Our low emissions kinda life: Part 1

Audra and I made a commitment to "go greener". It has nothing to do with the fact that our car has been in the shop for two + weeks. It is our deep desire to reconnect with our Oregon roots. We can honestly say that we have not driven a car (minus Audra's trip to the dentist in a borrowed car) for two + weeks. Al Gore would be very proud. Here is a list of our modes of transportation with some images highlighting them. Honestly though, we really do ride our bikes, walk, and use our strollers for a majority of our trips. I ride my bike or walk to work 90% of the time. We do drive more in the winter when it is cold.


Car-1

Legs-8 (although Gibson can't really use his legs for anything other than kicking at Elsa defensively... he is getting to be a pretty good aim)

Bikes-3

Trike-1

Strollers-3

Child bearing backpacks-4

Bike trailer-1

Canoe-1 (it is partially finished. Audra and I made it in a workshop put on by the awesome Rec. Department in town... for those of you long lost friends who are stumbling onto our blog, I am the Rec. Director here. We don't actually travel in our canoe yet.)


Backpacks:


#1



#2 (my personal favorite... Thanks Heidi! This pack makes hiking with kids a breeze.)



#3


#4 not featured


Strollers:

#1 (by far our wisest purchase. This stroller has a locking front wheel so it can be used as a jogging stroller, or it can unlock and swivel to navigate tight grocery store corners. One advantage to living in a small town is we can walk anywhere in 15-20 minutes. Also, our grocery store is never very crowded. We take our stroller in and load up the bottom storage area. Since all the checkers know us, we are never questioned for shoplifting. The only disadvantage is it does not have a screen between the two seats. This could minimize some of the scratching and hitting that goes on.)



#2 (this is our travel stroller. We loved it for our Seattle trip. We hated it for our Indianapolis trip. When we went to Indy, Elsa was 1 1/2. I think she has inherited some of the strong willed genes from my side of the family. She refused to ride in the stroller and insisted on pushing it all over the place. We were there for a week long conference. By the third day people started saying "hey isn't she the girl who was pushing the stroller all over the mall yesterday?". This is a photo of Audra in front of the Seattle Public Library almost two years ago.



#3 not pictured


Bikes and Trikes:

#1(here is the trike that Elsa has been valiantly riding. She has incredible endurance, not to mention a love for speed. She is a my little girl in so many ways....see the previous post on her art projects for more details. Audra doesn't prefer to ride bikes fast.)



#2 and bike trailer ( We just started using this trailer this summer. Elsa didn't really like it before. It has been a lot of fun, not to mention a life saver since we have not had a car the last two weeks. It is so easy to strap in the kids and go.)