We nailed our Saturday! It was a totally new kind of experience for all of us. The kids (and we) got some exercise. They got to use their brains to figure out how to maneuver their bodies to get them through some tough obstacles. The kids love a good party, and this did not disappoint. They left exhausted, and we felt accomplished! Boom! Drop the Mic. Watch the video below!
Big Bounce America is in St Louis, and it was awesome! It is the biggest kid party I’ve ever seen. Bash’s favorite part was the obstacle course – 900 ft of inflatable, twisty, turny, obstacle-filled goodness. Ellie loved the butterfly-inducing slide. I was in awe of the biggest kid party I’ve ever seen, complete with DJ, bubbles and hopping.
Every parent that I saw had the same look of, “Oh my gosh, this is nuts. I’m overwhelmed… but it looks like my kid is having fun.”
This experience felt oddly familiar to me – it felt like a family trip.
Travel is Always an Adventure
We love to travel for several reasons: it stretches us and our kids to find solutions to new problems, ways to entertain ourselves, alternative ways of thinking.
We are always searching for ways to travel more, but traveling full time is not feasible right now, nor is it exactly what we want. While we are in town, we are always searching for experiences that scratch that travel itch and fulfill the same goals of why we travel.
Big Bounce America did exactly that, and it was an ultimately rewarding experience for our family.
But, those satisfying feelings are not about Big Bounce America or any one planned event. It’s about the fact that we were intentional with our day. The opposite of that is how we often spend our Saturdays.
A Typical Saturday
I tend to be a little lazy on Saturdays. The work week is over; it feels like we have the whole weekend ahead of us; and for some reason I think the phenomenon of “Saturday morning cartoons” is a good excuse to let the kids watch tv.
If there is no planning ahead of time, the day tends to fly by with minimal quality family time, the kids bickering, and us ending the day feeling like nothing of value really happened.
Be More Intentional
Our family, and Busy Finding Time, is at a turning point of being hyper focused on figuring out how to deliver on the promise of finding more quality time with our family. We are determined to end (or at least reduce) those Saturdays and Sundays that just as well may have not existed. Gone are the weekdays that we sulk around feeling tired, slowly making dinner, all the while kids slowly devolve into bickering and eventually screen time if the cries get loud enough.
We are on a mission to experience our family time with intention. We have relatively little time together, and we are going to make the most of it. Down time is fine, in fact it’s necessary. But, we are going to value it.
There are likely going to be more planned events. As a result, there is going to be more planning. With more planning, we are going to fill the gaps that we are feeling. Service is basically nonexistent in our lives, and we will find ways to help our community.
In that spirit, the point of this article is to suggest that you take the first step in experiencing more, quality family time by planning one event per week to go experience something new as a family. It’s going to take a lot more steps (and ongoing effort) to complete our lives of intention, but this is the first step we are committing to take. We would love it if others would come on the journey with us.
No matter the season, planning ahead is critical. Sure, it’s easier to find an activity during the months when the weather is more cooperative. However, activities are even more crucial when we are stuck indoors.
We know that if there are no plans on a weekday evening, the chances of us getting out of the house and having an engaging experience (the park is only .2 miles away!) are way lower than if we have a planned activity.
I won’t beat this point into the ground because I know you know what I’m talking about. I am sure that you are no stranger to the weekday nights and whole weekends that pass by with minimal bonding time and family engagement.
That’s why experiences like Big Bounce America are crucial to quality family time. It’s not about cost or what’s popular these days. Find the activity that your family enjoys doing together and do it.
Help Keep Us And You Accountable
I generally feel like I am in no position to offer parental advice to others; this declaration of intentionality is simply meant as an announcement of changes we are making as a family. I am sure other families are farther along their journey of finding more quality family time than we are and others are stuck in the screen time approach.
This is intended as a plea to help keep us accountable. Sign up for our mailing list. Follow us on Instagram or Youtube. Then, reach out to us if you don’t feel like we are living up to this promise. Please, offer suggestions that will help us and others reach our goal of living an intentional family life.
Let us know on Instagram what activity you do this week where you had some good family time!
I am just hoping that several of those who read this will come along our journey with us in search of finding more time to be present with our families.
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