Today our oldest Sprout ends her seventh trip around the sun. I always find it so fitting that her light began to shine just as the summer sun reaches its peak, the only thing that can match her brightness. She has truly been our best gift, the spark that changed our life’s focus on making the Earth a better place for her, to show others how to see the world’s beauty and wonder the way she does. My husband and I took plenty of mountain trips and drives before she was born but our first real hike wasn’t until after her birth. When we took her out and watched her explore in pure joy and wonder, we knew the great outdoors was where we all belonged. Over the last seven years we have watched her grow, and we have grown right along with her. Her joy and wonder, empathy and kindness, curiosity and thirst for life continue to inspire us to be better people. We want to help her reach her potential, but we also want to be the parents that she deserves and that she can be proud of. We want to give back to her what she has given to us, and we believe we can make the world a better place in the process. #begoodstewards #runwildmychild #wildandfreekids #backpackingwithkids (at Anderson, South Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBjX2KWpkeZ/?igshid=1a2of0lnj4oz4