The skinny on Mickie and A.J. Handegard:

Meeting five days before we were both scheduled to graduate from Florida State University,  we were quickly swept up by one another and almost immediately dropped all inhibitions to explore what was a powerful attraction and mutual curiosity, plus we really wanted to do it.

Unfortunately, given the timing, it looked to be an intense flame with a short life.  We both had set plans to attend graduate school 888 miles from one another, and neither of us was interested in dating long distance…..

After three years dating long distance we finally came together in Houston, TX where we promptly began living in sin.  Since then we’ve spent eight powerful years in New York City, and an adventurous two and a half in Los Angeles.

Mickie has a long background in health care administration, focused in the non-profit realm, with the most recent professional shift having been over to the for-profit corporate world.  After experiencing both, she has a clear pull and preference toward the non-profit side, one of her ultimate professional goals and dreams being a position as field logistics specialist for Doctors Without Borders.

A.J. has spent his professional life continually drawn toward creative endeavors.  You can see a little more about his work at ajhandegard.com.

So what’s this all about?  Good question. When we were dating, family and friends would ask “When are you going to settle down and get married?”  We eventually did that.  When we were married, family and friends would ask, “When are you going to settle down and have kids?”  We did that too.  Then we did it again.  Then, because anything worth doing is worth overdoing, we did it again.  However, part of that statement – “When are you going to settle down and…” has always rubbed us the wrong way.  Why do you have to “settle down” and to do anything?  Sounds boring.  How often have you heard people say, “Once you have kids, forget about (insert favorite action verb)”

Well, we’re convinced living a full adventurous life does not have to end once you have kids.  This website is a chronicle of our experience raising three boys, Sebastian (6), Santana (3), Kai (6 months), sometimes doing things the hard way and most of the time loving the payoff.  It is part lifestyle blog, part travel blog, part inner dialogue.  We don’t have all the answers we’re making it up as we go along, and we fall on our face plenty.  In fact, we may be working up a good one presently. But we know our crew and what works for our family dynamic.

And, no, we don’t have a trust fund.  Not by a long shot.  In fact we were hit hard by the economic downturn, but saw it as an exciting opportunity to leap for the lifestyle of which we’d been dreaming.  We won’t look back now.

Kickass Adventuring with Kids is about getting out of our comfort zone. Through challenges, we grow and discover things about ourselves that bring our family closer together.

Kickass Adventuring with Kids is about inspiring ourselves to reject inertia and routine for their own sake, rallying motivation and calling for action.

And, sometimes, Kickass Adventuring with Kids is just about making it through the day, not knowing what exactly you accomplished but knowing everyone’s in bed and you’re dead tired.

If you dig the blog keep visiting, subscribe, pass it along.  If you don’t like it, you’re horrible parents with kids well on their way toward rehab, so good luck with that.

The Kickass Crew