Three Things : Weekdays + Creative Family Giveaway

family walks in the neighborhood! get's us all together without interuption...

At the end of the day, bathtime for the kids. They are usually relaxed, there's no distractions (like tv or radio) and we all get to have a chat and a laugh. And then of course the kisses and cuddles and into bed and the last minute chats of what tomorrow will bring.
This is my favourite time as a family.

What a neat idea for a book. Our favorite thing to do together is to travel. Whether we go on a quick one night trip to a state park lodge or a long Disney cruise, we love having unscheduled time together. Between both my DH and I working full time and my 5 year old DD and all her activities, it is so nice just to relax and do nothing together.

We have 6 children in our family and we all love to retell funny family stories and memories when we are all togther. I did not want to lose these family stories and so in the summer, the kids assignment is to write down one favorite family story each week. The older kids or mom help the kids who cannot write yet. I have collected the stories in a folder over the years and this summer we are going to publish the stories in a small square hardcover book called Reitz Family Stories. You can do this fairly cheaply on line (less than $20) in one of the many publishing sites like blurb.com. The kids favorite activity is NOT writing the stories. But reading and retelling the stories definitely is a highlight and brings us all closer as a family.

My two little boys LOVE picnics! It doesn't matter to them if we travel to a park with blanket & basket in tow, or eat delivered pizza on the back porch. On Mother's Day we planned to picnic in a state park...the weather didn't cooperate, so we had an "indoor" picnic on the family room floor. They thought it was great!

We love to hit the local playgrounds and play tag. It's fun just you get out and play with them.

Hi Ali - I love your blog, your ideas, and your giveaways!! For us, the one activity that we look forward to is a simple walk to the beach near where we live. A lot of bonding takes places when we do this, which is not often enough, sadly, due to our busy schedules. We must try to do this more often. Thanks!

Our sons are grown and married and we find more time to spend with them than we ever thought! We love family dinners, sitting outside on someone's deck and watch the little ones play together. But most of all, we love to LAUGH together. Laughter is so healing, so wonderful and so defines who WE are!

I follow Amanda's blog and would love her new book! DH travels alot, so my favorite time with the kids when he's away is bedtime. They both love foot rubs, back rubs, and neck rubs. It's great winding down/connecting time. When he's home, we like to play tennis (we're not very good!) go crabbing or fishing, watch outdoor movies in the summer, and have weekend movie nights inside, in the winter.

One of my favorite things to do is go to my parents house on a summer night and let the kids run wild on their 3 acres...all of us only have small city lots, so it's a real treat seeing the kids so free and happy.

My husband and I have just been married for one year (yesterday!) Our favorite thing to do lately is ride our bikes. There is a trail that goes for about 20 miles, with a perfect ice cream place halfway through!

We have dinner together every night. That is super important to DH & I. During planting & harvest (we're farmers) it is more difficult because he is out super late running a tractor or planter but we always make time for a family sit down dinner. Also - we play lots of card games and board games together. Bike rides around the neighborhood after school are another big hit for the entire family. The twins ride their bikes and DH & I are on adult tricycles. (His is a racer & mine is a Granny style. LOL! Totally lost my bicycle equilibrium with the birth of the twins!)
Love doing things with my family- we dined together when I was a kid but the other stuff DH & I plan for ours we never would have thought of doing with my Dad! So glad to be able to do more as a family.
-Katherine

My favorite family thing to do is cook together. I grew up in the kitchen wiht my mom, cooking together, laughing, venting, sharing. Sometimes the meal would turn out delicious, other times, a little burnt for my taste, but it was never a waste of time. It was time invested with my mom and that is my treasure. I want to hold on tight to those memories forever.

What a great question. hmm, I guess the best thing that we do is eat together. We play the high and low game at dinner (with the kids who are old enough). We all go around and tell the High part and Low part of our day. You can learn alot about each other in that simple game. Thanks for asking.

hey Ali -
Our favorite thing to do as a family is to cook dinner together. We especially like to grill/eat outdoors at this time of the year - we get everything ready, bring it out to the grill and play in the yard while dinner cooks. This frees me up to enjoy my family, gives us a chance to be together and everyone has a part in the meal - from washing and rinsing the vegetables we grill, to adding the seasonings and mixing - and no pots or pans to wash! Then we eat on a big blanket in the yard, picnic style. Our son loves when we do this, and so do my husband and I.

We love to play games together. We are a competitive family and really get into it...and it doesn't matter what the game is.

Our favorite family activity is hanging around the backyard fire pit. We love to make a meal from campfire pies (pizza ones are the best!) then finish with marshmallows. Nothing like building those great memories!

we have a F*A*M*L*Y of 5. my husband & i, 2 boys ages 12 & 9 and a 5 year old daughter. in the winter we love to make a fire in the fireplace and roast marshmellows...eat until our bellies are full and then snuggle up and watch a movie together!
thanks for always sharing your life and amazing creativity!
-p

We love playing board games and card games. Right now "Skip Bo" and "Doodle Dice" are the rage.
Love, love love to play games together. (And it keeps the TV off)

i live abroad and i know i shouldn't enter this give-away, but i need that book :)! our favorite thing to do is hiking together. slowly, of course, because the kids are young and because we have to stop all the time to look at plants or animals or the view or...
anyway, love your blog!