One Family’s Attempt at Being Outdoorsy

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by TruGreen as part of Influencer Activation for Influence Central.

This summer TruGreen challenged our family to #LiveLifeOutside, and since we are not the type to back down from a challenge, we said yes and lived to talk about it. When I told a girlfriend, about this challenge, she looked at me and said, “you’re not an outdoor person at all.” I vowed to prove her wrong by being outdoorsy.

A few months ago, I remembered watching the movie, Wild and thinking hmm I would love to trek across the country and explore what life has to offer. However, the moment I step outside our front door and I get a whiff of that heat, I race back inside to the comfortable of an air condition and make a pact to do better next time. This summer, my family made a sub-conscious effort to go outside more. I mean, why not. So to start, we turned off our TV, told the kids to put away their tablet, and we did just that – we went outside to kick off a summer of experiences.

One Family’s Attempt at Being Outdoorsy

Growing up, all we did was play outside. Nowadays, outdoor play has been replaced by TV binge watching. According to research, only 6% of children ages 9-13 play outside on their own in a typical week. That’s true for my family as well. We have a backyard that hardly get used. We often go out to grill, and we rush back inside before the neighbors can introduce themselves. That needed to change, so we pitched a tent out back and spent a few minutes every day just hanging out. While the kids played soccer or run around in the sprinkler, I sat down and watched them and managed to join in on a game or two. A few days a week, the girls attend swimming lessons, another opportunity to get some fresh air.

We’ve lived in the same neighborhood for almost 10 years, and I can count the number of times, the girls have ridden their bikes around the neighborhood. That had to go; I use the opportunity to get some exercise done by power walking while the girls ride their bikes. We don’t usually go far, but we went far enough to make the trip worthwhile.

When we got tired of our backyard adventures, we went to a park nearby to play basketball, tennis and a few times when the weather got really hot, we went to the local splash park to cool off.

Who said being in nature isn’t for everyone. It’s what you make of it. Although, we didn’t go hiking or fishing, doing things we loved made the experience pleasant and bearable for us.

To encourage everyone to spend more time outside, TruGreen launched the #LiveLifeOutside 2016 Summer Sweepstakes! It’s easy to join the fun and win a few prizes, share pictures or video on how you and your family are living life outside this summer for a chance to win weekly prizes. Share using #LiveLifeOutside hashtag.