This Year

We sat down as a family on Monday night for FHE and wrote down some personal goals and also some family goals we wanted to try and accomplish during 2012.

*Family Goal:
Across the board one of our big family goals we agreed on was to read the Book of Mormon as a family this year. So far it has been quite a challenge to get everyone to sit down together, but we have made it 4 nights in a row so far and hopefully we can keep it up. I know it will be crazy once Kendle starts basketball and Riley gets into soccer season so we might have to read during breakfast or whenever we can squeeze it in if there are nights that don't work. I saw this cute idea on pinterest for some fun rewards when a chapter is completed.

Hopefully throwing some of these fun rewards in

will keep us motivated and having fun together.

*Fitness Goals:

Riley and I both set some fitness goals for ourselves and really want to go on a cruise or other vacation if we can accomplish them. (For privacy sake I won't put down what they were, but I'll just say we are aiming high.) I think that is some pretty good incentive to think about on the days I don't want to work out.

*Financial Goal:

We set a goal to pay off our cars. We are really close - so I think it is pretty attainable if we buckle down.

*Some places that the kids said they would like to visit for a family vacation:

Morgan said an indoor water park and Kendle said the Grand Canyon. I think the Grand Canyon might be a stretch, but who knows?

*Some things we'd like to learn or be better at:

Sarah - photography (taking more and better pictures and documenting them better in general)

post edit: I'm also adding that I want to practice shooting my gun more and get more comfortable with it.

Riley - Handy man skills

Kendle - Baking

Morgan - Fishing

Cooper and Kale - They obviously didn't make a goal, but I'll put down getting potty trained for them!

Some bad habits we'd like to break:

Sarah - skipping breakfast

Riley - losing temper

Kendle - talking back to mom and dad

Morgan - yelling at mom and dad

Some good deeds we'd like to do:

Sarah: Babysit for friends so they can go out without having to pay a babysitter

Riley: Help a stranded motorist

Kendle: Help an elderly person clean their house

Morgan: Take cookies to friends

And to help us with all of these great things we want to accomplish day by day, here is our new family motto that I framed and hung by our front door:

I hope this year brings our family closer together, that we learn to be more patient and kind to one another, that we grow wiser and learn from our mistakes, and most of all that we have lots of fun and make memories to last a lifetime.