Jennifer Fontaine

Let’s Give the Axel Project Its Wings!

Posted on June 17, 2013February 24, 2016 by Jennifer Fontaine

A few months back our little community of Outdoor Bloggers was rocked by the devastating news of the murder of 2 year old Axel Charrette. Through the heartache and tears has emerged an inspired Project that I now have the honor of sharing with you guys! The Charrette family has announced the launch of the Axel Project created in honor of Axel and its mission is to introduce and nurture a lifelong passion for cycling to children and their families.

Axel’s love for all things bikes, clearly instilled by his family’s passion for cycling, and his particular afﬁnity for chasing his brother around on his Strider bike, led to the creation of the Axel Project, and its natural corporate partnership with Strider Sports International, Inc.

Randy Charrette, Axel’s father and Project co-founder, expressed his passion for the endeavor, “In the months after our loss we wanted to come up with a way to honor our son’s memory. We decided to set up the Axel Project. Axel loved his Strider and we loved watching him gain conﬁdence and enjoy life as he rode around. By getting more children and families on bicycles we are helping build healthier communities and a better world.”

Axel Charrette

The Axel Project’s immediate goal is to provide balance bikes to children in need. Organizations can apply to receive Strider bikes, for a nominal fee which includes shipping, as well as instructions on teaching children the basics of riding, by ﬁlling out a simple online application on the Axel Project website: http://axelproject.com/apply.

Jen Charrette, Axel’s mother and Project co-founder, explains, “We believe biking not only builds conﬁdence in young children but also improves health, is an outlet to express pure joy, is a foundation to a lifelong appreciation of nature, and helps strengthen family bonds because it’s an activity the entire family can do together. The Axel Project was an obvious way for us to forever memorialize Axel and everything we came to love about riding together as a family.”

Axel on his bike!

Ryan McFarland, founder of Strider Bikes, had only two words when he was asked if his company would be the founding sponsor of the Axel Project. “We’re In,” was his immediate, and indelible response.

Donations to the Axel Project can be made at http://www.axelproject.com. All donations will be used to fulﬁll the organization’s mission. In addition, for every Strider bike sold on the Axel Project website, one will be donated to a child in need.

Precious Axel Charrette

I hope you will join me in supporting this amazing project and this inspiring family!

About The Axel Project
The Axel Project is Ridgway, Colorado-based nonproﬁt organization dedicated to the fundamental principle that a productive, happy life begins with bikes. Our mission is to introduce and nurture a lifelong passion for cycling to children and their families. While our goal is broad, our ﬁrst project is aimed at providing balance bicycles and instruction to children in need, ages 18 months to 5-years of age, to teach the basic skills necessary to get them riding on two wheels—with their friends, their family and forever. For more information or to contact the Axel Project, visit http://www.axelproject.com.

About Strider Sports International, Inc.
Strider Sports International, Inc. designs efﬁcient, no-pedal balance bikes that encourage toddlers to ride, learn, and explore the world on two wheels. Founded by Ryan McFarland in January 2007, Strider Sports is a company full of passionate riders of dirt, mountain, street, and road bikes. The goal of Strider Sports is to simplify a bike to its essence, so that proper size, lightweight and simplicity combine to eliminate any fear of riding and instill conﬁdence in young new riders. The patented STRIDER™ No-Pedal Bike is now distributed in over 35 countries. To learn more and to ﬁnd a retailer in your area, visit http://www.StriderBikes.com.

About Strider™ No-Pedal Bikes
If your toddler can walk, your toddler can rider a STRIDER™. STRIDER No-Pedal Balance Bikes were developed speciﬁcally to help toddlers and young children learn balance and coordination BEFORE pedaling. The simple, nopedal design allows toddlers to learn to ride on two wheels, avoiding tricycle tip-overs and training wheel wobbles, and instilling considerable conﬁdence and stellar bike handling skills sure to last a lifetime. Strider No-Pedal Balance Bikes encourage the development of spatial awareness, balance and basic motor skills so that all children can reach their maximum riding potential faster, better and safer. Available at http://www.StriderBikes.com.

[Food Series] Green Beans in Olive Oil (Zeytinyağlı Taze Fasulye)

Posted on June 6, 2013February 24, 2016 by Jennifer Fontaine

The Turkish cuisine has so many fresh, healthy summertime dishes and there’s nothing like chilled green beans in olive oil (Zeytinyağlı Taze Fasulye) to remind me of the warm breezes of the Mediterranean. This dish is so incredibly easy to make ahead and nibble on throughout the week! It’s the perfect side dish or can shine as the star of the meal.

Green Beans in Olive Oil (Zeytinagli Taze Fasulye)

Ingredients:
1 pound of green beans
1 tomato
1 clove of garlic
4 green onions
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup of water
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare your green beans by trimming their tips. Finely chop the green onions (tender green tops included) and toss them into your pot with half of the olive oil and some salt and pepper for two minutes. Add the finely minced garlic to the pot and saute for another minute. Add the finely diced tomato to your pot and let it simmer for another 2 minutes. Finally add the green beans, the rest of the olive oil, a touch more salt and pepper and the water to the pot and stir. Turn the flame down to medium low, cover and go have a glass of wine! It should take about 20 minutes to cook. Don’t stir too often, but a couple of times throughout is fine. This dish best served chilled and is really yummy with Cold Cucumber and Yogurt Soup (Cacık)! A great way to stay cool in the summer!

[Guest Blogger Series] Hiking with Grandkids and a bit of Luck by Ernie Allison

Posted on June 3, 2013February 24, 2016 by Jennifer Fontaine

Hi Gang! Please welcome Ernie Allison to the Mommy Hiker Blog! Ernie is a grandfather of two, a Nature Enthusiast and a self-proclaimed Bird Nerd!

I consider myself to be a pretty lucky person. I’ve lived a great life full of wonderful children who have blessed me with even more wonderful grandchildren. I’m to the age now where I can pretty much do whatever I please, and boy do I enjoy it!

Being outdoors and bird watching have been a passion of mine for a very long time and I spend every moment possible doing so. The only thing in the world I would rather be doing is spending time with my grandkids. Now here’s where I consider myself to be an exceptionally lucky person—my grandkids enjoy being outdoors and bird watching too!! That’s right, I get to have my cake and eat it too! (Yes, I realize that was corny but I’m old so please forgive me.)

Now that it’s starting to warm up outside, I have been able to take my grandkids on quite a few nature hikes. Being that I’m a giant bird nerd, we always make a point of keeping our eyes peeled for any birds that might happen to be flying overhead, or resting on a branch. Considering how much of a ruckus 3 young boys can make, I’m pretty surprised that we see as many as we do.

My youngest grandson, Matt, has an uncanny ability to remember the names of birds. He’s always the first one to shout out a name when we spot a bird. Sometimes he even throws the Latin name out there which I would say is pretty impressive for a 7 year old. This is lucky for me because I’m rarely put on the spot anymore when it comes to identifying birds.

On our most recent hike we went to a place in the Owyhee Mountains called Jump Creek Canyon. It’s only a short drive from where we live so it is the perfect place for us to go for a nice day hike. Just as the name suggests, the trail follows a creek through the canyon to a waterfall that is deep enough to jump off of.

It’s still a bit chilly to go swimming but of course that didn’t stop my grandsons and neither did I. Watching each of my grandsons leap off a ledge and into a pool of water is always a treat for me. Their faces light up as they whoop and holler and even when they are shivering cold in the canyon breeze, their smiles never leave their faces.

As you can imagine, they begged and pleaded for me to jump with them. One of the perks of being a grandparent is that you rarely ever have to tell your grandkids “no” (that’s their parent’s job) but this was an exception for me. As it turned out, my luck kicked in again and I was able to use the excuse of being the ‘official cameraman’. I’m dreading the day when they figure out that they camera can be removed from around my neck. I may be old but I’m not crazy enough yet to face that cold water!

I’m excited for the summer ahead because of the time it means I get to spend with my grandkids. While I’m lucky enough to be able to see them all year-round, summers are the opportune time because they aren’t as busy with schoolwork and afterschool activities. I plan to take them to Jump Creek Canyon many more times through the course of summer as well as to some new locations.

I feel like this is the point where I should be wrapping up my hiking and bird watching plans with my grandkids but it’s something that I never get tired of talking about. Lucky for me, I never have to stop.

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About the Author

Ernie Allison is a self-proclaimed bird nerd who never tires of testing his luck. His family will tell you that he always has something to say which is perhaps why he enjoys writing for Bird Feeders, the supplier of squirrel proof bird feeders.