Three Things : Weekdays + Creative Family Giveaway

One of my very favorite things to do is to have dinner on the lake in our boat. There is nothing better than getting home from a busy day, grabbing some subway, and head out to the lake.
We have also enjoyed playing krypto as of late.

Our favorite family event is to pick a great movie (new or classic), curl up on the couch and have popcorn, snacks, and great family time! Our 2 kids call this... "family fun movie night"! We are so blessed!

My kids are grown and all but one lives out of town. Our favorite family activity is a yearly visit which includes a lot of around-the-table-talk time, laughing, remembering the past, and planning for the future. I document those visits with lots of pictures and video for future imovie and photo projects.

I suppose my favourite thing about growing up (eldest of 4 girls) was having freedom - but I only realise it when I look back now. We could cycle to town, leave bikes unlocked, go swimming, build a tree house, go fishing, whatever we wanted. We were outdoors a lot. I'm not sure if I'll be able to let my kids be as 'free' because roads are so busy now, cars go faster, etc. Maybe this safety thing is only an issue now I'm a parent....it's all about growing up I suppose! I try to stimulate my eldest daughter's creativity and let her learn by making a mess if necessary. It's all good.

Our family likes to pick a new movie (or a classic), curl up on the couch and have popcorn and snacks! Our children call this "family fun movie night"... usually it is a Friday night, but they ask for it on school nights as well. We are blessed.

Thanks for the great giveaway! The book looks great. I have a great husband and two beautiful princesses, and {almost} every night of the week we eat dinner together, pray and do "favorite part of the day" in which my three year old and five year old yell out their favorite parts of the day. Their answers are often silly, so i've started writing them down to keep in a book by the table. Anyway, thanks for the great inspiration. Love your layouts!

Once a week my family gets together for a lesson time (usually about making our family stronger or making wise choices in life), singing, game time, and of course, ending with dessert. ALL my kids look forward to this weekly event, and we even rotate who does particular "jobs". This is something I hope we'll always continue with, even as our kids get older with more busy lives. ~TanyaS

Oh, this would be awesome with our first little one on the way in just 7 short weeks. Since it is just the two of us (and the dogs) our favorite thing is game night (we're rather competitive) but we love to take long walks with the dogs as well, which give us a great time to talk and dream.

Our family enjoys time around the piano. We love to sing together!
Thanks for all the neat ideas & thoughts. I enjoy reading your blog!
C

Our most favorite thing is to go camping. It's great to get away from it all and have fun doing the outdoor stuff...We are searching for a bigger tent this year...we've been putting up 2 to accommodate the 5 of us. Looking for treasures in nature is just the best for the little ones!
Right now it is time spent at the ballpark. We didn't get home 'til after 9 last night and with games and practice we are out 4-5 nights a week...all fun!
Ali, thanks for sharing with us!

We have started having family movie nights where everyone snuggles up in our bed! The movies vary and may not always be good but we always have a lot of fun together.
Thanks for sharing a good book!

Dinner and a movie for all four of us. This way I can learn boy lingo...

Some of my favorite family times are from when my mother-in-law visits us. When she is here, we seem to really slow down and take the time to do simple things that we usually don't do when she is not here. Like going to a park we have never been to. Packing a picnic and eating by the lake. Long leisurely strolls through our local nursery. Renting a surrey or paddle boat from this huge park near us. Sitting on the front porch after the kids are in bed and enjoying the flowers and coffee. When she is here, we also don't really watch any TV and just spend time talking, laughing and playing games. IT makes me wish she lived close to us and not 1000 miles away. Life is too short to not live near the ones you love.

Our family normally heads to a local Metro garden. There is a children's area, where we donated a leaf in memory of our third daughter, and we always stop to see it. Then we are off to see, smell and photograph flowers (the girls got cameras for Christmas). It looks different all through the year. We have my grandma in for a week or so each summer and she loves to go there with us. Sometimes we take books to read there, too! Loved the lates layouts!

OUr family is always so busy that it's hard to stay creative. I remember when I used to make a story out of dinner to make it interesting, laying out broccoli trees over a sandy beach of mashed potatoes. Where does it all go?

saturday morning the family makes a huge breakfast and we sit and gab for quite awhile! it's a great way to start a lazy sat.

We have family funday Fridays. We play games, have popcorn and read books. It is a great time for the entire family:)

Every night at the dinner table we answer the question "What is your happy thought for the day?" We have to raise our hands and the kids pick who gets to answer next. We also have a "Friday Night Picnic" in front of the fireplace.

Hi Ali - Our favorite family thing is gathering together as a family for sunday night dinner together (hard task during the week with everyones schedule) and then my husband and i share different stories from our childhood with our kids. They absolutely love to hear about all the fun and mischief we got into when we were their age! They even have assigned each story a number and a title and love to get "verification" from their grandparents on both sides just to make sure we aren't making anything up!! Good stuff, great memories in the making....

Our favorite family thing is anything that involves relaxing. With 2 active boys who play every sport there is we are always on the go. We love our sports but we also love renting a couple of movies, putting on our jammies, snuggling up on the couch with our favorite blankets and pillows, making popcorn, pouring sodas, and just being together so close. Inevitably we are all asleep before the end of the movie but it doesn't matter. Taking time to relax together is precious time.

My husband is on his third deployment. So the kids and I are always trying to find ways to pass the time. Our latest favorite is a simple picnic dinner in the back yard. We talk about our day and listen to the birds...watch neighbors walk their dogs...find bugs in the grass.

Hi Ali... Our favorite thing lately is eating at the kitchen table together, and sharing a high/low. It's a game where you tell your high point and low point to the day. The kids love to give us advice, and I love all the ways they tell us to deal with daily life. (ex: I said that my low was seeing my kids get on the bus every morning because I know that I will miss them. My son said: Mom, maybe you could come to school with me everyday and then you wouldn't miss me so much.) Thought that was beyond priceless - and a scrapbook page in the making !!! Have a great day Ali... ¥

Sunday dinners together comes in first with painting time (just me and the kids)coming in second.

The four of us like to lie on our hammock under a shady tree and read books or magazines.

My momma is an art teacher. Some of my fav memories are her arranging things for us to draw. Fruit, folds in the blanket, hands. She would move the small lamp around so that we could see the different shadows forming. And then we'd all sit and draw.
When my kids are old enough to do this, I am totally going to do it too!!!!