The Power of Reunions

There is no doubt the wholesome family recreation that we experienced these past few days spending time with my sister and her family visiting from Boise, ID were the best of times . . .  despite some physical ailments. 

 As a family we:

Went boating, inaguarating the "Hot Dog."

Played lots of games 

(namely "Wolf and Sheep", Monopoly, The Great Dalmuti, etc.)

Wolf and Sheep

Playing The Great Dalmuti

BINGO!

Went swimming. . . and swam some more

Enjoyed lots of company, food, and conversation.

Finally, it's a tradition to have a talent show!

A Talent Show is the easiest way for everyone in the family to show off whatever talent they have and there is no limit to what that talent can be!  If you aren't including talent shows as a tradition in your family gatherings, you should start right now to include them.

Demonstration of playing the Snare Drum

"It's Your Fault" from Into the Woods

We reminiscenced some and shared our dislike for cockroaches (pretty common in this home ;-) -- even killing a few throughout the reunion.

We finally got to take some updated family photos.  

This photo is just of the grandkids with their Gold grandparents.

But, quite honestly I also experienced the power of prayer and the Holy Ghost as we strived to be considerate and loving towards grandpa (my father) who is slowly recovering from medical ailments.  It was nothing short of incredible to witness the priesthood in action as our priesthood holders in the family gave him a blessing.

One of the criteria for wholesome family activities is for family members to grow closer to our Heavenly Father.  Being with our father during this time of healing allowed us to be more chartible and loving towards him, exemplifying more Christlike attitudes and behaviors.  Because he is immobile, he spent much of his time in bed.  Probably my greatest moment this weekend was when I first arrived in the home on a Sunday afternoon and spent some time with him and my siblings at his bedside just talking about anything and everything.  While there with him, I knew that they loved me.  I thought about how wonderful it is that I will be with them forever and that knowledge--that hope--continues to help me through these troubling times as my father recovers.

Being together as a whole family these past few days gave us opportunities to demonstrate just about all the purposes of wholesome recreational activities.

WRA, REL200, Post 8

Homemade bread, kettle corn, cards, movies . . . oh my!

This week was filled with both spontaneous and planned family activities.  

First up, I was in the baking mood.  While this is our favorite bread recipe I don't make it as often as I should.  It's not labor intensive, I just haven't made it a habit to make it regularly.  But, with the help of my daughter (who always seems the most interested in doing everything together), we kneaded out a batch of it.  It gave me the opportunity to teach some baking skills to a six-year old and I learned that I still can't divide bread dough into two perfect halves!  That's one skill I haven't mastered yet ;-P  In fact, my daughter said the loaf on the right looks like it has a "disease."  Thanks, sweetheart!  But, no matter how uneven the loaves are, they are still delicious! 

We spent Friday evening at my sister's house where we swam in the pool and enjoyed dinner together--all ten of us!  For treat we gorged on popcorn and kettle corn made by my talented brother-in-law.  We taught them how to play the card game Fluxx.  If I recall, the aforementioned brother-in-law won all but one round of that game.

Making the kettle corn

Dealing the hands for Fluxx

On Saturday, we took in our annual tradition of starting every summer off with a trip to the movies to see the greatest Disney/Pixar movie for the season.  This year it was . . . 

I cannot even begin to explain why this movie hit the spot for each one of us.  Just like the emotions we meet, I felt all of them throughout the movie (okay, maybe not Anger so much).  And any movie that can influence all my emotions is a good movie in my book!

I think the greatest thing this movie did was introduce a whole new selection of one-liners that we were quoting the next day all during our Father's Day dinner.  I will admit that some family mealtimes can be dull and lacking in meaningful conversation, but our interaction using scenes from Inside Out created a mealtime circus!  That silliness was top notch and much-needed!

A picture with Peanuts while we wait for Inside Out

I do not think that these activities require an explantion as to why they can be categorized as wholesome family recreational activities because I think it's obvious.  There was an element of "every good thing" in the activities that we chose.  They did an excellent job of growing relationships (being with cousins), developing skill (making bread, swimming, playing a new game), and fostering creativity (do you know how cousins play together).   Time spent with extended family certainly enriches our lives.

Inside Out uplifted and inspired our family.    It provided an opportunity to explain a very important gospel principle to our children:  there must be opposition in all things.  We experience sadness so we can feel joy.  In order for us to taste the sweet, we must taste the bitter.  The climax of the movie comes when Joy realizes that Sadness must be experienced if Joy was to be felt in its fullnes by the main character.  We learn of the importance of opposition and how vital it is that we have it in our mortal lives.  We recognize this as a part of our Heavenly Father's plan.  It was an opportunity for us to understand another aspect of that Plan.  And the more we understand, the closer we can become to our Heavenly Father--another characteristic that wholesome family recreational activities can exemplify.  

These past few days provided great reminders of what matters in life.  I'm glad that we were spontaneous and included my sister's family in our plans.  I'm grateful that we braved the horrid city traffic to see a movie that inspired and demonstrated a valuable part of what it means to be human--a child of God.  And we enjoyed it all together, as a family.

WRA, REL200, Post 7

Lycra Tube Activity

I was intriqued by this particular activity when I ran across a video in my FAML400 class on how to use this activity to demonstrate the Family Systems theory.  I thought how great it would be if we used it at a family gathering (which we have a lot of).  I searched online for how to purchase a lycra tube only to find out that they cost around $150 for one 5-yard tube.  I did not want to pay that amount.   Instead, I spent a fraction of that, purchased some lycra fabric and made my own tubes.

For FHE last week, my immediate family took it outside to try it out.  We were able to play it using family stories (like, what happens when one leaves to go on a mission, etc.).  The goal was to keep the tube up by keeping the pattern going as people exited or entered the system we created.  I did not get video of our immediate family trying this new activity out during FHE last week.  But, I did get video of when extended family joined us later in the week.   What you see it just a snippet of all that we tried.  We were the most successful in this video.

I have to say, we're still learning the best way to have the optimum experience with the lycra tube.  After looking at this video and other videos, I've compiled a list of things we need to try doing next time to make it even better!

Why would I consider this a wholesome recreational activity?  For starters, we were all learning something new and we certainly had to work together to make it happen.  Communication was very essential!  It "involved the mind and fostered creativity" in how we could accomplish the task at hand.

I hope that we can try this activity again in the near future after making some adjustments.

I can also report that we participated in our own bi-weekly family council this past week.  Lately they've become more intense as conflicts get a bit more serious.  Our regular family councils exemplify all of what needs to be included in family activities.  Perhaps councils are not considered recreational, but they sure bring us closer to our Heavenly Father and help us practice valuable communication and problem-solving skills, which requires thought and creativity most of the time.

WRA, REL200, Post 6

Ready Or Not!

If you know Southeast Texas you know that when it comes to hurricanes it's not a matter of if but when the hurricane will strike.  We survived Hurricane Ike in 2008 (the link takes you to my posts from 2008--just scroll through to Sept. 2008 until you see some posts about the hurricane).  We only had to endure two weeks without power.  Yes, it was somewhat uncomfortable, but definitely doable.   We learned a few things that year showing us that we weren't as prepared as we thought. 

So, for the first time ever, our family attended the annual Hurricane Preparedness Workshop here in Houston, TX.  Why did it take us so long to get there?  I can give two reasons:  (1) Our schedules never allowed us to attend before and (2) Our teenage boys took advantage of the Boy Scout Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge workshop (something that would have never been on our radar in previous years). 

One of five t-shirts that we "caught" throughout the day

My husband was quite fascinated with barometric pressure and why it's so significant in hurricane development.  While listening to some of the presentations, my oldest was interested in the actual position of Director of the National Hurricane Center, who spoke to us today.  There was a time when his dream job was to be the director of the NHC.  When he was younger weather (hurricanes in particular) were quite fascinating to him.  

Our middle child was thrilled to get "stabbed" in the neck with a piece of glass as he allowed them to create mock emergency situations.  We quickly learned that even the sight of "fake" blood makes him nauseaus.

Can you see the "wound" on his neck?

I learned all about the Wonder Oven and even purchased one of my own.  I'm sure it'll be one of those things I learn how to cook with as I work on a particular provident living plan coming up in Unit #4 of my class ;-).

We also learned how to make an A/C unit with a bag of ice, an old cooler, a fan, PVC pipe, and a battery.  It really was quite chilly to stand next to it.  

You can't see them, but our boys are participating in the Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge Workshop

Taking a break at the Emergency Response Team Ambulance

While we didn't win any of the 30 giveaway prizes (we never win anything), we walked away with a trunk full of reusable bags that were loaded with information, first aid kits, rain gauges, snacks, ponchos, flashlights, T-shirts . . . and the list goes on!  

We felt uplifted and reenergized to get better prepared for emergencies.  This was definitely a family activity that "involved the mind" and helped us "develop skill" together. 

We finished the night by eating dinner and just hanging out with my twin brother and his family.  We enjoyed outdoor recreation, playing video games, and just catching up.  It made for a long, productive, and fun Saturday for us.

Our youngest with her two cousins

WRA, REL200, Post 5