better, more engaged relationship with my kids. On top of that, I’ll bet you another six-pack that the relationship I have with my wife will be stronger.

Do it for yourself. Do it for your kids. Do it for your family.

Their childhood is already short enough – don’t miss any more of it than you need to by being checked out.

photo credit: David Robert Wright via photo pin cc

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Earlier this week, Srini over at The Skool of Life wrote and article entitled The Most Important Factor In Finding Work You Love. In this post, he talks about how society seems to be concentrating on guiding people towards the the safe alternative and avoiding the riskier, but maybe better, alternative.

The article got me thinking about being a dad and how we have to constantly battle the urge to keep our kids safe with the need to let them learn on their own. Do I let my kids do stuff that I know won’t work out for them, or maybe even hurt them, just so they’ll learn from the experience? What if I just prevent the situation and save them the pain? Would they learn what they need to learn?

The short answer to that question is No. You can only learn through trial and error. Do you learn how to write without scribbling on a piece of paper first? No. You scribble and scribble and eventually the scribbles take form. Before you know it, you’re writing full sentences.

It’s the same battle us dads fight. Let your kids learn the hard way – by making mistakes and self-correcting – or let them live life in a more protected state and maybe, just maybe, they’ll get lucky and pick up on what they need to know. But, maybe they’ll learn to rely to much on you and become lazy kids.

My father looked out for me, but he let me take my bumps too. And I do the same with my kids. I guide them in the right direction, but I’ll let them fail when I know the consequences aren’t dire for them. Leaning over a chair that will tip and potentially crack your head open? Damn right I’m going to stop you. Running around on the hardwood floor in socks where you might slip and land on your butt? No problem. You’ll learn.

It’s not just the physical stuff though – there’s a lot of of emotional and psychological things that your kids will go through in their lives. How will you react? Will you let them go through the trials and tribulations of broken friendships and puppy-love romances so they can learn how to handle the day-to-day trials of social life? Or will you protect them from the world – survey their friends, rate their romantic interests and guide them down the ‘safe’ path?

Every dad will have a slightly different reaction in every scenario. Some dads will be more protective in nature – shielding their kids from the evils of the world. Others will be more apt to let their kids find the world – scraped knees and broken hearts included. The dad who safely navigates these tough decision is the one who is going to have the best chance of having a well adjusted kid.

Are you that dad?

Are you willing to let your kid learn the stove is hot by touching it?

photo credit: The Suss-Man (Mike) via photo pin cc

Let us know what kind of dad you are in the comments or on our Facebook Page.

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Everyone is trying to save a buck these days and I’m sure you’re no different. Here at the BDR Estate, we’re trying to not only save a buck but eat healthy as well. One does not always make the other easier to do.

So, how do we accomplish this feat when it comes to our daily lunches? How do we avoid the temptation of quick and cheap fast food lunches while spending minimal coin and providing maximum nutrition?

The answer is that we try and make a hearty protein that we can batch into different meals relatively easy.

Enter Big Dan’s Baked Chicken recipe.

This recipe is incredibly easy to follow and provides you with enough chicken to last the entire week. Once you’ve made the chicken, the options you have at your disposal are endless: throw it in a sandwich, chop it up with rice and beans in a burrito, eat it as-is with a side or – my personal favorite – cut it into strips and throw it on a salad.

All cost-conscious AND healthy options. Let’s get rolling here:

Ingredients

• Family Pack of Chicken Breast
• Olive Oil
• Paprika
• Salt
• Pepper
• Sprigs of Thyme

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425^oF.
2. Rinse the chicken breast and pat dry. Trim the fat off as required.
3. Liberally cover the bottom of a Pyrex casserole pan with olive oil.
4. Place all the chicken breasts in the pan and coat with olive oil.
5. Dust the chicken breasts with the paprika, salt and pepper.Press dry ingredients into each piece of chicken.
6. Flip the chicken breasts and apply the paprika, salt and pepper. Press dry ingredients into each piece of chicken.
7. Flip the chicken breasts so that the meaty side is facing up and place a sprig of thyme on each one.
8. Place the pan into the oven and let cook for 30-40 minutes until the internal temperature of the largest one reads 160^oF.
9. Remove the pan from the oven, dispose of the thyme sprigs and place the chicken breasts between two layers of paper towels. Allow to cool.
10. Refrigerate and use as desired.

The key to this entire dish is allowing the chicken breast to dry between the paper towels. This step absorbs any of the residual oils from the cooking and will enable the chicken to last longer in a refrigerated state. If you don’t do this step, you will end up with slimy chicken in a much, much shorter time frame.

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Tweaks

Your imagination is the only limit on this recipe.

I’ve used a cumin and lime spice mixture, a more Asian influenced marinade (soy sauce, ginger and some spices) or an Italian-inspired spice blend (oregano, basil, parsley). Play with the recipe and see what works for you.

The bottom line is that this recipe is a quick and inexpensive way to make a good amount of protein to feed the family for the week. You’ll stop wasting your money on lunches in no time!

Did you try this recipe? Tell me about it in the comments or on my Facebook Page!

Thanks for reading! If you would like to leave a comment on this post, please click here: How To Make Big Dan’s Baked Chicken

The holidays were always very structured events when I was a little kid. Thanksgiving was at my folks house, the menu was almost identical year to year and dinner was always served at the same time. Christmas and Easter were the same way – same venue, same menu, same itinerary.

Then I grew up and moved away…and married a Jewish girl. My holiday count increased due to the addition of the Jewish holidays. The travel time to my typical holiday dinners increased while the frequency that I attended certain events decreased. And, most importantly, my family grew by two adorable little ‘Cashews.’

The lump sum of all these changes was that my holiday traditions got turned upside down and inside out.

You Do What on Thanksgiving?

What do you mean you don’t eat until 4pm?

Don’t you know that you’re interfering with football at that time?

What? You don’t watch football?!?!

That was just one of the many monkey wrenches that got thrown into my, up until then, rock-solid holiday traditions. To say that it was a culture shock would be putting it mildly.

It took me a little bit of time to get over the fact that Christmas dinner wasn’t always going to be at my parents or that Easter dinner might not always be ham and lasagna. But, exploring the different traditions and making new ones has actually been a pretty fun process.

Making It Your Holiday

The bottom line is that, as we grow up, our childhood traditions evolve with us. As we grow our families, folks get added to the mix and we integrate traditions – adding some, dropping some, modifying others – until we have our own, new traditions.

For instance, my life became very interesting when I married my wife. I had never really known a Jewish person before her, let alone know anything about their customs or traditions. I went from celebrating all the traditional American holidays plus Christmas and Easter to also celebrating Hanukkah, Passover, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Holy culture shock GoyBoy!

But I survived and have enjoyed the process. My eyes have been expanded – along with my wife’s – and we’re better people for it.

Now our Decembers are super busy with Christmas and Hanukkah. 

Most springs, we spend time trying to out how to not eat bread or meat on Fridays when Lent and Passover co-exist – neither of us are big fish people, so this is very complicated.

The best part about owning our holidays is that we get to bring the “older” generation into our traditions – our parents and grandparents get to see the holidays in a new way and experience the holidays (again) with little kids in the picture.

My parents have missed seeing little kids with eyes wide open on Christmas and Easter morning. Now they get to experience that again – and they are happier than ever.

My wife’s folks have the same reaction with the kids on Passover. It’s been a long time since the afikoman has been hidden in their house.

In the end, we own it all. We’ve gone from being guests in our folks homes to hosting holidays at our house, creating our own set of traditions and serving what we want for food.

We adapt the traditions we liked, dump the ones we don’t and make new ones. It’s an iterative thing – we haven’t got it perfect just yet, but it’s getting there.

Enjoy Yourself

Holidays are about family and togetherness. No matter what you do, make sure you surround yourself with the folks you love and it’ll be a special day. No one will remember the food you serve (unless you require a visit from the fire department) or whether the placement and the napkins look good together. They’ll remember all the fun stuff that happens and the personal interaction. Enjoy yourself!

Thanks for reading! If you would like to leave a comment on this post, please click here: Holiday Evolution: Passing On Traditions and Making New Ones

Daughter #1 made me be the bad guy last night…and broke my heart in the process.

The Back Story

The girls have been expanding their vocabulary exponentially lately. Their ability to string words into sentences has grown in parallel to their vocabulary. All of this progression has been great because they can finally hold conversations with us and let us know what they want, need, feel and dream.

It also means they’re able to be smartasses.

The “Incident”

The girls came home from school last night in their typical moods – upbeat but hungry which can quickly turn to chaos quick. Not to be caught in between two dueling toddles, Mrs. BD had dinner ready relatively quickly and all was well. We sat down as a family for a good, healthy meal.

Then Daughter #1 started getting sassy…yup, I used the word sassy.

She started telling my wife that “Mommy needs a timeout” and back-talking when we were asking here to stay in her seat and eat a little chicken.

Long story short, we calmly explained that you don’t talk to Mommy that way and, if she did it again, she’d get a time out.

Guess who proceeded to tell Mommy that she should get a timeout?

Punishment For Your Crime

After the last outburst, I calmly picked her up and took her over to the stairs. I placed her on the stairs and said that she was in timeout because she was not talking in a nice way to Mommy.

Then it happened.

The big eyes welled with tears. The lips turned down and the bottom lip stuck out. Then I heard the most pathetic noise I had ever heard in my life. In their 2.5+ years, I have heard my girls cry…alot. But I have never heard such a pathetic, mommy-or-daddy-pick-me-up-because-I’m-so-super-sad cry like this one.

Natural instinct told me to pick her up, hold her tight and tell her that everything would be OK. But I couldn’t. Here I was trying to instill manners into her by discipling poor behavior. How could I pick her up and coddle her without destroying every bit of control I had over the situation?

I walked back to the table feeling like the world’s worst father. She continued to wail for probably thirty seconds or so and then just occasionally whimpered for the next minute or two until my wife went over and let her out of the timeout. To her credit, Daughter #1 apologized to both of us (after a slight prodding).

Did My Parents Always Feel This Way?

It got me to thinking though – did my folks always feel like this (or worse) when they had to reprimand me as a child? Does it get any easier? Do I eventually become immune to it? I couldn’t believe the effect those alligator tears and that big bottom lip had on me. No one told me parenting wouldn’t be fair.

I always knew that being a father would be the toughest job I would ever take on, but I don’t think I expected the emotional strain it can cause. Do any of you have any tips for dealing with that part of it?

Does this article resonate with you? Got any tips on how to deal with kids who (knowingly or unknowingly) guilt trip you when you discipline them?

Let us know how you handle it in the comments below or, better yet, like us on The Big Dan’s Ramblings Facebook Page and leave a comment there.

photo credit: Andy M Taylor via photopin cc

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Finding out I was having twins girls may have been the single most significant life event I had experienced up until that point.

I’m an engineer by trade – that means I’m a mathematical guy. I understand numbers – percentages, probability, statistics…that kind of thing.

So when I found out my wife and I were not only pregnant, but expecting twins, my mind immediately began crunching numbers. How likely was I to have a son? Knowing that they wouldn’t be identical, the probability worked out to a 75% chance that I would have at least one son!

I know it’s not PC to be excited about something like this, but I was. I’m a guy’s guy and I wanted a Little Dan to pass my knowledge, experience and passions down to. Plus, if I did have a girl, I wanted her to have a brother to protect her.

What?!?!

My wife and I went into the ultrasound with a sense of excitement. We were going to find out just exactly how our family would change…and what color(s) I got to paint the nursery. I also walked in with a smile on my face wondering if I was going to have one or two sons – I mean I had a 75% chance of having at least one son! How could I possibly not have one with those kind of odds?

The technician was thorough in her duties, making sure to check and double check every single reading. So far, everything looked good. Two healthy heartbeats which we got to hear (an amazing thing!) and all the right bits in all the right places.

The came the moment of truth:

“Would you like to know what your having?” she asked, almost routinely.

My wife and I nearly jumped out of our skin saying “YES!” We might have been able to holdout and be surprised at the birth with one child, but we just needed to know with two on the way.

The next sentence changed my life:

Dad, you better get a second job. You’ve got two little ladies coming your way!

Anger Management

I’d be lieing if I said that little announced didn’t knock the wind out of me for half a second. But I think I rebounded pretty well.

“How can you tell?” I asked.

The technician proceeded to show how the ultrasound showed girls bits and pieces versus boys. These were definitely girls. And one of them even had the audacity to pee while she was showing me!

I don’t remember much about the doctor’s office after that. I know we made sure to triple check that they were healthy and that everything was going as well as it should be. But I was not in the same mood as I had been when I came in – not nearly the same. In my head, my world had been turned upside down.

My emotions went from disbelief to anger by the time I got to the truck. I hate to admit it, but I actually punched the steering wheel when I got into my truck. What was I going to do with two girls? I don’t know the first thing about girls – I can hardly figure out my wife! I don’t know about princesses and unicorns and hairdos and clothes. I know about trucks and trains and sports and being a man. I was even worried about dealing with the differences in plumbing!

Well Now, That Was Dumb!

The anger I had lasted until about the next morning. I woke up and realized two things: A) we were being blessed with not one, but two, healthy children and B) just because I don’t know about girl stuff doesn’t mean I can’t learn and just because they’re girls doesn’t mean they can’t be interested in traditionally male activities.

So now I’m a father of two beautiful, precocious, adorable, baffling two-year-old girls. And I couldn’t be happier. I’ve danced like a princess with them. I’ve dressed up with them. I’ve played tea and princess and kitchen with them. I’ve also played trucks and trains and tee ball with them. And I’m a better man for it all!

I think the biggest part of my anger was that, deep down, I knew that since we were having twins, this might be my only chance to have a son. But, in retrospect, who cares? I have a two healthy kids. And, I have two kids who will always, regardless of age, be able to look at me adoringly and say “I love you Daddy!” I don’t think a son would do that later in life…I know I don’t with my father.

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Thanks for reading! If you would like to leave a comment on this post, please click here: The 3 Phases of Finding Out We Were Having Twin Girls

My wife left for a five-day Florida vacation on Saturday which left me flying solo with two-year old twin girls. Daddy Day Care indeed!

Two year olds (they’ll be three in July) are a percular bunch. The change from turning two to a few months away from three has been amazing. Six months ago, this five-day stretch would have been very dreaded. The girls didn’t know how to really communicate exactly what they want…now they won’t shut up! And I say that with all the love I have.

Fortunately for me, the girls can articulate exactly what they want. But, they can also articulate exactly EVERYTHING that comes across their minds. Imagine having running audible Facebook status updates for two two-year olds and you’re halfway to understanding where I’m at.

I’ve always complained about babysitting at work, now I’m not so sure which is more frustrating. The last two days have been a whirlwind of food prepping, diaper changing, house cleaning, tear wiping, argument stopping, question answering, game playing and more question answering. It’s been awesome…and incredibly frustrating!

All this hoopla brings me up to my theory on why men were hunters. Picture this scenario:

Two cave people, let’s call them Fredda and Wilma for shits and giggles, have a little baby – Pebbles. At first, Fred and Wilma are super happy – little Pebbles is the cutest thing and life is grand.

Then little Pebbles learns her first word. And then another one. And another. Eventually little Pebbles is speaking in sentences and every thought that comes across her mind is an audible barrage to Fred and Wilma’s ears – the fact that it’s echoing in the hollowness of the tunnel doesn’t help.

Finally, one day Fred snaps. The incessant babbling and lack of protein has driven him up the wall. They needed a dino bbq and someone has to hunt the dinosaur. Fred pulls his trump card – he’s bigger and stronger than Wilma so he lays it down. “We need a dino and I’m the one who’s going to hunt it! You stay here with the baby!”

Fred walks out and starts hunting dinosaurs. He quickly finds out that there’s other dads out there who are in the same exact boat.

That’s where I’m at…and I’ve still got three more days.

All that being said, I love the time I’m spending with my girls. I really am building a bond with them that I seemed to have lost. Just tonight, M came up to me as I was changing her for bed, gave me a big hug and whispered “I love you Daddy!” in my ear. It made my day!

Life can be funny sometimes. Maybe being forced to stay in the cave is helping make me a better dad and make my relationships with my Pebbles even stronger.

photo credit: San Diego Shooter via photopin cc

Thanks for reading! If you would like to leave a comment on this post, please click here: Daddy Day Care – Proof Why Men Were Hunters

Getting your kids outside is not be the easiest task in the world. Computers, TVs, video game systems and the comfort of conditioned environments make getting the kiddos from the couch to the sunshine a chore. But, in the end, getting your kids – your entire family for that matter – outside will build some of the greatest memories of their childhood.

I’ve found two major keys to getting my kids outside: get them excited and practice, practice, practice!

Get Them Excited!

Kids are always looking forward to the next great adventure. So take advantage of that! Get them excited about what you’re going to do on your next big (or small) outdoor adventure.

If you’re a hiker, break out a trail map or that old isue of Backpacker magazine and talk to them about where you’re going. Show them the trail and what major landmarks you’ll be seeing. If you’re going to take lunch somewhere, tell them about the beautiful location you’ve picked. Or, better yet, find pictures – either online or through other resources – and show them where you’re going. Pictures, as it’s said, are worth a thousand words and definitely keep the attention of little kids.

Likewise, if you’re a snowboarder or skier, whip out the trail map and organize your plan of attack. Figure out which runs you want to hit in the morning, where you’re going to do lunch, and the must hits that you absolutely have to hit before the day is over. Again, pictures rule here. Find pictures of the mountain and of people raging down it. Show it to the little groms and get them stoked on ripping it up with dear old dad.

You’re overall goal here is to get the kids amped on the outdoor adventure that is yet to come. Get them talking about it, telling their friends and family about. You want them at the point where they almost (almost, I said!) can’t sleep the night before you leave. Excitement breads excitement and getting them amped up on this trip will mean they’ll be ready to devour whatever activity you have planned.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

What make a kid happier than making their parent proud of them? Not much. So spend time with them and practice whatever skill you’ll be using.

Canoeing? Sit on the couch and teach them how to paddle. Snowboarding? Try tossing the balance board out into the yard and playing around on that. Camping? Why not teach them how to start a fire in your house’s fireplace? Hell, I’ve even turned on a snowboard video and moved my little ones around to mimic the flipping and spinning that the pro on TV is doing. They love it!

Whatever you do, make sure you emphasize how important the skill is to their enjoyment in the outdoors and how much you are looking forward to seeing them do it on your adventure. They’ll love that their learning something new. But, and probably more importantly, they’re going to love the fact that they get to help out or keep up better on the next adventure. Contributing is super important to them and they’ll love that you’re letting them do that!

Overall Guidance

Get the kids involved, get them excited! Make them want to go and give them a skill set that they can use and contribute with. Your outdoor adventure will be far more enjoyable when you’re kids are geeked out on what you’re going to do and are amped on where you’re going to do it!

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