From One Mom to Another: Tips on Disney, Races and Kids

 (Not us): Photo: Montana River Guides Montana has some of the best white water in the nation.  My son loves rafting and outdoors.  He decided to skip the last couple Disney trips so I have found other opportunities to spend time with him.  One of our favorite getaways is spending an afternoon on the river.  We have been rafting together for several years now and love the fact we can get some nice waves within an hour of home.  Hunter could guide us because last year he took the Swiftwater Rescue and Raft Guide Class and guides for a local summer camp, but we don't have a boat.  I haven't purchased one because we aren't sure what Hunter plans to do when he graduates next year so we just book a tour with our favorite local guides. Montana River Guides (MRG) is a local company owned by Mike Johnson, one of the nicest men you will ever meet.  He hires great guides and has a wonderful staff.  They will ensure you are safe and have a gr...

Last weekend I went to Colorado with Skylar.  She was officially a high school graduate, although she has been out of school since November, and we wanted a girls trip.  I decided to pair it with my Skirt Sports Ambassador retreat so off to Boulder we went.  Colorado is beautiful this time of year as you can see from this first photo.   This is the view from my Saturday morning hike that was part of the retreat.  The retreat was a blast!  As a sorority girl and HR professional you would think I would be over my fear of meeting new people, but nope.  I parked the car Saturday morning about three blocks from the park where we were meeting for the hike and it took a good 5 minutes for me to get out.  By the time I had walked the three blocks to the circle of women dressed like me my heart rate was over 120 bpm.  I had read these women's social media post and had tons in common with them but they were all the cool girls and here I was ...

11 Miles to Paradise: http://www.runnersedgemt.com/events/eleven-miles-to-paradise-trail-race/ The second/third weekend in May brings my favorite trail race of the year, 11 Miles to Paradise.  This race is hosted by Runner's Edge Missoula and fills up fast.  In fact, this year it filled up in less than 15 minutes and I was so glad I got in.  Jacob and I ran this year which means we had to leave the small one with nana.  The race kicks off outside of St Regis but you get bussed there from Quinn Hot Springs.  Quinn is a little over an hour drive from Missoula so we leave the house pretty early on Sunday morning.  This year the weather was beautiful and we were excited.  You can tell by the photos below that the weather can go either way.  The best part is that after running a wonderful trail with tons of hills for 10.6 miles you board a bus for a quick ride back to Quinn's and jump into the pools.  There are several pools that are f...

Last Friday I made a huge leap of faith.  I decided that I would join my husband on his business trip to Orlando.  This may not seem like a big deal but for me it means spending a significant amount of money and traveling with only one of my three kids.  I recently went on my first vacation with only one child, my son, and it was great.  He wanted to attend a video game competition in Las Vegas, so I took him.  I am not a video gamer by any means, I just never got past Frogger as a kid.  He loves video games and at 15 he really enjoys that scene.  But back to this trip. This trip gives me the opportunity to travel with just my husband and my youngest.  J has to work two of the 5 days we are there so it will be just me and the littlest one.  I booked five day park hopper tickets so we could enjoy Disney.  It is going to be VERY busy and this isn't a week I would have booked if I was paying for the entire thing but the weather...

There are very few days that I go to bed feeling like I was the best person I could have been, today was one of those days.  What made today perfect?   A couple things:  1.  I got to spend quality time with each of my kids.  2. Each kid made an impact on our family. 3. I did something for myself. 4. The day ended with everyone smiling.   My morning started with a little bit of sleeping in while my husband played video games.  Of course my preschooler doesn't believe in sleeping in and she wanted to play barbies.  So I got up and had coffee and barbies.   I go grocery shopping on the weekends, every weekend.  This is one of those chores that can go either way.  Today was nice because my eldest daughter joined me.  It was just the two of us.  She is fun and was in a good mood.   When we got back it was time to clean up the yard.  Cleaning up after three dogs may not seem like an activity that makes for a perfect da...