Three Things : Weekdays + Creative Family Giveaway

I LOVE Amanda and her blog and have been dying for her book so I must comment. I don't have kids yet (one-on-the-way!!) but my hubby and I love to go outside together. anything we can do in the canyon we love. Even if it is as simple as packing sandwiches for dinner and lying out on a blanket talking and eating, we love to be outside.

sounds crazy but eating diner!! It is one of the only times that everyone is home at the same time- my 2 children are 12 years apart so needless to say- they have very different social schedules!!!

When it's too hot in the house, we grab a couple of blankets and all lay down together on the front lawn, look at the clouds and talk. Then we usually go for a little walk. It's so fun the things that a 7 year old and 4 year old come up with to talk about, and we learn a lot about each other and have fun.

Hands down.....CAMPING!.....all the pretence, technology, distractions are stripped away. Hikes, games, laughing & smores! Love, love, love camping.

Family Favorites...
Board games, wrestling/tickling on the floor, camping in our trailer, snuggling with books before bed, nightly family prayer and many more.
Our family is my greatest blessing.

One of our favorite thing to do as a family is while sitting together for dinner we each tell a high point and low point for the day. My kids think its funny when their dad always picks going to work as his low point and coming home as his high point.

Thanks for the giveway! My favorite thing to do as a family is hang out on the couch and watch a movie together.

just being outside together as a family in the summer! Playing on the swingset, eating popsicles, slurping down lemonade! Oh how I love summer!

Our favorite family time is playing at the park. At the moment the swings are my little guy's favorite. This looks like a great book!

Another fantastic giveaway, Ali, you really know how to brighten our days! Thanks ...
Right now my family is just my hubby and I though soon - September - we are including a little one to the mix! Life changing, right!?
But for now, my favorite family times are our morning snuggles when my hubby comes back to bed after his earlier wake up to get me up, have a good talk, and start the day out right. Evenings too, after supper also, we'll often curl up on the couch for some couple time, talking over our day, imagining what our baby-to-be will be like, and generally having alot of laughs together. I love that I love just hanging out with my husband!

We love to cuddle all together in our bed and take long walks as a family.

Picnics as a family were always SO much fun as children... esp. ones at the beach!

My favorite thing to do as a family that brings us closer together is to all snuggle on the sofa together and watch a movie. I also like when we take trips and experience new things together.

We started playing a board game after dinner each weeknight. We took turns picking the game and we all had fun together as a family.

Spending time at the beach seems to reconnect us immediately.
On an every day level, preparing and eating dinner as a family.

Our favorite family time is our activity time. Each day we try to sit down and do something together: drawing/painting, putting lego sets together, play board games, etc. Anything where we can sit together, talk, and encourage each other.

My favorite thing has always been reading aloud. I always loved when my mom would read us books like James and the Giant Peach on car trips or when we came back to campsite after a day full of activity.

Oh this book looks like alot of fun. Thnx for the thought of all us new moms. My little one is 18 months and we're still on a learning curve. i think we will be for the rest of our lives.

We like to spend time as a family on our boat in the SF Bay.

My favorite activity with my husband and daughter is to dance! Elena is 14 months old and she loves dancing "Ainsi font font font les petites marionnettes!!!!", one of her favorite!!!!
Love,
Emeline

Family vacations! We took one every summer as kids with our imediate family. Now that we are grown we go on vacation with the enitre family. (immediate and extended) Our most recent trip to Oaxaca, Mexico had 11 of us going. It was awesome!

I have heard great things of this book- I would love to stash it away for my future grandkids!!! Hint Hint Hint Melinda....

I have heard really good things about this book and would love to get a copy in my hot, little hands! My husband is an almond farmer and we love to go to the orchards and "explore" all of its parts: leaves, blossoms, bugs, small animals, etc. My daughter loves to collect little natural goodies and keep them in the car to remind her of our "adventuring."

I find that the best times for our family is when my husband and I put aside everything else and act like kids with our 16 month old son. This might be building towers with blocks, rolling around on the floor, running around outside together. Whatever it is, it's usually silly and fun... just the way our son likes it!

Every Sunday the family goes to the beach. My in-laws own ancestral property on the beach... So my husband's grandparents, his numerous uncles and aunts, his cousins, and nephews and neices get together once a week. They have a "ranch" complete with an outdoor kitchen. We all sit around talking, making food, eating food and swimming. I get to relax too because the kids have their cousins to play with all day long.