If your kid rode a two-wheeler bike for the first time but no one was there to capture it on video, upload it to YouTube, embed it in a blog post, tweet the link, and share it with the world on Facebook, did it actually happen? Well, yes, of course it did, although sometimes it doesn't feel that way.

In an era when it's becoming the norm for everyone to record and share every single moment--from the big stuff like the birth of a baby to little stuff like what your toddler didn't eat for dinner--it can be hard to keep up, keep organized, and keep it real. It's easy to lose perspective when there are so many ways to record and share--and so many people out there who seem to be doing it better--that it's good to occasionally take a step back from it all and remember why we're doing it in the first place, and how our methods are ultimately serving our goals.

One question I like to ask myself: Am I simply broadcasting my life, or am I trying to create and preserve memories for myself and my family? If you're interested in the latter (whether for your own sake or your kids'), it's definitely worth figuring out how to ensure you end up with something more substantial than a collection of Twitter blurbs and more cohesive than a folder of random emails to grandparents updating them on the latest and greatest things your kids are saying and doing.  

On the broad spectrum of all the ways we can preserve family memories, I know people at every point. I have a few friends who are always forgetting their cameras and sheepishly admitting they haven't even attempted a scrapbook or a photo album for their kids, and I have other friends who, like me, are sometimes trying to do way too much (photographing, videotaping, taking notes, tweeting anecdotes) that we miss out on the bliss of just living in the moment. And then there's everyone in between: those with high hopes and no follow-through, those with gigs and gigs of digital photos that never see the light of day, and those who just haven't found their perfect medium yet.   

But whether you're the type who needs encouragement to record more, the type who needs new ideas, or the type who needs a gentle reminder to put down the camera and just enjoy, for crying out loud (*raises hand*), this is the place for you. Over the next several weeks, I'll share a my tips on creative ways to record summer memories that work with your lifestyle and your family.

First, let me take a poll of who's out there. Are you more of a live-in-the-moment Life Experiencer, a capture-everything-for-later Life Recorder, or something in between?