By Sharla Orren

A few years ago my two boys saw an ant mound and they wanted me to stop what I was doing so I could look at it with them. I was not very excited; but, I resisted the urge to say no, and I went with them to observe the ants. We sat for an hour watching the ants march in and out of the mound. We watched them work together to get a dead bug back to their colony. What seemed at first like a boring idea turned into a very fascinating activity. That was a memory I almost missed because I thought I was too busy!

That day I decided I wanted more days like that one. I wanted my family to be able to put aside the busyness of the day to go explore the outdoors together. We kept that commitment for a while, but I guess life got busy again and we just stopped doing it. 

A few days ago, while I was busying myself again, I remembered how peaceful and relaxed I felt exploring the outdoors with my family. It seemed as if time actually slowed down during those times spent outside. And we were able to make wonderful memories as a family.  I decided to renew our commitment to get back outside as a family and explore.  

My plan is to spend more time in our own backyard:

1. Looking at stars.
2. Birdwatching.  
3. Keeping an outdoor journal.  
4. There are many ways to do this. You can write what you observe every day in your back yard. You can draw or paint pictures of the different areas of your backyard or the nature you observe. The ideas are limitless, but they make a great keep sake. 
5. Making a worm farm. 
6. Planting a garden.
7. Exploring the plants and weeds we have in our neighborhood.
8. Observing weather.

On the days we want bigger adventures, we will visit one of our many Arkansas State Parks. 

Arkansas State Parks have many different kinds of wildlife to observe, such as: migrating butterflies, songbirds, ducks, geese, deer, and even bald eagles! The list goes on and on. There are also many great walking trails and mountains to hike. 

I guess we better get busy if we want to get everything in before the boys start college. This time I plan on keeping my commitment.

Sharla lives in Southwest Arkansas were she loves finding adventures and making memories with her husband and two boys. She currently writes for Molly Green Magazine. You can also read her e-book entitled, Unlock a Treasure in Your Home: Family Read Aloud Time. You can read her blog at http://www.lookatwhatyouareseeing.com.