Making heading into nature a regular habit takes purpose and focus. Add in small children, and you just amped-up the amount of planning you have to do before you can tackle any big adventure. Have differently abled family members who require extra care and consideration? The challenge just got even bigger -- and getting outside just became even more worth it. It’s that juxtaposition that Melody Forsyth, a mom of four, discovered after her daughter, Ruby, was born with Down Syndrome. While the experience of Down can span a broad spectrum, Ruby, now age 5, is nonverbal, uses oxygen overnight and can only hike short distances. Still, it was her birth and learning how to care for her that first pushed Melody and her family into nature to find calm and adventure. The family now backpacks together with one parent typically carrying Ruby, explores National Parks and other wild spaces and makes an intentional habit of spending time together outside not just in spite of their challenges, but because of them. It’s that experience of watching Ruby and each other grow and discover their own interests and abilities outside that inspired Melody to start her Instagram feed, DownWithAdventure. There she shares her family’s journey to connect in nature and raise awareness around Down Syndrome. But chasing big dreams in nature doesn’t come to Melody’s busy family without some really careful planning, factoring in the needs of all of her children and each of their special interests -- not just Ruby. In today’s episode Melody gifts us insight into not just how she makes it work, but how you can, too. Some of the good stuff: [2:13] Melody Forsyth’s favorite outdoor space [3:18] How Melody learned to head outside [4:25] All about Ruby [5:42] What it’s like to adventure with an awesome but heavy daughter [9:44] What nature means to their family [12:10] Does nature mean different things to different family members? [15:00] How it connects them [20:24] How nature has helped her connect with her kids [30:02] How do we bring the calm nature gives our families to our inside life? [33:00] How do we set and chase big outdoor family goals? [39:27] Melody’s favorite and most essential outdoor gear [43:09] Melody’s favorite outdoor moment Connect with this episode: Follow DownWithAdventure on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/downwithadventure/ Watch this cool video about Melody from Salomon Women: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=150297497071018 Follow Humans Outside on Instagram: www.instagram.com/humansoutside Win a Humans Outside decal by signing up for our newsletter: https://humansoutside.com/newsletter/ Find full show notes at humansoutside.com https://www.humansoutside.com/podcasts/