Tag: Thanksgiving

Motherhood Moments: Disability in the Outdoors

This week’s #ThankfulforFamilies #OutdoorFamilies Instagram Bonanza got a bit of my Thanksgiving Spirit flowing early and it’s made me think about disabilities in the outdoors. Continue reading “Motherhood Moments: Disability in the Outdoors”

Third Annual #ThankfulForFamilies #OutdoorFamilies Instagram Contest

It’s that time of year again! Time to get excited for THANKSGIVING!

glacier-7-of-22Thanksgiving may not have the razzle dazzle of Christmas or the promised sugar rush of Halloween, but it’s one of my favorite holidays. Taking time to be grateful? I think everyone can get behind that.

Continue reading “Third Annual #ThankfulForFamilies #OutdoorFamilies Instagram Contest”

#ThankfulforFamilies #OutdoorFamilies Giveaway!

I feel so blessed looking back on all the outdoor fun my mountain family had this year. This Thanksgiving I’m teaming up with 20 awesome outdoor family bloggers to share the gratitude love. You know what that means! Giveaways!


We want to flood the internet with our #OutdoorFamilies and #ThankfulforFamilies Instagram photos. Share your favorites on Instagram for a chance to win some great prizes.

Enter to win the #ThankfulForFamilies #OutdoorFamilies giveaway!


Steps  to Enter:
  1. Post a NEW photo of your outdoor family on Instagram making sure to include both #ThankfulForFamilies AND #OutdoorFamilies and tell us why you love your family!
  2. Follow ALL of our awesome participating hosts to win! Tap on MY photo(@YOURINSTAGRAMNAME)  to see where to go next. Follow that host, and find THEIR awesome prize in their feed. Tap on their photo to see where to go next. Repeat until you have come full circle.
  3. Check out ALL the awesome giveaways and make a comment (one per photo) on the prize(s) you want to win!

Giveaway entry rules:
  • Contest will run from November 19-30, 2015.
  • Entrants must be a resident of US or Canada
  • Entrants’ Instagram account must be a public account.
  • Entrants must post a new, original, and taken by you photo (a re-posted photo or tagging an old photo will disqualify you) to Instagam of their family, or members of their family, outdoors.
  • All photos entered in the contest must be tagged with BOTH #OutdoorFamilies AND #ThankfulForFamilies.
  • Entrants must comment on Instagram on the specific prize they are entering to win. Photographs of prizes will be distributed among all the hosts’ Instagram feeds. Entrants need to only comment ONCE per prize. Additional comments DO NOT equal additional entries.
  • Entrants may post a photo once per day to their Instagram feeds for additional entries, up to  12 entries total. All photos must use the two contest hashtags.
  • All photo entries must be submitted by 10 pm MST on November 30th.
  • All winners will be chosen randomly from all submitted entries at the end of the week and announced on each of the blogs after December 1st. Notifying comments will also be left on the winning photos on Instagram.
  • Hosts will do their best to contact winners. If prizes are not claimed within 48 hours of notification, the prize will go to the next winner.
What you can win:
**PLEASE note prizes have various shipping capabilities which are described below**
Participating Bloggers (who worked hard to round up these great prizes!):
*Make sure you check out all of these great blogs!*

  2. The Adventures in Parenthood Project: http://www.AdventurousParents.com
  5. Outdoor Families Magazine: http://www.OutdoorFamiliesOnline.com
  7. The Mommy Hiker: http://www.MommyHiker.com
  8. Rockies Family Adventures: http://www.RockiesFamilyAdventures.com
  9. The Kid Project: http://www.KidProject.org
  10. Rockieschick’s Adventures: http://www.Rockies-Chick.com
  11. Play Outside Guide: http://www.PlayOutsideGuide.com
  13. Tales of a Mountain Mama: http://www.TalesOfaMountainMama.com
  16. Colorado Mountain Mom: http://www.ColoradoMountainMom.com
  18. Mountain Mom and Tots: http://www.MountainMomAndTots.com
  20. Colorado Mountain Mom: http://coloradomountainmom.com/

Yummy Yummy! I Love Food!

Given that this week is Thanksgiving I thought it only fitting to express my gratitude for food. I am five months pregnant so food is often on my mind, in my hands, in my belly. The other day as I ate an entire veggie pizza at three in the afternoon I thought about how great it is to eat good food.

I used to work at an inpatient eating disorder clinic where I learned the value of intuitive eating. Eat when you’re hungry. Stop when you’re full. Honor your cravings. It’s amazing that being a little more mindful about food intake allows for a much healthier and happier relationship with it. It’s good to have variety in your diet, including desserts and fried food. It’s best to listen to how your body feels when you eat and evaluate how the food tastes.

I wasn’t always able to do this – in fact just a few months ago the thought of food my my stomach roil. Morning sickness (which is an inaccurate moniker to say the least) morphed my perceptions about food so that I despised it. It was fuel, nothing more. Now I am grateful to have the joy of eating back in my life. There are just too many tasty things out there not to love.

My family is not without obstacles related to food. Big E has serious food allergies to wheat, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts, meaning our family meals have adjusted drastically to accommodate. The stress of stabbing your child with an EpiPen is something I don’t wish on anyone and although it has taken years, we are now at a place where his allergies don’t affect our daily lives much anymore.

There have even been benefits. I learned how to bake gluten free recipes. We eat home cooked meals daily. Since he’s not allergic to any fruits or vegetables we eat more of those than cheap snack foods.

With Thanksgiving just a day away I hope you all can find joy in the food you have to prepare. I’m grateful for our little garden where we can grow our own food and for the amazing variety of meals available in this modern world. What’s your favorite food? Happy Thanksgiving