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The Pickels family

Featured Article

Fun in the Sun

Local families share their favorite sports, recreation, outdoor and travel activities

Logan and Becky Pickels

Logan and Becky own and operate Wellness Warriors, a holistic health business.

Children: Makenzie, 10, and Lexie, 8.

We love walks, biking, soccer - anything with movement. Because our family deals with autoimmune disorders, movement is part of our holistic family health plan. We go out and play together as a family, and we work out together in the garage gym. We play soccer and tennis together – we make our own foursome!

We love the beach, and we do the same things there – walk, throw a Frisbee around. We do a lot of bike riding and swimming at the beach, too. It’s an easy way to get exercise without feeling like you’re exercising. And with kids, any time you can get energy out and keep them engaged in an activity, it's a win!

Jeremy Moore and Crystal Yi

Jeremy and Crystal own Renee’s Auto Care Club. They are engaged to be married.

We’re casual hikers and enjoy exploring local trails. Last time we were at Pocahontas State Park, we hiked 14 miles!  

We also enjoy car-related spectator activities: motorsports, drag racing,auto shows. We’re regulars at Cars & Coffee, RVA’s largest informal car show – it’s held biweekly outside Regency Square Mall. Road trips are another car-related thing we like – we enjoy visiting Washington, D.C., to tour the monument district, sample restaurants, and ust explore. We hope to make it there this year during cherry blossom season.

We also love festivals. One of our favorites is the One Music Festival in Atlanta – it didn’t happen in 2020 due to Covid and we’re looking forward to returning!

Greer and Hugh Jones

Greer is principal broker at Greer Jones Properties. Hugh is a mortgage loan officer with Geneva Financial.

Child: Kaitlyn, 10.

We like to spend time outdoors. We hike, and Hugh and Kaitlyn like to camp. Top of the list is the beach: We go as often as we can. While we’re there, we hang out, play games on the beach, boogie board, and visit friends.

At home, we like Robious Landing Park – it’s right on the river, and the dogs love the trails. We have a 1½ -year-old golden retriever, Max, and a 3-year-old German shepherd, Emma. We put in a pool a year ago, and that’s now our new favorite thing. Anything that has water, we’re drawn to. Max loves the water – he jumps right in like he's going off the diving board, and I swear he’s smiling! Emma won’t even put her paw in.

Laurel and Greg Otey

Children: Imogen, 9; Juliet, 7; Felicity, 4.

We enjoy taking the kids to a park. Any bad moods instantly disappear! They are relaxed and free to be themselves when exploring nature.

We love hiking around the lake at Forest Hill Park. Three Lakes Park and Nature Center has a great playground, picnic spot, and easy walking trails. Our girls enjoy kicking a soccer ball on the fields at Rockwood Park and going to the playground. At Maymont, we can picnic and visit the animals. And Belle Isle is perfect for family hikes, bike rides, picnics, and splashing in the water.

While the kids are occupied, my husband and I can simply talk and enjoy the walk. A rare moment with three kids!

Amber and Matt Hansen

Amber owns Glow Envy Med Spa. Matt is a sales manager. 

Children: Cash, 13; Jett, 11; Lenna, 7.

We love all things outside. Matt and I met snowboarding at age 18 and the adventures haven’t stopped!

We moved to Virginia from Utah 3 years ago and love extreme sports. Our favorites are dirt biking, snowboarding, mountain biking, wakeboarding and surfing behind our boat. 

Dirt biking is a springtime fave. Our daughter rides a little pink motorcycle and our boys, started riding when they were little also. They’re so good, and it's fun to watch them fly through the air whether on a mountain bike, wake board, snowboard or dirt bike. Matt makes sure he flies higher than the boys; Amber makes sure she has the first-aid kit handy!