Leslie Hsu Oh

As seen in National Geographic, Washington Post, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Outside, Backpacker, Parents, Smithsonian, Sierra

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“Oh, I’m Skippy Kyra Jones, With a mind of my own, And I’ll bounce on my bed for hours. I know I’m a cat, But forget about that…” Kyra sings the last song from Skippyjon Jones and tosses it off the side of the bed. Strands of her long black hair tickle my nose.  I kiss her warm little head, nestled in the crook of my right shoulder.  She reaches for my face with her lips and plants a kiss on my nose. “Pointy Kiss,” she giggles. I look forward to this time of the day, where warm beneath a … [Read more...] about Kit, Kat, Kick

We pulled into the empty parking lot at the Pioneer Ridge trailhead.   A symphony of snores rose from the backseat of our truck.  Thomas and I looked at each other and started to laugh. The trailhead wasn’t more than 30 miles from our home, but it had taken us five hours to get ready. “I’m exhausted,” I admitted to Thomas. “Me too!” he said. The kids had been a terror that morning.  Ethan had scaled my bookshelf and smashed a ceramic figurine that was very important to me.  When we asked … [Read more...] about Kids, Craters, and Cliffs: Part II

Before we had kids, Thomas and I saved every penny for adventure travel.  On our first date, I captured his heart with stories of mountain climbing in the Lake District and backpacking through Europe in search of Holy Grail sites.   He hooked me with tales of eating fried scorpions and frogs that poured down from the skies in China and scuba diving in Phuket.  The year before our marriage, we trekked the Inca trail through the Andes to Machu Picchu. We moved to Alaska with plans to summit … [Read more...] about Kids, Craters, and Cliffs: Part I

When our garage door rumbles open, my kids and I race down the stairs and try to greet Thomas before he has even climbed out of his truck.  Kyra runs circles around my husband and sings, “Daddee is home. Daddee is home.” I can barely hold onto squirmy Ethan as he leaps into my husband’s arms.  By the time he steps through the door, the kids have plastered him with kisses and his tummy is teased by something yummy wafting from the kitchen.  Then, we all sit down together for a meal (no toys or … [Read more...] about Parenting with Avatars