I want so much for my kids that it’s easy to put a lot of pressure on myself. Hopefully, that pressure I put on myself doesn’t turn into pressure I put on them. For me, it’s important to take a step back once in a while and recognize that it might be a little easier to focus on supporting them rather than wishing and hoping that they’ll avoid pain.

Cultivate Creativity for Kids – Using What’s Already There

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to develop children’s creativity. We all know that kids come by creativity fairly easily and naturally, my daughter loves making art or playing pretend while seeming to need very little coaching. That doesn’t mean we can’t think about how to support children in their development and create space for them to continue to express it.

Kids have an imagination in which anything is possible, this allows them to see the world with a very open mind. They dance on rainbows with unicorns and can see a blanket and chair as a bear cave. As parents we have to keep them safe and teach them that jumping off the table might not be a good idea.

At the same time, we can encourage their imaginative play. We can follow their lead when coloring and avoid putting too many rules and restrictions on the right way to do things. Sure, we want them to learn the proper way to draw a line, but we want them to learn that so they’re able to make something creative with their lines.

Using Parenting Styles to Develop Children’s Creativity 

We’ve been joking a lot around here lately about the idea of helicopter parents transforming into snow plow or lawnmower parents. As you may know, helicopter parents hover overhead constantly watching every aspect of their kids life. Take it one step further and snow plow or lawnmower parents are out in front paving the way for their kids.

Neither of those parenting styles seem like they’re going to help develop the children’s creativity and imagination. So what will?

It seems that experts agree that the most beneficial parenting style includes a balance of healthy boundaries and freedom, both nurturing and giving responsibility, and providing warmth as well as necessary discipline.

Supporting and Nurturing a Sense of Adventure

To me this makes perfect sense when I put it alongside everything I know about creativity. One must have self-confidence, independence, and an understanding that we can learn from our failures. This type of person would be more likely to be open to new experiences as well as be able to come up with multiple creative solutions to a problem.

Part of why we created our children’s book, ABCs of Adventure, was to encourage our kids to see and explore the beauty of the world. Life has so much to offer young, hungry minds. I think of being open to adventure as another way of being open to new experiences.

I’ve learned many great lessons while exploring outdoors and trying new things. I’ve come up with great ideas while on a hike or watching a sunset. It makes sense that cultivating self-confidence and a sense of adventure would benefit my children’s creativity.

Developing Creative Thinking

When it comes to creative thinking, we need to develop the ability to see multiple answers and a variety of solutions. Anyone that’s been on an adventure or spent time playing outdoors is familiar with that free-flowing feeling you get when you step away from your typical day. 

A study by Lieberman referenced in wikipedia “highlighted the link between behaviours of divergent thinking, or creativity, in playfulness during childhood and those displayed in later years, in creative adolescents and adults.” Divergent thinking is high when we’re children and it wanes as we grow up and start trying to find the “right answer.”

This is where that balance between boundaries and freedom comes in. Too much divergent thinking can be dangerous for children who don’t understand right and wrong, that’s why we create boundaries. However, if we don’t also give our children freedom within those boundaries we are stifling their ability to think creatively.

Below is my 5-step process, or my 5 goals for cultivating my kid’s creativity and imagination.

5 Goals to Develop Children’s Creativity and Imagination

1: Get out of the way: give them space, unstructured time, and independence. Ask them open-ended questions that don’t have one right answer and

2: Encourage exploration, experimentation, playing, curiosity, adventure, trying new things, and time in nature

3: Help build their confidence and independence

4: Encourage divergent, flexible, and creative thinking

5: Show them that failure is part of the game and safe risk taking is worth it

Let me know what you think. Oh and check out our children’s picture book!

other creativity resources

Next, check out other words for creativity or these creativity affirmations, creativity journal prompts and 10 minute meditation for creativity.

If you’re interested in more meditation for creativity, check out my free recordings on Insight Timer. Here are some you might enjoy:

• Reconnecting with the Artist Inside
• The Essential Artist
• Surrender: To the Calling, Purpose, and Present

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to join our newsletter below to keep up with fresh content, let us know what you want to hear, and get our free Build Your Life e-guide or the free reclaim creativity guidebook.

Recent Building a Life  posts you might enjoy:

• Yoga for Creativity Guide
• Creativity Affirmations
• Creativity Journal Prompts
• Keeping New Years Resolutions
• 2020 Creativity Summary
• Do you call yourself an artist?

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen, a husband and wife photography team specializing in outdoor weddings and other adventures.

We don’t link to a lot of things but when there are books or gear we love we’ll share it and links to Amazon are affiliate links.

Finally, don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know how we can help! Be sure to follow us (weddings instagram & adventures instagram) and/or like us (facebook) to stay tuned.

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Below I’ve made a list of some of our kids favorite activities!

outdoor adventure kids will love

1. Kids love just being outside

Our kids love just being outside. Keep it simple and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Eat outside, read outside, or color outside. Take any activity your kid loves to do inside and try it outside.

2. Playing with water (and other messy things)

One of the benefits of being outside is that messy things aren’t as big of a deal. Playing with water, paint, or even eating can be fun outside because no one is worried about a mess. Our kids love playing at a water table, like really love it.

3. Hunting for leaves, animals, sticks, rocks, bones, or anything else.

Our kids love to explore and hunt for things. They love picking up rocks or sticks and they get really excited about seeing animals. While their toys seem to get old after awhile, nature seems to constantly provide new discoveries.

4. Hiking: Carry them around

We are extremely grateful that our kids like being carried around in backpacks,. I get the impression a lot of kids are the same way. This means that we can go hiking which is a win-win as long as we remember the snacks.

5. Hiking: Let them lead

If you’re feeling really patient, kids also love to lead the hike. It’s important not to have a destination or a time limit. Don’t expect to get your exercise in, think of it more as aimless wondering and use the time to disconnect from your to-do list.

6. Watching the sunset or the stars come out.

Sometimes the stars come out after our kids are in bed, especially on long summer days. But once in awhile it’s pretty special to let them watch the sunset or the stars come out. Things that we take for granted are really exciting for them which happens to renew our excitement too.

7. Climbing on things

Our kids love climbing on hills, rocks, statues, the deck, anything they can climb on. It can be helpful to have safe things for them to climb on so that you don’t have to worry the whole time.

check out more content for outdoor adventure kids

I’ve been cranking out content for adventurous parents in honor of our adventure kids book launch. Be sure to sign-up for our newsletter or check back in at the blog and Pre-order today on Kickstarter! 

Thanks for stopping by to hear some thoughts on raising adventurous kids! Don’t miss some of our other resources for adventurous families.

• Adventurous Kids | Immersed in Beauty and Safe on the Edge
• How to Adventure with Kids: A Parent Survival Guide
• Our 8 Favorite Children’s Adventure Picture Books
• Adventure Kid’s Book Launch – ABCs of Adventure
• How to photograph your kids – online course: another result of our Covid quarantine!
• Blue Lake Colorado Hiking Adventure and Photography: one of our favorite first hiking experiences with our daughter
• Family Skiing Colorado: The ups and downs of adventuring with kids.
• Backyard Ski Hill: Skiing with kids is easier when we get enough snow to ski out our backdoor!
• Lessons learned camping with a baby

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen. We’re a photography team specializing in adventure lifestyle. Based in Evergreen, CO we travel throughout the state as Colorado adventure wedding photographers and videographers.  Above all our philosophy, love. adventurously. is the guidepost for everything we do.

Finally, be sure to follow us and/or like us  to stay tuned.

• weddings instagram (brenda)
•  adventures instagram (marc)
• facebook

In the meantime, remember to…

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It’s not about a specific passion for rock-climbing or backpacking, it’s more about what nature has to teach us. Many of the experiences that have helped form me as a person have been outside exploring and experiencing the world.

immersed in beauty

We have a list of parenting goals on our fridge.

Most of them have to do with how we want to try to handle tantrums or pickiness around food. For example, we want to attempt to prevent hunger and fatigue thus reducing preventable tantrums. Most of our goals resulted from lessons we learned the hard way.

However, the first goal on the list is one that we came to by simply thinking about what is important to us in life. We want to help our kids experience the beauty of the world.

As easily as to-do lists and stress can consume us, nature can heal us. Both Marc and I have found solace on a hike or sitting by the ocean. If a positive outlook on life is important, one of the simplest ways we’ve found to cultivate it is time outdoors.

safe on the edge

Adventure isn’t always about taking risks, but it can be. And risk-taking can certainly teach us about bravery and confidence. I’m not suggesting risks with any sort of consequences, I’m just encouraging the character building that comes with pushing ourselves.

We wrote a pledge as part of our Kickstarter campaign for our kids book, ABCs of Adventure. It’s a pledge to raise Adventurous, Brave, and Creative children. Here’s how the section on bravery reads:

“I commit to exposing my children to adventure and risk-taking. I will teach them that fear is a good thing. And I will keep them safe so that they can be comfortable on the edge.”

What I am saying is that as parents we have the opportunity to both protect our kids from harm while encouraging them to face their fears. We can show them that often the reward of overcoming a fear is well worth it. Perhaps most importantly, we can teach them that failure is a part of the process and a necessary step on the path to success.

comfortable with fear and failure

This sort of mindset is something I am extremely grateful to my own parents for. They supported me and encouraged me every time I wanted to try something new. They never showed disappointment when I failed but always used it as a teachable moment.

It’s that aspect of parenting that made me an adult that isn’t afraid to quit my stead job to try to start a business. That quality gave me the confidence to try things like writing a kids book. For every success there are countless failures but the adventure and lessons learned along the way have been invaluable.

I’ve climbed literal and metaphorical mountains that I didn’t think I was capable. And certainly, I’ve discovered that my body and mind are capable of a lot more than I would have imagined.

I’m am far from fearless, but I like to think that I am pretty brave. I want that for my kids.

adventurous kids become creative adults

Creativity is an illusive thing. It’s something we all have as kids but some of us lose as adults. Actually, some adults just think that they lose it.

I am fascinated by and reliant upon the force of creativity so I read about it, study it, and practice it. I have even taught a few Yoga and Creativity workshops. I’ve learned that we are all capable of creativity but that we compare ourselves to someone like J.K. Rowling and thus determine that we must not be creative.

Once I had a surgeon tell me she didn’t think she was creative. Is not putting someone together the definition of creation? But it seems we think that we can be either artist or scientist, not both.

I argue that the best scientists are the ones that embrace their creativity and the best artist are the ones that take the time to understand science. My aunt is an incredible painter and sculptor. I’m pretty sure she has to think about science when figuring out how to balance her sculptures.

But I digress, I’ll save that argument for another day. Today I want to impress upon you that I believe adventurous kids will become creative adults.

our good friends fear and failure

Creativity often requires accepting failure and overcoming fear. As I just talked about in the last section, adventure helps us do just that. Adventure gives us confidence in the strength of our bodies and our minds.

Fear is both the enemy and the instigator of creativity. Many of my best ideas have come from a deep fear but that same fear almost preventing me from acting. Fear still prevents me from doing things I feel I was born to do but the more practice I have facing my fears the better I get at it.

Often I think about climbing this way. I used to be afraid to walk standing up on a steep slope, now it’s second nature to me. I trust my feet because at some point I took a chance and learned that I could.

The last thing I want to mention might be the most obvious one. Nature has a lot to teach us about creativity. Nature shows us that a caterpillar can become a butterfly and a trees change colors.

Breathing fresh air and seeing beauty is inspiring. Such inspiration helps us cultivate our own creativity. I could talk about this for hours so feel free to reach out!

stay tuned for more content for adventurous kids

I’ve been cranking out content for adventurous parents in honor of our adventure kids book launch. Be sure to sign-up for our newsletter or check back in at the blog and Pre-order today on Kickstarter!   (Update: our ABCs picture book is here, check it out!)

Thanks for stopping by to hear some thoughts on raising adventurous kids! Don’t miss some of our other resources for adventurous families.

• How to Adventure with Kids: A Parent Survival Guide
• Our 8 Favorite Children’s Adventure Picture Books
• Adventure Kid’s Book Launch – ABCs of Adventure
• How to photograph your kids – online course: another result of our Covid quarantine!
• Blue Lake Colorado Hiking Adventure and Photography: one of our favorite first hiking experiences with our daughter
• Family Skiing Colorado: The ups and downs of adventuring with kids.
• Backyard Ski Hill: Skiing with kids is easier when we get enough snow to ski out our backdoor!
• Lessons learned camping with a baby

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen. We’re a photography team specializing in adventure lifestyle and adventurous wedding photography. Above all our philosophy, love. adventurously. is the guidepost for everything we do.

Finally, be sure to follow us and/or like us  to stay tuned.

• weddings instagram (brenda)
•  adventures instagram (marc)
• facebook

In the meantime, remember to…

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If you’re not a parent yet but you’re pretty sure your life won’t change thus you don’t need any tips, bookmark this page for another day. That was me, I was in denial about how life-changing it would be. Becoming a parent didn’t mean I had to stop adventuring just that I had to relearn how.

And along with the new challenges came a new world of wonder, awe, and crazy love.

It’s not easy, it’s not for everyone, but if you’re like us it’s almost always worth it to adventure with kids.

how to adventure with kids | a survival guide

1. Success is easier with good adventure partners.

If you know anything about us, you might know that we met on an ice-climbing trip on the East side of the Sierras. We’ve been adventure partners ever since. We’ve even built our lives and our business around our shared passion for adventure.

The reason I am able to stay motivated to adventure with kids is that I have a husband who shares my motivation. Beyond that, we have met other parents who are committed to raising adventurous kids.

Community is the answer to everything, not just adventure. Lean on your people, your partner, and your support.

When I’m stressed about losing sleep on a camping trip, I see other families going backpacking and that inspires me to try. Camping with another family makes things easier too because you can share things like cooking responsibilities. And an extra hand never hurts.

It’s not about comparison, please don’t compare. Know that what you see is not reality. That super cute photo of a baby in the tent was likely followed by little to no sleep. Keep your perception in check.

2. WHEN you fail, get back on the trail.

I say “when” you fail because it will happen. You can plan, prepare, and hedge your bets but at some point an adventure with kids is going to be a wake up call.

It might call you at 3am and tell you you’re done sleeping for the day. I remember rolling out of a campsite at precisely that time because our daughter wouldn’t stop screaming and I was afraid  she was going to wake up the whole campground. She and Marc both ended up falling asleep in the car so I parked at a trailhead and photographed sunrise as they caught up on sleep.

Or, it might call you at 7pm when you thought she would sleep in the car and you could drive a few hours at night. After an hour of screaming you’ll desperately find somewhere to camp and admit defeat. That’s what happen to us on a road trip to Utah for a friends wedding.

Turns out when you plan on them sleeping in the car, they won’t. And when you want then to sleep anywhere else, all they’ll want is the car. The battle continues with food, clothes, and what color spoon they want.

You have two choices after a terrible trip. Give up, admit defeat, redefine yourself as someone who doesn’t need adventure. Or, you can recommit. You can persuasively convince yourself that the next time will go smoothly and be totally worth it.

In our experience, it probably will. So don’t give up.

3. Don’t forget why you love adventure.

Marc and I have actually found adventuring a lot harder with two kids than one. In fact, everything is a lot harder. We can’t get over how adorable the sibling relationship is but we can’t deny that having a 2 v 2 ratio is harder than 2 v 1.

It’s been more important now that we remind ourselves why we love adventure. I think it’s a lot like working out, you don’t want to do it but you know you’ll feel better after. So how do you remind and convince yourself that it will be worth it?

Photography is a big one for us, sorry if you didn’t see that coming. We like to look back through old photos of life-changing trips. And we like  to get inspired from stunning photos of places we have never been.

Especially during the Covid shutdown, it can be easy to settle into a calmer and simpler life of just staying home. It’s pretty nice that everyone sleeps in their own beds and we have a kitchen to cook in. However, for me, all it takes is a few hours of adventure to remember why I value it.

Feeling the sun kiss my face as my heart beats stronger and the view takes my breath away is instant stress relief. My whole worldview is more hopeful and positive when I’m outside in nature. There is immense joy in challenging myself, learning about myself, and now watching my kids have those same experiences.

So start small. Pick a low effort, low commitment activity to remind yourself that it’s worth it. Once you get a taste, you might just have the motivation to do the work.

4. Stay inspired… buy our book!

Lastly, I end with a shameless plug for our new kids adventure book, ABCs of Adventure. It’s currently available to pre-order via kickstarter! Find out more about the book.

We may have wrote it for our own kids but our goal is to share it with as many little future adventurers as possible. And we’d love to help parents stay inspired and remind you why it’s important to adventure with kids. Pre-order today on Kickstarter! 

Whether it’s our book or something else, find a way to stay inspire. This is an extension of the previous point. Once you define why you  love adventure, find ways to remind yourself.

stay tuned for more on how to  adventure with kids

I’ll be putting out some content in the next few days and weeks for adventurous parents in honor of our adventure kids book launch. Be sure to sign-up for  our newsletter or check back in at the blog.

Thanks for stopping by to check out our how to adventure with kids survival guide! Don’t miss some of our other resources for adventurous families.

• Our 8 Favorite Children’s Adventure Picture Books
• Adventure Kid’s Book Launch – ABCs of Adventure
• How to photograph your kids – online course: another result of our Covid quarantine!
• Blue Lake Colorado Hiking Adventure and Photography: one of our favorite first hiking experiences with our daughter
• Family Skiing Colorado: The ups and downs of adventuring with kids.
• Backyard Ski Hill: Skiing with kids is easier when we get enough snow to ski out our backdoor!
• Lessons learned camping with a baby

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen. We’re a photography team specializing in adventure lifestyle and adventurous wedding photography. Above all our philosophy, love. adventurously. is the guidepost for everything we do.

Finally, be sure to follow us and/or like us  to stay tuned.

• weddings instagram (brenda)
•  adventures instagram (marc)
• facebook

In the meantime, remember to…

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These books are some of our kids favorites as well as ours. Reading them doesn’t get old, which is a lot to say for a kids book! We love instilling a love of the outdoors in our children.

Some of these books are poetic and touch a deep place in your heart. There are morals of friendship, happiness, and leading a simple life of adventure. The visuals are captivating and the stories are immersive.

our 8 favorite children’s adventure picture books

1. The Boy Who Spoke to the Earth: The boy goes on a journey to beautiful and magical places in search of happiness but has to learn to really see!
2. Finding Wild: Descriptive, visceral, and sure to instill a longing for wild.
3. Henry Hikes to Fitchburg: Do we live to work or work to live? Can we work hard and play harder? Sometimes the journey is part of the adventure.
4. Lost and Found: You don’t always know what you’re searching for but there is nothing like a perfect adventure buddy.
5. The Antlered Ship: Some unlikely adventurers learn to overcome their fears and go on the trip of a lifestime.
6. Where the Wild Things Are: A classic, a long time childhood favorite… and I can’t even explain why!
7. Giraffes Can’t Dance: Discover what the moon and leaves have to teach you about what you’re capable of.
8. Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots: In short, the answer is yes.

*Links to Amazon are affiliate links

stay tuned

I’ll be putting out some content in the next few days and weeks for adventurous parents in honor of our adventure kids book launch. Be sure to sign-up for  our newsletter or check back in at the blog.

Thanks for stopping by to check out our favorite adventure children’s books! Don’t miss some of our other resources for adventurous families.

• Adventure Kid’s Book Launch – ABCs of Adventure
• How to photograph your kids – online course: another result of our Covid quarantine!
• Blue Lake Colorado Hiking Adventure and Photography: one of our favorite first hiking experiences with our daughter
• Family Skiing Colorado: The ups and downs of adventuring with kids.
• Backyard Ski Hill: Skiing with kids is easier when we get enough snow to ski out our backdoor!
• Lessons learned camping with a baby

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen. We’re a photography team specializing in adventure lifestyle and adventurous wedding photography. Above all our philosophy, love. adventurously. is the guidepost for everything we do.

Finally, be sure to follow us and/or like us  to stay tuned.

• weddings instagram (brenda)
•  adventures instagram (marc)
• facebook

In the meantime, remember to…

[mailmunch-form id=”412278″]

The post Children’s Adventure Picture Books appeared first on .

We launched the book on Kickstarter and the campaign took off. Now, we are officially funded and will be printing the book but we would love for you to pre-order the book this month and get a first edition copy.

adventure kids book launch

This beautiful hardcover picture book takes you through the alphabet in a whole new way. Words of nature and adventure accompanied by inspirational photography and playful sketches will leave the reader ready to tackle new horizons with an adventurous vocabulary. (Hint, not just for preschoolers, this book will inspire the adventure in all of us!)

Are you (or someone you know) are spending a lot of quality time reading books to children? ABCs of Adventure is an amazing addition to your bookshelf. Dust off your imagination and head inward for an adventure!

Pick up a copy!

Pre-order today on Kickstarter! 

Be sure to watch the video above to get a feel for the book!

Stay tuned for more adventure!

I’ll be putting out some content in the next few days and weeks for adventurous parents in honor of our adventure kids book launch. Be sure to sign-up for  our newsletter or check back in at the blog.

Thanks for stopping by to check out this adventure kids book launch! Don’t miss some of our other resources for adventurous families.

• How to photograph your kids – online course: another result of our Covid quarantine!
• Blue Lake Colorado Hiking Adventure and Photography: one of our favorite first hiking experiences with our daughter
• Family Skiing Colorado: The ups and downs of adventuring with kids.
• Backyard Ski Hill: Skiing with kids is easier when we get enough snow to ski out our backdoor!
• Lessons learned camping with a baby
• Another word for Creativity

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen. We’re a photography team specializing in adventure lifestyle and mountain wedding photography. Above all our philosophy, love. adventurously. is the guidepost for everything we do.

Finally, be sure to follow us and/or like us  to stay tuned.

• weddings instagram (brenda)
•  adventures instagram (marc)
• facebook

In the meantime, remember to…

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why we created the course

We’re currently “stuck at home” during this Coronavirus chaos and may of us suddenly find ourselves full-time parents. We’re juggling work and kids not to mention the stress of the unknown. Like you, I’m doing my best to find hope and gratitude.

When life gets back to normal, we’d love for you to reach out and schedule your family portrait session.

I’m doing my best to appreciate the moments and memories that we’re making. We created this course to help parents learn how to photograph your kids.

More about the course here.

how to photograph your kids at home

The course will walk you through a variety of techniques designed to help you instantly and/or dramatically improve your photography skills. We walk about lighting and composition. More importantly, we dive into moments and storytelling.

When it comes to photographing your kids, what we want is for you to capture moments so that you can relive them. Use those moments to appreciate life when life is hard. Share those moments with your kids as they grow up or grandparents that live far away.

Check out the course.

you are creative

Whatever it is you do professionally, you are creative! And we want to help you tap into that creativity. Taking photos of your kids can be a creative exercise to help you stretch that creative muscle a little bit every day.

Purchase the course now for limited time pricing of only $20.

Interested in photography, creativity, and building a life you love? Check out more blog posts on Building a Life. This camera settings guide is a great place to start.

Next, check out this post and short video to help inspire you to Reclaim Creativity.

I’m Brenda Bergreen, one grateful half of a husband and wife photography team specializing in outdoor weddings and other adventures. Capturing people in nature and the mountain lifestyle is a passion that became a dream (that became a goal) that became a life.

Based in Evergreen, CO we travel throughout the state as Colorado mountain and adventure wedding photographers. We also frequently travel to California and other wedding destinations to document your love in a variety of memorable settings. Don’t hesitate to contact us and let us know how we can help! Be sure to follow us (weddings instagram & adventures instagram) and/or like us (facebook) to stay tuned.

In the meantime, remember to…

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Spring in Colorado means a lot of things. Today as I write this it means we just had a big snow storm that closed the schools and allowed us to ski out our back door. Later this summer, we’ll celebrate spring by hiking in the mountains hunting for alpine wildflowers.

blue lake colorado

Blue Lake was high on our long bucket list of hikes to do after moving our life and business back to Colorado. The lake is just as many dream an alpine lake should be, a stunning and vibrant blue. A blue that takes your breath, pain, blisters, and hunger away.

Blue Lake is an 8.6 mile round trip hike with 2370ft of elevation gain. It’s located in the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness Area. At 14,150, Mt. Sneffels stands as a proud member of the Colorado 14ers!

The hike is a stunning and steady uphill climb.

breathtaking trumps breathlessness

As we headed out on the hike, we hoped our daughter would fall asleep in the kid carrier at some point during the day. At that point in her life she tended to. She loved the bouncing of hiking and logged many naps in a baby backpack or the ergo.

She didn’t.

Now, looking back on that trip and both our struggles and successes camping with a baby all I remember is that it was worth it. Isn’t that how hiking trips often go? Despite tears or frustrations, the beauty trumps and overshadows everything!

As we were hiking to the lake, I remember telling Marc that we would have a quick lunch on the shoreline and then head back. He’s learned not to listen to my ramblings when I’m in the pain zone of a hike. I ate my words as well as my lunch as soon as we arrived and I saw the bright blue lake surrounded in countless wildflowers.

So instead of immediately hiking back, we headed for a lap around the lake. We hiked through countless wildflowers, paused to soak it in, and even to take a few photos (if you can imagine us doing that!)

hike highlights

Should a Blue Lake Colorado hiking adventure be on your list? Only if you love vibrant blue alpine lakes, epic mountain views, and abundant wildflowers!

Our highlights of the trip included the stunning color of the lake and the abundance of wildflowers. We’re big fans of earning a view and this hike certainly falls into that category.

Thanks for stopping by, we love to share stories and photography from our adventures!

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen, a husband and wife photography team specializing in capturing people in nature and the mountain lifestyle. It’s a passion that became a dream that became a life. Check out our work: adventure photography and adventure wedding photography.

Our philosophy, love. adventurously. is the guidepost for everything we do.

Based in Evergreen, CO we travel throughout the state as Colorado adventure wedding photographers. We also frequently travel to California and other wedding destinations to document love and adventure in a variety of memorable settings.

Be sure to follow us (weddings instagram & adventures instagram) and/or like us (facebook) to stay tuned. Any links to Amazon are affiliate links.

In the meantime, remember to…

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When we woke up to fresh powder we couldn’t resist throwing on our skis and heading out into the backyard. We brought skins to get back up although we could have hitched a ride as the valley behind our house eventually leads to a road. While most days the backyard skill hill isn’t quite skiable, our driveway happens to be perfect for toddler sledding.

It’s been a dream of ours to live somewhere that we can ski and hike out our back door. Mission accomplished!

exploring the backyard ski hill

Enjoy this post? Don’t miss family skiing colorado or lessons learned camping with a baby!

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen, a husband and wife photography team specializing in colorado mountain wedding photography and other adventures. Capturing people in nature and the mountain lifestyle is a passion that became a dream that became a life.

Our philosophy, love. adventurously. is the guidepost for everything we do.

Based in Evergreen, CO we travel throughout the state as Colorado adventure wedding photographers. We also frequently travel to California and other wedding destinations to document love and adventure in a variety of memorable settings.

Be sure to follow us (weddings instagram & adventures instagram) and/or like us (facebook) to stay tuned.

In the meantime, remember to…

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family skiing colorado video

Let’s kick things off with the family ski day video! Somehow, I was able to put it together despite the newborn I was carrying on my chest, being out-of-shape after childbirth, and having friends who are ultra-athletes.

There’s nothing like a little footage as evidence of success as well as documentation of reality. It’s not easy and it doesn’t always go smoothly. However, it is always an adventure!

Music Title: Happy and Joyful Children
Released by: Free Music

backcountry skiing with kiddos

Our last adventure photography blog post was lessons learned camping with a baby! Since then we’ve added another baby to our clan making the challenges grow (exponentially I’m told.) Don’t worry, the joy somehow grows too!

One of the things thats has a huge positive impact on our life as a family with little ones is community. Over the past two years we’ve met some amazing parents with similar goals to share a love of nature and adventure with their children. Luckily, when motivation is low, there’s always a friend to push you.

We headed out on a simple family ski day with 4 families, 5 children, and some number of dogs I can’t be expected to remember. With expectations low and stoke high, we were determined to show ourselves that we could do it.

Sure there were tears. Contagious tears that spread from kid to kid. There were also giggles and cheek stretching smiles!

These seemed to spread from adult to adult to kid. Or maybe from dog to adult to kid.

joys and challenges

The challenges started early on. Once we picked a trailhead and a time, everyone getting there on schedule threatened to derail us. Getting out of the house, stuck behind out-of-state drivers, and losing cell reception all attempted to throw us off course.

With naptimes, snacktimes, and breastfeeding looming we gracefully started our uphill tracks. We took turns falling behind to care for toddlers or equipment malfunctions. Well, all of us except Ryan who remained our constant leader despite towing the only toddler who doesn’t refuse to eat anything.

One thing I think we all agree on is that the joys far outweigh any stress. Being outside with fresh snow layered on the trees drowns out all tantrums. It’s true what they say, it’s worth it, you just have to be willing to put in the effort.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the photos. We’d love to hear from you so don’t hesitate to contact us!

We are Marc and Brenda Bergreen, a husband and wife photography team specializing in colorado mountain wedding photography and other adventures. Capturing people in nature and the mountain lifestyle is a passion that became a dream that became a life.

Our philosophy, love. adventurously. is the guidepost for everything we do.

Based in Evergreen, CO we travel throughout the state as Colorado adventure wedding photographers and videographers. We also frequently travel to California and other wedding destinations to document love and adventure in a variety of memorable settings.

Be sure to follow us (weddings instagram & adventures instagram) and/or like us (facebook) to stay tuned.

In the meantime, remember to…

[mailmunch-form id=”412278″]

The post Family Skiing Colorado | Bergreen Photography Adventures appeared first on .