Kids love to climb. Whether it's all over Dad, up ladders, or between the door frame, kids just love it.  Introducing your children or child to rock-climbing at a young age can help you spend a lot of quality time together as your child grows.  Think of the great conversations you'll have with your teenager as you trap them in the car on the way to a crag.  Where better to talk about the birds and bees than out in nature?

Here are some tips to get you and your kids rock-climbing:

1. Take a rock climbing class together. This has many benefits and not just for climbing.  your children will see that Mom and Dad can take direction too.
2. Set the rules.  Rock-climbing can be very dangerous and it is important for all climbers to know and follow the rules.  Set consequences and follow through if the rules are broken.
3. Start small and work up. After having lessons, try a free climbing at a rock wall gym. This will give you time to practice together with your kids. 
4. Don't expect too much.  Children will often show enthusiasm for rock climbing and then decide it is too scary to climb higher than 3-4 feet. Don't force the issue.  Just praise them for how high they went and challenge them to get a foot or two higher.
5. Teach them climbing terms. If you take a rock-climbing class with your children, you'll probably learn these, but re-teach them before you climb just to make sure you are all on the same page.  "On belay" "Climbing" "Slack" "Tension" "ROCK!"
6. Find helmets that fit.  A good helmet is very important when rock-climbing.  Make sure your child has a helmet that fits and is not damaged.
7. Double check harness and make sure your child is big enough for it.  Before you leave to the wall, make sure your child fits the manufacturers suggested weights and sizes for the harness they will be wearing.  Before your child starts to climb, double check the harness is set properly. 
8. Chalk up.  Children love to get their hands dirty especially when Mom and Dad are doing it as well.  Plus it helps when you're rock climbing.
9. Get some rock climbing shoes.  Climbing shoes should fit snug, but not too tight.  You don't necessarily need to buy new.  Look for used ones on gear surplus sites, or rent shoes from a local shop.
10. Celebrate accomplishments and have fun.  That's why you go!

Children's climbing harnesses from Altrec.com

Children's climbing harnesses and helmets from Backcountry.com

Some of the topics covered here definately do not go in to great detail.  Harnesses, helmets, and shoes could each have their own post about the proper kinds and how to purchase.  Do your homework and you'll enjoy the time you spend rock climbing with kids.  

So after yesterday's post I decided it was time to pull out the S'mores gear and put the good old camping treat to the test.  So I built a little fire in our backyard tonight, gathered my family, our roasting sticks, marshmallows and some chocolate.  We built a great little fire, let it burn down to coals and roasted marshmallows.  I decided that these are definately the best camping treat out there.  While cooking them I decided there are some tricks to making the perfect smore:

1. The perfect s'more starts with the perfect fire.  If you try to cook s'mores on a fire that is too large the marshmallow won't be cooked right.
2. Cook two marshmallows per s'more.  The heat from each s'more will help to melt the chocolate more and it's always fun to clean up a gooey mess.
3. When the marshmallows are brown all the way around, quickly transfer them to the graham cracker and shove the chocolate in the marshmallow
4. Perhaps one of the most overlooked steps in eating a s'more is to let it cool down a little before eating it.  This will minimize the mess and allow the chocolate inside to melt completely.
5. Don't pay attention to the nay saying co-workers who want instant gratification with marshmallow cooked in the microwave.  Yeah they are good, but it's just not the same as cooking s'mores over the campfire. 

There you have it.  I decided for myself the s'mores are the best camping treating around.

So today at work my co-workers started dissing on 'Smores claiming that they are way overrated.  They said that they don't understand why people make such a big deal over Smores.  One of them mockingly said, "Oh Smores, you just can't go camping without Smores."  Other comments like, "The marshmallow is just too much" and "'Smores are just too messy" were a couple of the reasons my co-workers gave for not enjoying Smores. 

After a few minutes of discussion, my other co-worker spoke up and I think he hit it on the head.  As campers we are too spoiled with modern day candy bars.  Our generation wants everything instantly.  Why wait for a marshmallow to slowly roast over the fire then mix with a graham cracker and chocolate, when you can pull a Snickers out of your pocket and start eating instantly?

I for one think Smores are awesome, perhaps the best camping treat of all time.  Everyone can make them, the kids love scorching roasting marshmallows.  So what do you think?  Do you agree with me or am I off in left field?

Tomorrow is Mother's Day Eve. You know what that means right? It means that you should be thinking (or panicking) about what to do this weekend.

This is the perfect time to give the Mother in your home a day off from cooking as well as show her some fun. Let's start with the fun part of Mother's Day. Mother's Day Eve is a great day to go outside and enjoy the back country. How about taking your mom to the local nature preserve to enjoy a relaxing afternoon listening to creeks, birds, well just nature in general. If she is the fishing type, go fishing. There is something relaxing about being outside for moms. Maybe it's the fact that they aren't looking at all the work that "needs" to be done in the house. The point I'm trying to make here about Mother's Day Eve is to get outside! It's Spring, everyone has been couped up and Mother's Day Eve is kind of like a "get ready for Memorial Day" kind of weekend.

Okay, so now that we are done talking about what to do on Mother's Day Eve, let's discuss Mother's Day itself. Mother's Day is really secretly known among men as "Show Off Your Manliness Day." That's right, Mother's Day is secretly a day to show off your manliness. It's time to crack open the grills and make the neighbors jealous with the wonderful aroma's coming off your manly cooking machine. What an awesome weekend. We get to recognize the wonderful women in our lives AND we get to be manly about it. Who could ask for more?