10 Fun Childhood Memories...

That I would love to share with my children.

Everybody realizes as they become parents that there are things they would like to do differently from their parents and things they would like to do the same. I have to say that my "do the same" list is much, MUCH longer than my "do differently" list. As our own family grows I am learning that it is very easy to become overwhelmed and stressed at times, so I decided to compose a list of things that we did growing up that were just plain fun! These are in no particular order.

1) Go fishing. My dad got a boat when I was in my early teens, it didn't matter if it was at the bay or on the lake, we always had a blast. Thanks to my parents I now get to share that experience with my kiddos every July 4th week.

2) Have a food fight. This did not happen everyday in the Goode household but I remember vividly my parents starting a food fight one night at the dinner table. It was the greatest dinner ever! Afterwards, all 7 of us worked as a team to clean the kitchen and it took less than 30 minutes. I learned that day that walls, drapes and chairs are ALL washable.

3) Wrestle with one another. This became an almost nightly routine in our home. We would move the coffee table out of the way in the living room and play WWF all night long. Dad played ref until I got so big the younger kids didn't stand a chance, then he was my opponent!

4) Sing familiar tunes in crazy voices. Every time we sang 'Happy Birthday' to someone dad would sing it very loud and off key (on purpose), after a few times we all joined in the silliness. We also got to practice this on Christmas morning when it was time for the kids to wake mom and dad. Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bell Rock never sounded so good at 6am. I bet mom and dad don't miss that!

5) Double Bounce. When we got our first trampoline, dad was one of the first people to get on. He was king of double bouncing us. We would fly so high it felt like we were free falling back down to earth.

6) Have a picnic in the park. Once a week during the summers growing up mom took all five of us kids to the park. We met up with other families and while the moms had bible study we got to play with the other kids.

7) Go to the Dollar Movies. I don't know if they even have Dollar Movies anymore but I remember mom and dad taking us "just because". With five children I know it was hard to fit going out into the budget but whether is was the dollar theater or the pizza buffet, it was always special.

8) Go camping. My mom  is a rock star camper! Sometimes it was a family trip and sometimes it was with our Awanas group at church. No matter what you wanted to be in my moms group. The woman can put together a gourmet meal from a grill and griddle. She can always come up with ways to entertain us. Board games, talent shows or adventures "exploring"... she's got you covered!

9) Have breakfast for dinner. Sometimes you just feel like having pancakes and syrup instead of pot roast... and that is A- OK in the Goode home.

10) Dive into a cake. Pink, Blue, Green or Black icing, mom always let us dive into our birthday cakes... even as big kids if we wanted to. There is no mess that can't be cleaned up and if something is so precious it can"t get dirty then you probably don't need to have it out at a birthday party. And you know what, sometimes she let us have dessert first.

You only live once, you are only a kid once... let your kids enjoy it! We all had our responsibilities around the house but every now and then it was OK to break them for a few hours and just have FUN!!! That is one of the big things on my "do he same" list.