Since Tori loves being outside, and she seems to really like water (both being on it and in it), we thought kayaking would be a perfect addition to the bucket list!

Thankfully, Brennan has cousins – Sarah and Adele – who kayak frequently so they are practically pros. They helped us figure out how we could do this safely with Tori, since she obviously cannot paddle herself 😉

We also decided to do a unique family photo shoot while kayaking, since Brennan’s cousin Sarah is a talented photographer and we had been gifted a session with her (special thanks to Justen and Lisa McCollum!) – and it was SO fun! Sarah had never done a shoot like this before, and neither had we!

To reassure those who might be concerned about the safety of this activity: we put in at a location on the Susquehanna River that was fairly shallow and really calm. This allowed for us to safely have Tori in our arms while being towed by another kayak (thanks, Adele!). We didn’t go far because the river is really shallow in spots this time of year, but our little area was SO perfect!

It was another amazing bucket list adventure – and this one was on Brennan’s birthday, too! Now he wants to look into buying kayaks so we can do it more often. 🙂

Here are Sarah’s photos (click on image to enlarge):

And a few from my phone/perspective:

Thank you, Sarah (and Avey), Adele, Justen, and Lisa for making this possible! ❤