Plans vs. No Plans

I had wonderful intentions over the weekend for all these “family” activities that we were going to do together, but guess what?? We ended up doing NONE of them.

I really needed the down time, and the kids needed the time at home, just to chill and enjoy our space. We certainly did that.

I felt slightly guilty for not partaking in the “planned” activities for us, but when it came right down to it, I felt more stressed thinking about the activities, and the whining, the fighting, the battles of getting someone interested in even going. Why deal with the battles, and instead, just be at home, in our comfort zones, relaxing and enjoying the simple pleasures of the weekend. It was hot outside anyway.

I feel like we really did skip out on several of our annual tradition event attending this year.

We missed the following annual events that I can recall off the top of my head: Light Night at Crystal Bridges, Tontitown Grape Festival, Fall Fest at Terra Studios, Family Strong event, Fairies in the Garden at Botanical Gardens, and the Renaissance Festival in Oklahoma.

However, here are the things we have done: We did sleepovers, dates with individual kids, Springfield Aquarium, Harry Potter Convention, Silver Dollar City, mulched the yard together, Bowling, rollerskating, demolition derby, stayed a night at a hotel in town for fun, dinner and movie with papa, swimming at the aquatic center, hiking and picnic, art event at my cousin’s coffee shop, more hiking and picnics, MOVED into a new house, went to California to see Oma, visited a friend in Nashville, family reunion locally, had company stay with us for a few nights, and spent time at the lake on the boat, and swimming at papa’s new indoor pool.

Austin also just joined Cub Scouts, so we will be doing a family campout at the end of the month, so that should be great. Hoping for cooler weather in the next 2 weeks.. eek!!

So, we might have skipped some of our annual tradition events, but I see the comparison list, and we still managed to do so much, in these last 9 months. I sure hope my kids know how lucky they are to have a mom who has so much energy and wants to make them experience life and all the things it has to offer them.

I want them to discover what they like what they dislike, and most importantly, discover themselves.