So, I've built a happy little homestead (Small town?) in Falkreath, consisting of my wife, two children, my carriage driver, a bard, Faedanel as stweward, and my redguard housecarl. Add me and my occasional followers and you have a house with about the same population as Winterhold (minus college). I've been playing pretty low key, only doing quests that come naturally as I play the game, with my goal being to never have more than a half dozen quests in log at once, excluding the No Stone Unturned or any glitched quests. I've been noticing though that nothing seems to happen whenever I return home, which I always do so after completing a quest or a job for the Companions. I got rats in the cellar once at the very beginning of construction, but since then, I've had absolutely nothing happen. Occasionally my kids ask for things or to play a game, but that's it.

I never fast travel home, and I was wondering if by not fast traveling if I'm somehow missing out on all the random things that happen with Hearthfire?

I nearly always fast travel home and have only had a couple of bandit attacks and skeevers in the basemant once. Maybe it's a level thing? (BTW I have Lakeview Manor)

I have one giant attack Windstad which I have had now since Hearthfire came out on the PC. My whole family lives there.

I've had 3 bandit attacks on my Lakeview place. They killed my cow, my horse and my chickens before I could put them down. I reloaded...

I like there not being any attacks really on the home with my family.

Careful what you wish for... you may get it.

I would think you would have to be a bit more ambitious and go complete more of the main game, such as questines before building houses and settling down if you want more to happen. Do the DLC with an established character who has already done a lot, rather than starting with a new character.

Well to answer some of the above statements: I'm currently level 42, and have done the main quest up to Way of the Voice, the Companions quests, and about half of the daedric quests, and a smattering of other quests here and there. Also I have completed the entire civil war quest chain.

Just barely starting the main questline is not going to get you anything, you might get a few animals attacking (bear, wolves or skeevers). Completing the civil war and doing Daedric quests is not I think going to give you anything attacking either. Civil War, you might see an enemy courier run by Lakeview occasionally, and some soldiers will battle down on the road near Pinewatch. None of them will attack the house. If you were already a werewolf with the Companions you might get a rare werewolf attack. I believe your character is likely to be leading the easy life permanently. If you go further in the main questline you will get dragons, and probably other random attacks. Start Dawnguard and you get vampires, if you are a vampire doing Dawbguard you get lots of Dawnguard attacks as well as vampires.

If you want more excitement it would seem continuing the main questline or playing Dawnguard are the best options.

Well darn, I was hoping for a random vampire attack in order to inspire my character to join the Dawnguard.

Though that isn't the only things I meant: what about kidnappings, kids running away, and bringing home pets? Not getting any of that either.

I first built Lakeview Manor and moved the family there. I did have random bandits attacks, wolves, and giant. The spouse glitch with the kitchen wing annoyed me enough that I did the quest to acquiire Heljarchen Hall and moved them there.

I noticed a big difference in random attacks between the two locations. I used fast-travels on purpose to see if it made any difference. So far I've noticed there are fewer attacks at Heljarchen Hall. I made my rounds between the two places and definitely noticed more bandits, giant, and wolves attacks at Lakeview. The only attacks I've had at Heljarchen are from wolves and bandits.

I don't have any problems with dragons and vampires at the houses because I've noticed these attakcs come at 7 days interval (I'm on PC with 1.8 Beta). I picked the location for my dragons and vampires encounters (Falkreath is running out of guards!). Only after these encounters will I come home to drop off my dragon bones, vampire dust, and vampire gauntlets.

Of course, with Skyrim, you may experience something entirely different.

I'm not complaining! Who wants to spend the day killing dragons, wolves, bandits, etc and come home to more of the same?

Well if you have Dawnguard installed and nothing much has happened yet, eventually you should trigger a vampire attack, you would get the towns attacked first though, before you got an attack on your house. Not ever having a kidnapping I have no idea about that. The character that did practically everything is married, but still waiting for someone to come kidnap his wife. Maybe the kidnappers do not like vampires? The other character will marry Farkas eventually, unless she has actually come across some strange glitch that prevents her getting married. Maybe you need to marry one of those helpless non warrior types to have a chance to get them kidnapped? I am not complaining about missing out on it, my two have enough to deal with.

Well I married Ysolda and have Lakeview as my built up homestead. I did have a single dragon attack, so there's that, but I've never had a giant, wolves, or bandits. My kids also never get kidnapped, they just wander around and confuse their wooden swords for dolls.

Do the kids get kidnapped? I only heard of wives being kidnapped so far. While Braggen will get attacked visiting Lakeview most of the time, Aussie will not. She has had wolves, bandits, giants, werewolves, vampires and the usual Skeever problem. But about half the time her random events are not attacks, the bad tempered Orc walking along the Pinewatch road spoiling for a fist fight, soldiers and vampires down on the same road, M'aiq will sometimes turn up, often being attacked by something. The courier running past the house. The other road gets a troll, spider or wandering bear on it occasionally. So not all random events are going to require you to fight, you might never notice them.