The Front Yard AND a Healthy Giveaway

The back yard is a place of fun. It’s safe and our green grass (which is mostly weeds but looks like grass when it’s mowed short) beckons us everyday for family picnics, baseball games and reading aloud.

Our backyard is one of the top reasons we bought this home and it still makes me happy every time I look out the window, or make a trip to the compost bin, or when I’m out pulling weeds – so like umpteen times a day.
It’s familiar and wonderful.

But recently we have been exploring uncharted territory.
The Front Yard.
We live on a kinda-busy street… it’s in the heart of a neighborhood, so that cuts down traffic, but it’s one of the main streets to get around in our neighborhood.
It all started when our oldest son was ready to learn how to ride a two-wheel-bike. We don’t have the space in our safe haven of a backyard. We had to move forward… to the frontlines… I mean yard.
Eeek.

It turns out, this simple switch had changed us from a couch potato family in the evenings to an active family. Now, I have to admit, we already are a pretty outdoorsy family. We do lots of physical things (like our neighborhood sunset hikes, a pic of one below), but our evenings had become more of a routine and less of an adventure.
I hate that.

I know it’s silly but there’s no reason you have to be stuck in a routine… even on school nights. (gasp)
I’m not saying stay up till midnight on a school night, but I am saying, be careful of routines. I feel like too much of a routine speeds up the short time we have on earth by blurring everything and everyday together.
And that’s a shame.
And sad.
And preventable!!!!
The front yard has spiced things up and it wasn’t even that difficult.
Small Things are Big Things, friends!
I’ve pulled out a chapter book to read aloud to the children on the small patch of grass in the front yard. We hang out there, ride bikes/scooters, create chalk drawings, and I flag down and chat with anyone who walks by our little circus. One teenager we saw a second time said, “I remember you guys, your little son was doing hand stands in your driveway the other night.”
Ummm… yep… that was us.
And with our circus, clothing/shoes are usually mismatched, pajamas or optional.
True story.

If you are looking for a way to go from a family of couch potatoes to an active family here are some ideas:

• Make a list. We did a summer bucket list this year because this is our first real summer. Ya know, before school starts, it’s an endless summer and you don’t have to plan activities around any schedule… except the nap schedule.
  Our summer bucket list has been super helpful and it’s filled with simple things.
  See…

• Sign up for something. Anything… as long as it’s active and involves the whole group in some way. It’s great to have some real accountability while making new habits and you’ll create community while being active.

• Buy tickets and make traditions. Communities have events. A lot. Do an internet search and try something new and create new active traditions. We recently went to a baseball game and on a watermelon picking tour at a local farm. With both, I felt like it was a waste of money when I bought the tickets, but afterward it felt like the beginning of something new. And I like that. (Side note: I want to move to a farm so if you know anyone who is giving one away, I’m interested.)

• Don’t buy tickets and still make new traditions. Communities have free stuff too. Do an internet search and do something. We go to the flea market every month and to the beach every week. Wait… is that a routine or a tradition? Because a routine is bad and a tradition is good. OK… a routine some action that feels hum-drum and dull and is making your life an insignificant blur. And a tradition is when you really look forward to something you have done many times in the past. Sound legit? Because I just made it up!

Thanks for reading friends!
And if you want to read more about creating an active lifestyle for you and your family check out Sexy Mom’s Running Club. The creator, Becky Reese, a mom of 5, has made it her personal mission to empower moms across the country to feel beautiful no matter what their size. She founded Sexy Mom’s Running Club to help busy women make themselves a priority again. Becky has created a pretty activewear line for women in sizes 10-18. And she has partnered up with Melissa Lanz, the author of The Fresh 20 cookbook for a giveaway here at Small Things.
You can win one item from the Becky Reese line of activewear and a copy of the Fresh 20 cookbook. I’m so excited about this cookbook!! It’s basically and “meal planning service that uses only twenty seasonal ingredients per week to cook five weeknight dinners.” And the photography is just lovely!

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Kara Noel Lawson

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