rubber meets the...dirt

For a couple years now we have talked about getting some kind of off road vehicles but it just never has worked out. Until this year! The stars aligned and we were able to might the jump into the amazing world or ATVs! 
We bought them with the thought of having this be our summer and so far it has worked out that way. The weather has been kind of weird the past few weekends but once we get all of our gear on we are plenty warm and don't even notice the wind. 
The last two times we went out we took them to the Knik river. It is such a perfect place especially with kids! There is a lot of beach to ride on and explore but also forest with miles of trails to roam. We ended up letting the girls try steering the ATV this past weekend and they totally exceeded my expectations! They started out on the beach so that there weren't as many obstacles to dodge, this was great for building their confidence. After a while on the beach they were able to drive through the trails and honestly they handled it like pros. I'm so glad we let them drive, it not only made it more excited for them but it also helped build their confidence! Now they are sure they have to have their own ATVs haha. Maaaayyybe not yet! 

We went back and forth for a long time trying to decide what we were going to buy. We looked at a Ranger Crew, two Rangers, two ATVs and just couldn't decide. After testing out a few options we decided going with a Ranger and an ATV would be best. It really has worked out perfect for us. Here is our pro list:
-two vehicles to drive in case one breaks down
-smaller trailer because it isn't two rangers
-with one Ranger we are able to put Wyatt's car seat in and Kate typically sits next to him buckled in (she also falls asleep just about every time we go out)
-ATV is a little more "extreme" of an experience for the girls
-Ranger has a bed for us to load up chairs, a cooler, kites etc. in. 
-install a mountain grab bar on the ATV for the front kid to hold on to. 
There are probably more but this is what I can think of right now!

This last weekend we took advantage of the fact that our Ranger has a bed. We took a big lunch, camping stove, kites and paints. It was so nice to be able to pull out the paints while we took a lunch break. The girls were so excited and entertained for the longest time! As an awesome perk I am going to collect them and store them in a big glass bowl/jar so that by the end of summer we have a beautiful colorful reminder of all the amazing things we did. I think it will be the perfect way to get through a long white winter.