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I am a person who craves family time. I don’t know how to explain it, but I just need time with my people. And while I am just as happy as I can be if said family time involves staying in our pajamas all day and bowling on the Wii, it’s always a special treat when we can get together with our extended family or do something a little out of the ordinary.
So, because it’s springtime and we are finally able to hang outside again after a very long, very gray winter, I thought I’d make a little list of our top five favorite family activities. I’m not going to include pajama time on the list because that one’s pretty much a given from day to day (just sayin’), so just know that in between these somewhat more active pursuits, there’s a whole lot of book reading while wearing some sort of flannel in our house. It’s who we are. It’s what we do.
1. Soccer
Our little guy is playing his fourth season of soccer, and his games have turned into something we really enjoy as a family. It helps that the kids actually understand the game now. Because I’m telling you: those first couple of seasons, while adorable enough, were the sporting equivalent sitting in bleachers so that we could watch a toddler try to herd cats. It’s so much more fun now, and it’s a great way to spend a Saturday morning. Plus, our new folding chairs that we ordered through Tropicana Juicy Rewards have made the games even more enjoyable. For reals.
2. Get-togethers with the great big family
We love being with our extended family, and since we’re all sort of scattered around Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, it’s a treat for the younger cousins to be able to run and play and scream together. There’s nothing like sitting around a table with people who have known you since you were born – and I can’t wait to see how the littlest generation carries on the tradition.
3. Mississippi State games
We discovered this past fall that spending a day at a college football game is SOLID GOLD in terms of family time. We made some priceless memories and had an absolute blast. Basketall and baseball games are just as fun. But if it’s blazing hot at the baseball game, then I would suggest that you can have just as much fun watching the game on television, just as the good Lord intended.
4. An afternoon at the bookstore or library
This might sound a little boring to some people, but this is one of our favorites.There’s something about finding a cozy corner in a bookstore and snuggling up to look at some books. The combination of the quiet and the snuggling usually makes me a little drowsy, but oh my goodness it’s a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. Our little guy loves to read, so he’s always super-excited when his daddy and I suggest this family time option.
5. The beach
It’s our happy place. Plain and simple. If I could go anywhere in the world with my people – besides home, of course – the beach would be it. We all love being there, and every time we leave, we can’t wait to go back. Family time perfection, it is.
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Can’t wait to hear about what your family loves to do together!
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we love cooking together
We like to have family movie nights on Friday nights. Good movies and yummy popcorn popped on the stove.
I have to agree on the beach being our “happy” place as well! We live near the Jersey shore and go there as many times as possible in the summer months. And we LOVE amusement and water parks!
The zoo and the park for a BBQ are also some of our faves!
we love to do anything together as long as it involves ice cream. yum!
We love to expolore the big retired military battleships like the USS New Jersey, the USS Massachusetts, the USS North Carolina, and the USS Wisconsin so far. It takes hours to do it, and there’s a lot of laughing and exercise involved, plus a bunch of goofy photo opportunities.
Hmmm… playing Scrabble together; Eating a good homecooked meal; going to church; and travelling together now that us kids are older and out of the house- those are some of my favorite family-time activities. Thanks, BooMama!
We LOVE going to Auburn football games together! My boys have been extreme fans for years (thanks to hubby) and their ladies have embraced their love of AU… They are even following the recruiting trips by the coaches!!!
Jane (artfully graced)
We go to Florida State football games together. Sometimes basketball and baseball games as well. Good times…
Family movie night is a tradition in our household. We pull out the sofa bed, get in our pj’s and watch a good movie while we’re all snuggled up together. Love it!
Cooking and eating – my favorite family time is when my whole family (aunts, uncles, cousins too) can get together and there is usually a meal involved! It used to be Sunday dinners at grandma’s on Sundays, but now that there are so many of us, it doesn’t matter where, but there’s always food.
We love walking our dog together, playing basketball, playing board games, and watching movies together.
We have a fire ring built in our back yard with large barn stones all around it. As often as we can, we have as many kids and grandkids as we can round up over for hot dogs and marshmallows. And shenanigans, of course.
We love riding bikes together and hiking.
A day at the park, complete with picnic and feeding the ducks. :)
Lately, we’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen together – we baked yummy bread last night!
We love to go hiking!
Any manner of picnic or visits to the park.
My favorite thing would be if we could get all the sisters/brothers/inlaws together. My husband’s sister and family have been overseas for 2 years- coming back to the states this summer!
We love big family meals and laughing around the table.
we love to watch ‘law and order’ together…it reminds me that my guys are not so little anymore and i have to adjust to their growing up
I like going to football games also. That would top my list. But just any time spent together is a blessing.
I’m trying to raise book nerds like myself, so it’s gotta be the library!
We all love Disney World and it’s our “happy place”…and for the four of us, planning it is half the fun… just booked our trip for September last night!
We love going for walks together in the evening.
We love to watch football together GO GATORS, and get a little sad when the bowl games end. Bring on the fall!
we like going to the park together.
One of my favorite activities to do with my family is go to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Baseball Games. We always have such a blast. The kids hate the off season!
We love to go to our cabin and spend the weekend. Lots of swimming, fishing, hiking,toasting marshmallows, extended family and visiting with the neighboring farmers. Of course there are cows too!!!
1. Playing Speed Scrabble: we are word-a-holics!
2. Bike rides, hiking, or anything else that gets us moving outside.
3. Fondue! When my family gets together at Christmas, we have an annual tradition of fondueing in the living room. Love it!
4. Song parodies: we get a kick out of writing and/or performing parodies of popular songs.
5. Anything competitive: we love to challenge each other to a little friendly competition, no matter what it is. :)
We love camping together, going to baseball and football games and having bananagram “tournaments”
Family Camp! And we’re going to go to Disney World this summer. I’m sure that will be a blast!
we’ll be heading to the beach (lake michigan, that is) many times this summer, i’m sure. there’s something for everyone there. i just hope i can squeeze in one of those sunshine-y naps.
We love spending time in the backyard. We have a tent,trampoline, and a mini pool.
BBQ and badmitten!
WE LOVE TO GO CAMPING CLOSE TO LAKE MICHIGAN. WE SIT AROUND THE FIRE EACH TAKING TURNS TELLING SCARY STORIES.
We love to take day trips to lancaster, the beach etc
GO CAMPING mjharvey26@yahoo.com
bluegirl1423 at gmail dot com
We love to swim and go for long walks
On rainy days, we love to lay on the couch and watch movies. Most of the time, it’s kiddie movies like Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. But we love to snuggle under blankets and be lazy as a family.
jennifer.gilmore @ gcmweb.org
On weekends, we play scrabble or monopoly. We also take walks on Sunday mornings and go to parks.
We love to watch movies and cook together!
We love going to the beach together.
We love to throw the football around in the yard while the burgers cook on the grill.
my family believes in the adage that the family that plays together stays together. we like the beach, we like the mountans and we love playing ball in our own back yard.
We love a family game night of Wii play! Lots of fun and some good movement too!
I would love to go back and do all the fun things you are are doing with your children. Enjoy every minute with them.
BooMama, I can’t believe you missed the most important activity – eating! There’s nothing I love better than a good family BBQ, sitting around telling family stories. That’s my favorite :)
When we aren’t watching movies together, we’re H.O.S.: HOOKED ON SCRABBLE. We’ve nearly worn out the gameboard, but it never stops entertaining us. Fun without spending money is MEGA-fun for me.
We love to play games together as a family. We like board games like Ticket to Ride, and card games like rummy.
We love to cook and eat together!
We love playing board games and just hanging out.
This time of year, our family time includes our two vegetable gardens and flower gardens. Our 4 year old son loves to help us in the gardens, and when everything ripens he loves to help prepare it and eat it too.
psmomreviews@gmail.com
We have a park behind out home so we go there sometimes and travel through the woods there. It is great because we feed the geese over there and it is a treat for all of us.
shopgurl101 @gmail .com
One of the best activities we do as a family is to eco-walk. We take walks in our own neighborhood, along country roads, etc. and pick up trash/recyclables. Its a great way to get outside and to beautify your surroundings!
I really love gardening with my family. We have large flower and veggie gardens in our yard and its so relaxing and rewarding to be out there and see your hard work pay off…and eat some of it! LOL
We love to go to a huge indoor waterpark that’s an hour away from our house. Since it is way too cold to swim outside for the majority of the year, we love to go there and enjoy a day of swimming and sliding no matter what the weather outside!