Thursday, March 24, 2011

WHOLESOME RECREATION.

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Family Hike July 2010.
When we moved here to Dallas we often asked people to tell us the best things to do here. Time and time again, we heard movies, shopping and great restaurants. And, it's true, we have some great shopping and great eating. But those things aren't really congruent with a student budget, we soon found.

For a couple that was raised in the mountains and spent a lot of time outdoors, we were left to adjust to new scenery and find things to do here. Not to mention we added a baby to the mix soon after we arrived and so our recreation options were rapidly dwindling.

Just this weekend while visiting my sister and her new baby boy (who is darling by the way) in Lubbock, we discussed this same topic. Sometimes we tend to complain about missing our mountains and the things we would do if they were close by. Not a real productive conversation, but one that comes up often.

So, it got us to thinking. What recreation do we really enjoy with our families? The Family: A Proclamation to the World says that successful marriages and families are established on wholesome recreational activities among other things.

We say that we love all things in the mountains, but it got me thinking, what things would we actually do with our little family?

After some brainstorming, here are the things that I enjoy with my family. They may enjoy other things, but after our time in Dallas, here's what I like.

Going swimming at a neighbor's pool (with a husband to help)

Taking walks around our neighborhood

Short hikes, where the kids can explore

Campfires (not quite the sleeping over camping yet)

Playing games in our yard


So, that is my question, what wholesome recreational activities does your family enjoy? What things work for your family with the ages of your kids? Do you have a hard time getting older kids to participate? I'd love to hear.

7 comments:

Drew and Brandi said...

This was a lesson for young womens a few weeks ago and one that was brought up was playing volleyball with your neighbors over the fence! I thought that would be fun to do, once the kids are older of course!

Micaela said...

my husband loves to get on the computer and search for the tourist attractions in our area. Most of them are FREE! State parks and forests, Civil War sites, historical sites, famous houses. I tend to be less than enthused when we begin our journey to one of these destinations, but the adventure is always rewarding. Typically we are some of the only people taking advantage of these places and the staff is ALWAYS so excited to see our cute family come it. They love to know that their attraction is still attracting people :) My kids are 6, 4 and 2.... the 1 hour road trips are usually most of the fun, Oh and the picnics that we pack as well! Good luck!

That volleyball thing sounds fun!

Laura said...

Great post... doing things as a family is always fun and can bring us closer together. When the weather permits, we like to go on walks, go to the park and throw around a frisbee, we even like going to Bass Pro with the kids to see the big fish. We watch a lot of movies together, but i'd like to spend less time in front of the tv, and more time outdoors.

Krista said...

we don't have a yard yet...so getting out is a must for our sanity! luckily we have parks and lakes that are good for hiking with a 3yr and 18month old. we also have passes to the animal park. we've lived here 5 years now...and i'm still learning where to go.

Lindsey said...

We love exploring new parks and woodlands in London and the UK. Our kids are at the age that everything fascinates them, so they love going out anywhere really!

Swimming is another family activity. And also going to the movies (does that count?!) and my daughter just went bowling for the first time at a birthday party and loved it, so we're doing that this week... not sure how that will go down with out 2 yr old though!

Heather@Women in the Scriptures said...

Your family is so sweet! My husband and I have been trying really hard this winter to get our kids to like to go cross-country skiing (we pull them on sleds behind us) our 19 month old loves it but our three year old screams the whole way. We had to compromise and just take a short ski trip and them play in the snow with him. I'm hoping though that if we keep it up eventually they will both love it!

Erin@mamaswhoknow said...

Thanks for these great ideas!

@Heatherlady Every time I've been cross-country skiing I've about died. I can't imagine pulling kids too. Good work!

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