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….

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 Family Escape to the Cayman Islands

By Sarah Martin HoodJuly 31, 2018November 4, 2018 adventure travel, travel, travel with kids beach, cayman islands, colt, grand cayman, horseback riding, jeff, parasailing, snorkel, stingray 1 Comment

We’re no beach bums, but this little family needed a slooooow dowwwwwn and we managed to pick the perfect destination. After an incredible summer of camps and travel and weekend activity (most of which I…

2017, it’s been real.

By Sarah Martin HoodJanuary 7, 2018November 4, 2018 motherhood, personal reflections colt, jeff, year in review Leave a comment

I’ve been back at work for a week now, but working from home with Colt until he’s back in school — and it all goes back to “normal” tomorrow. Yes, our beloved routine will hit…

This is how we birthday

By Sarah Martin HoodJune 18, 2017November 4, 2018 motherhood birthday, colt, jeff Leave a comment

Buddy, You’re in bed now, though you’re probably still awake reading. It’s become part of my evening routine to go in and turn out your reading light after you’ve fallen asleep — and make sure…

A Weekend in LA: Baseball, the Beach, and a Bit of Hollywood

By Sarah Martin HoodJune 3, 2017November 4, 2018 travel with kids baseball, beach, colt, dodgers, hollywood, jeff, LA, los angeles 1 Comment

A few months ago, Jeff sent me an email in the middle of the workday to say he had a hankering to take Colt to Dodgers Stadium and that he’d already checked the schedule and…

Best of 2016

By Sarah Martin HoodDecember 31, 2016November 4, 2018 personal reflections 2016, colt, jeff, year in review 1 Comment

I have a love/hate relationship with these things. Nostalgic as they come, I love love love looking back and reliving stories and memories from this year, last year, all-time. But I hate having to choose….

PCT, Part 3 | We met trail llamas!

By Sarah Martin HoodAugust 15, 2016December 12, 2021 adventure travel backpacking, california, hiking, jeff, pacific crest trail, pct, waterfall, yosemite Leave a comment

This post is part of a series, click here for the full story. [typography font=”Permanent Marker” size=”24″ size_format=”px” color=”#8c0510″]Day 4[/typography] If Day 3 was The Hardest Day of Hiking of My Life then Day 4…

PCT, Part 2 | A True Taste of the PCT

By Sarah Martin HoodAugust 14, 2016November 4, 2018 adventure travel backpacking, california, hiking, jeff, pacific crest trail, pct, yosemite Leave a comment

This post is part of a series, click here for the full story. [typography font=”Permanent Marker” size=”24″ size_format=”px” color=”#8c0510″]Day 2[/typography] Overnight was surprisingly warm and we woke up to a gorgeous view of Peeler Lake….

PCT, Part 1 | Back in the High Sierras

By Sarah Martin HoodAugust 13, 2016November 4, 2018 adventure travel backpacking, california, hiking, jeff, pacific crest trail, pct, yosemite Leave a comment

This post is part of a series, click here for the full story. Much like in years past, neither of us remembers the exact reason or the exact moment we decided on the Pacific Crest…

On Mountain Time at Mountaintop

By Sarah Martin HoodJuly 13, 2016November 4, 2018 motherhood, travel with kids colt, golf, jeff, mountaintop, mountaintop golf & lake club, north carolina Leave a comment

We aren’t especially good at taking relaxing vacations. Not physically relaxing, anyway. We hike, run, walk – you name it – and we often joke about needing a vacation when we’re done. But not at…

Buddy’s (Baseball!) Birthday

By Sarah Martin HoodJune 20, 2016November 4, 2018 motherhood baseball, birthday, colt, jeff, kansas city royals 1 Comment

Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too. ― Yogi Berra Buddy, yours is pretty much the only birthday we celebrate around here, ya know. Because it’s your…

Competitive Sports is a Whole New Ballgame

By Sarah Martin HoodJune 6, 2016November 4, 2018 motherhood baseball, colt, jeff Leave a comment

Jeff, if this is how you feel when the Razorbacks play football… I am sincerely sorry for anything I’ve ever said to invalidate your feelings… I said those words tonight just before cleaning the entire…

Humble and Kind

By Sarah Martin HoodFebruary 29, 2016November 4, 2018 motherhood colt, jeff, parenting Leave a comment

Colt is the perfect age for an election year. And by “perfect” I mean “equal parts innocent and impressionable — and curious”. *sigh* He’s been coming home repeating things kids at school have claimed about…

My kid won’t take a shower, and it finally broke me.

By Sarah Martin HoodJanuary 26, 2016November 4, 2018 motherhood colt, jeff, motherhood, parenting, shower 2 Comments

Colt takes a shower each morning. He’s been doing this for years, yet somehow – every single morning – it’s as if he’s doing it for the very first time. Somehow the routine — and…

Ok, Christmas. We’re ready now.

By Sarah Martin HoodDecember 22, 2015November 4, 2018 motherhood, northwest arkansas christmas, colt, fayetteville, jeff, lights of the ozarks 1 Comment

Growing up in this town is spoiling this kid. A month ago, on a whim and ill-prepared for the weather, Colt and I wandered downtown for the official kick-off of the Lights of the Ozarks….

Common Ground

By Sarah Martin HoodNovember 1, 2015November 4, 2018 hiking, motherhood, northwest arkansas colt, devil's den state park, hiking, jeff 2 Comments

After a weekend of Halloween festivities capped off with an up-all-night, sugar-fueled sleepover with friends, he was probably ready to crawl onto the couch and spend the balance of his Sunday staring at NFL RedZone…

Fun on the 4th with Friends who are Family

By Sarah Martin HoodSeptember 12, 2015November 4, 2018 motherhood, travel with kids colt, golf, jeff, mountaintop golf & lake club Leave a comment

Everybody needs THOSE family members. You know the ones? The ones that invite you to visit, but when the weather tries to ruin the full holiday weekend of activities they have planned — they smile…