Tuesday

Winnipeg Family Ideas--from Kelly Dvorak

Kelly Dvorak is a marriage and family counselor from Pregnancy and Family Support Services on Spence Street.  This is what she wrote:
We have some good ideas for memory making ... although our kids are presently at a stage where getting them to spend family time is like pulling teeth...we still think family fun is possible with teens!

We like to go on family walks in local parks, especially when getting ice cream is part of the equation. Assiniboine Park + DQ on Portage Ave. is a favorite combination.

Rituals ... well, we have some family things we do together...  We make ribs for supper  whenever we're celebrating something.  We buy A & W Bacon Egger sandwiches for breakfast on the day of everyone's birthday, and on the way out of town for a road trip.  We do hand or foot massages when we're sitting around on the couch.  (that is a great way to get kids into a talking mood, by the way!) We have sitcoms that we buy by the season, then we watch it when it fits our schedule.  (We watched all 6 seasons of Reba last year! This year we're working on Corner Gas.)  On birthdays, we say what we appreciate about each other.  On Mother's Day, we do crazy things like review our family mission statement... I take full advantage of 'my' day to do things that would not happen on any other day!

We've only taken one big family vacation, it was to San Francisco last summer.  We highly, highly recommend that as a destination for a family, especially if the kids are a bit older.  The public transport is terrific, there are good deals for accommodations to be had, and Westjet has frequent seat sales there (although you may have to fly out of another city, we flew from Calgary).  

Thanks for a chance to write about us and remind myself that we are indeed a fun family!"

Sonya's note:  if you'd like to learn more about creating a family mission statement, read "7 Habits of Highly Effective Families" by Stephen Covey.

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