Every Day is a Holiday When You Have Family

Josh and Aubrey Naylor escape the Idaho cold for the beaches of Florida and California when the family budget an timeline allow, and trips Switzerland, Iceland, and New Zealand are on the short list, says Josh, because the kids need to see the world.”

“I like seeing their reactions when they visit new places,” he said. “Vacations are great because there’s no distractions, just focusing on the kids and doing things together.”

Good luck pulling Charles, 9, away from Island Park Reservoir and trout fishing on the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River with his dad. “He’d spend three or four nights a week on the lake with the boat, water skis, and jet ski if he could,” joked his dad.

Eloise, 7, likes the family road trips, but she’s content hanging out with her father. “She’s my sidekick; in fact, we were out on the lake just last night. She likes to get on the jet ski with me, but really, anything I’m doing she wants to be part of it,” he said.

Then there’s Kennedy, 16, “the family bookworm,” says her dad. “But she will go for walks with us when she’s not reading,” he said warmly. Chloe, 19, likes singing songs with her dad—“anything David Archuleta or Randy Travis. We’ll try and yodel, and we laugh at our inability to do it.”

Helping the kids learn the consequences of their decisions is important, says Josh Naylor, as is spirituality. I’m not over imposing and stopping them from making choices; I just want them to be aware of ‘here’s what happens if you do this,’ and ‘here’s what happen if you do that,’” he said. “I want them to experience the world, but I want them to become aware of the possible outcomes of their decisions. I encourage them to enjoy life because you only get to live it once, so if they want to do something that’s out of the ordinary that would make them enjoy life, I don’t mind. I support them.”