About this blog

I started this blog for two reasons.

ONE – I’ve spent 14+ years working with children, teachers, and citizens alike, helping them understand the importance of the natural world and it’s relation to every subject on earth. I used to think the future lay in the hands of educators like myself. Then I had children.  While I don’t discount the importance of formal educators, I better understand the role of engaged parents. I hope my blog can encourage and empower moms to take full advantage of the experiences the natural world has to offer their kids.

TWO – I know there have to be other Moms like me. Moms who would rather be outside relearning how to light leaves on fire with a magnifying glass than in the house hemming pants; moms who seem to function better on high doses of vitamin D than on the latest episodes of desperate housewives in any city; moms who heard that having children meant the end of adventure, only to find that adventure had merely been re-defined.

 

About Me

I grew up in Southern Utah.  I spent my childhood outside; skin as brown as the dirt, hair bleached blond in the sun. We lived on the edge of town where there was plenty of room to run. My favorite activities consisted of hiking to a cave atop the mountain near our house, tubing down the irrigation canal, hanging out at the pond with the crawdads, skim boarding down at the river, and playing with my (dare I admit it?) barbies.

Being the daughter of a biology teacher, education and nature have always seemed like complimentary subjects to me–nature is a way to teach any subject, providing a wonderful resource that captivates all the senses and excites the imagination. I suppose this is what drove me to pursue a degree in Environmental Education.

I met the father of my children, Joe, my last semester of college.  I was more interested in kayaking than my g.p.a., had just spent a summer camping and hiking in the desert, and had tan lines on my sandal-wearing feet that lasted until February of the next year.  Joe was living in a water heater closet, drove a rusty bucket of bolts, could start a fire with sticks and could catch lizards with a grass noose. Nearly ten years, one dog, a PhD, and two kids later, we’re still enjoying each other and the adventures we share.

The only thing my kids share in common is that they’re both boys.  Ari is an introvert; he thinks through everything, likes to be clean, can easily be sucked into books, and loves trains.  Isaac (aka Lou), while barley talking, yells his thoughts, likes books because they make a nice sound as the fall off the bookshelf, and is happiest when he’s smearing food in his hair or hurling himself off the back of the couch. Gratefully, they love each other…. so far.