Author: Kjerstin Klein

Everyone knows my white minivan. It is the standard suburban working mom mobile. At least it is all-wheel drive so I can make it to the local ski slope and distinguishable from the multitude of other white minivans only by the flames that adorn the quarter panels. My flames are my little rebellion against the soccer mom image I now embody.


Oddly enough I drive a minivan by choice. Yes, yes, I realize this surprises you, no one actually chooses to drive a minivan – except me. My reasons are simple; it is the one vehicle into which I can load all (and I mean all) of the necessary toys for a family of four. Bikes, surf boards and kayaks can go on top, skis, snowboards, wake boards, skim boards, appropriate foot wear, coolers and all of the necessary apparel plus the four of us can fit inside. The kids even have enough room so they aren’t killing each other along the way. It all makes my life in Pittsburgh tenable.


That is another choice that some may question. How does someone so committed to the mountain lifestyle find herself in Pittsburgh…by choice? The answer comes in a package that is about 6 feet tall, dark hair and bedroom eyes – and now the father of my two children. Having lived in Colorado for longer than I’d lived anywhere in my life I found it hard to understand why anyone would want to live anywhere else. When Greg told me he was from Pittsburgh I said “That is a great place to be from.” Little did I know two years later I would willingly pack all of my belongings, my cat and my dog to move here.