Re-grouping

During the winter months I worry that my children are not getting out enough. We are home a lot and don't go outside much.
In the summer months it is the opposite. They have soccer. They have homeschool park day weekly. They have library. They have play dates. They have homeschool outings.
While we are doing most of these activities together ... it isn't alone. It involves other children and other parents. I sometimes get busy talking to others and so do they. This is fine and healthy. It is just when it is too much. We go to outings/soccer/library, come home and eat and then get ready for bed. This all involves getting it done. Last week I was feeling like we needed to get our center back. We needed to spend some time alone. This involved me canceling a homeschool outing and heading out as a family to a conservation area. We were re-establishing our relationships. The most important relationships your children (and yourself) will have.
I don't understand how families who are go go go have this deep bond. They have school, work, activities, play dates... and the list goes on. I don't judge a family for their decisions. It is more of...how do they do it? How do they keep the sole focus on togetherness and the importance of family?
I am very much noticing the difference between a child who is homeschooled as opposed to a child who goes to school. This difference is partially the reason we needed the re-group time. When we have homeschool park day there is no leaving children out. There are no comments on what the other children are wearing. There is no teasing and no belittling. If this does happen the parents are there to help them through the life lessons. When we go to soccer it is a whole different situation.
So on this walk we reconnected. We listened to the world and each other. We hid in tree forts and felt the pebbles beneath our feet. We walked through snail infested water and held hands. We laughed and probably some of us cried. It is so very refreshing to see my children without a worry in the world hand in hand. When the world doesn't make sense...nature and family are always there to hold you still.