My wife and I are constantly looking for new activities we can do with our kids. By no means are we big game hunters, but we do enjoy the outdoors. The kids have plenty of team sports that they participate in where we watch with enthusiasm, but we really enjoy the bonding that comes with activities we can all participate in.

We’ve been known to load up the bikes on the back of the family truckster and take off in search of new and unexplored bike trails taking in rivers, streams and all the other natural beauty the countryside has to offer. There’s also always a pick up basketball game to get into in the driveway, and when we put up the volleyball net in the yard we can spend the entire weekend playing volleyball or badminton.

There’s just something about friendly competition and enjoying spending time with your family that outdoor activities can provide. But recently we found ourselves in a rut. We needed something new and exciting to engage all of us. We ran through our list – hiking, biking, skiing, boating, skating, soccer, touch football, softball. What else could there be? Half-jokingly my wife through out paintball.

After she said it we all just sat there. No one spoke. We just sat there thinking about it. Then we all came to the same conclusion at the same time. Paintball! Of course, why not? It’s athletic, it’s outside, it’s competitive, and it’s everything we look for in a family activity.

We had a brief second thought that maybe it was too violent, and that maybe it sent the wrong message to the kids. But then my daughter pointed out that the key to it is strategy like capture the flag, not annihilating everything in sight. Turns out she was very right.

So, it was decided that we were going paintballing. Then the research began on how to go about getting my brood of Rambos suited up and ready to play. I found a couple of paintball fields within an easy drive of our house and found out what each of them has to offer. Most fields offer both walk-on play and private play. Although our family is on the large side we can’t field two opposing armies, so we opted to join a weekend walk-on game. The paintball field rented us all the equipment we needed including guns, goggles, masks and other protective equipment. We were also able to purchase our paintballs there. Contrary to their name, there is no paint in them. It is vegetable oil and food dye. So technically you could eat one, although I wouldn’t recommend it.

The weekend came and there we were on the field ready for battle. There was plenty of running, jumping, hiding, shooting, and most importantly laughs all around. We had a ball with paintball. It’s as face paced as you want it to be with a great adrenaline rush no matter how fast you play it. We got to spend the day outside bonding even if some of us were the enemy. It’s a family activity and fond memory we will always cherish. At least until we go back to the paintball field and play again next week.

Author Bio: Layne regularly writes for ProlificPaintball.com, they carry such paintball equipment as Paintball Guns and the Invert Mini, as well as many other items from a variety of manufacturers.

Category: Recreation
Keywords: Paintball Guns, Invert Mini