5 on friday | spontaneous plans

After reading a post at Home Life Simplified this morning, it occured to me that I'm really not a "fun mum", and we're not a "fun family" I'd like to say it was a suddenly occuring thought, but I've known for a long time that we don't "do" stuff, together or separately. I'd like to change that this year, and try to bring some regular-ish {well-planned-in-advance} spontaneity and fun into our lives. I'm thinking if I try five different things in March, that might be the little kick-up-the-bum we need to make things interesting a bit more regularly.

We hav already planned a camping trip for the end of the month, to the same place we went for New Years Eve.

{my, how young they are!}

A long time ago, we played games on Wednesday nights. We tried to bring it back last year, with not-much-luck, but I'd like to try a family games night again, maybe a Saturday night on the Wii.

After seeing a post on Ali Edward's blog in 2010, we started regularly taking full moon walks. But we stopped doing it in the middle of 2011 as it became "too hard", but I'd like to start doing it again. {Full moon is March 8th (a cub scout night), so we'll go for a walk on the 9th}

March is birthday month around here. I'd like to try new foods with the kids, and a great way to start is throw a birthday dinner party.

{source}

I think I'm going to ask the kids to come up with an idea of something we can do together,too. Sometimes, they have wild ideas, but sometimes thay can hit the nailon the head.

Will you be planning some fun in March?

camping | first adventure of 2012

Evere since we had our first camping adventure in 2010, we've decided that we love it. We didn't manage to go as often as we wanted to in 2011, but in 2012 we are already making plans for regular adventures.

Because we've been camping before I didn't take too many photos, because I just wanted to enjoy the trip.

Although I did have to take photos of Steve fixing the kitchen - we discovered that the pipe between the element at the top, and the gas bottle connection had a blockage, at 4pm, just when everyone was whinging that they were hungry. And we didn't have any tools. Or the spare hotplate that we usually carry.

Like most little kids, Riley is just as happy with a bucket of water as the latest gadgets.

Even camping.

A teenager in the making.

Natalie enjoyed exploring.

Some friends joined us for our second night (NYE). They have kids about Chloe and Douglas' age.

Douglas found a cicada, drying out after shedding it's skin.

And we had some sparkler fun. The kids were in the wrong order (it says 2102), and a little over-enthusiastic (while it took me four packets of sparklers to remember to change the setting to Aperture!), but I love it!

And I woke up to this view on New Year's Day, which reminds me why I've never been enthusiastic about camping before. But we were packing up to go home after a fun couple of days, so I got over the scare pretty quickly. And we're planning to go back to the same spot again, because it was great for the kids, and quiet - only three other tents at the site we were at for NYE.

How was your New Year's Eve?