I always knew Damien was an outdoors, camp in the woods kind of guy. The first time I met him was on a weekend group camping trip. He snowboarded, hiked and even backpacked (this was in the Rocky Mountains where there are grizzly bears). He must of seen potential in me because outdoor adventure wasn't my natural inclination. Although when we met I was very active and exercised a lot, mostly outdoors, so I guess that was good enough at the time.

When we were first married money was tight, really tight. I was a student still and we had student and car loans. The mountains were a good 4.5 hour drive away and we didn't have enough money to get all the gear we wanted/needed. I worked in the summers and for many other reasons we didn't get out into "the woods" as much as we wanted.

Then came our first child, followed a year later by a move to New Jersey of all places (not exactly known for it's wilderness), and then another baby. Backpacking, camping and even hiking were put on hold for a couple years. How I survived these years without a weekly respite in the woods I do not know. My husband took up road cycling, an urban adventure activity. I poured my life into raising babies, keeping home and getting together with friends who were doing the same.

After our 2 year stint in NJ we ended up in Maine. Very long story. We had another baby. Damien spent Saturday mornings cycling, I walked most days and as the the babies grew into toddlers and then preschoolers I started to take them on little hikes in parks around town. The kids and I loved it.

Then one fateful summer we joined our church's family camping trip. But we didn't have any gear because we sold the little we did have during our years in NJ. So we borrowed from gracious friends. After 2 nights in the rain with three little kids, one in diapers, we decided to call it quits. The whole thing. Camping clearly wasn't for us. To be comfortable and dry in the woods required good gear and good gear cost money that at the time we felt we didn't have.

I don't remember if it was later that summer or the next summer when we changed our minds (thank God!). We decided that we wanted go places with our kids, see "stuff" and do "things" and the cheapest way to do that was to camp. Sure gear was going to cost money but it was cheaper than motels rooms or even hostels.

Around this time Damien gave up cycling, which he had started doing competitively. It took too much time and resources away from the family. But he had to do something. He has a strong natural drive, and at the risk of sounding sexist I believe most men do, for adventure. When he gave up competitive cycling he still wanted and needed an active hobby but this time he wanted to do it with us, together as a family. So this is when we started thinking about hiking.

It's been a slow journey and has evolved as we've gone. What started 4 summers ago as decision to camp has evolved into pursuing an active outdoors life with our children. As we've outgrown gear we replaced it with backpacking equipment so we can meet that next goal. Other equipment we have sold or gifted and replaced with smaller stuff that will fit in our car and soon backpacks.

We don't have a lot of money so every clothing, hobby and even kitchen equipment purchase we make is evaluated in terms of meeting our family's goal of living an adventurous life. We buy everyday clothes for our whole family that will meet the rigors of outdoor activities. We scour sale racks at outdoor outfitters and have designated a budget for supporting these goals.

Damien keeps pushing (in a good ways) our boundaries. He has visions and dreams for our family that I would never imagine. Whereas my tendencies lean to creating domestic contentment he works at taking us out of our everyday comfort zones (think running water and flush toilets) and in doing so has enriched our family immensely.

I am so thankful for him. I had no idea what I was missing. Hours each week in the woods or mountains restores my spirit. It keeps me physically and spiritually healthy. And that's just me! My everyday job is raising 3 children. I've come to realize they need the outdoors. They need space to run, streams to cross, rocks to climb, challenges to overcome and minor discomforts (under our watchful and safety conscious eyes) now and then to build physical and emotional fortitude. When we miss our weekly time outdoors together due to weather or unforeseen events it affects all of us negatively. The kids are antsy, I feel spiritually drained, and Damien gets out of sorts.

We need this time together outdoors. I dare say every family needs time together outdoors.

And that's how we got where we are. A bumpy, windy, detoured path. Five years ago I hadn't anticipated being here and no doubt I can't even imagine where we're going.