Because of the large age range in our family (not to mention the sheer number of us), it can be hard to find things we can all do together to stay active.  Today we discovered sand volleyball.  We had a blast!  We spent time together, everyone got some exercise, and most importantly, we had FUN!

The big kids played volleyball while the ‘littles’ just played in the sand.

The three year old spent much of his time laying in the middle of the volleyball court. It didn’t even phase the big kids. They just played around him.

People often ask me what we do when we have a child who’d rather sit at home than go out and get active.  We’ve had a couple of those kids over the years.  One of them is now older and just finished his first half marathon.  The other one is now four.  He’d rather be doing just about anything other than being active.  We try not to force him to get out and move.  Instead, we encourage him to do things he enjoys, play an active game with the other kids, or sometimes just sit and watch the others.  Even though sometimes he prefers to just be a spectator, he’s still watching the rest of us set an example of a healthy, active lifestyle.

He preferred the role of spectator today rather than joining in with the others.

After awhile, he did get up and pick some beautiful flowers for me.

And then we have the child who is as active as all the rest of us combined….

If you know this child personally, this picture requires no explanation.

And here he is laying in the sand again.

He was literally covered in sand from head to toe.

We had such a great time today.  I loved seeing all of our kids (and some extra kids) playing and being active together from youngest to oldest.

Even this little cutie got in on the action.

So what does your family do to stay active together?  I’d love to hear your ideas!