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Hi and welcome to Outdoorsy Families! This is episode __.  I’m Audrey Withycombe, the host of Outdoorsy Families. Somehow it’s been 2 months since our last episode, and a lot has happened since then! I’m so happy to be back in this space and to share what I’ve been up to for the last two months. In today’s episode, I’m going to be doing a reintroduction and share my why for doing this podcast. Honestly, this is going to be helpful for me as I get back into the podcasting habit. I’ll also share what you can expect from the podcast since things will be changing a bit.  I’m going to wrap up this episode by sharing my goals for 2022. I’ll admit I don’t typically make many goals, but this year I have some fun ones to share! 

But before we begin, I wanted to encourage you to check out the website, outdoorsyfamilies.com. There I have an ever-growing list of resources to help you get outside as a family, and maybe even try a new, bigger adventure!

Reintroduction: I don’t know about you, but 2021 was a year of huge change, overcoming challenges, and a lot of growth for me. It’s the year that my baby became a toddler and we found our stride as a family of 4. It’s also the year I took a leap and began this podcast. It’s something I wanted to do for a long time but was afraid to learn something so foreign. But I finally cast those fears aside and did it! I’m really proud of that accomplishment and can’t wait to see where the podcast goes in 2022. 

As I mentioned, I’m Audrey Withycombe. I’m a mom of two little kids - River who’s 4 and Hattie who’s 2. I’m Richie’s wife. He’s been my adventure partner for over 11 years. We are so honored to get to live at a beautiful summer camp on the shores of Flathead Lake in Northwestern Montana. Richie and I have lived in 5 states together. River has joined us in 4 of those 5 states. We’ve moved around several times since we sold our home in the suburbs of Salt Lake City in 2019. Each move has felt like a step towards being where we want to be permanently. And now I think we’ve found our spot! 

What started this sequence of moves was a big decision for our family to leave the daily grind behind and simplify our lives. We wanted to maximize our time together and maximize our time outside. With a background in working at camps, Richie decided to begin looking for a director position at a camp that provided housing. This opened the opportunity for me to stay home with River (and eventually Hattie). We felt pretty sure that we could live on one small income as long as our housing was covered! So we took a big leap and moved to a summer camp in Oklahoma. It was away from the mountains that I loved, but it was near family. I loved seeing my parents frequently and enjoyed getting into a rhythm as a “stay outside mom”. Shortly after our move, I found out I was pregnant with Hattie. A few short weeks before her birth we found out that the camp we sold our home for and left our jobs for was closing. It was a tough blow. 

At 35 weeks pregnant we were able to move to another camp - this time in Minnesota. It was a hard adjustment to be in the bitterly cold weather with a newborn and no family nearby. Eventually, we found our groove and learned to love the extreme seasons that Minnesota brings. We felt so fortunate to live in such a rural space during the pandemic, with ample opportunities to explore outdoors. As we began finding our community in Minnesota we thought we’d be there for a while. We were content in our home, Richie’s job, and our life. We did still miss being closer to family, skiing, whitewater rafting, and hot springs. But we figured that we would have those parts of our life again someday. 

Of course, things have a way of changing, and quickly! I don’t remember why or how, but I saw a job open at a camp on Flathead Lake in August of 2021. The job was a perfect fit for Richie. The Wilderness Director. In this job, he’d be training staff in all of his favorite activities- rafting, rock climbing, backpacking, kayaking, and more. He would oversee the logistics and operations for these trips, as well as work with the forest service for permitting. This is the stuff that Richie nerds out on big time. Best of all, this job was only 2 hours from family in Missoula and 3 hours from Richie’s parents in Coeur d’Alene. Of course, I convinced him to at least apply. We agreed that if he didn’t get it, we were happy to stay in Minnesota. But if he did get the job we would be fulfilling so many goals for where we wanted to live long term. 

When we found out he got the job we couldn’t believe it! But here we are, back in the northwest. We’re teaching the kids to ski on a real mountain and can go soak at a hot spring after a ski day. Our kids have seen their grandparents more in the last month than in the last 2 years combined. And our little cottage has the most incredible views of gorgeous Flathead Lake and the Mission Mountains. I’m captivated by the view each day! 

This exciting move is what’s led to no podcast episodes for the last 2 months. I’m going to be real, I was feeling VERY overwhelmed with getting ready to move again. Richie wasn’t available to help me pack because of his busy work schedule and several work trips. I was feeling torn between working on Outdoorsy Families, packing, and spending time with our kids. So something had to give and that was this space. I thought I would get right back to the podcast when we moved to Montana, but I had another setback. Our internet is slow, inconsistent, and just inconducive for talking with guests. I was hoping we could figure out a better system, but that doesn’t seem to be an option. So I’ve had to rethink how to do the podcast. I love talking with other outdoorsy families, and want to continue to do this somehow. For now, I think I’ve got one day a week where I can potentially do interviews if the timeframe works with guests. The other episodes will be informative solo episodes and episodes with Richie. I’d also love to experiment with you submitting recordings of you sharing a story from your outdoor adventures. What format would you like to listen to? Please send me an email at audrey@outdoorsyfamilies.com or DM me on Instagram to let me know what you would like to hear!

I’m going to be putting out an episode every other week. It’s more sustainable for me than weekly episodes. 

Why: So why keep the podcast if I can’t record at my home? Part of me considered cutting out the podcast for now and just focusing on Instagram and the website. But the podcast is the whole reason why I started Outdoorsy Families. Sharing your stories of getting outside and helping others get outside with kids was my motivation, to begin with. So I’m sticking with it!

Goals for 2022: I’ve got a few outdoor-focused goals for 2022. First, I would like to record and complete 1,000 Hours Outside. I’m pretty sure we made it to 1,000 hours last year, but I’m curious to see how many hours we can track! I’ll be basing it off the kid's hours, not my own (I’m already ahead of them, by the way!) 

I also want to complete the 52 Hike Challenge. I used to hike all the time in SLC. I’d typically hike at least once a week, usually more in the summer. Once we moved to Minnesota I just didn’t hike like I used to. Once the mosquitos came out the appeal of a hike faded pretty fast!  Now that we’re back in the mountains, and have a huge network of trails in our backyard, I’m ready to hit the trail again! Also, I can’t wait to explore Glacier National Park’s trail system!

Next, I’m going to try to spend 30 days camping. I’m hopeful that we can do it, but we’ll see!  I’ll admit I’m a bit worried about camping on my own with the kids in grizzly bear country. We’re in the market for an older camper van and I think that will help me solo camp with the kids while Richie is working this summer. 

My last goal is to try to spend time outside every day of the year! I’m calling it No Inside Days!  I’m counting it as an outside day if we’re outside for at least an hour. I’m also okay splitting that hour up over the day. Some days are too cold or too wet to stay outside for a big chunk of time at once! Do you want to join me in this goal? Be sure to head over to outdoorsyfamilies.com and sign up for the challenge! I’ll be providing weekly inspiration to keep you (and me) motivated! I hope you’re with me! 

That’s it for my outdoor goals. I’m hoping we can complete them and I’m getting excited for the trips we’re planning! Being back in the northwest puts us closer to some places we loved exploring pre-kids and I can’t wait to share those spots with River and Hattie. I’m also looking forward to exploring the Flathead Valley and the mountains near us, including Glacier National Park!

That’s all I have for you today. If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe to Outdoorsy Families and leave a 5 star rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also be sure to check out outdoorsyfamilies.com and join in the No Inside Days Challenge!