Family Time

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I took a little blogging break last week, in part because I could feel my priorities and my time management skills spiraling out of control.  I wanted to spend some intentional time with my family.  It was a great week and I’m feeling on a much more even keel now.

I thought I’d share some of the ways my family and I have been enjoying spending time together recently.

1.  Biking.  In my obese years, I never, ever thought I would enjoy such an active way of spending time together as a family.  Now, I love it!  We’ve gone a couple of times in the last week.  Well, the first time Brianna and I walked and ran, while everyone else rode.  This worked out well because it was easier for Megan to keep up.

On that note, this weekend I saw the coolest thing for young kids.  It’s called a trailer bike and something I would be totally interested in if I had smaller kids – and, honestly, I’m still pretty interested in it for Megan.

2.  Playing video games.  Yeah, I know they get a bad rap, but there are several video games that we really enjoy playing together as a family.  Wii Sports is one of our favorites.  Brianna got a PS2 for Christmas (yeah, she wanted the older system) and we’ve all been enjoying playing the Sing Star games.  And, of course, we love our Rock Band.

3.  Watching TV.  Again with the bad rap, but we love watching shows like The Biggest Loser and American Idol together.  As we watch, we talk about who we like and don’t like, what’s going on, and who we hope wins.  They aren’t the kind of shows that you have to be perfectly quiet through in order not to miss stuff.

We also really like Pawn Stars.  Just in case you wondered.  And, piling up in the bed with a movie and a big bowl of popcorn can’t be beat.

4.  Playing board and card games.  Some of our favorites are Uno Attack, Aggravation, and Pictionary, which we always play “win, lose, or draw” style on the dry erase board.

5.  Reading.  Okay, this is more of a one-on-one thing since we haven’t ever really perfected the family read-aloud, but Megan and I have really been enjoying the Little House series at bedtime.  And, Josh and I are engrossed in the Jedi Apprentice series, which are really quite interesting.

6.  Coloring.  This one tends to be just me and Megan, but occasionally we can draw Josh in with a Star Wars coloring book and Brianna is totally into drawing anime.

7.  Nerf wars.  Just typing that makes me realize that it’s been way too long since we’ve done this one.  So much fun!

8.  Going out for dessert.  Whether it’s a midday Frosty like Josh and I enjoyed yesterday (except I had water…trying to get that last 30 pounds off) or $1 scoop night at the local ice cream shop, everyone enjoys a special dessert treat every now and again.

9.  Camp fires.  My kids love it when Dad builds a camp fire in the front yard.  We roast marshmallows and build s’mores.  Yum!  It’s been a little while since we’ve done this one, but I bet we get another chance or two before spring is officially here.

What are some things that you and your family enjoy doing together?

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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12 Comments

  1. Hi Kris! We did some similar activities this past week. We started family walks again, enjoyed playing "Clue" and Wii sports, and had a family outing for milkshakes at our local historic ice cream stand that just reopened for the season on Feb. 18! The ice cream shop, Carl's, is so popular we had to stand in line (but it is so worth the wait!). Love spending time together as a family!

  2. We love Pawn Stars, too. My mom & dad are heading to Las Vegas soon, and my son asked them to head to the Pawn Stars pawn shop and take a picture (with Chumlee, if possible).

    Too funny!
    Kim

  3. Several of the things you mentioned are things we do also. We have enjoyed playing the Wii together (it's new to us!) and I do read to the girls in the evenings sometimes and even Dad listens in. We enjoy going to the dollar theater together too.

  4. I tend to get obsessed with social networking. It's good to take a break and re-group and get into better habit with priorities. Sounds like a really fun week!!

  5. We love video games here. My dyslexic son actually learned to read by playing video games. card games and board games are more fantastic fun learning experiences. Its great to see other families using these wonderful tools of fun to learn with.

  6. We have just started family bike rides again, as we now all 5 have bikes for the first time in my 6 year old's life. It is great exercise and fun.

  7. Shopping at Walmart and ULTA cosmetics…. that is the best when I'm out with just the girls!

  8. My daughter's been kind of a homebody lately, but when I can pry her out of the house, we like going out to lunch, seeing movies, visiting museums and browsing at the bookstore. At home, we look at funny web sites together or just hang out and talk. Oh, and we both love to sing along with music in the car–the louder, the better!

  9. We like playing games too. Our current favorite is Wits and Wagers Family and Say Anything. My daughter and I love to watch movies together and some we watch with my boys too. My husband just can't stay awake in the evenings for movies though. He gets up early!

    Samantha

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