Many summers ago when my oldest were still young enough to think me the everyday hero we were pretty tight on funds. As a result, there was little we could afford to do during the summer break.

We came up with a plan that involved visiting every state park within a 2 hour driving distance and vowed to drown a few worms at every opportunity. Every weekend that summer found the whole family at a different park and fishing site. The kids plotted the trip and learned how to read a map pretty well that year. We did more rounds of license plate games and eye-spy than I can remember.

We’ve since had a few good vacation opportunities, though if you were to ask them what they remember the most of family outings it’s that summer. It was a game changer.

There are many memories that my eife and I have shared that I will not soon forget. A trip east to visit some graduate schools that turned into a true excursion – braving both the heat (and excentric people) in Washington DC – the dense fog of the PA mountains – the hectic NJ Turnpike – The crazy weather in Vermont (one day no snow, the next morning 1.5 feet)… all great memories!

I cannot forget the birth of my two girls…very memorable in different ways as both were born in different circumstances…one by emergency C-Section and one by scheduled C-Section.

The first day my eldest got on her princess bike and took it for a spin… that was almost a year ago now, but it seems like yesterday.

Then there are the small moments taking walks… the first time I took my eldest to fly a kite, special breakfast time together with the family… these are all moments that are memories I will treasure.

I guess what I am getting at is that memories don’t have to be grand excursions… they can be small and only meaningful to you and your family. Make the most of time you have together as too often I hear of people where time has been cut short, so make the most of the time you have and make memories daily!

Dad of Divass latest discovery was..Wordless Wednesday #11 – Time to Cool Off!