Family Reunion/Trip Theme Song

Family Theme SongOk, friends, first of all I have to say each family song we have come up with has been spontaneous and unplanned.  I have written before about our family theme song here.  While we were on our ski trip/family reunion song emerged.  Since I’m not a regular Country Music fan I had not heard this song before.  My Sister’s Boyfriend’s Son, Michael, began to randomly sing it throughout our week together.  I think most of my extended family did already know it because they would chime in and sing with Michael.  By the end of the week we all knew the chorus to the song.  It always brought lots of giggles.

What I LOVE about having a family theme song is how it brings unity.  Not only that, whenever we hear the song, it will bring back LOTS of fun memories of our time together.

The following is a horrible video I shot with my iPhone because it was handy.  Mainly I wanted to share it for the sake of the audio recording.  Please forgive my awful videography skills and we are not professional singers…at least most of us aren’t {my Dad has recorded an album in the past.}  Hope it might make you laugh; it does me every time I hear it. 😉


Sing on,

Family Reunion Activity Ideas

Here are some other activities {besides skiing} we did during our family ski trip/family reunion:

The package of mustaches came with 6 different ones to choose from.  It cost me $1 and they were self adhesive.  We used the iPhone app Pop Booth to let the kids take a photo booth strip of themselves.  This brought a lot of laughs and fun!

I asked the kids to find some sticks to use for roasting our S mores.  This was sneaky on my part because it was an effort to get the kids out of the house and outdoors! 😉  It worked though!  One of the older boys (15) was nice enough to whittle the sticks for us.  I am grateful our rental house had an outdoor fireplace for us to be able to roast S mores.  Yummy and fun!

We brought the Wii for the kids to play on, but when they weren’t on it they were playing card games like Go Fish & Uno.  They would also play electronic games on the iPad & iPod touch like Air Hockey, Draw Something, Temple Run and many others.  Since we did so much skiing during the day, it didn’t bother me for them to have some down time playing on their devices.  It’s nice for the grown ups to have the kids quiet for some time. {If you know what I mean ;)}  My favorite out of the above was our game of freeze dance.  The kids would pick out a song on their iPod.  We would all dance until I paused the song.  At that time everyone was to FREEZE from dancing.  If anyone moved they were out of the game.  This gave me a chance to dance too! {Even though my kids hated me dancing…HA!}

We don’t see a lot of snow where we live.  This was a perfect opportunity for the kids to have some snow fun.  The snow was melting and difficult to make a snow man, but perfect for a snowball ‘fight.’  We gave them a few rules: don’t hit in the face & stay about 10 feet away before throwing the snowball.  Fun times!

Check with the chamber of commerce about local parades or events going on.  Kids always enjoy parades.  We liked attending this St. Patrick’s Day Parade the last full day we were in Pagosa Springs.

Other activities we enjoyed:

  • Movie nights – The adults watched the movie Grown Ups one night after the kids went to bed…the movie is pretty hysterical!  We all laughed until our bellies ached.  On another evening we watched Disney’s Tangled and served popcorn.
  • Hot Tub – We were blessed to have rented a house with an indoor hot tub.  It was perfect for soothing aching muscles from skiing.  We had a 10pm curfew for the kids to use the hot tub.  Our other rule was to have an adult in the hot tub with the kids.
  • Star Gazing – We saw Venus, Mars & Jupiter among many constellations.  The night sky was very dark so we were able to see lots of stars.  My Dad used a special star gazing app to identify the planets and constellations.  {Sorry, I don’t know what the name of it is, but I can find out if you want to know.}  It was gorgeous and educational!
  • Birthday Party –  My Brother-in-Law had a Birthday while we were there.  We held a party in his honor.  I am writing a post more about this later.

Posts coming up will be about:

  1. How we rented the awesome home we stayed in
  2. Our menu, we ate the majority of our meals at the house
  3. Memory book idea
  4. Family song of the week
  5. Excellent app every family needs to help with communication during the trip/reunion

Family activities bring unity,

What is BlissDom?

Last year I made the trek to a blogging conference called BlissDom.  As I prepare to return to my community of fellow bloggers this week in Nashville, I thought it only fitting to write about this experience.

What is BlissDom?

If you are a blogger and visit other blogs regularly you might be seeing badges like this:
Join Me At Blissdom!I'm Going to Blissdom!Gonna Get My Bliss On at Blissdom!This is my Second Blissdom!

Or maybe you are seeing bloggers talk about BlissDom on Facebook or Twitter and you find yourself wondering, “What is this?”

Well, about a year and a half ago I was experiencing this.  Many of the blogs I read on a regular basis had these badges and so I clicked on one.  There was a video about the previous BlissDom conference, so I watched that.  Watching the video was all it took for me.  Whoever put the video together will be happy to know their work paid off.  I knew I wanted to attend after watching the video.  I talked about it with the hubster and he was in support of me going.  {Isn’t he awesome?}  It’s always held in Nashville at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.  This year BlissDom is celebrating their 5 year anniversary.

I remember trying to explain to my family and friends what BlissDom was all about last year.  Most people had a question mark look on their face.  It’s okay.  The whole blogging conference is relatively new to most, but especially for people who don’t blog.  Because of the video & information BlissDom offered on their website and reading posts by other bloggers who had attended; I had a small inkling of what the conference would be like.

My purpose in going was:

1. I wanted to meet other people who have a passion for blogging.  In other words, I wanted to meet people who “get me.”  I didn’t know one single person who blogged on a regular basis in real life.  This would be the perfect place to make new friends who understand what I do.

2. I wanted to LEARN how to grow my blog.  Let me explain, up until the time of BlissDom I had maybe a handful of friends and family {THANK YOU!} who read my blog.  As my interest in blogging grew, I enjoyed making new friends online.  I realized that not only could I provide ideas &  information on things I love, including family, but also form sort of a community of friends.  I wanted to know how to do this.

3. I wanted to LEARN more about advertising.  I was very curious how bloggers incorporated advertising into their blog.  Why did they do this?  Do they make money doing it and if so, how much?  Does your blog become a business when you start advertising?  What are the legal & tax ramifications?

4. I wanted to LEARN more about HOW to do things.  Why did some blogs look more ‘professional’ than others?  I enjoy graphic design but don’t have any professional training.  How are bloggers able to make their site look the way that it does?  BlissDom had classes about this!

5. I wanted to meet the bloggers from blogs I regularly visited in real life.  In the blogging world they are pretty much celebrities!  Good thing is, they can go out in public and not have paparazzi after them! 😉 lol

6. I won’t lie, seeing that Harry Connick Jr. came to entertain the bloggers the previous year perked my interest in BlissDom as well.  I didn’t know if he would come again, but I knew there would be some sort of musical entertainer.  As a stay at home Mom, there aren’t many opportunities to go to concerts like when I was young and single.  BONUS!

Here is the BlissDom video from last year…the one I attended:

BlissDom ’11 from Blissful Media Group on Vimeo.

Watching this video brought back many memories and has increased my excitement ten fold. {Amy, I saw you in the video}  By the way, the flash mob was held in a session I did not attend. :( Big Pouty Face because I would have been all over that!

Do you remember my post about Mat Kearney?  I couldn’t remember exactly what he said about being in a room filled with so many female social media enthusiasts.  Well, they showed that at the very beginning of the video…if you skipped watching you will have to watch it!  It’s pretty hilarious!

The clip with the man and woman on stage after Mat are the compassionate masterminds behind Love Drop.  Remember me writing about them?  You can read all posts I’ve written about BlissDom by clicking here.

So did I learn what I wanted to learn as stated in my purposes above?

ABSOLUTELY!

I learned all I wanted and MORE!  There are many sessions you can choose to attend led by experienced and successful bloggers.

My blog today is living proof of that.

I am so grateful for BlissDom.  The conference is a safe haven for bloggers…a community of social networking divas.

A few weeks back participants received a Prep For Bliss package:

Includes: Name Badge, Luggage Tag, Business Card Holder, Post-It Notes, Jewel CD & Various Free Food Coupons

 

Also included in this package was a letter from the BlissDom founders.  I want to share a profound quote from them:

“You are the pioneers of a generation who are forging the way in this new digital world.  We are living through the equivalent of the Industrial Revolution and the trails we blaze and how we choose to behave as a community will set a tone for generations.”

I was a newbie at BlissDom last year.  Not only was it my first Blissdom to attend, it was my first blogging conference to attend period.  Turns out there are many different blogging conferences held through out the year.  However, at this point in my life, being the family gal that I am, one blogging conference a year has worked for us.  { Don’t worry Amy I am considering going to another with you 😉 }  Balance is important. 😉

First thing I noticed was how everyone talked about each other by their blog name.  Instead of saying Shan from Family Brings Joy, they would say, “Did you meet Family Brings Joy?”  It was a little weird at first.  It’s understandable, though, because as a blogger, unless you have talked to the blogger personally, you know them by what the name of their blog, not by their given name.  Fortunately, we all have name tags on.  Sometimes I would see people reading my name tag as I walked by.  You see, we all have bloggers we want to meet while we are there.  I didn’t take offense when they would go out of their way to stop me just to see who I was and then say, “No, you’re not her.”  Scratch that, it bothered me just a tad.  However, I did the same thing, just never physically stopped them to read their name tag.  I would just look at them as I walked by.  I understand completely.

Other fun stuff about Blissdom:

  • SWAG {Stuff We All Get, meaning free products from the sponsors or participating brands}
  • Meeting celebrities {like Michelle Branch, Mat Kearney}
  • Food galore…didn’t need to purchase one meal while I was there.
  • Free shoulder/back massage and manicure
  • Networking Parties
  • The Gaylord Opryland Hotel is gorgeous!

I believe BlissDom chose their name because when you are there you are following your bliss…following your dreams.

If you haven’t been on Family Brings Joy’s Facebook page lately {join us!} then you will not know that this year’s entertainers/special events include for BlissDom include:

  • Handmade Marketplace
  • Nathan Pacheco {Singer}
  • Lorax {Dr. Suess Movie} Party
  • Joe Jonas {Singer}
  • Chris Mann {Singer}
  • Rascall Flatts
  • screening of OWN’s Oprah’s Next Chapter episode with Oprah and her friends Gayle King & Paula Deen

Wowza!!  What a line up!  Funny side note, when I shared with my 8 year old Daughter about Joe Jonas coming, she exclaimed, “Take lots of photos and video for me, Mom!”  Here is a text snapshot of what my 16 year old Daughter, who is a devoted Jonas Brothers fanatic said, when I shared the news with her:

My Daughter said later, “Why would Joe would want to go sing for a bunch of old women?”  LOL

Hopefully this post helped you understand a little bit more about BlissDom.

I leave on Wednesday!  If you are attending BlissDom, I have a special gift for the first 10 Family Brings Joy readers/friends.  Come introduce yourself to me.  I want to meet you!  Time for laundry & packing!

P.S: Please pray that I don’t get sick like I did going to my half marathon.  I would like to be able to enjoy the conference.  I just recovered from that sickness.  I know when you fly on an airplane that it increases your chances of getting sick.  I was worried about my muscles before my race.  I didn’t really think about how a cold/sinus infection/ear infection could impact my trip…it did.  It was a miracle I was able to run that race as bad as I was feeling.  Anyway, I would very much appreciate any prayers you might offer on my behalf.

Follow Your Bliss,

Running Music for 40 Somethings

Training for a half marathon gives you time to think, ponder and reflect.

Last Saturday I ran 10 miles in preparation for my half marathon I’m running this Saturday.

Running for 2 hours requires your ipod/mp3 player to be full of good high energy music to keep you motivated!

I decided to share the tunes that keep me running in hopes to help others stay motivated. 😉

 

 

Tears For Fears

  • Shout
  • Head Over Heels
  • Mad World
  • Laid So Low (Tears Roll Down)
  • Mothers Talk
  • Change

Book of Love

  • I Touch Roses
  • Modigliani (Lost In Your Eyes)
  • Alice Everyday
  • Getting Faster
  • Pretty Boys & Pretty Girls
  • Tubular Bells
  • Counting The Rosaries

Depeche Mode

  • Just Can’t Get Enough
  • Everything Counts (Huntemann Remix)
  • Strangelove
  • Peace
  • Walking In My Shoes
  • Shake The Disease (Tiga Remix)

Various 80’s Songs

  • Music Box Dancer by Pepe
  • The Walk (Infusion Mix) by The Cure

Various 90’s Songs

  • Better Off Alone by Alice Deejay
  • Twilight Zone (Rave Version) by 2 Unlimited
  • Move Any Mountain by The Shamen
  • Popcorn by Crazy Frog
  • Get Ready For This by Crazy Frog
  • Blue by Eiffel 65

Various 2000’s

  • Hello by Martin Solveig
  • Hearing Damage by Thom Yorke
  • Let’s Get Lost by Beck
  • I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ (Paper Factory Version) by Scissor Sisters
  • Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
  • One More Time by Daft Punk
  • Shake It by Metro Station
  • Atlas by Battles
  • Ambling Alp by Yeasayer
  • My Body by Young the Giant
  • Till The World Ends by Britney Spears
  • Forward Motion by Meese
  • Tell Me It’s Over by Meese
  • Love And Affection by Neon Trees
  • Girls And Boys in School by Neon Trees
  • Farther Down by Neon Trees
  • Running Up That Hill by Placebo
  • Amazing (Kaskade Remix) by Seal
  • Sunrise by Simply Red
  • Punching In A Dream by The Naked And Famous
  • Young Blood by The Naked And Famous

Owl City

  • Galaxies
  • Deer In the Headlights
  • The Real World
  • Angels
  • Honey and the Bee
  • Kamikaze
  • Alligator Sky

Mat Kearney

  • Ships In The Night
  • Count On Me
  • Sooner Or Later
  • Chasing The Light
  • Learning To Love Again
  • Down
  • She Got The Honey
  • Young Dumb And In Love
  • Hey Mama

Ellie Goulding

    • Run Into the Light (Whole Album)

This album has been a favorite of mine while training this time.  Ellie is a runner.  You can tell she remixed these songs for running!  It’s perfect for 3 miles.

Christian Running Music

  • Fields of Grace by Big Daddy Weave
  • In My Heart by Jump5
  • With All of My Heart by Zoe Girl
  • R U Sure About That? by Zoe Girl
  • Here and Now by Zoe Girl
  • Mega-Mix (from Shine) by Newsboys
  • 02 Avalon Remixed (whole album) by Avalon
  • Come Together by Third Day
  • Get On by Third Day
  • Revolutionary Love by David Crowder Band
  • No One Like You by David Crowder Band
  • Flood by Jars Of Clay
  • Get Back Up by Toby Mac

Fitness Mix Album by K2 Groove

  • Ride Like The Wind
  • I Ran
  • Chariots of Fire
  • All I Need Is A Miracle

Shan’s TIP: I highly recommend you DO NOT listen to your running music when you are NOT RUNNING.  This ensures you will not get tired/bored of the song while running.

Linking Up:
Tip Junkie handmade projects

Listen and Run,

What Music Are Your Kids Listening To?

Do you know what music your kids are listening to?  What is their favorite music group or artist?

My 16 year old Daughter is going to a concert tomorrow night and it got me thinking about these 2 questions.

I had a pretty good idea what my 2 girls liked to listen to but wasn’t sure about my boy.  It was time for a little Mom & Child Interview…

It’s funny, I guess I should interview them more often because each child was a little leery or hesitant when I asked them the second question above.  I figured they would be able to tell me right away.  It’s not that hard of a question, but they all had to think about it some.  Both of my daughters got out their ipods and looked at their top songs.

Youngest Daughter {8}

I interviewed her first.  She said Big Time Rush and Jonas Brothers after pondering a minute or two.  Then after looking at her ipod she quickly shouted, “David Archuleta!”  It made me giggle because I knew he would be on her list.  After him it was easy for her to list off Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Nick Jonas & The Administration and Justin Bieber.

  • David Archuleta
  • Jonas Brothers
  • Big Time Rush
  • Selena Gomez
  • Taylor Swift
  • Justin Bieber
  • Nick Jonas & The Administration

Son {13}

“I don’t think there is any good music out right now,” states my Son matter of factly.  I interrupted his Wii game to ask him who he was listening to right now. “I don’t really listen to music that much.”  I knew that already.  He and my husband are very similar in that they don’t need music in their lives.  Me, I can’t live without music!  Just another example of how opposite DH and I are.

  • None

Oldest Daughter {16}

As usual, my beautiful teen Daughter gives me a weird look when I asked her.  She was on the phone with her bestie.  They were supposedly studying for chemistry together.  Her friend asks me, “why do you want to know this?”  I should have answered, “Mom’s don’t need a reason to find out stuff about their kids.”  K answered, “it’s for your blog, isn’t it?”  I guess my pen and notebook gave it away. {lol}  K’s bestie listed hers off pretty quickly: Taylor Swift, Allstar Weekend, Nick Jonas, Jonas Brothers, Jason Mraz, One Direction, Katy Perry and Ron Pope.  I have no idea who One Direction or Ron Pope is.  Both my daughters love music as much as I do and I enjoy sharing this passion with them.  K made me promise I will state that her list is in no particular order. {lol}

  • Allstar Weekend
  • Jonas Brothers
  • Taylor Swift
  • Selena Gomez
  • Nick Jonas & The Administration
  • Shane Harper

I’m going to have to listen to Shane Harper…haven’t heard of him.

So K and her bestie are seeing Allstar Weekend tomorrow.  The Jonas Brothers better get their new album out soon because Allstar Weekend has taken over in our house!  I like both the Jonas Brothers and Allstar Weekend.  There is one song of Allstar Weekend {which happens to be the name of their latest album} that I’m not thrilled with because of it’s heavy sexual connotation.  I remember when we first listened to this album together I mentioned to her I did not like that song. “Yeah, I skip that song.”  This is when I am screaming inside saying “YES!”  I am so grateful for her desire to listen to good music.  Moms cherish these moments…when we can see the fruits of our labor. 😉

Do you listen to the music your kids are listening to?

Personally, I believe it is very important to know what your kids are listening to.  If the lyrics have subject matter that conflicts with our values, I talk about it with my kids.  This is an excellent opportunity to have a good conversation with your children.  It’s also a prime opportunity to teach.  Music is a very powerful medium.  I like to think I am pretty hip when it comes to music for a Mom.  Since music means a lot to me, I like to be able to listen to music with my kids.  If only I could get me kids to not be embarrassed when I begin to dance around…I know, never going to happen.

Do you talk to your kids about the popular songs that are played on the radio?

Let me give you an example.  Katy Perry has some fun songs.  However, there are several songs of hers that are played regularly on the radio that I don’t want my kids listening to.  The lyrics are not in harmony with the values we teach and instill in our children.  “So if it’s popular and all the kids at school are listening to it, why can’t I,” is the silent question my kids are asking.  Depending on who is in the conversation about the song at the time will determine my answer.  Sometimes if my 8 year old is asking I might have to be somewhat vague {depending on the subject matter contained in the song} and say, “It doesn’t have appropriate lyrics for an 8 year old.”  On the other hand, if my Son and oldest Daughter are the only ones with me during the conversation I will be pretty specific to why I don’t like it and think it’s not right for them to listen to.  It is up to them to choose whether or not they will listen to the song on their own, but when I’m around they will definitely not be listening to it.  However, if you are aware of what albums are on your kids ipods then you will know if they are following through.  This is easily accomplished by looking at their itunes accounts or whatever software they use for their mp3 player.

I’d like to encourage you to take time to talk to your kids about the music they like.  It doesn’t have to be a formal sit down with a notebook.  It can be at the dinner table.  It can be in the car{where we have our discussions the most, captive audience.}  It can be when you are watching American Idol or some sort of music awards show…anytime really.

You just might learn something you need to know about your kids by what they are listening to.

Now, your turn, what are YOUR kids listening to?

Can’t wait to hear,

Family Time Capsule Video

You all know how much I adore family.

Not just MY family.

All families!

It makes me smile to see other families having joy.

This morning I did a little blog hopping and came across this wonderful video made by Amy Earle of SimplyB Photos.

I am seeing more and more of these… what I might consider “time capsule” videos capturing a day in the life of your family.

I LOVE THEM!

I’ve featured Stephanie Nielson’s family videos in the past and gushed.  However, she is somewhat famous now and has her own personal photographer/videographer who does her shoots.

Amy is also a videographer and here she does an amazing job of capturing their family’s life in their home with their 4 kids.

I am so impressed that I am featuring it here today.  It is WORTH your time to watch and will brighten your day, I promise. 😀

Good Life from Amy Earle on Vimeo.

THIS is the kind of video you would pull out and watch on special occasions like holidays or when the oldest child goes to college.  Really anytime, but when the kids have all moved out of the house, as a Mom, it would be great to pull out, watch and remember the good life.

Well done, Amy!  {Now can you come & do one for me, please?}

Disclaimer: No compensation was given by Amy.  She was completely surprised to find this today. 😀

 

Hug your family today,