No matter who you are, becoming a parent will change you.
But I am a firm believer that change can always be for the better – you just
have to make it so. When our son, Ryder, came into our lives, we treated it
just as such; he was becoming a part of OUR life of adventure, and we were
determined to share this lifestyle with our new munchkin once he was born.

Over the past year and a half since he arrived, we have been
on countless adventures. On days that we can stay on the mellow side of life,
we take Ryder with us; to show him new places and experiences and to try to
teach him patience as well. When our work or goals are more extreme-focused,
Ryder stays with his grandparents while Andy and I head off together as a
couple, just like we used to prior to becoming parents.

Andy and I both work full-time, and although it can be very
tough to juggle everything at times, we split the responsibilities of our
little munchkin and our crazy work schedules instead of using daycare. 90% of
the time I can work from my home office, alongside 3 very energetic “helpers”:
Ryder, Lukos (our old, wise dog) and Chopper (our not so wise, but very sweet,
Puppy) – Which is awesome, but can also be an absolute ball of chaos all at
the same time.

In the late afternoons on many days of the week, after Ryder
gets up from his second nap (and after I’ve hopefully gotten a nice chunk of
work done for the day) we like to head out to the mountains together. After
throwing all of the adventure necessities in the Subaru, we’ll start driving
west, towards trails, lakes and a few hours of freedom as a family.

Some days we find ourselves running on the trail along the
Tieton River, Ryder on one of our back’s, all snuggled in his Deuter pack.
Other days, we’ll jump on our mountain bikes, and have a mellow pedal on the
local cross-country trails. And when the heat cranks up, we’ll go to Rimrock
Lake to cool off in it’s crisp waters or to get in some paddle time on our
SUPs. But no matter where we spent our adventure that day, we always take a few
moments while on the trail or at a beautiful view point to take in the beauty
around us – to have a snack, to chug some water, to enjoy that Bale Breaker beer that I always throw in my pack just in case our taste buds (or someone’s
we meet along the way) are craving a brew.

We are truly lucky to live so close to so many beautiful and
accessible locales to explore – and with sunshine most days of the year, the
blue skies can’t help but call your name to get outside, even if only for a few
moments. I have so many women ask me, “How do you do it all?” Well, it’s simple
– We make sure that we live every day to the fullest… and we do that by making
time for what matters to us the most: family. Yes, we have a work schedule and
due dates - and sometimes that leaves Andy and I with very little sleep and
rest when we try to add in “adventure time”, but it’s worth it when we get to
see the wonder and excitement in Ryder’s eyes when we take him to the trails,
to the ocean or even when Andy just takes him on a ride around our property on
our old Honda 90.

But as they say, life is short… and we want to spend as much
of it as we can with the people we love doing the things that we love. So if you
see Andy and I on the trail or on the mountain with Ryder on one of our backs,
say hi, share your story with us, and for goodness sakes, if you are of age,
ask us if that Bale Breaker “adventure beer” in our pack is still up for grabs…
because if it is, we’ll gladly share it with you, every single time.

Orcas Island has been a part of my life as long I can
remember. Every summer in August since I was a wee baby, we have spent at least
a week on the shores of this magical isle, and every summer it’s always
extremely hard to say goodbye at the end of our stay. In fact, this tradition didn’t
just start when my brother and I were young - my family has been staying in the
same cabins at North Beach Inn every single year since my grandfather was a
baby. And let me tell you, not a lot has changed at this “resort” since way
back then. There’s still no television, no radio, no Internet, only Canadian
cell phone coverage (Yay, Canada! Woo-Hoo!), couches that smell like wet dogs,
beds that are probably older than me (I’m 32 for the age reference there), no
fans in the bathrooms (Costco-sized Matchbox, anyone?), paper-thin walls
(“Sounds like Little Timmy had too many beans for dinner again!”), chuck-holes
the size of small Volkswagens on the mile–long drive down to the beach resort, sheets
that were probably bought used at the local thrift store for 99 cents a pop 15
years ago… need I go on?

Okay, right now you are probably asking yourself, “Why the
heck do ya’ll keep going back?!” It’s simple, really. Those crappy beds are where
I slept summer after summer next to my brother after hours of adventuring on
the beach; those paper thin walls were the reason that I still remember the
sound that my grandpa made walking down the hall when he got up early every
morning to have a cup of coffee and watch the sun come up (his nickname was “He
Who Walks on Feathers” – I’m pretty sure that’s what they call me now), and the
quiet, calm, relaxed atmosphere that comes with being unplugged and begs for
you to have an ice cold beer at noon while reading your new novel, well that is
paradise for someone like me who normally works 7 days a week and tries to
always be available for my clients.

Last summer, Ryder was just over a month old when we took
him on his first family trip to Orcas, but this past August when we headed back,
he was a year older and he was ready - to adventure, to explore and to enjoy
all of the magic that Orcas has to offer to all those willing to take the time
to look. For the very first time in his life, he saw starfish, jellyfish, warmed
himself by the beach campfire and tried s’mores with his cousins. He quickly
fell in love with airplanes as they flew overhead, landing and taking off every
few minutes at the nearby airport. He sat in his first fire truck after the
Pancake Breakfast at the Orcas Island Fire Station…  and then never wanted to get out of said fire
truck (I’m pretty sure he would still be there if it were his choice). He
played in the sand and rocks on the beach for hours, watched us wrangle
Dungeness Crab, and got attached to boats in a major way – whether he was
pretending to drive the dingy from shore or whether we were gliding across the
water in the big boat motoring around the island, this little nugget was one
happy camper.

Sure, we could have gone to Disneyland or to some other
destination resort during the summers when I was growing up, but as a family, we
chose to come here instead. The salt air, the beautiful agate-filled beach, the
breathtaking sunrises and sunsets over the water, the smell of PNW meat on the BBQ
and the taste of Bale Breaker Brewing Company beer after a long day on the boat
trying to snag a salmon… these moments for us are it. They are what OUR family summer
vacation is all was all about.

Now that I’m all grown-up (well, in theory) and have a
little family of my own, it’s my son’s turn to make his own childhood memories
here, summer after summer, just as the rest of my family has since the early
1900s. For the last two years, we have hiked around Mountain Lake at Moran
State Park, Ryder and a packed lunch in tow – and have inadvertently started
new tradition that I know we will continue to do together as a family, year
after year. The adults also embarked on a new tradition this year after Ryder
went to bed for the night: Us youngins’ taught our parents, our aunt and uncle
and our grandma how to play “flip-cup” and “beer pong” – and let me tell you, I
personally haven’t laughed that hard in a very, very long time. The competition
was fierce!

And as we get settled back in Yakima after our time on the
west side of the mountains, I look back at the photos from our last two summers
on Orcas Island that we shared with Ryder and the rest of my family. I feel so
blessed for each memory, each adventure that we will now never forget. But for now,
as summer slowly turns into fall, we look towards what adventures the next
season will bring… and when summer comes around to warm our bones after the
long, cold, winter, my mind will start to wander to that dusty, jarring road
down to North Beach Inn, and I will immediately get a smile on my face - because
in just a few short months, I will be at my childhood home once again… beer in hand, my family by my side, and perfectly toasted s’mores in my belly. :)