Family Fun Days

Sometimes, Ian will climb up on my lap and ask me to tell him a story about when I was a little girl. I've recounted numerous stories to him that now seem much "grander" than they probably actually were. He loves to hear them. I realized that these memories he's making right now will be the stories that he'll tell to his kids one day. I want him to have these grand memories too. What will he think about when he remembers his childhood? Because of this I've started being more intentional about creating special times together. Some things are little, like reading with Mommy when all the little siblings are taking a nap. But, we've also implemented "Family Fun Days" one day a month. These are meant to be a bigger something than just the typical movie and pop-corn. On the docket for the future is a trip to the orchard, zoo, picnic in the park, science center, sluggar museum, etc. Thus far we have had two trips. One trip to Chuck-E-Cheese--that ended up in everyone being sick.... and one to the Newport Aquarium.

The kids loved the aquarium. Although Nate was grumpy most of the time, we still had a lot of fun. When we asked the kids later what their favorite parts were, Ian said, "The men that live under the water." (They were the divers.) It made me smile.

Here are some pictures from our little adventure. (I forgot my camera. These were taken with my iphone, so they're a little fuzzy.)

This is Nate before he was grumpy....