As a family that believes in doing things together, Edwin and Shirley Ann Smith are trying to find a way to include their two teenage sons in their competition-winning cruise for two next year.

The Warwick family entered the Family First contest launched earlier this year by FKBnet and Creative Photography and landed the grand prize of a cruise to Mexico or the Caribbean.

The family will have to pay to take along their sons, Stefan and Micrae, but inclusion is one of the principles on which a strong family is built.

In fact their winning philosophy said as such, reading: ?Families must make the effort to do things together and each member of the family should have some input into what they decide to do. Each member of the family, along with their viewpoints, is important.?

In the Family First contest, families were asked to submit, in less than 40 words, their philosophy on ?how to keep the family together? and were judged on their entries.

In total there were six other winning entries from the 15 entries submitted. The other winners won family dinner prizes at various restaurants as well as $100 credit awards with FKBnet and complimentary family photos from Creative Photography.

The judges of the contest included Pastor and Mrs. Denwiddie, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Lister, Bishop and Mrs. Vernon Lambe, Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Marshall, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Elkinson and Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Butterfield.

?There is a poster that says ?you miss 100 per cent of the shots you do not take?, so we enter everything,? Mr. Smith said.

This policy has paid off for the family in the past.

?My wife has actually won a few MarketPlace contests, only because we keep entering,? he said. ?We saw this (contest), believed in what they were saying and we entered it, but not really expecting to win. We had actually forgotten about it. It (winning) was actually a pleasant surprise.?

The family is still trying to decide how to fit the sons into the cruise as travelling together is important to them.

?We haven?t fully decided on that, since we found out it was a cruise for two,? said Mr. Smith, a teacher at the Bermuda College.

?We will have to be in a US port first so we will have to work that into another vacation and we haven?t worked that out yet. When we travel, instead of buying the traditional souvenirs, we might pick up odds and ends from different places.

?When we come home we have a board that we stick them and now and then we look at it and say ?do you remember where we got that from??. With all of these things the emphasis is more on time than money.

?According to the quote that I submitted, they have always had a part in family decisions... and that is absolutely true, from when they were small. Until now, it?s not that we just tell them what to do and they have follow through. When it comes down to the family location everybody chooses on the location and what we?re going to do when we get there.?

Both boys ? Stefan, 16, and Micrae, 14 ? are students at Bermuda Institute.

?The oldest just turned 16 and of course he wanted a bike,? said his father.

?So, we had to sit down together and decide which bike. He wanted a $5,000 bike but after discussing it we settled on something a little more reasonable. He had to come up with half of the payment and we paid the other half.

?We?re not a cell phone family, but now that my oldest son is on the road, we had to get one so that he can keep in contact. He checks in with us on a regular basis so we know where he is and what they are doing.?

Added Mr. Smith: ?Both are employed after school, the oldest is working in the afterschool programme at Bermuda Institute and he?s into Outward Bound and has done all the camps. The youngest one packs on Sunday afternoons at A1 in Paget.

?They financially contribute to everything we do, too. They normally raise their own money for trips.?

The whole family have also taken an interest in the unicycle, something they all now enjoy together.

?It was something they wanted one Christmas and because it was something different we had no problem getting that and the whole family got into it,? revealed Mr. Smith.

?This summer we even went to the North American Unicycle Convention in Minneapolis. In fact early in the new year we want to start a club and have a big kickoff with perhaps an end to end ride.?

The Family First competition was launched by three young businessmen ? Fort Knox CEO Troy Symonds, web developer Sterlin Swan and photographer Nigel Richardson ? to recognise the values and principles that still exist in Bermudian families. It was designed to promote these values and showcase some families throughout the island.

?We?re promoting not just the look of a family but also the philosophy of it,? said Mr. Symonds earlier this year.

?What I like is they have no urge to sit on the wall,? said Mr. Smith of his sons.

?It?s not that we fill them up with things to do to keep them busy but there is so much to do. As I speak Micrae is putting together an art piece for the National Gallery?s health and home competition. Then later on this afternoon we?re going to go up to Horizons and play golf.?

Mr. Smith stressed there are no perfect families but advises families to lay the foundation when they are young.

?Mine aren?t perfect but I love them,? he says proudly.