Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/685392
14 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • June 2016 Muldrow, who enjoys fishing and has taken up fly fishing, says his kids enjoy the sport, Bess particularly. "Bess [enjoys fishing] more than Grey. Grey prefers to fish when he thinks he's going to catch something. I tie flies and Bess has recently started taking an interest in that. We will sit at the table and she tie flies with me," he says. On a trip with his Boy Scout troop, Grey discovered that he liked to paddle on the rapids. So Muldrow bought four used kayaks and two canoes so the family could enjoy the experience together. He and Tamara used to kayak years ago. Aside from hiking and fishing, the family also camps together in the Shenandoah. Grey is learning to rock climb through scouts, and Muldrow and Bess ride bikes on the Heritage Trail. "My daughter is picking up more of the interests that I have much more than my son is," says Muldrow. "She's much more prone to say, 'I want to ride bikes or go fishing.' Gray is the one who if you say, 'I want go hike down by the river,' he's the first one to say, 'Yeah, I want to do that.' He likes going out in canoes and kayaks." Muldrow believes that keeping the kids outdoors helps to teach his children how to deal with disap- pointment and adversity, especially since his chil- dren are gifted students who excel academically. WRITTEN BY CHRIS JONES PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHANIE JOHNSON Venturing Web developer and online marketing specialist Chris Muldrow and his wife, Tamara, a biochemist, shared a love for the outdoors and being on the water prior to having their two children. Their son, Grey, a sixth grader at Walker-Grant Middle School, and their daughter, Mary Elizabeth (called Bess), a second grader at Hugh Mercer, have embraced their parents penchant for the natural world. "One of the kids' favorite is to do the trail that goes down by Friends of the Rappahannock and down by the river. So when the weather is warmer, we'll be out there hiking on that trail and going on the rocks in the river or either fishing or looking for wildlife," says Muldrow, who adds that his wife and daughter also like to draw fungi, and photograph and identify plants. Muldrow family bonds over a love of the outdoors keeping the kids outdoors helps to teach (them) how to deal with disappointment and adversity... 14 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • June 2016 and photograph and identify plants. keeping the kids outdoors helps to teach (them) how to deal with disappointment and adversity...