Happiness is closer than you think…

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Happiness is closer than you think…
Happiness is closer than you think…

A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams. ― Anonymous

Stay-cations – the art of vacationing in your own backyard. Here are a few ideas to get away not far away.

Bed & Breakfast

Find that gem of a Bed & Breakfast hidden within a thirty-minute drive of your home. You’ll discover there’s a lot more to your town then you thought.

Camp-out in your house

One of my favorite family memories happened the night of a thunderstorm with a power outage. We lit candles and made shadow puppets on the wall. We played “guess this movie”, our version of charades. Two hours into the power-failure the lights came back on. Deep sigh, disappointment. My husband kept the night going by flipping the electrical breaker, and we ended up building a blanket fort in the living room, eating PB&J sandwiches and camping in the living room for the night. Camp out at home. Pitch a tent in the backyard or built a fort inside. The key to this type of vacation is disconnecting from the phones, games, and computers. Once you’ve disconnected, that in itself can be a vacation.

Drive in movies

Today it is hard to find a local drive-in theater. It may be easier to create your own at home with a projection screen and a white bedsheet or use a laptop and huddle together under a blanket. Magic and memories are created by being together even if is just watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 under the stars.

Check-out the local camping spots

Pitch a tent, take a quick dip in the lake or beach and cook dinner over a fire. Check out the native wildlife and tell some scary stories.

County Fair

This local activity is fun and educational for the whole family. Check out the rides, eat different foods and visit the farm animals. Raising a farm animal for the fair takes work. It’s a good lesson for kids who are not savvy to the farming world to see first hand how it’s done. 4-H and FFA families will be showing their goats, sheep, pigs and cattle. It’s fun to watch a few judging contests and see what judges look for in a grand prize category.

S’mores or Roasting Marshmallows

Get out the glow sticks and fire up that grill. It is time to roast marshmallows or make smores (and don’t forget Reese’s peanut butter cups.) Night time whiffle ball is a super fun activity. Don’t let the dark slow down that baseball game! Just break those glow sticks and shove them inside the whiffle ball and the night will come alive – in color.

Rituals are healthy for any family― so start finding your happiness this summer by building your own traditions.

Instead of thinking distance is needed to relax, develop the mindset of creative-closeness. How creative are you?