Category Archives: Fun

Summer Celebration

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Are you ready for the Fourth?

It’s been a flurry of activity with the school year ending, our exchange student leaving, and transitioning into summer. I’d equate it to a high-intensity training session and we’re now in the cool-down/recovery period. 😅

We are gearing up for the Fourth though I anticipate it being more low-key for us this year, with some family members on the road, and no need (or energy?) to try to make something spectacular happen. Kind of a bummer. Kids and the Fourth tend to be some of my happiest memories.

The Fourth is usually associated with family, friends, community, and celebrating our country with food and fireworks. I’m reminded of parades we’ve participated in or BBQs we’ve hosted or attended. Each feeling special in how that brought so many people together.

How will you be celebrating the Fourth? What summer celebrations do you look most forward to?

I’ll be taking time off over the holiday weekend and back mid-July. Happy Fourth!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

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Having our exchange student has been the closest thing I’ll have to having a daughter.

She is energetic, loves karaoke, cooking, music, watching and doing TikToks, and having fun. She often asks me to join in her fun, which usually ends up with us laughing. I’m not sure I was that eager to ask my mom to engage with me in fun things when I was her age (sorry, Mom!). The prom is coming up in a few weeks and she asked if I’d take her to try on dresses — an experience I never thought I’d have, having two sons. On the drive to the mall she put on the song, Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. We sang and were acting silly. At the mall I got to watch her try on outfits with many others (clearly lots of teens are out looking at dresses this time of year). We grabbed dinner at the food court, and I listened as she described her dream dress. We didn’t find it, but I’m hopeful we will.

Maybe on another outing, which would be fun, and well, that’s all we really want, right? 😊

How do you have fun with your child?

Love is in the Air

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How was your Valentine’s Day?

Around the dinner table we noted Valentine’s Day was coming up. We asked our exchange student if this was a day celebrated in Spain. She said it wasn’t, but she was intrigued by the notion. We talked about how a lot of holidays in America are commercialized and sometimes feel forced vs. enjoyable. She sighed as she noted she didn’t have a boyfriend (though I suspect she easily could if she wanted).

She asked how many Valentines I’d had over the years. “Not many,” I replied. Thankfully being married to my husband took my stress over being untethered off my “things to worry about (for no good reason)” off the board many years ago. It’s terrible (IMO) how much weight we put on this holiday and how much anxiety, or disappointment it can bring. It should be fun, but it can too often feel like pressure. And it can kill confidence in some of the most confident people I know (my younger self included).

She and her friends decided to celebrate the day together, sharing homemade treats, watching movies, and having fun. Love takes many forms, but having fun with people you truly enjoy being around and care about (perhaps love, though not romantically) is better than just about anything else. Don’t get me wrong, I love flowers. But shared experiences, where you laugh and make fond memories are pretty special.

How does your child feel about Valentine’s Day?

I will be off next week enjoying sometime off with the family and will be back in March.

Let’s Dance!

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What unexpected have you experienced recently?

Our exchange student came back from an afternoon out with friends. She shared what they had done, treasures she had found, and casually sipped on an energy drink while doing so. After she finished, she turned on the karaoke machine that sits in our living room, (and to this point, used mainly on holidays), and started singing. Then she started dancing. Then she insisted my youngest son and I sing and dance with her. She was full of energy. 😊 We laughed and giggled, and I was exhausted after a few songs.

The next day, after waking up later than usual, our exchange student came out sharing she couldn’t get to sleep the night prior until the early hours of the morning. “Do you think it was the energy drink?” I asked. I knew she rarely drinks caffeine, and was surprised to see her with the energy drink the day before. “Oh right,” she said. “I was wondering if that energy drink was the cause of our impromptu karaoke,” I said. “Yes! I had too much energy I needed to get out.” We talked about how fun the karaoke was, but how much more enjoyable the day can be when you get a good nights rest. She’s rethinking future energy drinks, at least for the time being. 😊

What gives your child extra energy? Does your teen struggle with sleep?

Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo…

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…how about you, you, you? Do you know this song by Raffi? We sang it many times with our boys when they were little.

When our boys were young, our local zoo was a godsend. Going to the zoo got us out of the house, and was a good way to spend a few hours outside, getting out energy while seeing interesting animals and surroundings.

Over Labor Day weekend, we decided we wanted to get outside and decided to go to a different zoo that is in a nearby city, but because of normal traffic challenging to get to (who wants to spend an hour + each way dealing with heavy traffic?). Thankfully traffic was a breeze on this particular day, and the zoo was amazing—I thought more than once how much we would have visited this place if it were easier to get to.

My favorite part was seeing my sons tapping into their younger selves. My oldest made a beeline to check out the wolves, the tiger, and ultimately the polar bear (I had to ask myself — when was the last time I’d seen a live polar bear? It clearly was a long time, because I questioned if I’d ever seen one before). My youngest was a little less enthusiastic at the get-to, but warmed up as we traversed the park. The grounds were beautiful, views of surrounding area amazing, the animals plentiful, and sun was shining.

My husband and I tapped into our younger selves too. We reminisced with the kids when we saw a meerkat (that the kids remembered seeing at our local zoo when they were much younger), talked about how much we sang, “we’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo…”, and seeing the Kids Zone and how my kids had outgrown this area what seemed like forever ago.

We left the zoo and had dinner at a nearby restaurant and continued reminiscing. It was one of those days you hold onto (in the memory bank of great days).

What special place(s) or day(s) have you had with your kiddo?

Hang Time

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If you have a teen, do they like hanging out with you?

Are you laughing? I know my teens like to spend some time with their dad and I, but if given the choice, they’d rather be doing something else — hanging out with friends, watching TV, being online, or just alone in their room.

My oldest and I have bonded over the years over sports — collegiate sports specifically. He and I have watched UW (the local home team school) make it all the way to the National Championship game. I was sent an invitation by the school ( unsure how I got on list) to come to a viewing party on campus free of charge. I quickly grabbed four tickets thinking my oldest would want you to go with his friends.

As the game approached I asked him who he was going to go with. It surprised me when he said, “You’re going to come with me, right?” I let him know that of course I would join him, but had assumed he’d rather be there with his friends, not his old mom. 🥰

We ended up going to the viewing party and got to cheer on the team together. It was a bit surreal watching the game on an oversized scoreboard with 4,000 other people. It felt like being in the stadium, but also didn’t. Unfortunately, UW lost, which was disappointing but not heartbreaking for either of us. It was a great memory for me, and hopefully a fun time for my son.

Teens push us away as they get older and crave more independence, I’m grateful my son was willing to ‘hang with mom’ one more time, as he nears the end of high school I’m guessing these opportunities will be far and few between. Why do kids have to grow up so fast? 😊

How do you connect with your child? What’s the last thing you did together that surprised you?

Advent Calendar

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What are you most looking forward to today? Or tomorrow?

Often we move through life without noticing anything in particular we’re looking forward to. While most look forward to the holidays, perhaps gifts, and seeing friends and family, coming across an advent calendar reminded me of the smaller, but needed joys, we have access to daily.

When my boys were young I stumbled across Lego advent calendars. I recalled the joy I had as a child opening a simple paper door awaiting to see the picture inside. Now Lego was making them? I couldn’t resist getting them for my boys. Each advent calendar had a different theme (one city, one movie). Behind each door revealed a small surprise — a simple-to-put-together object such as a tree or mini figure. Every morning my boys would rush to the table eager to find what would be revealed that day.

It reminded me of unseen joy that might lay ahead. How life doesn’t give us physical advent calendars for the entire year, but they are there if we allow ourselves to see them, and figuratively (and sometimes literally) open the door. Meeting a new friend, noticing beauty in nature, sharing time with a pet, are a few examples of things that can happen for any of us any day. It’s just seeing the “door” and allowing yourself the opportunity to find the joy.

My boys are too old for advent calendars now, or so they tell me, but they’re not too old to find something to look forward to every day — whether it’s in the form of gratitude, anticipation, or the unknown. Each day there is an opportunity for us to “open” the door with anticipation and looking forward to. The “prize” might not reveal itself right away, but I’m betting with some reflection the “gift” of the day will ultimately reveal itself.

How do you approach each new day? How are you helping your child see the ‘gifts’ around them?

Movers Wanted

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What jobs have you had family or friends help with?

Moving, particularly when I was younger, involved soliciting the help of family and friends. I never liked asking, but always appreciated the help.

My sons aunt and uncle were in need of help moving from a rental back to their home. They were in a pinch and asked for my sons help a few days before they needed it. Both boys said “of course,” as they love their aunt, uncle, and cousins and wanted to be off assistance. When they found out they would also get some money for doing it they were beyond thrilled.

After they helped them move, my husband and I asked them how it went. “It was nice,” my youngest shared, “it was nice just spending time with them alone. We had fun.” We realized our kids hadn’t spent much alone time with their aunt and uncle, we (my husband or I) always seemed to be around at the same time. I was happy that had this experience and shared memory with other family members. My oldest piped in, “Yea, they said that might want our help again in another week.” He was excited by the prospect.

Helping others can be so fulfilling. Helping others and getting paid, especially if you’re young and want/need to make money — near utopia (at least for my kids). 😊

How do you model family and friends helping in times of need? How does your child view helping others?

Pumpkin Carving

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What are your Halloween traditions?

Pumpkin carving is one of ours. When my kids were young, my husband and I would carve a pumpkin for them. As they’ve grown older they are starting to carve the pumpkins more on their own. It’s one of those moments for me, as a parent, that registers as special every time we get together for this tradition. It’s a passing of time, but so enjoyable to see how my kids are growing and becoming young adults, and how they interact with their cousins, and other family members, and friends present. It’s something we look forward to every year.

Trick-or-treating and dressing up for Halloween is something my kids seem to be outgrowing, but I don’t see them outgrowing our pumpkin carving tradition (or at least anytime soon). We all just have too much fun doing it together.

What are your family’s Halloween traditions? Which one(s) do you think will last beyond their childhood?

Lessons from the Corn Maze

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Have you ever been lost?

It’s not a good feeling to be lost in an unfamiliar setting. Except, perhaps, when that unfamiliar setting is a corn maze.

We went to our favorite pumpkin patch with other family members to pick out pumpkins, snap pictures, and drink some cider. The kids wanted to do the corn maze. We’ve had varying degrees of success with corn mazes. When they were younger, we’d accompany the kids. As the children grew older they wanted to show us they could do the maze on their own. What’s the harm? we’d thought. One year four kids went in, three came out. We waited, and waited, and right around the time we were going to go in we saw my son walking through the corn. Not the maze. The corn. He had gotten so frustrated by the dead ends he’d decided he would make his own way out.

In our most recent trip, my nephew and brother-in-law went into the maze a few minutes after my boys and their older cousin had entered. We were surprised to seem them re-emerge before the older kids did. “Did you see the others?” I asked. He shook his head no. Hmmm. I wasn’t too concerned because I knew the kids would figure a way out — even if it meant walking out through the corn.

The kids finally emerged. They were laughing and at ease. “Did you all get lost?” I asked. “Yea,” my older son commented, “there were so many dead ends.” The kids walked on, un-phased by the situation they had come from. They left the maze behind without thought and walked towards wheelbarrows filled with pumpkins.

I thought about how often in life we can feel lost — the first day of school, moving to a new place, starting a new job, becoming a parent — and how you have to quickly figure out how to acclimate to make it through any discomfort you feel. There is always a way to work through being uncomfortable. Whether it’s taking a straight path (walking through the corn) or being willing to let yourself be lost for a while knowing you’ll eventually figure things out (like my kids and their cousin not letting the dead ends defeat them or dampen their experience).

How have you handled times when you felt lost? How are you helping your child acclimate when they do?