An ‘Experiences Not Things’ Holiday Guide for TEENS

By Sarah Martin HoodNovember 25, 2022November 25, 2022 motherhood colt, experiences not things, gifting, holiday Leave a comment

We adopted this perspective on gifting years ago and it has truly served our family well. I get asked about it all year long — and finally decided to capture ideas to get people started….

An ‘Experiences Not Things’ Holiday Guide for Kids – Pandemic Edition

By Sarah Martin HoodNovember 27, 2020November 27, 2020 motherhood colt, experiences not things, gifting, holiday Leave a comment

For the past three years, I’ve shared a gift guide for parents and families looking for a holiday season with less STUFF. We adopted this perspective on gifting years ago and it has truly served…

Hiking in the Time of Corona: 3 Spots You Haven’t Tried

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 12, 2020December 12, 2021 hiking, northwest arkansas buffalo river, colt, coronavirus, jeff, quarantine, round top mountain trail, sweden creek falls, tea kettle falls, waterfall 1 Comment

We’ve been navigating this thing by spending every possible minute outside. Our gym is closed and baseball is suspended so we’ve been taking walks and bike rides — and dialing way up on our hiking….

4 Reasons to Take Your Science-Loving Kiddo to Chicago

By Sarah Martin HoodFebruary 16, 2020November 2, 2021 travel with kids chicago, colt, experiences not things 1 Comment

There are plenty of reasons to visit Chi-Town. Sports, architecture, food, art, beer, shopping — Chicago has it all. But we had our eye on Chicago for the same reason we have our eye on…

A Mom’s Guide to Space Camp

By Sarah Martin HoodNovember 13, 2019November 13, 2019 travel with kids colt, experiences not things, rocket city, space camp, summer camp, us space and rocket center 17 Comments

So you’ve got a budding engineer/scientist/astronaut on your hands and you’re considering Space Camp. I was in your shoes a year ago! And I’ve learned some things you can use — from registration to packing…

A First-Time Camper’s Take on Space Camp

By Sarah Martin HoodNovember 13, 2019November 13, 2019 travel with kids colt, experiences not things, rocket city, space camp, summer camp, us space and rocket center 3 Comments

As I’ve indulged Colt’s growing love for space and engineering the last few years I’ve fallen for it, too. The dreaming big, the achieving the impossible, the magical reality of the whole thing. It’s all…

Manhattan Kayak: Sightseeing from a New Perspective

By Sarah Martin HoodJuly 10, 2019July 10, 2019 active lifestyle, adventure travel, canoeing & kayaking, travel colt, intrepid, jeff, kayak, manhattan, new york city, NYC, SUP 1 Comment

NYC is one of my favorite cities and no stranger to the Hood family. Jeff and I went for a Yankees game years ago, three years ago I took Colt on (what would become) our first…

Seinfeld Night with The Mets

By Sarah Martin HoodJuly 7, 2019July 8, 2019 travel with kids baseball, colt, jeff, jerry seinfeld, keith hernandez, mets, new york city, NYC, seinfeld 1 Comment

June 14, 1987. Mets. Phillies. We’re enjoying a beautiful afternoon in the right field stands when a crucial Hernandez error opens the door to a 5-run Phillies 9th – cost the Mets the game. Our…

Memorial Day Weekend with Cardinals and Characters

By Sarah Martin HoodMay 27, 2019 travel with kids baseball, cardinals, colt, jeff, st. louis Leave a comment

Two years ago, Jeff cooked up the idea to take Colt to a ballgame over Memorial Day Weekend and we jetted off to Los Angeles for a Dodgers game and a quick taste of Hollywood….

A Day Trip to Pearl Harbor: Travel (with kids!) Guide

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 28, 2019 active lifestyle, adventure travel, travel, travel with kids colt, hawaii, maui, spring break, spring break 2019 2 Comments

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2019 Spring Break adventure in Hawaii. Click here for all posts. Early in the planning for our trip to Hawaii we decided to stay…

Helicopter Parenting! Am I Doing This Right?

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 11, 2019 active lifestyle, adventure travel, motherhood, travel, travel with kids air maui, colt, hawaii, helicopter, maui, spring break, spring break 2019 Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2019 Spring Break adventure in Hawaii. Click here for all posts. I wish you could’ve seen the look on Colt’s face when I suggested…

We Tried SNUBA in Maui: Here’s What You Should Know

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 10, 2019April 11, 2019 active lifestyle, adventure travel, travel, travel with kids colt, hawaii, maui, sail trilogy, snorkel, snuba, spring break, spring break 2019 Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2019 Spring Break adventure in Hawaii. Click here for all posts. Two years ago I tried snorkeling for the first time in Belize, and I…

The Road to Hana: The Road Less Traveled

By Sarah Martin HoodApril 8, 2019December 12, 2021 active lifestyle, motherhood, travel, travel with kids colt, hawaii, maui, spring break, spring break 2019, waterfall Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2019 Spring Break adventure in Hawaii. Click here for all posts. Driving The Road to Hana was one of the first things I put…

Strataca: Our Adventure Through a Working Salt Mine

By Sarah Martin HoodJanuary 2, 2019 travel with kids colt, hutchinson, kansas, strataca 1 Comment

Once we decided to take a road trip to Hutchinson to visit the Cosmosphere, I did a little homework on the town. As if a world class space museum wasn’t enough, we learned that Hutchinson…

Cosmosphere: So Much More Than a Small Town Space Museum

By Sarah Martin HoodJanuary 2, 2019January 2, 2019 travel with kids colt, cosmosphere, hutchinson, kansas, space 3 Comments

As Colt’s interest in space has grown, he’s been keeping up with which artifacts he’s seen in person — specifically capsules from notable missions. Apollo, for example — he’s seen Apollo 7, 11 and 14….

Castillo de San Marcos and a Rainy Glimpse of St. Augustine

By Sarah Martin HoodNovember 11, 2018November 11, 2018 travel, travel with kids colt, florida, florida trip 2018, national park, st. augustine Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 trip to Florida. Click here for all posts. As we build travel itineraries for experiences across the country, we always check the area…

A Quick Visit to Canaveral National Seashore

By Sarah Martin HoodNovember 10, 2018November 11, 2018 travel, travel with kids canaveral national seashore, colt, florida, florida trip 2018, national park Leave a comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 trip to Florida. Click here for all posts. As we build travel itineraries for experiences across the country, we always check the area…

Team Hood

By Sarah Martin HoodNovember 4, 2018 motherhood colt, football Leave a comment

Buddy, we made it. This weekend was the final game of your first season of tackle football — and we made it. Almost three months ago I sat through your first practice and knew it…

Two Days at Kennedy Space Center: To the Moon and Back

By Sarah Martin HoodOctober 30, 2018November 11, 2018 travel with kids colt, florida, florida trip 2018, kennedy space center, orlando, space 1 Comment

This post is part of a series of stories from our 2018 trip to Florida. Click here for all posts. With his interest in all things space and space travel increasing by the day, it…

4 Ways to Teach Your Kids About Storytelling

By Sarah Martin HoodOctober 8, 2018November 4, 2018 motherhood, personal reflections colt, storytelling Leave a comment

I believe in storytelling. I believe it’s powerful and rewarding and beautiful and entertaining and illuminating and therapeutic. And I believe it’s a skill that can be learned. Even those of us who found and…