At the beginning of 2019, I chose Intentional to be my word of the year. I learned so much in 2019 with intentionality as my focus. The plan was to be intentional with everything in my life. Well, the saying “be specific to be terrific” was created for a reason. Trying to be intentional in all areas left me with some disappointment when I realized I wasn’t as intentional as I hoped to be. I am incredibly thankful I chose that word though because I discovered so much about myself and our family.
However, there was one thing (well two things) I put most of my intentionality toward and that was our children. One very specific and intentional thing I wanted to achieve was to provide our girls with brand new life experiences. Allowing our girls to learn from the “real world” and to be immersed in what they are learning is extremely important to me. The goal ended up being to provide them with TWO new life experiences each month.
Looking back at 2019, that goal was definitely met. We even exceeded the original goal! Some experiences were planned while others were not. Some were fun and exciting while others were not; that’s just how life works. I plan to continue this goal for many years to come. I know it is rather easy to achieve currently because they are young and have limited life experiences, but I know it is a goal that will benefit the lives of our entire family from now on.
Thank you so much to family and friends who helped us achieve this goal! We are incredibly blessed with family members who saw the vision and heart behind this goal and gifted us with tickets for our birthdays and Christmas. Our list of 2019 experiences can be found below paired with pretty cute pictures (in my opinion). Many of the experiences did require some travel for us; however, there were so many new things we did right at home or in our local community! I hope this list sparks some ideas for you and your family.
(Titles that are dark blue are linked to the places we visited for more information)
New Experiences of 2019
Hiking at Indian Lake State Forest
First Boating Trip
Park Cleanup
Sugar Sand Park & Children’s Science Explorium in Boca Raton Florida
Visited a New Florida Beach With Extended Family
First Science Fair
Trip to the Hospital for a Fractured Arm
Scavenger Hunt at the Appleton Museum of Art
First Time Attending A Ballet
First Day of Ballet Class
Celia’s Baptism
Chocolate Factory Tour in Helen Georgia
Applied For Her Very Own Library Card
Several Expos and Classes at the Local Library
Grew Sunflowers from Seeds
Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort Orlando
Rock Sliding at Poole’s Mill Park in Georgia
Many New Playground Visits in Florida & Georgia
Neighborhood Flower Nature Hunt
Said Goodbye To Two Family Members
Ava Joined The Choir At Church
Baughman Center ~ Gainesville Florida
University of Florida’s Norman Hall ~ The Education Library
Tea Party Fundraiser for Our Hearts Align
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
Enchant Christmas: The Great Escape St. Petersburg Florida
Lake Lanier Lights on Christmas Eve
The Copper Basin: McCaysville, GA & Copperhill, TN
Dunwoody Nature Center in Dunwoody Georgia
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11
