March 14, 2019

Savoring the Season with Spring Bucketlist: 2019 Edition

I’m hopping in early with our SPRING BUCKLET LIST, because we are ready! We are ready to say goodbye to snow, and ice, and cold. We are ready to welcome a little color back into our landscape, and can’t wait for the temperatures to warm up…just a bit!

I want to challenge you to do the same. However you feel about the upcoming season change, jot down a quick list of special things you want to do with your family to celebrate spring. I love how this exercise helps with intentionality, and allows us to prioritize our most treasured and valued family activities.

If you aren’t familiar with our seasonal bucket lists, here’s the scoop: Each season, we create a list of about 10 fun adventures or projects that are specific to the season.

We dig through our favorite nature books, think about our favorite happenings of that particular season, and look at our calendars to gather the best things that nature has for us. To learn more, check out our spring, summer, fall & winter bucket lists of past years.

Here’s our 2019 Spring Bucket List in no particular order!

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March 13, 2019

Crafting with Kids: Easy DIY Eco-Friendly Wrapping Paper

Does this sound familiar? It’s time to send that gift off in the mail or dash off to the birthday party, and OF COURSE. All the wrapping paper you thought you had has magically disappeared. Wrapping paper just isn’t something I think about buying until I actually need it. Like right that second.

Georgia and I got creative during one of our wrapping paper problem situations. We came up with a simple solution using materials we already had around the house. Plus, this wrapping paper is eco-friendly, and an easy art project with a personalized result!

Easy DIY Eco-Friendly Wrapping Paper

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March 12, 2019

London, England with Young Children: 6-day Itinerary

It was a warm summer July day when Slaed and I made the big decision to visit London, England with the kids. A sale got our attention initially. Norwegian Air was advertising amazing deals for their new nonstop flights from Seattle to London, and the internet was a buzz.

I thought what an opportunity for our family! The kids had yet to visit Europe, and London would be a fantastic starting point. Slaed was a little skeptical. What about the flight duration? The jet lag? And of course, when will we actually go…and what about school?

Sitting across from each other with cold drinks in hand, those worries could quickly be reasoned away. We went with the signs the universe was throwing out to us, took a leap of faith, and booked that trip. Looking at the dates available with the flight sale, and our travel calendar at the time, we chose to utilize the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. Going in January meant we’d likely have rainy weather, but the weather would be the same if we stayed home, so we figured, let’s travel!

London, England with Young Children: 6-day Itinerary | WildTalesof.com

We bought a book right away!

We traveled to London, England in January 2018. Our kids were 6 years and 3 years. Just as we had anticipated (but hoped wouldn’t actually happen, of course) the flight from Seattle to London was rough. Despite all the tricks we had up our sleeves, the kids just could not settle into sleep. Our youngest, in fact, fought “bedtime” no matter how hard we tried, until she finally passed out in the ergo on my back as we exited the plane and headed to passport control.

Frustrating? Yes. Completely devastating though? Absolutely not! We’d arrived, and we had a whole week to explore LONDON. A brand-new city to each of us. In true “Wild Tales of…” fashion, we covered a lot of ground. Here’s what we were able to get to in a nutshell:

London, England with Kids

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March 11, 2019

Think Outside Boxes: First Aid Box Unboxing Video!

How confident are you in your first aid skills? When’s the last time you brushed up on your skills? Admittedly, it’s been a while for me. Because of that, I’m so thankful for this month’s Think Outside Box! You may be able to guess the theme already: FIRST AID!

This First Aid box from Think Outside is our NINTH unboxing! In case you missed the previous eight unboxings, here’s the rundown:

Think Outside Boxes is a year-long monthly subscription service that’s geared towards kids 7 and up! Each month, subscribers receive a box in the mail based around a theme. The service begins with an introductory box that includes a backpack (color of your child’s choice), and some other small goodies to encourage outdoor exploration. The boxes that follow depend on when the subscription is initiated.

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March 8, 2019

You Never Know +News & Inspiration//14

News::

Don’t forget to turn your clocks and watches forward this weekend! Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 am on Sunday, March 10th! Also a good time to check batteries in smoke detectors, and review your family’s fire safety plan. Learn more about our fire escape plan & how to make your own in this video!
Did you hear? Georgia learned to ride a pedal bike this week! Read all about her transition from balance bike to pedal bike in this recent post!
Happy International Women’s Day (3/8)! I loved learning about these inspiring women dominating the world of adventure travel.

Inspiration::

Have you considered full-time travel with your family? I recently found out about the Family Adventure Academy, and it sounds like they have some great resources!
Love shave ice? We only made it to one shave ice spot during our recent trip to Kauai. Marcie from Marcie in Mommyland was in Kauai again last month (she’s been over 30 times!), and shared her top 5 Shave Ice Spots.
Book of the Week: How to Be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery. In this short memoir, the author (a naturalist) highlights lessons she has learned from the wonderfully impactful animals (13 total) she has encountered in her life.
Promo Code of the Week: Get $10 off your first Think Outside Box with code–wildtalesof Think Outside is a subscription box service geared towards kids 7 and up! We most recently featured the Shelter box. Next week we’ll be unboxing & sharing the First Aid box!

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March 7, 2019

Spring Cleaning for Outdoor Families: Washing Rain Gear with Nikwax

We decided to purchase Nikwax Tech Wash, a laundry detergent specifically made for rain gear, at the recommendation of our kid’s forest school teachers. I must admit, at first I was a little stubborn (or lazy…or foolish? Skeptical?). I actually waited until Georgia started forest school to purchase, even though I’d learned about Nikwax when Bergen started over 3 years ago!

We’ve now used Nikwax a handful of times since the fall, and I’ve been very impressed with how clean and refreshed our rain gear is after coming out of the wash.

Today I was inspired to document the process since Georgia’s rain gear was particularly muddy after forest school. It happened to snow this morning here in Seattle, creating lots of excitement at our house, and at school. There wasn’t much accumulation, and what did accumulate melted quickly, so the kids must have switched from snow play to mud play!

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