I'm getting so excited. In less than two weeks we are packing up and heading to cottage country--the whole family, dogs included--one full week of bonding, fun, and relaxation time together.
We won't have Internet access, so that'll be my unplug week. Now, this could be a problem, though, for my munchkins, two of which are huge fans of the Internet and use it to interact with their multitude of teenage friends. So, in order to keep them busy and minimize their Internet withdrawal symptoms, I'm trying to come up with some fun activities that can keep us all busy, and happy.
Here's what I have so far:
Cards
Balderdash
Go-karting (it's near our cottage, but $$ dictates that this won't be a regular event throughout the week)
Camp fires with lots of smore ingredients and spidy wieners
and...
that's it. I know, that's a sad list, isn't it!
Anyone have any suggestions? I'd love to hear them!
Hope you'll stop by on Friday for a quick interview with author Betsy St. Amant and a book giveaway offer, and then on Monday, I'll share a couple favorite cottage recipes I have from many moons ago that we always took to the cottage prior to becoming parents. If you have a great cottage recipe of your own, I hope you'll share it on Monday too. We'll be pre-preparing snacks and meals to take with us on vacation throughout next week. Some new ones to try would be wonderful!
Surrendering to Him,
Eileen
21 comments:
Definitely board games. But maybe there's a new craft or project that you can do with your daughters while there? It might mean bringing more things, but it could be a great time to introduce something new--like knitting or scrapbooking or painting or something like that. Sounds like it will be a wonderful week of being together and bonding!
Books! I loved reading when we went camping. Aren't they teens? LOL Let the come up with something while you relax. Heehee
Here's a novel idea: writing letters to their friends, to give them when they return. They've probably never had a letter---ha!
Or, keeping a "cottage diary."
You may plant some seeds in a couple of blooming writers this week!
Love,
Jen
I know what weiners are, but what are "spidy" weiners?
Jen
It sounds like you will be having a wonderful week! I would love to do that! Tons of games, and books and smores.
Oooh a relaxing week at the cottage! That sounds wonderful... I'm sure you'll have a great time. I'd bring a few more competitive board games like Monopoly, Risk, or Careers. And I like someone else's suggestion of trying a new craft! What a perfect time to tackle something like that. I vote for cross-stitch or scrapbooking.
Do you have a badminton set? That might be fun too...!
Having boys, we always took frisbies and kickballs. I grew up in a family of girls and we took books and board games. :)
I spent some time with family this past weekend and barely got on the Internet at all. It was VERY liberating. It sounds like you're going to have a lot of fun!
Sounds very cozy, and I LOVE Balderdash! At a loss on what, exactly, a spidy weiner is???
Do your kids like to read? That's what we'd be doing, except for my husband who'd be fidgeting ;)
How fun!! HEre are somethings my family loves to do:
-charades all the way (we love being dorky and what better opportunity?)
-spooky stories around the campfire (a fun story-telling activity)
-hiking
yea, my lists is sort of pathetic too, sorry!
Great ideas so far, thanks, Ladies.
Spidy Weiners? You ask, aka Spider Weiners. There a weiner that you slice down each end twice leaving the center untouched, so you have four legs on each end, then you roast them over the fire. As they cook, the legs curl up, so that they look like what dead spiders look like. Personally, I'd call them octopus weiners, but everyone else around here calls them spidy or spider wieners.
New crafts? I've already taught them how to knit, scrapbook, and sew. We like crafts, you see. Maybe we'll try out crocheting then.
Phil and I would love to curl up with books all week, but I know the girls won't go for that. Bedtime reading, yes, but not throughout the day.
Oh, I'm coming with!
I'm partial to charades and frisbee.
~ Wendy
i love board games...the more interactive the better. like taboo, catch phrase, pictionary, crainium...those would be great for the fam. :)
We'll miss you while you're gone, but have a great time recharging.
That sounds like so much fun! Cards and boardgames are a great idea. I always used to like to make up scavenger hunts for my sisters when we were teenagers and younger--you know, just to find random stuff around where you're staying. Also, we'd tell stories around the campfire and do crafts and stuff. I hope you guys have a wonderful time :)
Eileen, I hope you and your family have an awesome time.
My family was introduced to Bananagrams this past Christmas--a fast-action crossword type of game where everyone is racing to use up his/her tiles first. We had a blast playing it during our vacation. Doesn't take much room in a suitcase either, although you may want to toss in a dictionary.
I had a hard time with that when we went to the lake last week. Is there a place to fish by the cottage? My kids loved that.
Scavenger hunts are fun. A good pillow for napping sounds good to me. Learning to be spontaneous might just take the whole week.
Our family plays Skip-Bo and Phase 10 all the time! Sometimes daily lol! It sounds like you're going to have a blast. I'm thrilled for you.
I envy your time in cottage country! Is that in the mountains?
My girls (and one son) enjoy
- fishing
- hiking
- talkng around the campfire (which you already have planned)
- exploring in the country
- looking for wild game
- take a project with you they can help you with (organizing pictures for an album, for example)
- telling stories
Have fun!
wb
Don't worry about having no internet, just enjoy the moment of bonding together.
Be safe and God bless all of you, Eileen. :)
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