Family Traditions

I love having family traditions. They build memories that our children will hopefully remember for decades and talk about with their spouses and children. They also give our children something to look forward to when those dates come around. Better yet, they get excited when we say that's where we're going today or this coming weekend. Keep in mind I'm not referring to simple holidays...

We have a few, fun traditions.

- Every Easter, we take a trip to Toys 'R' Us and raid their clearance Easter baskets to replenish our outdoor toy bins.
- Every Father's Day we go to Excelsior by Lake Minnetonka, visiting Licks for ice cream and then taking a walk to the beach (although the water is way too cold to swim in).
- Every second or third summer we take a trip to Florida, visiting Kristen's parents and spending a lot of relaxing time at the beach, playing in the Gulf.
- Every August we try to make it out to the Minnesota State Fair.
- Every September we go to Emma Krumbees to pick apples, take pictures, and let the kids play.
- Every October we go to Peter's Pumpkins to pick pumpkins, take pictures, go through the corn maze, and take the hay ride around the farm.

Today we decided to make our yearly trip to Emma Krumbees early. Unfortunately, we'll have to go back because they weren't picking Haralson apples yet; those aren't allowed until late September. For those who like apples, you'll know what I mean. We also decided to visit the festival they have there every September and October. This was the first time we've done that, and I'm glad we did. The kids really had a lot of fun, especially when they got to climb the giant pile of hay and ride on the little tractor-train thing for kids.

The funny thing about these traditions is that I can compare our children's approach to whatever fun is available this year compared to last year. For example, last year, Harper was very hesitant to play on structures that were taller than I am. This year, she stays away, then gets a little closer, then asks me to help her a bit, and then she's all about playing by herself. It's quite the process and I love how she builds up that bravery with a little help from Dad!

Willow's at that age where she'll pretty much do anything Riannah and Nolan does, thinking that just because she's smaller doesn't mean she can't do it. She just jumps right in, making sure Daddy is close-by to lend a hand if necessary. When Harper was that age, she was actually quite adventurous, but getting older made her cautious. She's starting to break down some of those self-imposed walls. In fact, when we came to Emma Krumbees when Harper was 2 (or was it 3?), she was the ONLY one to ride the ponies. Of course, Willow couldn't because she was still in Kristen's belly, but Riannah and Nolan refused, and they have yet to ever ride the ponies!

The funny thing about all of this is that it's memorable because it's part of our yearly family traditions. We go places all the time and I rarely remember the silly details like this because we don't make a big deal out of those trips and they don't really mean much (because they're not that special trip that we only make once a year). Even as an adult I find that these traditions are the memories that stick in my mind and offer a good reference from year to year as I watch our children get older. It also helps that we take pictures and can compare the pictures from year to year. For instance, last year there was 4 kids sitting on the wooden guy, this year there was 5!

I can't wait to do it again next year, especially with a 1-year old Isla!!