First Family Hike

For those of you who haven't yet heard our story, Brandon and I met studying abroad in Italy in 2011. Brandon was a seasoned traveler, and I was on my very first trip out of the country. We came from very different worlds, and even though world travel was new to me, this trip had awoken a deep love for adventure that I never knew that I had. (It helped that I had fallen in love with a boy who shared with me HIS love for adventure!) 

When we started to move towards the idea of expanding our family, it was always an important part of the conversation that we would make the extra effort and continue to travel as much as possible with our kids. 

Now I definitely think we had no idea what that would entail before we had Jett, but shortly after he entered our lives (5 weeks to be exact!) we decided to make our first big trip to Colorado via a quick and easy 40 minute flight from Kansas City to Denver. While making our travel plans, we decided that at some point on our visit we would try out an easy hike that we could bring Jett with us in a baby carrier. I did a bunch of research and there were several manageable hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park that were a short drive from my parents home in Fort Collins. Both Brandon and I had never been to the park, and both the family and friends who had been, highly recommended the area both for the beautiful scenery, and also the cute downtown area in Estes Park that would provide a good jumping off point before the hike. 

Jett was still really small at the time (he was 7 weeks) and we knew he would probably sleep the entirety of the hike. The Lillebaby carrier (Get 10$ off with this link HERE!!) has been our favorite baby-wearing system and boy, did it not disappoint! Jett was so comfortable and slept peacefully for the hour and a half round trip hike up to Dream Lake. 

I think the biggest takeaway was that with a bit of modification (opting for a shorter, easier hike than we normally might have done) we can still do the things we love, just a little differently with baby in tow. Baby wearing is such a great option that allow us to stay active and get out and about without dragging a stroller or car seat around with us. Now that Jett is much older, and has great head control we will soon be transitioning to him front-facing in the Lille baby which is really exciting because he just loves to look out and see the world. It brings me so much joy to see him be so inquisitive about everything he sees! 

As for upcoming travel plans for the Cusicks? Thanksgiving we will be taking our second flight as a family of three to Scottsdale, Arizona to spend the long weekend with family! It's a slightly longer flight than the one to Denver - so we're working our way up! Little Jett will be ready for a trip to the other side of the world before we know it!