Bucket Appreciation Note

I was at the dollar store and came across these cute buckets.  I knew I wanted to use them and came up with this idea.  I needed something to give to a few friends, so this was perfect. 

So I bought 4 buckets and went to work.  First, I created this little note and taped it on the front:

"Thanks for 'filling my bucket'!

You have made me laugh
I have learned so much from you because you are such a SMARTIE!
You have been a LIFE SAVER by being a great friend

Love, ..."

On some of them I changed it to say "our bucket" because it was from my whole family.

I lined the bucket with tissue paper and filled it with a shovel (which came with the bucket) and candy.  To help tie in with each line of the note, I included Laffy Taffys, Smarties, Life Savers, and Hugs & Kisses.

{Click here to print your own bucket appreciation note}

{Tuesday's Tip} Notice What is Around You

The other day as my daughter and I were walking on a small nature trail, we had a surprisingly fun learning experience.  You see, my daughter loves butterflies.  She also is one of the most imaginative children I've ever met.  She believes that butterflies are really fairies only we (normal human beings) can't see them, we just see butterflies.  But, if we could see butterflies with magic, we would see the beautiful fairies as they really are.

Naturally, we were looking for butterflies along the trail.  As we were walking I just happened to notice one butterfly hanging upside down from a branch.  It had just come out of the cocoon but wasn't ready to take off and fly away.  While we watched the butterfly I explained what the butterfly was doing and how it had changed from a caterpillar inside the cocoon to a beautiful butterfly.

This turned out to be a special little teaching moment because she was so fascinated by the butterfly.  It was very exciting!  It was a good reminder that we need to take in more of the beautiful world we live in.  Afterwards, we took a trip to the library and searched online for more cool facts about butterflies.  I love watching my kids learn, and it is good to keep their young minds active even during summer vacation. 

Piggy Back Rides and Slippery Slides

I wanted to share a book with you that I love.  It is called Piggy Back Rides and Slippery Slides by Lynnae W. Allred. 

 I first read this book 6 years ago, and it is one I like to re-read every once in awhile for inspiration on how to be a fun mom.

At the time that I purchased this book I was feeling kinda down and needed a boost to rethink how I could be a better mom.  This book has inspired me with so many ideas that I still use now.  To be honest, it is the book that inspired me to have fun family dinners, like the ones I share on this blog. :)  It is also the book that first taught me about the Jr. Ranger program that my daughter loves to do today!

I think you will enjoy this book as much as I have.  There are so many great ideas, like fun ways to put kids to bed, the importance of family dinners, and just plain family time together.  Find it at your local library or online today!

Starburst Printable

Wouldn't it just make your day if someone surprised you with candy? It would sure make me smile!

Here is a simple saying to go along with a Starburst candy. I originally made this is a teacher appreciation gift by saying, "Thanks for being a STAR teacher in our primary." But I've made the printable more generic so that you can give this Starburst gift to anyone you love and appreciate!

All you need to do is print the "Thanks for being a STAR!" note and attach it to the Starburst with tape or ribbon and you're set. It's really that easy!

{Click here to print the Starburst quote}

I hope this printable will help you brighten someone's day!

* Please leave us a comment to let us know if this printable was helpful, we'd love your feedback! Also, if you'd like the Starburst printable to say anything else, let us know.

Outdoor Snacks

My family just took a camping trip to Yellowstone. It was so fun and a much needed break. An important part of any outdoor activity is having good food and water that will keep you and your kids energized and happy.

 

 Here are a couple easy snacks ideas for when you pack for your own hiking or camping trips. Plus, most of these you can have your kids help you pack or prepared. 

{Homemade Trail Mix} Trail Mix is a great outdoor snack. It is easy to put in separate baggies and lightweight to carry. It doesn't require any utensils and usually isn't very messy.  Plus you can get some much needed protein and nutrients to keep your energy up while your enjoying the outdoors. The other fun part is that you can make it however you want!

I was able to use a lot of things that I already had on hand except for the nuts.  I had mixed nuts, craisins, raisins, dried strawberries, and M&M's. I put each of the items in a separate bowl and let everyone make their own bag of trail mix.



{Water & Apple} Whenever you're playing outside, you should bring water with you. We invested in a Camelbak for everyone in our family because we use them so much.  But any water bottle will do. Then grab an apple and your set! The other nice thing about the Camelbak is that you also store your apples and trail mix in the bag so your hands are free for hiking.

{Hot Cocoa & Popcorn} Another one of our favorite snack is hot cocoa and popcorn. After a long day of hiking, this is a fun bedtime snack to help your body relax. We have used campfire and a camp stove to heat the water for the hot cocoa (or hot apple cider) and cook the popcorn.

 

On our last camping trip we used the Jiffy Pop and it was so yummy! You have to be careful when holding it over the fire, if you get to close you could burn yourself. But it was fun to watch the popcorn grow and was so good to have a warm treat.

What are some of your favorite camping snacks?

{Tuesday's Tip} Be Prepared

I love summer time. 

There are so many fun things to do outdoors! When enjoying the outdoors there are a few things you should always have on hand when you're with your kids.

If you keep these items in your car, then you will be prepared for any adventure to the park, zoo, mountains, etc.

Here's my  list of "go-to" essentials for the car:

Sunscreen

Bug spray

Wipes (or hand sanitizer)

Snacks

First aid kit with lots of bandaids

Water (I keep my Camelbak in the car filled with water)

Coins 

The last one might not seem that essential, but I keep quarters and dimes in my car for a couple reasons.

{ #1}  Depending on the trip, I give my kids the chance to earn a little spending money while we're traveling. Money can be a great incentive and it can be used to teach so many useful life lessons.

            {#2}  Some of the small and simple activities use coins, so their great to have on hand. For example: duck or fish food, candy machines, small kiddie rides, smashing a penny, parking meter, lemonade stands on the side of the road, etc.

I try to have these essentials in my car whenever I travel. I use my camelbak as a little backpack to keep everything organized. It is so convenient to grab one bag and take it with us on any of our little outings. It makes summer activities so easy and stress-free because you know you are already prepared!

So, get packed and have some fun summer adventures outdoors!

Jokes On You!

Today we went on a family outing to the library.  For fun reading, I had everyone find a joke book they wanted to checkout.  The kids laughed and laughed as they read through their books -- they thought the jokes were so silly!

 

So when it was dinner time, I allowed everyone to bring their joke books to the table.  While we ate dinner we took turns telling some of our favorite jokes from the books. It brought a lot of laughter to the dinner table that night!

This was a simple activity that turned out to be way more fun and entertaining than I anticipated!  Plus it was and easy, free dinner activity that made everyone smile -- ya can't beat that!!

Nature Scrapbooks

A couple weeks ago we went on vacation with my family.  Altogether there were 10 adults and 8 kids.  Of course we planned some activities for the kids to keep them busy and entertained.  We made Nature Scrapbooks as our craft and the kids loved it!  Here are the supplies you'll need to make your own scrapbook:

 Supplies:

2 brown lunch bags

glue sticks

yarn

scrapbook paper (4-8 pages)

paper cutter

 {Step 1} Fold the 2 lunch bags in half vertically. These are going to be the pages of the scrapbook, so there will be 8 pages including the front and back cover.

{Step 2} Cut scrapbook paper to fit the length of the lunch bag. I cut the paper smaller than the paper bag so that it would leave a border around the edge. We cut 3 longer lengths (approximately 4.5" x 10" each) to cover the "inside" scrapbook pages, then cut 2 smaller squares to cover the front and back cover (approximately 4.5" x 5" each).  We mostly used colored card stock that didn't bend quite as well so the books didn't lay flat when they were done.  So, it may be easier to work with thinner paper.

{Step 3} Glue the scrapbook paper to the lunch bags, covering each side.  After you've glued on the paper,  you may choose to make each page look distressed by rubbing a little ink on the edges of each page.  We didn't have time to do this for our nature scrapbooks.

{Step 4} Cut a length of yarn.  Place the 2 lunch bags together and tie the piece of yarn around the middle crease.  This will bind your scrapbook pages together.  We tied the yarn into a bow on the outside of the scrapbook.  You could also use ribbon.

{Step 5} Decorate your scrapbook pages any way you like!  

For the nature scrapbook, the kids decorated with animal stickers, leaf rubbings, and nature samples they found outside. 

To preserve their pressed flowers and leaves, we wrapped them in plastic wrap first then glued the plastic wrap on the page. 

It was fun to see how different each of the books turned -- they were so cute!! And the kids were proud of their books when they were all finished.

These simple scrapbooks are so cute and versatile.  The openings of the lunch bags actually created little pockets where you could slide a surprise picture or bookmark.  These scrapbooks would make a very cute Father's Day gift made with love from the kids or a good way to display your child's artwork.  Either way, this is a great summer project that will keep your kids busy for hours!

{Tuesday's Tip} Junior Ranger Program

At most of our national parks they have junior ranger programs.  They vary a little, but generally the kids get a packet of stuff they need to finish while in the park.  If they finish everything they get a badge.  It is very fun and great way to keep your kids learning during the summer (and while on vacation).

Another fun thing to do while you are visiting national parks is to attend ranger lead programs and hikes.  Most parks have programs on native animals, plants, stars, rock formations, etc.  They are fun and informative, and make your trip a lot more meaningful because you are able to really appreciate your beautiful surroundings.

We are getting ready for vacation to a national park next week and I'll be sure to share some pictures when we get back. 

What fun things do you have planned for this summer??

On a Positive "Note"

Right now there are some hard things going on at my work.  Being a manager and trying to keep up staff moral can be really difficult sometimes.  This same problem happens in our homes when stress builds and spouses get overworked.  So, this is what I did to bring in a little hope, comfort, and love to my workplace.

I made these cute "notes" for everyone.  They are shaped like musical notes (it takes a little stretch of the imagination at first).  I used a York peppermint patty as the note and scrapbook paper as the stem.  On the paper I wrote the message,  "On A Positive Note!". 

{Click here to print your own "Positive Note" handouts}

I also included a card with a positive message then taped my peppermint notes on the front of the cards.  There is a quote by holocaust survivor Victor Frankle that I really like.  He says, 

"The one thing you can't take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me.  The last of one's freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given circumstance."

We all have tough times.  So this note idea can be something that you give to a spouse or family member, just to let them know that things will turn out okay.  A positive happy attitude is contagious and can go a long way!