When Keely and I were married, we spent our honeymoon hiking in Alaska around Mt Denali. We loved seeing the glacial streams, the moose and rain deer and the majesty of snowcapped mountains. Since then, we have backpacked nearly 1,000 miles on the Appalachian Trail, Grand Canyon, Kitchen Mesa and the Sheltowee Trace. We cook and camp outdoors under the stars, going to sleep to the sounds of owls, tree frogs and the breeze in the trees. We’d love to share these experiences with a child, teaching him or her about the beauty of nature around us.

“The Lake” is a special place to us. Greg’s family has had a cottage upthere for 5 generations. We have a picture of Greg’s grandfather holdhim down by the water’s edge when he was just 6 months old.It’s the place where Greg learned to fish, ski and it’s where he proposedto Keely. We swim, ski, fish, catch turtles and frogs. Over 4th ofJuly there is a firework display over the lake. We all climb into the pontoonboat, drive over, anchor, float and watch the display. It’s beautiful!In the fall we celebrate Thanksgiving up there. The state park acrossthe lake opens their toboggan run on the day after Thanksgiving. Thetrack is refrigerated and runs for ½ mile through the woods. It’s a funfamily tradition!In the winter we clear away the snow and skate or sled down the hillnext to the lake.

In the winter when the lake freezes, the places where we swam a few short months before, becomes covered with ice and snow.  Greg shovels off a skating rink to skate with the girls and we go snowshoeing across the lake. It’s a little like backpacking but the snowshoes let you go through deep snowdrifts. Our dog Geoffrey loves it! We bundle up the kids and pull them across the lake in a sled. Then we build a fire, make popcorn and drink hot chocolate. It’s family fun all weekend long!

Greg’s family has had a place at a lake in Northern Indiana for 5 generations. There is a picture of Greg’s grandfather hold him down by the pier when Greg was 6 months old. It’s a great place to spend summers. We swim, ski, fish, catch turtles and frogs. Over 4th of July there is a fireworks display over the lake. It’s beautiful!In the fall we celebrate Thanksgiving up there. The state park across the lake opens their toboggan run on the day after Thanksgiving. The track is refrigerated and runs for ½ mile through the woods. It’s a fun family tradition! In the winter we clear away the snow and skate or sled. We can’t wait to share our love for the lake with a child.  

When Keely and I were married we spent our honeymoon hiking in Alaska around Mt Denali. We loved seeing the mountain streams, the moose and rain deer and the majesty of snow capped mountains. Since then we have backpacked the Appalachian Trail, Grand Canyon, and the Sheltowee Trace. We cook and camp outdoors under the stars, going to sleep to the sounds of owls, tree frogs and the breeze in the trees. We’d love to teach a child about nature.