Living Lovely

Mt.Hope Chronicles is hosting a blog series: Living Lovely with Family and I am joining at week 2: What are some things we do weekly as a family to make meaniful connections and memories?

Games: We play a lot of games: board games, card games, outside games X-box, and now the new Wii. Solomon wants to learn how to play chess so this summer I'll teach and hopefully well so he'll learn. Most often we play Go Fish, Crazy 8s, and Battleship [at the Coffee house around the corner from our home].
Outside: We're fans of being outside especially when it is sunny [and we don't get as much sun as this Californian is used to]. Parks for play and hike, soccer, baseball, tag, tennis, and basketball. We have just added gardening to our list of favorite things to do together outside.
Food: That old saying: "The way's to a man's heart is through his stomach" is partly of how my husband asked me to marry him but I see in my boys that they seem to say "I love you Mom" and "Thank you" the most when they are eating so the saying applies to little boys too! While eating together as a family is a daily routine, cooking with mom is something each of the boys look forward to. They have their days of when they help me cook/bake and they love it! The one on one time with Mom and the chance to show off yummy creations to the rest of the family.
Farmer Market: We would go every week all year long if not twice or three times a week when we lived in California- just a wonderful place to socialize, get interested in different foods [the samples are great for growing boys], the shopping stands are lower than at the grocery store and at the boys' level which gets them more interested in grocery shopping, meeting the people who grow the food really helped their interest in gardening, and we'll always get something yummy to eat. Here in the Northwest- most of the Farmer Markets don't go year round but thankfully one starts its season tomorrow. When the weather is nice- we play afterwards.
Tea time: Not everyday but a couple of times a week, the boys and I participate in Tea Time- sometimes at home and sometimes at a cafe. We drink tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or something cold and talk, play game, or I'll read out loud before we discuss. It is nice to just sit and relax with the kids so we can just focus on one another instead of the never-ending to do list.
Library: We go to the library once a week [although with our recent move, we got out of the habit]- we'll browse, read out loud, check out books, comics, and sometimes movies for us to enjoy independently or together during the week.
Art: The boys love to make and do art and I'll be there admiring their use of colours and imagination as I work on my own projects: blogging [the art table is right next to the computer], cooking [as they work at the countertop or dining table], knitting, or just doodling myself...
Dad: Dan works a variety of shifts/days from week to week, month to month and on his days off whenever they may be, the boys always look forward to male bonding activities such as "wrestling", Dan's teasing sense of humor that gets us all giggling and laughing, and moments where we can all participate in games and outside activities. With his deployment happening soon, I'll be starting a weekly art/writing time for the boys to share their week with Dad and mail them off!