Taking the fun out of life?

A couple days ago there was an article in the Deseret News by Brooke Romney http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865631320/Brooke-Romney-Why-we-are-taking-the-fun-out-of-life.html. 

I found it  so interesting and insightful I immediately wanted to share it with Mike and the kids.  After reading the title no one seemed to be on board with this new idea. I must admit the title is a little deceiving because her intention is not to make life miserable for her kids, but more meaningful so that they really come to know fulfillment and joy that lasts longer than a day of fun.  She talked about asking our kids better questions at the end of the day instead of the typical one of "Did you have fun today?" Below are some of the better questions we should be asking our kids:

• "Did you learn something?"
• "Did you feel productive?"
• "Did you work hard?"
• "Did you try your best?"
• "Were you a good friend?"
• "Did you try something new?"
• "Did you push yourself?"
• "Did you make someone's day better?"
• "Did you add value?"
• "Did you create something?"
• "Did you grow?"
• "Did you discover something?"
• "Did you change the world today, even in a small way?"

I think all of the photos below from this last month qualify for moments when our family did things that were meaningful and helped us each grow.  And the ironic thing is they all were a lot of fun in their own way too:

1. Jackson completing his football season playing offensive and defensive line.  Not his favorite positions, but he hung in there and felt good about himself in the end.  

2. Paige choosing to serve a mission and overcoming the initial disappointment of her call by humbling herself and having a positive attitude.   
She has not taken her decision lightly.  She has questioned, studied, prayed, and continues to have faith despite all of the anxiety and uncertainty she sometimes feels. 

3. McKell, me, Jackson and Mike going to girls camp and scout camp for a week even though none of us really like sleeping away from our beds. I think we all had a really positive experience as we focused on serving others and forgot about our own needs for a few days. McKell learned about service by being a YCL for the first time, I learned all about overcoming my fear of coyotes, Jackson learned to repel and asserted himself when he refused to participate in wilderness survival, and Mike learned about road rash on his mountain bike.

 4. McKell and Sydney performing in dance and musical theater recitals. McKell has had to discover new talents within herself after giving up gymnastics 6 months ago.  She did such a great job in her dance recital and is also a natural at singing and playing the guitar.  Sydney learned about hard work as she attended an intense two week broadway camp where she learned to act, sing and dance all at the same time.  She loved being with her best friend Grace.

 5. Attending Uncle Bart's funeral.  Mike and I felt very strongly that we should be there, so we drove all the way from our house to Tabiona and then turned around and came right back. The 20 hours of driving in 2 days was very worth it!  The love and joy felt at his funeral was incredible.  Our experience of visiting with him just a few short months ago and then seeing the strength of his family at the funeral changed me forever.