Movie Review of, "The Stray" and a little bit about what my family loved about it!
Showing posts with label Family Journey's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family Journey's. Show all posts
A Family Home Evening at SeaQuest Aquarium
Find below a Family Home Evening at SeaQuest Aquarium...
This post is a sponsored post & may contain affiliate links. All views are mine as always! See the full disclosure.
I recently had the opportunity last Monday Evening, to attend and tour the local SeaQuest Aquarium in Layton, Utah. My kids had such an enjoyable experience that I thought I would share how you could turn your visit to SeaQuest Aquarium into a Family Home Evening.
Family Home Evening on Fun Family Activities
For tonight's Family Home Evening the topic in which I have chosen is:
Fun Family Activities
Free Printable:
Preparation: I hope and pray that you can use these ideas as a guideline and adjust them to the needs of your own specific family. Our prophet President Monson says, "We cannot afford to neglect this heaven-inspired program. It can bring spiritual growth to each member of the family, helping him or her to withstand the temptations which are everywhere. The lessons learned in the home are those that last the longest." On Lds.org there are resources available in helping to make your Family Home Evenings successful, here is a link to that site on Family Home Evenings.
Invite a member of the family member say the prayer
Discuss any family business
Follow-up with last weeks FHE.
Scripture: Read: D & C 24:25-28
Family Home Evening Instruction:
"Play Together, Stay Together" , these are the words you would find if you visited the webpage, "Happiness in Family Life: Activities" . So for tonight's family home evening is going to focus on what kind of activities we would like to fit in this summer. With summer winding down, it seems to be crunch time. I plan on doing this for each season with my family. I've noticed as we spend time out and about together, our relationships are strengthened and memories are developed.
The plan is to gather together and ask each family member what are the things they would like to do this summer. Then make a plan on the calendar of when to do them. Above I have provided a couple printables that could be used.
It would also be a good time to reflect on the things you have already done this summer as a family. What were some of the favorite activities.
We will finish with this quote, "Families that play together stay together, especially when their play is uplifting and wholesome. Family vacations, holidays, birthday celebrations, and other activities build strong bonds and feelings of self-worth. The phrase “Remember when we…” is sure to bring love and laughter in the years to come." ("Happiness in Family Life: Activities" )
Close by sharing your testimony.
Close with a Family Prayer.
For More Family Home Evening Ideas Click this Link: Family Home Evening Ideas
Family Journeys: Vegas & the Great Outdoors, what I learned while vacationing with kids at both places!
The past few years we have taken a big family vacation with extended family to LasVegas, NV. You ask my kids where one of their favorite vacation is and they will tell you, Las Vegas. But, I have found that when I tell others that we are taking a family vacation with the kids to, Las Vegas, they give me a look like I am crazy and usually respond with something along the lines of, "What are you going to do with kids there?" So, I thought I would share what I have learned from being the crazy person who takes her kids to Vegas...
The first thing I learned is, there are a lot of fun things to do with kids in Vegas and there is a lot of sad destructive, harmful things in Vegas. The key is to, Prepare Well!! Research before hand the places that are kid friendly in Vegas. Even then you will need to be prepared to know what to do or what to say when an inappropriate picture appears or an inappropriately dressed person appears. I am upfront with my kids. For some reason this most recent adventure to Vegas I was more aware of the lack of modesty, I don't know if it was because I have a son in double digits now or what. My conversation with my son went something along the lines of this: I explained to him that Satan tempts people to do things that are against Heavenly Father's commandments. These people who are dressed immodestly and those that are trying to pass out pictures, have fell to the temptation. But we have a choice also, and we can choose to follow Heavenly Father and avoid those things and not look at them or pay them any attention.
When we are in Vegas, we do kid friendly activities. Here are some of the activities we have done:
- Most hotels/resorts have a pool. This is a must for our kids, they love it! We usually spend a couple hours swimming at the pool.
- Fun activities in the hotel room. My mother-in-law is super fun and always has activities for the kids to do in the hotel room. Some of these activities include: Doughnut Dance Party Game, Animal Charades, Hula Hoop Contest, Movie Night, etc.
- Fun places to eat with kids: Hard Rock Cafe (FYI this last time we went they took music video request, the kids thought it was pretty fun!), BUFFETS (we usually eat at two, we've eaten at Harrah's, Stratosphere, Rio, & Excalibur)
- Fun Activities: CIRCUS CIRCUS (Our kids love it!! There are arcade games and there is the amusement park rides. We usually do this in two separate days, arcades one day and rides another.); Stratosphere there are rides on the top of the Stratosphere, we took my oldest on one of the rides, it was pretty fun. FYI keep a hold of your kiddos while you are out on the observation deck, it kinda of freaks me out to have them out there up so high.; Outlet stores, I am not sure if this is my kids favorite, but I like it.; Caesar's Palace (There is a huge fish tank next to the Cheesecake Factory, that my kids love it has sting rays in it. Also in the same area they do an animatronic show); Venetian (My kids love watching the gondolas and hearing the people sing. There is a candy store in there too, that they love); The walkway by the Flamingo (this year was the first year it's been opened for us to go down. They have these amazing drummers that play in the walkway and then let the kids come up and try the drums out); Mirage (Volcano show is always fun for the kids to watch. We have also been to the Siegfried and Roy's Garden's and saw the dolphins and BIG cats.); Bellagio water show, we did this last year with the kids, they loved it!;
This year we went to the new Container Park that is down in the old part of town. It was so much fun and the kids loved it. They gave each of the kids a little passport when they got there and they were able to go around to the different places in there and get it stamped. They loved playing on the tree house. Another highlight was at dusk they do a little drum show at the entrance and the praying mantis shoots fire out of its antennas. FYI, we did not do all of these things in one trip, these are activities we have done over the years.
In contrast to Vegas, we also have been able to take our kids on some camping trips this year. It has been a new experience for our kids and they have loved it. Recently, we went camping at a reservoir in Utah called Strawberry Reservoir. We fished on a boat with down riggers. Our boys were so excited when we got a fish on the line and enjoyed reeling in the catch. I took treats and some fun games to keep the kids occupied while on the boat. I found this fun Barrel of Fish game at Walmart that I purchased and took out on the boat. It was probably one of the best purchases I made. It kept my younger two entertained for quite a while. My oldest son was more into the fishing, he watched the fish finder and the poles. He even baited a worm onto the hook. When we weren't on the boat, my boys were being boys. They used some empty containers to catch bugs, looked for crayfish, played with sticks, as I said, boy stuff. I have loved being able to take my boys camping! Some of the best memories I have as a child was spending time as a family camping and spending time outdoors. I think when you are camping and in the mountains you are more likely to spend time paying attention to each other. Most of the time the distractions that keep us unfocused on each other are not accessible while camping. There is also something about being in nature that makes you feel just a little bit closer to Heavenly Father and bring what is really important back into focus.
When I have asked my children their favorite things about the vacations they have been on, one of the things they always say is, "Spending time with family". That is what is important!! To spend time together, building and cultivating relationships with each other. Helping form good family memories. I am so grateful to my parents in setting such an amazing example to me growing up. We always went as a family on vacation, I can rarely think of a time my parents went on vacation without us kids. We were always included and knew we were wanted to be there. I hope that I can help build the family unity and great memories with my children as we vacation together.
When we are in Vegas, we do kid friendly activities. Here are some of the activities we have done:
- Most hotels/resorts have a pool. This is a must for our kids, they love it! We usually spend a couple hours swimming at the pool.
- Fun activities in the hotel room. My mother-in-law is super fun and always has activities for the kids to do in the hotel room. Some of these activities include: Doughnut Dance Party Game, Animal Charades, Hula Hoop Contest, Movie Night, etc.
- Fun places to eat with kids: Hard Rock Cafe (FYI this last time we went they took music video request, the kids thought it was pretty fun!), BUFFETS (we usually eat at two, we've eaten at Harrah's, Stratosphere, Rio, & Excalibur)
- Fun Activities: CIRCUS CIRCUS (Our kids love it!! There are arcade games and there is the amusement park rides. We usually do this in two separate days, arcades one day and rides another.); Stratosphere there are rides on the top of the Stratosphere, we took my oldest on one of the rides, it was pretty fun. FYI keep a hold of your kiddos while you are out on the observation deck, it kinda of freaks me out to have them out there up so high.; Outlet stores, I am not sure if this is my kids favorite, but I like it.; Caesar's Palace (There is a huge fish tank next to the Cheesecake Factory, that my kids love it has sting rays in it. Also in the same area they do an animatronic show); Venetian (My kids love watching the gondolas and hearing the people sing. There is a candy store in there too, that they love); The walkway by the Flamingo (this year was the first year it's been opened for us to go down. They have these amazing drummers that play in the walkway and then let the kids come up and try the drums out); Mirage (Volcano show is always fun for the kids to watch. We have also been to the Siegfried and Roy's Garden's and saw the dolphins and BIG cats.); Bellagio water show, we did this last year with the kids, they loved it!; This year we went to the new Container Park that is down in the old part of town. It was so much fun and the kids loved it. They gave each of the kids a little passport when they got there and they were able to go around to the different places in there and get it stamped. They loved playing on the tree house. Another highlight was at dusk they do a little drum show at the entrance and the praying mantis shoots fire out of its antennas. FYI, we did not do all of these things in one trip, these are activities we have done over the years.
In contrast to Vegas, we also have been able to take our kids on some camping trips this year. It has been a new experience for our kids and they have loved it. Recently, we went camping at a reservoir in Utah called Strawberry Reservoir. We fished on a boat with down riggers. Our boys were so excited when we got a fish on the line and enjoyed reeling in the catch. I took treats and some fun games to keep the kids occupied while on the boat. I found this fun Barrel of Fish game at Walmart that I purchased and took out on the boat. It was probably one of the best purchases I made. It kept my younger two entertained for quite a while. My oldest son was more into the fishing, he watched the fish finder and the poles. He even baited a worm onto the hook. When we weren't on the boat, my boys were being boys. They used some empty containers to catch bugs, looked for crayfish, played with sticks, as I said, boy stuff. I have loved being able to take my boys camping! Some of the best memories I have as a child was spending time as a family camping and spending time outdoors. I think when you are camping and in the mountains you are more likely to spend time paying attention to each other. Most of the time the distractions that keep us unfocused on each other are not accessible while camping. There is also something about being in nature that makes you feel just a little bit closer to Heavenly Father and bring what is really important back into focus.When I have asked my children their favorite things about the vacations they have been on, one of the things they always say is, "Spending time with family". That is what is important!! To spend time together, building and cultivating relationships with each other. Helping form good family memories. I am so grateful to my parents in setting such an amazing example to me growing up. We always went as a family on vacation, I can rarely think of a time my parents went on vacation without us kids. We were always included and knew we were wanted to be there. I hope that I can help build the family unity and great memories with my children as we vacation together.
Spiritual Journal Entry #5: Our Family Journey # 1 & Lessons learned
As a family we decided that we wanted to begin having some family camping journeys. This past week was our first one as a family. We went with my parents to Left Hand Turn, yes that is it's real name. Four wheeling on trails, viewing beautiful natural springs, beautiful scenery, a river, hiking, yummy food, and building family memories where the highlights of our trip.
One of the early afternoons my husband and I decided to go on a hiking trail that was near our camp ground we started up the trail and continued walking along the path, the path had a steady incline, trees and some open weedy areas, some parts were rocky. When we set off on the hike we did not have any clue where the path led to, we were unaware of any dangers along the path. We simply walked and walked. We kept pushing ourselves further and further, but the path seemed to have no end. We could never see our destination nor did we know when we would arrive at the destination. We decided that we needed to turn around and start heading back. My husband and I both commented about how this could be an analogy of life, if we are unaware of what our goal or purpose is, it can be easy to quit, turn around and not progress.
That same day my mom and my boys started on a hike up the same path, as they were walking along the trail, my oldest son was in the lead. He told me, that they were walking along and he had a really bad feeling, he felt that he needed to stop and look around. He listened to the feeling and stopped looked around and saw a rattle snake. He turned around, screamed and ran to my mom. That is when my mom heard the rattle of the snake. They turned around and headed back down the trail.
As my son and I met back up and my son relayed the story to me, there was no doubt in my mind that the bad feeling he received was the Holy Ghost warning him of the danger ahead. I was able to ask my son if he also felt that it was the Holy Ghost. We all agreed that it was. At that moment I was so grateful that two years ago my son choose to be baptized and confirmed and was given the Holy Ghost to be his constant companion. I am grateful that my son recognized the spirit and listened and followed the direction the Holy Ghost gave him and was able to be kept free from harm.
My testimony of the Holy Ghost was strengthened. I also believe it strengthened each member of my families testimonies. Today in sharing time it was the perfect example to teach the primary children about how the priesthood ordinance, confirmation, blesses our families.
The rest of our vacation was a lot of fun, we were there without the internet or phone service. We left all electronics at home. All of our time was focused on building family memories. I was able to spend a lot of time riding, talking and learning from my dad. Watching my children play in the dirt, play with butterflies, learn to shoot at targets, helping them spot fish swimming in the river, seeing their excitement as they rode along on the ATVs, these are all memories that help to strengthen our family and will have lasting effects.
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