How to throw a "S'More"gasbord Party

With my youth group a few nights ago I planned a S'more party.I called it a "S'more"gasbord.  Gourmet s'mores of all kinds! Chocolate, Grahams, marshmallows, and all the special trimmings.  I made sure to have an assortment of cookies and unusual toppings for all the girls to try. We talked a lot, played Volleyball and sang songs around the fire. 

Summer Citrus Slush

A a youth I remember every big summer activity we had this drink that I just loved. We called it SLOP. It stood for Seven-up, lemonade, orange juice and Pineapple.  Put them all together and what do you get?  SLOP! You mix up the each ingredients and enjoy. So I decide to make it a yummy, cool slush that my kids can enjoy on a hot summer day.  I love mixing this up and freezing it in old Ice cream containers and keeping it for a few weeks.  This recipe isn't an exact match but it is delicious and perfect for those hot summer days!

Summer Grab & Go Bags! Are you ready?

Are you enjoying the 31 days of Summer Fun? There are so many great activities! Today I am sharing my  Summer Grab and Go Bags! This is my way to be a little more organized this summer and have fun with my kids without all the stress! I only get 18 summers with them.  I so I need to make them count. So I introduce to your my Summer Grab and Go Bags!

Easy Color Block Tees DIY

Have you seen the new styles in stores lately? I feel like I am in a flashback.  My 12 year old self on Christmas day wearing my color blocked shirt and acid washed hot pink jeans.  I was so cute.  As I shop for my daughter I see tons of clothing styles and colors I wore back in the day.  I keep seeing color blocking  and Neon everywhere.  Instead of buying all those expensive shirts I decided to make my own.  You can make yourself  2 shirts for under $10.  Here is how you do it. 

Story Starters

It's summer break and the kids are out of school.  Part of me is excited and the the other part terrified.  Some days are like Ground hogs day.  Just the same day on repeat.  A Copy and Paste kind of day.  Others are exciting and fun.  With great experiences.  We have some fun things planned this summer.  Yellowstone Park, camping, visiting family, water parks and the zoo just to name a few.

I guess you could say I am a mean mom.  We have a lot of fun things planned but I also have my kids do school work during the summer.  We have workbooks to do, reading time (my boys actually like reading time) and this year story starters.

Our boys are great students and get fairly good grades.  A weakness they have is Handwriting and punctuation. (Most boys do I think???)  So in an effort to help them remember and practice these skills we have implemented Story starters.  They are given the opportunity to write a creative story each week about what they have been doing for the summer or use one of these story starters. 

This is a great way to help your kids remember those skills they have learned in school and have a creative outlet.
We just used  an old notebook they brought home from school.  Each boy has to write a 1 page story each week as part of there weekly chores.

Here are a list of the story starters I cam up with. Click on the Google link below to download and use. 

Story Starters

On the first day of Summer, I saw an alien spaceship.....

A Monkey escaped from the zoo...

I was riding my bike to a friend house when it suddenly lifted off the ground and began to float....
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One night I was dreaming I was walking on the Moon. When I woke up, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was standing.....

I woke up one morning to find an alien in my closet.....

If I were a Christmas ornament....

If I found a $1000....

If I had 3 arms....

When I grow up I want to be....

My best friend...

I tried to catch a Leprechaun. This is how I did it...

For summer break I went to....

I saw an insect as big as my Dad....

My favorite thing to do is...

My least favorite thing to do is....

If I could create my very own........ It would be.......

If I were a video game...

Scholastic also offers a story starters on there website.  They can do all types of stories in different formats.  Newspaper, poem, letter or story.  Lots to choose from.


Hope your Summer has started off with a Bang!

Basket Purse

I found this little basket bag at target in the dollar section.  My target sold out of them but thy just got some.  So hurry over and grab one.  My little girl is a girly girl who love to play with the boys.  So I gave her a girly bag for her dolls and cars.

Here is what you need:

Basket bag

5 x 45 inches of fabric

Tim Tex stabilizer about 10 inches

I started with the basket and 5 inches of fabric. The fabric will measure 5 x 45 inches. Fold in half and iron. Next I stitched a basting stitch along the raw edges.

Pull the bottom thread to lightly gather the fabric.

Cut your tim tex into a 5 inch circle. Start with your glue gun from the outside edge of your Tim Tex. Working around until you have reached center.

Once you reach center fold your raw edge and tuck it into your flower. Add a button. I just glued mine in.

This is what it looks like from behind.  I used some hot glue to attache it to my bag.

Super simple.

It's perfect size form my little miss.  She fills the bag and off to the park.

Linking up too:

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Better than Water Balloons

Better than Water Balloons

I found these on Pintrest and thought they were a fantastic idea.  They cost a little to get started but once they are made just add water and reuse as much as you want. 

Supplies needed:

Large sponges

Reuseable yet disposable wiping cloths

Mop with absorbant strips

Plastic cable ties

non slip cupboard liner

Cut your sponge, wiping cloth and liner into 1-1 1/2 in strips.

Cut strips off mop like above.

Next layer your strips.  I used 2 of each and made a little sandwich.

Wrap a cable tie around the center or your sandwich and pull tight. 

Clip the cable tie as short as possible.

You are ready for water fun.

Your kids will love these. 

I thought these woudl be fun to color code so you could play on teams. Give them each a bucket and some water balls and let them go at it.

Pipe Cleaners and One eyed Monsters

So school is out and my kiddos are already bored.  SO at Wal-Mart I bout a $5 bag of Pipe Cleaners, pom poms, and googly eyes.  This is what came of it. 

Who knew they would be entertained for 3 hours and begging for more.