Three Things : Weekdays + Creative Family Giveaway

My favorite thing to do as a family is family vacations. Long road trips!!

My favorite thing to do with my family is CUDDLE. I love the hugs that never end, I love the hands being held, I love it when we all pile on the sofa and watch tv for hours or lazy Sunday mornings when we all lay in bed and just talk slowly and effortlessly.

Right now, as the weather is coperating, after dinner and running around (my boys are two and four) before we go in for baths, we (my husband, the boys, and me) sit under our neighbors beautiful tree (she is an expert and avid gardner)and eat a popcicle and enjoy her beautiful garden. We talk about what is in bloom and all the colors around us. Before we go inside, we check on her blueberries to see if they have turned "blue" yet. We have our little saying "we love the things that summer brings" and talk about the things we did that day and the things we are looking forward to doing... It is a little slice of heaven one of the highlights of my day. I KNOW it brings us closer-- being together and enjoying simple things.
Would love to read the book and learns ways to keep my children in touch with their creativity.

As a new family of three (I'm going through a divorce), we have started recreating traditions to fit our new size. We go to church some Saturday nights, and will then go to dinner together, where both boys are their mom's "date" and pull out my chair, or hold the door. Some things stay the same, though - the hands down favorite? Reading at bedtime, snuggled under the covers.

we like to read and ride bikes!

Our favorite thing to do as a family right now is go swimming. We go about once a week and it's perfect b/c we're all together and focusing on having fun with each other.

We have been enjoying having a game night. My son got a couple games for his birthday and we all gather round the table and play several nights a week.

Our favorite thing to do as a family is take a walk in our neighborhood. My little guy has a remote controlled truck he likes to take.

Hi Ali! I have a 3 yr old and a 4 yr old. My favorite thing to do with my 4 yr old is to let him write a story by acting as the scribe for him. It doesn't always make sense but he thinks it's a blast and we will treasure the stories for years to come. With my 3 yr old it's fun to play tea party and for a while she can be the mommy. She takes it VERY seriously! I would love to win this book and find more creative activities for my kids but I could also use it during my student teaching in the first grade this fall!

Good morning, Ali...
We have a big bed and just one daughter, so we snuggle together at night before bedtime to read and catch up on our day. Our daughter is five, so it's a great way to get a glimpse into her head as we listen to her questions or talk randomly about the things on her mind.
Thanks for the book tip - my little sister just had her first child and it is a great gift idea for her.
Enjoy your Tuesday!

Lately, our favorite thing to do as a family is to go on nature hikes. The kids love to collect "treasures" and see how many animals they can spot. However, I really don't think that the zebra they claim to have seen is native to the North Georgia mountains :)

Thanks Ali,
My favorite memories of growing up and of with my own family are of sitting around the dinner table and laughing together.

Ooo--sounds like a great book (plus, YUM on the Three Things).
Our favorite thing to do together as a family is to go on a hike and then have a picnic somewhere. All of us (even my four-year-old) have cameras and are shutterbugs -- so, we're always pointing out this and that to snap (even if just one of us is carrying a camera at the time). It's sort of a way to be present in the moment together.

Love books like that! One of my favorite things to do together is baking - learning, creativity & yum!

As lame as it sounds - I like a planned activity as opposed to just being at home. I usually end up cleaning, because I'm home so little. My other favorite activity is playing board games with the kids. And a new favorite for the two older girls (of 3) - scrapbooking. Isn't that great?
Marlisa

Good Morning Ali,
We have a tradition for our boys that Sunday is actually called Funday. On Funday, the boys get to choose where we eat for lunch and dinner. We also get to play whichever game they want (no video games) so we play outdoors in the morning, crafts in the afternoon and board games right after an early dinner.
Super fun and a super great time for us all.
Linda

our recent favorite family thing has been movie nights on Fridays, turning off the lights with a giant bowl of popcorn and watching a movie together. The kids get their blankets and pilllows and it's just a lot of fun.

When we are waiting at a restaurant for dinner or whatever we play this game. Each person says "were going on a trip to Zimbabwe or whereever and I'm taking an apple". We go in alphabetical order as it helps with the ABC's. Each person takes a turn but before they say their item they have to repeat all the others in order. It's really fun and before we know it food is here. We change up the places all the time and sometimes we change themes-like I'm playing baseball and I'm bringing X to the game. Fun little tradition our family has started.

A couple of months ago, everyone in Phoenix was supposed to turn off all their lights for an hour. We decided to participate. We got out candles and everyone piled on to our bed. My husband read everyone a book and then all the kids told ghost stories (very entertaining from 4 year olds!). We had such a good time we try to do this every weekend. Maybe not for an hour, but definitely family time to candle light!

Hi Ali,
It's amazing to me that taking a walk/hike around your neighborhood or out in nature is such a simple and wonderful thing to do as a family. It makes you slow down, take time to talk, notice the things around you ...stop to smell the flowers. We are frequent hikers with our boys, and it's a wonderful family activity. Easy and inexpensive too!
Thanks,
Audrey