Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category
This year’s camping trip certainly wasn’t perfect (the weather at the beach was horrible, the clouds were too low to see all of the fireworks, and one of the mama’s was on crutches) but when you add 5 marines, their wives, and 11 Devil pups to a couple of campsites on the beach….LOTS of fun will be had by all! And, watching Dolphins swimming just a few yards off the shore, certainly makes up for the cold windy weather!
If you are Military and have access to the camp sites on San Onofre Beach I HIGHLY recommend going. There are RV hookups and cottages to rent also but in my opinion, a tent on the sand is the way to go! Each site is equipped with water and electric, a picnic table, fire ring, and an amazing view. And what better time to go than to celebrate Independence Day!
The resort beach also has bathrooms and warm showers, lifequards on duty, and playground for the kids.
My girls, especially, enjoyed the playgrounds on the sand.
Of course, there wasn’t much that little Pixi didn’t enjoy about her camping trip.
The digging conditions were superb!
and the Guacamole was plentiful!
The big P’s did a little “Surfing”
And Bubba had a blast just being a boy!
But the most fun was had around the fire ring, roasting marshmallows, enjoying our friends, and celebrating the good ol’ U.S. of A!
I hope you all had a wondeful 4th of July!
This year the P’s made a gift for Father’s Day. Since Daddy is preparing to head out again we thought a pillowcase to take with him would be perfect!
I bought a tan pillow case to match the sheets he’ll be using and we used red and blue paint to add each of the P’s handprints. Since the P’s say “Now I lay me down to sleep” everynight as part of their bedtime routine I came up with a little verse that started with the same phrase. I used silver puff paint to print it onto the pillow case.
It reads:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
Our handprints are here for you to keep,
To remember exactly the way they are,
Even when you are so far.
And we will keep you in our hearts,
Until the day we’re no longer apart.
We Love You Daddy!
On June 14, 1777 the beautiful Stars and Stripes that we know and love, was officially adopted as our Nations Flag by the Continental Congress. I am so proud that the P’s have a great love of their Flag and Country! Here’s P1 saying the pledge at 3 and her lovely rendition of “You’re a grand ol Flag!”
I Pledge Allegiance:
You’re a Grand Old Flag:
Woot! School is out and we have one heck of a Bucket list for this summer! This was my first year with two of my P’s in school (sort of, P2 only went two days a week) and I have missed my daily adventures with them so we are doing it up this summer!
To make it officially a ‘Bucket’ list I found this cute little bucket in the Target Dollar section (if you haven’t figured out by now, I love me some Target and I love me some dollar deals!). We wrote each item from our list on wooden craft sticks with colored markers. (I plan on doing something with the sticks after we complete each item, but more on that later). I like this idea because it makes it easy to add more to our list later.
So….what are planning this summer? Here’s our list of 50 fun summer activities! (I have to say some may not be happening, there was a little bit of over immagination/wishful thinking going on when the P’s were brainstorming).
- Go to the Zoo
- Go to the Wild Animal Park
- Go to Seaworld
- Play in a splashpad
- Have a picnic
- Fly a kite
- Go swimming
- Go to the beach
- Camping
- Roast Marshmallows
- Have a play date
- Go to the fair
- Take a Road Trip
- Join a summer reading program
- Read 100 books
- Build a sandcastle
- Go to a Baseball game
- Play with flashlights outside (flashlight tag)
- Have a waterballoon fight
- Visit the tidepools
- Family bike ride
- Try a new park
- Go to the library
- Visit a museum
- Look at the boats
- Visit Coronado Island
- Watch fireworks
- Eat a snowcone
- Ride our scooters
- Go to the movies
- Have a BBQ
- Take a walk to look at flowers
- Watch the sunset on the beach
- Go to a waterpark
- Play putt putt golf
- Collect Seashells
- Bird Watching
- Feed the Ducks
- Make S’mores
- Go on a treasure hunt
- Go for a hike
- Have a dance party
- Make ice cream
- Take a boat ride on the sea (P2′s request…one of the one’s I think may not happen)
- Go for a train ride
- Make lemonade
- Climb on rocks
- Climb trees
- Check out some airplanes
- Have a bubble party
So what are your plans for the Summer? Did you make a bucket list? I’d love to hear what you have planned and maybe get a few more ideas for our list!
*****We’ve added more!*****
- Go to a farmer’s market
- Have a Family Game night
- Visit a Historical Site
- Visit a Farm
- Dig in the dirt/make mud pies
This weekend we celebrated Peyton and Preston’s 6th and 4th Birthdays. I had big plans for a fun outdoor party at the park~just what my P’s had asked for~ but late Friday night, a huge storm came through (complete with wind, rain, thunder and lightning~something very rare here in Southern California). Down to the last minute we were preparing to hold the party in our house, but thankfully the storm passed early enough and we were able to host the party at the park as planned. The kids had a blast and we are so lucky to have such great family and friends come to celebrate with us.
This year they were all about Super Heroes and Princesses~ so we came up with the theme “Capes and Castles”. This gave me SO many fun ideas for activities, snacks, games, and favors…
The invitations were made by Jazzy Caps . Her custom images are really affordable and her turnaround time is phenominal! They were exactly what I was looking for.
I’m generally not a fan of the typical loot bags and instead try to do something that goes with the theme and acts as part of the party itself. For this year’s Capes and Castles theme we passed out Super Hero Inital Capes for the Boys and Wands and Tiaras for the girls. I was able to order the capes and tiaras online and used yellow, red, and blue felt to make the badges for the back of them (I have to give a shout out to my husband who cut out all the yellow diamond shapes for me!). I also made the wands using plastic wand sticks, small flowers, and satin ribbon.
Refresments were simple; Pizza, Fruit, and Veggies. Per Peyton’s request we served Princess Punch (Pink Lemonade) and Super Hero Fuel (Fruit Punch), along with bottled water as our beverages.
A craft table was available for the kids to complete their ensembles. Beads for the Princess’ to make necklaces and foam masks for the Super Hero’s to decorate.
Our party game was “Pin the Tiara on Princess Peyton” and “Pin the Badge on Wunderkid”. I used poster board to trace the outline of the P’s. The Tiara was a stamp I found at Michael’s and the Badge was yellow card stock. The kids had a great time playing this classic party game with a twist!
A tree at the edge of the park was the perfect setting for our “Royal Ball”. We hung some pink paper flowers in the tree and set up a tub full of large colorful balls to play with.
The obstacle course ended up being less of a ‘course’ and more of a free for all. They all had a great time stacking our large “Bricks” (red and blue wrapped boxes) to break through the ‘wall’, scooting through the tunnel, and dancing through the hula hoops.
Thank you to ALL of our family and friends that were able to come celebrate with us. You really made this day special for my P’s!
***Looking for more Party ideas? Check out our Football/Cheerleader theme, Earthday Garden Party, and Easter Birthday Bash***
For the thrid year in a row we have set an excellent trap but those Sneaky Leprechauns seem to have evaded us once again! Peyton was disappointed but has decided next year our trap should be bigger 
The Trap was set
And when they woke up….
We found green footprints, Chocolate Coins, Shamrock Confetti, and Green Rock Candy…but NO Leprechauns! We have underestimated them again!
Pixi following the trail
She was very concerned about the footprints
But thought the Green milk was lots of fun!
P2 didn’t want to check the trap…He made me do it!
Enjoying her Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow
Rainbow Breakfast~Fruit and Marshmallows
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
As a fun activity we decided to make some homemade playdough. Why the homemade kind with a few cookie cutters always holds their attention longer than the storebought sets I will never know, but the P’s loved this “Leprechaun” Playdough that sparkles!
We used this Playdough Recipe found on The Artful Parent. I must warn, though, that this makes a HUGE batch. We probably could’ve done with half the amount but most of Preston’s ended up on the floor so I was glad we had the extra
I made the whole batch Yellow and then while kneeding it I added the Green to half of it. Once it’s kneeded out and cooled off a bit, add in the glitter. We used silver and gold. Throw a few cookie cutters, cups, and utensils out to use with it and you have a fun St. Patrick’s Day activity for the kids!
One of our St. Patrick’s Day Traditons is to make a Leprechaun Trap. We started this a few years ago and the kids LOVE it! We’ve never actually caught one, but every year Those Sneaky Leprechauns dance around our kitchen leaving little green footprints behind and a little bit of ‘gold’ for our troubles.
Last year I was a little behind and not my usual prepared self. I forgot all about the trap until just a few days before. This left little for us to make a trap out of. What we ended up with was just as cute but easy enough for a 2 and 4 year old to make almost all on their own!
What you will need:
- small shoebox
- Green Duct Tape (we found ours at Michaels)
- Rainbow printable
- plain paper
- glue
- scissors
- cotton balls
Instructions:
- cover the box with the green duct tape.
- Cut a star shaped slot in the lid of the box
- color the rainbow printable
- cut our two cloud shapes from the plain paper
- glue cotton balls onto the clouds
- tape finished rainbow to the side of the lid
DONE! To see our more elaborate Leprechaun trap click HERE.
Over on Catholicmom.com she shares a childrens Lenten activity to do with the Jelly Bean Prayer. I loved this idea of earning Jelly Beans for specific good deeds or acts of kindness. However, for Peyton and Preston (5 and 3) it seemed like a lot for them to take on. And, anyone that knows Preston knows that Jelly Beans would not last in that jar all 40 days…at some point he would sneak in and take them.
We came up with our own way to earn Jelly Beans for good deeds throughout Lent that doesn’t involve the constant temptation.
To work on improving our selves with kindness and caring we have set out 3 jars. One is full of Lima beans and the other two were empty at the start of the Lenten season. From Ash Wednesday until Easter the P’s will be told to move 1 Lima bean to their jar every time I see them doing something for others. It can be anything from helping out with chores, sharing a special toy, or being kind to one another. On Easter, the beans that they have earned will be Jelly Beans.
All decked out for Mardi Gras in her homemade mask and beads!
Our King Cake~which I’m very proud of since it’s the first one I’ve ever made
