Birthday celebration at Mount Rainier

I am certain I have made many missteps along the road of parenthood. However, one thing my husband and I have excelled at is passing along our love for the outdoors to our children. For my daughter’s third birthday she had one request- to go camping. And as an added bonus she wanted to see some bears! I am happy to report both requests were granted and it was a magical time in the mountains with our little family.

The entire weekend the kids, especially Daphne were covered in dirt and could not have been happier or more content. We joked it looked like she had been camping for a week rather than a couple of days. If you think you need a lot of money to make a child happy, all they really desire is fresh air and room to play.

This weekend reconfirmed my love for experiences over gifts. Sure we gave her some small gifts; a few books, and a new pair of shoes, but even at three I’d rather her know things really do not bring people lasting happiness. But sleeping under the stars, hiking to waterfalls, and seeing bears in the wild surely does!