MILLCREEK, Utah — Seven months on from a tragic crash that claimed the life of a popular Utah family vlogger, loved ones are keeping her memory alive by publishing a children’s book that captures her her love of travel.
Elise Caffee may have been best known for her social media presence, sharing how she saw the world with her family on their "3 Kids Travel" digital pages.
“Whether it was hiking or exploring or painting,” said friend and co-author Tiffany Rosenhan. “She always had a spirit of adventure, and I think it stemmed from her own childhood living abroad.”
But Caffee carried another passion for the printed word - that’s how she met and ultimately bonded with Rosenhan.
“Just trying new things was kind of a core element to our friendship,” Rosenhan added.
Rosenhan is an author and says Caffee spent decades as an editor at major publishing houses. They used that experience to create a shared vision of becoming publishers on their own.
“Jumelle is twin in French, and we did that because Elise and I are both identical twins,” said Rosenhan.
So Jumelle Press was born in 2022, and ever since, they looked for a way to capture that essence in a book.
“How to build a fun, magical story that kind of encapsulated our shared philosophy to travel and wonder,” Rosenhan said.
But this past March, that came to a halt.
“It’s been really tough,” said Dan Caffee, Elise’s husband. “She was such a big presence for all of us in our family and in the community.”
Elise’s husband Dan emotionally reflected on how a car crash took her from them far too soon.
“The accident happened while we were traveling, we were in Mexico and doing what we loved to do,” Caffee said.
Popular Utah family vlogger passes away in Salt Lake City following Mexico crash
He says that ever since, they’ve wanted to live her motto and "Keep Freakin’ Going," using the hashtag #KFG in recent posts in honor of that.
“She had planned a trip to Egypt for all of us for spring break,” said Caffee, and they decided to still go on it after she had passed. “It was an amazing experience, and it showed us that we are able to still do things. I think she would’ve been proud of us.”
In the meantime, Rosenhan helped add the title of author to Elise’s legacy by finishing their book, "Pippa and Poppy’s European Adventure."
“It’s a fun, whimsical story about two identical twins who explore Europe,” said Rosenhan.
While Dan’s excited for any child to pick up this book and turn through its pages, he also hopes this will remind his own three kids of the lasting impact their mother made every single day.
“I think that she would just be so thrilled to share the joy of traveling with kids with the world,” said Caffee.
As she thumbs through it herself in her Millcreek home, Rosenhan takes pride in sharing one more journey with a loving mother and friend.
“Because a lot of people wait to take the trip and the truth is you never know how things are going to shake out in our lives,” Rosenhan said. “It feels like magic working with Elise.”
The book hits shelves on Tuesday. If you’d like to get a copy, you can go to jumellepress.com for more information.
