One thing my college-aged sons have mentioned to me on numerous occasions is that they love how social gatherings with their LDS friends can be hilarious, active, memorable and zany without involving alcohol or drugs. In fact, they have such a wide variety of “good times” that they can’t see the point in adding chemicals.

In addition to some of the things you’ve mentioned, our family likes to play board games (and eat snacks!). A few of our favourites are The Settlers of Catan, Monopoly, Cashflow, chess, and word games like Apples to Apples and Scrabble.

We also love to attend live theatre, particularly musicals. Our Christmas tradition is to attend a wonderful production of A Christmas Carol in the large city 3 hours from our home. Often, we pair this with a special dinner out (Vietnamese food, ideally) and an overnight stay at a hotel with a pool.

In the summers, we picnic and hike in a nearby national park, ride our Tennessee Walking horses, grow beautiful food, and play in the creeks and rivers near our home.

On occasion, we travel, too. Most of our destinations involve visiting family, but we try to include stops at sites of historic and cultural significance and forays into restaurants, museums, and Nature reserves.

Regardless of what we’re doing, it’s always a laboratory for how to be a group of diverse individuals united in a common cause of becoming a unified, loving family. It’s the spice of life!