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The familyness adventure guides hold both big and small adventures. In it you will find that familyness adventuring is about connecting, having lots of fun, relationships, and looking on the bright side of the life that you’re leading.
In this guide you’ll find ideas on how to approach adventure as a family as well as some fun ideas for your to keep in your back pocket for future familyness adventuring. You will learn how to relax and enjoy adventure, how to prepare, and you can sign up for my free ebook “The Art of Familyness Photography: 10 tips for real photos” to learn how to better document all of your adventuring!
Make the most ginormous fort ever. Instructions are here.
Create special moments in the everyday.
Give everyone a voice.
Read together and then bring the book to life.
Do something a little different at dinner time.
An adventure that makes you laugh.
A simple adventure.
When your life seems boring.
Get soapy and clean.
*Search for treasure like a pirate. Find out how.
*Do something you’ve never done and do it everyday. Discover what you could do.
*Find a new place to do something you do everyday. This adventure has four different parts! Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. .
*Meet someone you admire. Even if you get tongue-tied.
*Look for something sweet.
*A little list of adventures for you. See it here.
Keep a grateful and open mind and heart to what is happening right now. Often, on an adventure it’s easy to begin thinking about all the stuff you should be doing or that everyone isn’t moving fast enough or that your kids are freaking out. Try to relax and be okay with all of that stuff going on in your heart and brain. Let it come and go and look at what is happening right now. What can you laugh at now (instead of in 5 years) about how this is a super funny story? Being able to laugh, smile, or relax into the moment will make it so much better.
Try to chose an adventure everyone will enjoy. Work to get a unanimous vote on what to do. Listen to everyone’s input and see if you can take all of the ideas and meld them into an adventure that has everyone’s fingerprint on it. Shooting for an adventure that everyone believes they had a say in helps an adventure to get off on the right foot.
Once you choose your adventure think of ways to get everyone involved. Being part of an adventure is what makes it fun. If you feel like you’re sitting on the sidelines it can seem lonely. Some kids will do better if they are approached in a way that suits their nature. For example, if you have a child that loves to make everything a game and is always on the look out for fun, ask them for their ideas on how to make the adventure a fun game. Then do their idea, no matter how silly it may seem. If you have a person in your family who loves to be the planner, they are fantastic at remembering all of the a-z details. Invite them to make the picnic list and gather all of the details about the adventure, the route and what there is to do at the location. A child in your family may be awesome at getting things done. Find out if they would like to be in charge of getting the picnic made and making sure it all gets into the car. You may even have someone in your family who is always good at seeing the way an adventure could have been even better than it was. Before leaving, ask them if there is anything they remember from your last adventure that would make this one super awesome.
Don’t over plan! When you over plan you spend most of your time thinking about how not-on-schedule you are. That type of thinking makes it hard to enjoy who you’re with and what you’re doing. Keep it simple. All adventures take much longer than you think they will. Just like with building a home, plan at least three times longer than you think it will take. Focus on the people you’re with and not necessarily on what you’re doing.
Limit technology. When you’re on an adventure try to keep from getting on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and any other social media. It immediately disrupts your connection with the people you love and it takes you from the world you’re actually in, to a virtual world apart from what you’re experiencing. It’s a tough thing to do, especially with the pull of wanting to post images to places like Instagram. Try to wait to make posts until your adventure time is over. Use your phone to take pictures and for navigation or geocaching only.
Keep practicing. Even if people moan or if adventures don’t work out, keep doing them! Adventures never work out! That’s why they are adventures. But super awesome stuff happens along the way that make them adventures worth remembering. A couple of months ago we went on and adventure to a new park in another town. We had no idea what we were in for but we went anyway. We discovered an awesome pond, a place to kayak, a gorgeous walkway, frisbee golf, and a bunch of other things we couldn’t wait to come back to check out. On that adventure, we lost Miriam’s scriptures and in the beginning of the adventure everyone was pouty and in a bad mood. There was a get together that Emmett was wishing he could go to instead of go with us. By the time we got out and scouted around the park everyone was in a good mood. We loved being together and forgot about all of our cares, eventually. Be patient. Adventures take some effort and there will be road blocks and craziness along the way. All of that can make them even sweeter and filled with more interesting memories!
Keep a blanket in the car. We always have a blanket and a couple of sheets in our van. The sheets are excellent to use on super hot days when you need something to put down over grass or sand on the beach. They dry quickly and they shake out easily. They are less bulky and make carrying them places a lot less cumbersome. Blankets are always nice for evenings when you take a spontaneous drive to look at the stars or watch airplanes take off. Either way, blankets and sheets are excellent for any last minute adventure!
Never forget the FOOD! Bring along snacks and lots to drink. Nothing can destroy a happy adventure faster than hunger or thirst. Before you know it, what was fun is now miserable because no one can think about anything but being thirsty or their hangry, (hungry + angry) rumbling stomach.
Make sure to sign up for The Art of Familyness: 10 tips for real photos below:
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What good solid advice! It sounds like you have been on some of our less than stellar adventures! Thank you for addressing the reality of these situations and giving me permission to enjoy the adventure in the adventure! I love to hear about your family’s trips!