Traditions. Are you building them?

We went camping this past Labor Day weekend.  I'm missing the camping gene for the most part, or at the very least it's way way recessive.  However, it rises to the surface, or almost to the surface every Labor Day weekend. And that's because I've been camping every Labor Day weekend at the same place with pretty much the same people since I was five years old.  I missed one weekend while growing up on account of our family getting a new puppy.

And Georgia?  She's now been since she was five months old.  A tent and a five month old?  Good times.  We've since upgraded to borrowing my father-in-laws trailer and that's pretty much awesome.  Georgia loves camping on Labor Day weekend.  From Friday evening when we arrive to Monday morning when we leave she is covered in dirt, s'more residue, art project remnants, ash, and sugar.

And I love watching her love it.  Her loving it makes me love it a bit more.

That's how it is with traditions right?  When we see our kids eating them up it makes you realize why all the work of camping, and it's a lot of work, is worth it.  Traditions are so important to kids because they are the glue that seals the edges of a family bond.  Even simple traditions.

I heard a speaker this weekend that talked about his family taking full-moon walks every time they'd see one.  Full moons would remind him and his wife that their time with their kids was fleeting and they should take advantage of every one that they saw.  Their kids grew to love full-moon walks.  And it made me think about all of the traditions that we are building for Georgia.

We celebrate her adoption day without fail every December 17th. And we always will.
Georgia gets donuts from Van's pastries almost every Saturday morning with Chris.
We eat dinner at the table as a family at least three nights a week.
We decorate the Christmas tree together the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
We've gone to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan for the last two 4th of July's and we'll continue to do so.
We head to a cottage with my family every summer.

And there are probably a few more that I'm missing that are truly traditions.  But talking about them makes me want to build more.  Not huge extravagant crazy ones, but simple, meaningful ones.  Like breakfast for dinner one night a week, movie night, Christmas ornament making days, Valentines Day cookie decorating parties, back to school shopping day, and one that my friend Brooke started this year.....Christmas caroling parties.  

I think it's important to remember that traditions can be as simple as some are incredible.  And really, sometimes those are the ones that kids hold the most dear as they get older.  It's really just about choosing to be more purposeful when we decide what we're going to do with our kids and remembering that traditions give kids a solid foundation when it comes to the importance of family.

So camping on Labor Day has become a tradition for Georgia just like it was for me.  That kind of makes it a super-tradition doesn't it?  She loves it, so I'm loving it more and more and more.

What does she love about it?

Hayrides.

With great friends.

Especially her Owen. The first boy we ever let her go off in a car with.

Art projects.

This 150 ft. slide down a drainage tube.  It's freaking awesome.

I think she even loves the walk back up the hill from the slide.  We do it over and over.

Campfires.

Playing with my hair in the woods.......of course.

Gaga.  And the iPad.

And taking pictures.  Georgia took this picture on her own.  She's becoming quite the pro with my huge camera and I think this is pretty impressive don't you think?

So tell me.......what are some great traditions that you uphold that we could all adopt?  Simple ones, big ones, meaningful ones, and ones that are just fun and silly.

They're important.