The Lyman Family
HOPING TO ADOPT
We believe that family traditions are important. Traditions bring us closer together as a family, promote harmony, and create lasting memories.
family traditions
A Year in Review
Come with us on a journey month by month as we share with you the traditions we enjoy.
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February
Valentine's day mailboxes
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"Red" party with extended family
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We bake and decorate sugar cookies then deliver them to neighbors and friends.
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We were engaged on February 13th so every year we celebrate our engagement by going out to a nice dinner.
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We make or buy valentines to share with family, classmates, and friends.
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On Valentine's day we bring out our fondue maker and have fun dipping treats in delicious chocolate.
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January
New Year's Day breakfast with extended family.
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Movie marathon
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Snow Day! We bundle up warm and go sledding, make a snowman, or play in the snow. Afterwards we drink hot cocoa.
March
On March 14 (3.14) we eat pie in celebration of the mathematical constant 3.14159...
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"Green" party with extended family
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We have a St. Patrick's Day breakfast of Lucky Charm cereal and green milk. We listen to Dr. Seuss's book Green Eggs and Ham. In the evening we have Irish stew, potatoes, and soda bread for dinner.
April
During the first weekend in April we gather with family to watch General Conference, a special time of year when our spiritual leaders speak to us with wisdom and council. We play games and have a special meal.
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We believe Jesus was born and resurrected on April 6th so we make the day special. We talk about his birth, mission, life, atonement, death, and resurrection. We sing Christmas and Easter songs and read from the scriptures.
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Starting the week before Easter Sunday we do an advent to remember Jesus Christ's last week. Each day usually includes either a scripture, song, movie, or quote.
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We celebrate Kevin's birthday on the 16th. He loves to go to his favorite restaurant, Chubby's. Instead of birthday cake he likes either cherry or apple pie.
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We dye Easter eggs then make them into egg salad sandwiches.
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Picnic time!
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The Saturday before Easter the Easter bunny comes to our house and surprises each family member with a basket filled with toys and goodies.
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Easter cinnamon rolls or orange rolls
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On Easter morning all the boys get matching ties and all the girls get new dresses.
June
We try to go on an annual family vacation each year.
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Our extended family gets together for a city celebration called Strawberry Days. We have a barbeque, go to a parade, and eat strawberries and cream. When it gets dark outside we watch fireworks and the kids play with glowsticks. We have a sleepover in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard and in the morning we eat a big breakfast.
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We celebrate Chrissy's birthday on the 29th. She likes sweets on her birthday (cake, cookies, or donuts).
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Every other year we go to the air show. This is one of Kevin's favorite activities.
May
On May 5th (Cinco De Mayo) we eat Mexican food and sometimes invite family or friends to join us.
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To celebrate Mother's Day, all the women and girls in our extended family get together for a tea-free tea party.
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Our anniversary is May 21st. We celebrate with a date night and sometimes we will go on a fun vacation.
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Every year we celebrate the ending of another school year. We go out for ice cream and celebrate educational achievements.
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Firemen's breakfast
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Memorial Day barbeque with extended family. If we can, we also go to the cemetery and celebrate and honor those who have passed on.
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July
On Independence Day we love celebrating freedom and being an American. We gather with extended family for their famous homemade sloppy joes and root beer. When it gets dark we watch fireworks and play with sparklers.
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We celebrate a Utah holiday on July 24th called Pioneer Day. We cook Dutch oven or tin foil dinners. We talk about our rich pioneer heritage.
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We usually have a family reunion every July.
August
We like to go swimming!
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We celebrate going back to school. We have fun going shopping for new clothes and school supplies.
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Kevin gives each child a special back to school father's blessing.
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October
During the first weekend in October we gather with family to watch General Conference, a special time of year when our spiritual leaders speak to us with wisdom and council. We play games and have a special meal.
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Pumpkin patch adventures!
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We each pick out a pumpkin and paint or carve them then display them on the porch.
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Soup/chili dinner with extended family
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Homemade or store bought donuts and apple juice.
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On Halloween we dress up in costumes. We go to our church's Truck or Treat or we go trick-or-treating in our community. We make sure we have plenty of treats like popcorn, candy, smokies, soup, or chili.
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Halloween movies (not too scary though)
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September
On Labor Day weekend we take a mini trip in the car then go out for cheeseburgers.
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We like to go to the State Fair every year.
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We live close to some beautiful mountains so we take the opportunity to drive in the canyons and wonder at the colorful autumn leaves.
November
Beginning November first and going until Thanksgiving Day, every family member writes one thing they are grateful for on a paper leaf each day. We tape the leaves on a paper tree and display it in our home.
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Samaritan's Purse shoeboxes for children in need
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Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving we have a dinner with extended family and participate in the infamous "Cranberry Rock-off." It's a silly tradition going on for more than twenty years! Everyone in the family does a game of rock, paper, scissors. The loser has to eat cranberry sauce.
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We have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with other extended family and reflect on the many blessings we are grateful for.
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The day after Thanksgiving we put up the Christmas decorations and the tree. We decorate the tree together as a family while we listen to Christmas music.
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The Monday after Thanksgiving we gather with extended family for what we call "Christmas Kick-off." It helps us get excited for the holiday season. We usually have dinner and play games. Each family chooses two Christmas songs to put on a CD. Every family gets a copy of the CD to take home.
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December
Starting December first and ending on Christmas Day we do an advent calendar. Each day we participate in a Christmas activity, such as sing a song, do a craft, make a treat, or read a scripture, poem, or quote.
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We celebrate Kayson's birthday on the 3rd. We make it special with a party, decorations, fun activities, and cake.
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In order to keep Christ the center of the holiday, we do acts of service each day, Every family member does a small act of service for someone and then puts a piece of straw in a pretend manger. On Christmas morning baby Jesus appears in the manger and we get to see how many pieces of straw were prepared for His birth.
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We mail our family and friends a Christmas photo card every year.
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Christmas treats: fudge, gingerbread cookies, hot cocoa, egg nog, nuts. Sometimes we make gingerbread houses.
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December Continued..
The Sunday before Christmas we gather with extended family for what we call the "Tasting Table." The tradition started long ago when Kevin's grandmother would gather all her friends and family to enjoy her amazing baking. She would have an entire spread of all kinds of treats. We delight in keeping the same tradition going. We look forward to new recipes, good company, and tasty food!
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We love going to the drive-in Christmas light show.
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December 23rd we have a Christmas Read-A-Thon. We pitch a tent in the living room or build a fort with pillows and blankets. We turn off all the lights except the Christmas lights. If we need more light we break out the flashlights. We read the Christmas story from the scriptures. Each family member opens a gift, which is a new book. Mom brings out a special basket full of Christmas books. Everyone reads in the peaceful holiday atmosphere.
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We do our immediate family gift exchange on Christmas Eve. In the evening, everyone gets new PJs. We wear our new PJs while we take a drive in the car around town. We enjoy the lights while listening to Christmas music. When we come home we watch the Nativity movie while enjoying popcorn and hot cocoa. When the kids go to bed, mom and dad watch the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life" while wrapping gifts.
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Sometimes we reenact the nativity story with costumes.
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December Continued..
Christmas movies! Some of our favorites include The Grinch, Elf, A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, Santa Clause, Home Alone, etc.
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We pick a day to go shopping as a family and make a day of it by going out to lunch and sometimes scheduling a time to sit on Santa's lap.
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We buy gifts and food for a family in need and put the goodies on their doorstep anonymously. Sometimes we will give a family money to go towards their Christmas shopping.
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December Continued..
On Christmas day we open Santa's gifts, which also includes a family gift that can be shared, usually a game or movie. We also peek inside our stockings and find candy and small items. We have a special meal, relax, play games, and visit family and friends.
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We get together with extended family the night after Christmas for dinner and a gift exchange.
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On New Year's Eve we stay up late eating treats and playing games.
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