Our fall favorites are here! 🍂

We spent spring break in quarantine, and our summer getaway is heading toward mask-clad lockdown. A family vacation is about to take on a whole new meaning in our house, well, in most homes.

Staycations are about to become all the rage, and I’m determined to make some fantastic memories with our living room and backyard as the backdrop.

Here’s the plan.

A Camp-In

Yes, we’re going to go all out together. A tent in the backyard or the living room if Mother Nature won’t cooperate. A strand of twinkle lights to add some magic. We’ll grill out for dinner and cap off the evening with s’mores over the fire pit. After dark, I can’t wait to run around and catch fireflies with my kids. Some of my best memories were made on late summer nights catching those blinking bugs.

Movie Night Extraordinaire

Our Friday night family movie won’t be any ordinary snuggle on the couch. It is part of our vacation, after all. Staycation cinema calls for all the treats and cozy blankets. If I can make it work, I’m going to set up the projector and a white sheet screen so we can enjoy a movie under the stars. That’s one for the scrapbook.

Family Talent Show

OK, I know this seems a bit over the top, but it will be so much fun for everyone. Make up a fun new skit or sing a silly song together. Clear the living room floor and let each person take a turn showing off their best dance moves. Video documentation is a must for this one. You can watch it together the next time everyone needs a break from COVID-19 news.

RELATED: Take a Trip Around the World From Your Kitchen

Scavenger Hunt

With any luck, this one will last all day long. Breakfast pancakes will hide the first clue, and the final prize will be tucked in under our dinner plates. I’m going to stash fun notes all around the house and yard. The whole family will work together to solve the hunt and claim their winnings. I think an ice cream sundae bar is the perfect reward for a day’s work.

Game Night

Young and old alike will love this one. I am excited to break out my old favorites like Candyland and Uno. And, pick up a few new ones for us to try (OK, I’ll have them delivered). I might even give family poker a try. My grandma used to let us play with pennies. I can still see her wearing her dealer’s visor. I’d love to make lifelong memories like the ones I have with her with my own kids.

RELATED: At the End of Your Life, This is What Will Matter To Your Children

These ideas are just some of the ways to plan out an epic family staycation. It will be fun to watch the new staycation trend grow over the summer. Vacation memories might look very different this year, but the outcome will be the same: family photos, videos, and memories you’ll all enjoy for years to come.

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our new book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Angelica Kajiwara

Angelica Kajiwara, her husband, her mom and three kids are always up for an adventure! Whether it’s a family road trip in their RV, a weekend away at the newest family destination or a Tuesday at their scenic home in North Georgia, this fun-loving family shares the best, the real and the silliness of it all. Her roll-with-it attitude of, “If we can do it, you can do it” makes her blog a must-read (and her Instagram a must-follow).

Dear *NSYNC, It’s Time

In: Living
*NSYNC band members Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick pose for photo

Dear Justin, JC, Lance, Joey, and Chris, Bring it in, guys—we need to have a little chat. First things first: congrats on the new single. It’s been 20+ years since we could ask our friends, “Have you heard the new *NSYNC song?” and that feels like kind of a big deal. I listened to “ Better Together” and it feels like it’ll be right at home on the Trolls Band Together soundtrack. It’s got that 2023 pop sound and a catchy enough chorus. The kids are gonna love it. But guys. My dudes. Can I be honest?  From the bottom...

Keep Reading

Look for Contentment Where You Are Today

In: Faith, Living
Family sitting on couch at home

When my husband and I were first married, we rented a run-down place that didn’t cost much. It certainly wasn’t a dream home. Honestly, I was less than thrilled about renting in the first place. I expected that we would buy a house when we got married. That’s what my parents did. That’s what many people I went to high school with were doing. But my husband and I were 21 and 22 when we got married, fresh out of college. We were still waiting for my husband to land his first teaching job, so we weren’t financially ready to...

Keep Reading

It’s Okay if the Dishes Can’t Wait

In: Living, Motherhood
Woman washing dishes

It’s been seven hours since I last spoke. There’s no one in the house to talk to. My husband is still at work and my kids are having a sleepover at Grandma’s. It’s also the Friday before a long weekend, so most of my friends have left for the cottage, which means my phone hasn’t dinged in a while. So, I did what most mothers do when they have the house to themselves for a few hours. I cleaned. I washed the dishes. I wiped the toothpaste off the bathroom mirror in my kids’ bathroom. I picked up the wood chips...

Keep Reading

What Happens When Your Perfect Life Explodes?

In: Grief, Living, Loss, Marriage, Motherhood
Sad woman by window with her head in hands

One day you’re living your best life, writing articles about how perfect your marriage is, and the next, BOOM, life as you know it completely changes. I was blindsided by information that my husband had been lying to me for three years about certain aspects of our lives. I felt like I had been hit in the gut by the biggest rock you could imagine. What has followed has been a snowball of events and new information that has changed the course of my and my kids’ lives. So what do you do when your perfect explodes? This is one...

Keep Reading

Find Your Person, She’s Worth It

In: Friendship, Living
Two women smiling, color photo

Have you found her? I’m talking about the person you can call your best friend. The girl who will give up sleep to take your phone call. The one who will stand outside your hospital window during COVID with a sign because she can’t be inside, cheering you on. That person who will defend you when need to be and be your voice of reason when you seem to have lost your way a bit. I’m one of the fortunate ones who has found her. For us, it all started when we were 12 years old. Our families lived next to...

Keep Reading

Dear Husband, In This Busy Season

In: Living, Marriage
Busy family in the kitchen, man walking into the door holding coffee

Dear husband,  I know this is a busy season for you. I see how hard you’re working. And I know you come home exhausted every night. I know you’d be here earlier—and more often—if you could. But you can’t. Because this is your busy season.  And there are a few things I need you to know.  This is hard for me too. Even on normal days, I’m on call 24/7 for the kids, but now, I don’t have you at home as backup. The needing never stops, and I no longer have you to share it with. I can’t say,...

Keep Reading

The Greatest Gift We Can Give Someone Is to Include Them

In: Friendship, Living, Motherhood
Female friends laughing together outside

The greatest gift we can give someone is to include them. Never have I felt more isolated and excluded than I did as a new mom. With two babies born a year apart, socializing was impossible. I couldn’t hold a conversation with my kids in tow. And they were always in tow. In those early years of motherhood, something like a hair appointment meant more than just a cut and color. It was an opportunity for uninterrupted, adult conversation. After a couple of years of baby talk and mom buns, I was intensely in need of all three. I booked...

Keep Reading

Why This Blogger’s “Dear Husband” Poem Has the World Sobbing

In: Living, Marriage, Motherhood
Father holding newborn in bathtub with siblings nearby

It’s one thing to read an article that gets you in the feels . . . but when you read those words aloud? It brings the emotions to a whole other level.  An Irish radio host from Corks RedFM proved that this week when she read a poem live on air about motherhood, marriage, and the bittersweet reality of time passing quickly. The viral piece was written by blogger Jess Urlichs, and it perfectly captures what it feels like to be thankful and heartbroken at the same time.  Watch radio personality Vic on the RedFM Breakfast with KC show read...

Keep Reading

A Friend Turning on You Can Hurt More than a Breakup

In: Friendship, Living
Sad woman with head in hands

I was betrayed badly recently by a friend, the kind of betrayal that leaves a deep mark. The one that makes you question the trust you put in people. How close you let your soul get to theirs. Months later, my brain still is trying to dissect how someone could do that. A friend turning on you can hurt worse than a bad breakup. How could I have been such a fool and not see their true colors? Et tu Brute? repeated in my head. It has not happened in years. Since high school if I am being honest. But...

Keep Reading

Your Mental Health Is Worth Fighting For

In: Living
Black-and-white drawing of woman looking into night sky

Anxiety. Depression. PTSD. Bipolar disorder. The list of mental health disorders is quite long. And every disorder has its own challenges to overcome. There’s always been a stigma on mental health, or actually the opposite of health: illness.  When someone has a physical ailment, let’s say a cough that lingers, going to the doctor is the most common thing to do. After all, we want to be cured. However, when it comes to the ailments within—the unseen ailments of our soul—people often hesitate to reach out. They’re afraid to be labeled. And many continue to struggle in silence. But a...

Keep Reading