Saturday at the pool

We had THE best Saturday we have had in a long time! Paul was out of town for a week, and then the week he got home he had so much to do at work and a lot of things at night...it honestly felt like we hadn't seen him in two weeks. I wanted to plan a date night for him and I on Saturday, but when I was telling Skylar about it...she got so sad! I realized the kids missed him just as much as I did, so instead we planned a family date night at the pool :)

This pic totally cracks me up. Paul had ALL 3 kids hanging on him as they went around and around the lazy river. My favorite thing about it? My kids are all singing at the top of their lungs "Rolling down the bayou....rolling down the bayou!!" You know...from Princess and the Frog? We started singing that once when we went around, and now they call it the Bayou everytime.

Avrie looked a little concerned...:)

LOVE them :)

We stopped by a local ice cream shop after to top off the night...the kids were in heaven (and so was mom! Took a break from my healthy eating and had a huge cone of Burnt Almond Fudge...so worth it!:)

In looking for someone who loves ice cream as much as I do....I finally met my match! Look at Skylar's happy face :)

Since Skylar declared that EVERY Saturday night should be family date night, I think it was a success! Oh, I love this precious family of mine!

Fit Friday...Get your kids movin!

If you looked around my blog at all you know I love doing fun, educational activities with these precious kids I've got :) I try to have a weekly theme and plan activites, crafts and snacks around it. A few years back one of my themes was Excercise and I thought I would share some of the fun things that we did! My kids still talk about the excercises and even remember most of them.

There are a lot of frightening statistics regarding obesity and children in the United States. My hope is that some of these activities can help my children (and myself!) see how vital excercise is,how important it is to get excercise every day, and also how fun!!

I found a FANTASTIC article on the website www.abchomepreschool.com. It had some fun excercises to do that were all named after veggies or fruits. I printed out and colored pictures of the individual fruits and veggies, laminated the pictures and printed the explanation for the excercise on the back. I am hoping that we can do these fun excercises everyday, and by the end of the week when I hold up the corresponding picture the kids will know what excercise that means!

For general warm-ups, try the "Tater Tot Trot." Jog in place and pump your arms. Every ten steps or so slowly stretch your neck, look back at the right shoulder and then at the left shoulder. For "Spud Sprints" look straight ahead and speed up to a running pace. It is important that students land on their heels and not on their toes. If fairly large plot of ground is available, try trotting on a running trail inside or outside. The "Trot" works the posterior deltoid, hamstrings, quadriceps, and illiposoas.

The "Strawberry Stretch" is a great exercise to stretch the back, arms, and shoulders. It teaches balance and coordination. First, cross your right foot in front of your left. Bend down, touch your right toe, count to eight, and then straighten up. Make sure your back stays straight and does not arch. Cross your left foot in front of your right and repeat the stretch. The "Strawberry Stretch" works the lattisimus dorsi, teres major, the triceps, and the biceps. It also engages all three parts of the deltoid, including the anterior, posterior, and the lateral parts of the shoulder.

"Pumpkin Peeler" works the legs, back, arms, and shoulders. It also requires balance and dexterity. To perform this exercise, stand and lock your fingers together behind your back. Bend forward at the waist and keep your legs straight. With your fingers still locked, raise your arms over your head. Hold for a count of eight. This can also be done by bending at the knees. Teach the children the importance of flexibility by stretching the calf and leg muscles. The "Pumpkin Peeler" synergistically incorporates the lattismus dorsi, teres major, and deltoids, while it gently stretches the legs.

The" Sweet Pea Ski" benefits the muscles in the legs and challenges the child’s balance. One should begin with feet together. Slowly bend at the knees while swinging both your arms to the right as if you were using two ski poles on that side. Straighten up then repeat the bend and swing to the left. The "Sweet Pea" is great for the inner thigh, the hip adductor, or the gracilis. It is good for the hip flexors, the obliques, and the pectineus. This exercise offers the added benefit of working the whole gluteus, which includes the maximums, medius, and minimus.

"Pepper Pops" are great for both the beginner and the advanced exerciser. It works the legs, chest, and back. Do jumping jacks and clap above your head. For a "Pepper Pop Plus", add a right kick and a left kick with a clap under the knee while ensuring that the back stays straight. These additional movements work the erector spinae at the lower back. The muscles of the chest, namely the serratus anterior and the pectorals major, also receive a workout.

The "Broccoli Bounce" is good for the upper and lower body. Stand with hands clasped behind your heck and your elbows drawn back. Walk in place, raising your knees, bring your left elbow down to touch it. When you lift your left knee, bring your right elbow down to touch it. The "Broccoli" is good for both the hamstrings and the quadriceps. It works the smaller muscles as well as the important part of the legs, the calves, or the gastrocneumuis, soleus, tibialis anterior and the knee.

"Cauliflower Chippers" are a great way to end an aerobic session. It works the knees and the arms. Bounce up and down with your knees without taking your feet off the floor. At the same time, stretch your arms to each side and swing them in giant circles. You may also flex and extend the important yet neglected extensors and flexors of the wrists. You can change the movement of the chippers as well as cooling down by a stretch by elongating your shoulders, back, chest, and arms. The students should be encouraged to walk slowly in order to stretch their legs properly.

How fun are those? My kids LOVE doing them and its great to get them moving (getting mine to hold still is usually more of a problem :)

I am excited to one day put together an obstacle course!! As I was doing some research on line, this is a great way to help develop preschoolers large motor skills, and sounds fun too :) I am going to have to get creative to make one in my house, but crawling under things, jumping over things, and balancing are all things I want to include :)

One of our favorite ways to excercise is to DANCE :) One fun idea I had was to scroll through the music stations we have on our satelitte, and do different kind of dances that match up with the different kind of songs (fast, slow, ballet, crazy!!) Then we can talk about which muscles we were using for each different kind of dancing.

I hope this might help give you some ideas about getting your little ones active with you. Its a great way to teach them starting young the importance of health, and it just adds up to more quality time with these precious little ones.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a great weekend!!

Beef Stir-fry the whole family will love!

This is another great recipe I found in the Body for Life cookbook, with a few little tweaks by me :) I love this recipe because it uses BEEF! I am not a huge red meat lover, but I can only handle so much chicken and I don't do fish...at all. Here's what you need to get started:

4 portions whole grain spaghetti ( about 8 ounces)

4 portions lean beef stir-fry ( about 1 lb, I get the kind all ready cut up nice and thin)

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

3 cloves minced garlic

1 onion sliced

4 celery stalks sliced

Sugar snap peas ( any amount you want...we LOVE these so we add a ton!)

1 bag coleslaw (shredded cabbage and carrots)

1/2 C lite soy sauce

First you get your water boiling for the noodles while you are cooking the beef. I lightly spray the pan with cooking spray and then stir-fry the red pepper flakes and the garlic for about 1 minute. Then I add the beef strips to the skillet and stir-fry until no longer pink. Once you do, remove the beef from skillet and set aside.

After the steak is done you need to add all your chopped veggies and coleslaw to the skillet. I respray a little cooking spray and dump all these beauties in!

Stir fry all the veggies until they are tender and have that nice stir-fry brown color :) At the same time your noodles should be just about finished and ready to drain.
Now you can return the steak to the skillet. Add the cooked spaghetti and lite soy sauce, mix gently and heat thoroughly.

Here is the finished product...doesn't it look yummy?!

My family all gobbled it up, and I love meals that have everything in one dish: whole grains, lean meat, and lots of veggies! Hope your family enjoys this as much as mine did!! :)

Zoo Week!!

This was a really great week at our house! The kids loved learning more about Zoo animals and we had a very fun week. I decided to post all the activities and themes after we do them for a few reasons. Mostly, I think its more realistic to give you an idea of what really happens in a week at our home :) Lots of times I find loads of great ideas and end up doing only one or two....and thats okay! The point for me is to enjoy my children more and hopefully teach them a little something in the process! So these are the activities we did to learn all about zoo animals last week :)

We started off by reading one of our new favorite books, "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" This is a great book that mentions lots of different animals you will see at the zoo. Plus I just adore anything with Eric Carle, so there you have it! This was easy enough for Skylar to read and by the end of the week the kids recognized all the animals and knew what sounds they make.

What fun would Zoo Week be without a trip to the...ZOO! Our local zoo isn't the best zoo out there, but the kids love it and I love taking my kids to the same place I went when I was little :)

Just to make it a little more interesting I threw together 2 different scavenger hunts for the kids. For my son that is only 2 I made one that had pictures of animals that he could circle when we saw the animal.


For my girls that are 4 and 6 I made an alphabet scavenger hunt, where they had to find an animal that started with each letter of the alphabet. It was really fun to see them running around looking at all the signs, desperately searching for an X :) Plus it was a great chance for my oldest daughter to work on her handwriting and my 4 year old to work on letter recogition.



We only got around to doing one craft last week...but it was a good one! I have mentioned before how much I love doing anything with my kids handprints so I thought of one that would go along with our theme. I simply drew a circle on a big piece of paper, let the kids choose their color of fingerpaint, and they went at it. They dipped their hands in the paint and then did handprints all the way around the circle to create a lions mane. After it dried they drew in the lions face, I think they turned out so cute!















This was Britton's masterpiece...with a little help from mom :)






Every week I try to pick one letter for us to focus on. I print out an upper and lower case letter, put them on cute paper, and stick them up right by our kitchen table. Every morning at breakfast we talk abou the letter and what sound it makes, and I also print off tracer pages of the letter. Last weeks letter was Z for Zebra and Zoo :)

Finally our fun snack of the week :) I dubbed these Monkey Pops....and the kids loved em! I simply covered bananas in peanut butter and then dipped them in some melted chocolate. Its amazing what a fun name will do for a pretty boring snack ;)

It was a really great week, and I feel like the kids actually learned something! Please let me know if you have any fun Zoo Week ideas, I am always looking for more ways to enjoy and teach my children. Have a great week everyone!! :)

Noah's Ark Family Home Evening

This is a super easy, FUN, simple family home evening that is perfect for those Mondays that just seem to get away from you and you forget to plan something (I'm not the only one that happens too...right?!) It also has a great message for young kids and familiarizes them with one of the most amazing stories from the Bible.

In this fhe the kids get to act out the story of Noah's Ark. First we talked about Noah and how the people were behaving during his time. I really wanted to emphasize with my kids how Noah obeyed the voice of the Lord, even when everyone around him was mocking him. What a valuable lesson to teach our children, especially in this day and age. To follow the Lord, regardless of what your peers think about you!

The kids pretended to build the "Ark" (my sister-in-laws couch:) Then they ran around the house gathering all the animals (stuffed of course!) and putting them on the ark. Once they climbed on the ark with the animals you are supposed to move the ark and spray them with a water bottle to simulate being out in a storm. I forgot the water bottle but you get the idea :) Finally you finish off the story with the dove and the branch and there you have it! :)

As I bore my testimony I tried to emphasize two points to the kids. We have to live our lives in a way that we will hear the voice of the Lord when he speaks to us, and when we do hear Him, we have to commit ourselves to obeying his command, whatever it may be! I love taking scripture stories and making them applicable for OUR day and OUR lives...thats what we have them for, right?!

For this dessert I made some animal cupcakes....2 of each kind ;) I love a theme!! Don't look too close, they were a little last minute. And if you can't tell...they were supposed to be monkeys, frogs, lions and pigs!

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday, thanks for stopping by!!

Fit Friday...Healthy snacks for Healthy kids!!

Welcome to our second week of Fit Fridays!! I got a great response from last week and I am excited that there are so many of us that can relate to this important subject. Today I want to give you some simple, healthy snacks that I hope your kids will love....mine do!

* Cantaloupe Cups - these are a yummy-protein packed snack that my kids love! I've realized if it looks a little different or if it has a fun name, my kids are much more likely to enjoy it! You simply cut a cantaloupe in half, spoon out the seeds and gunk, and put in a 1/2 C of lowfat cottage cheese in the center. They love that the cantaloupe works as a cup for the cottage cheese AND that they get to eat that after the cottage cheese is gone!

* Veggie Dip - I think I like this one as much as my kids. Dipping is a great way to get your kids to eat veggies, but I always felt a little guilty about the huge mound of ranch on my kids plates....was it just negating the positive effect of the veggies they were dunking in it??? Then I found this great recipe, all you do is blend 1 C of cottage cheese with some chopped green onions. Then you add a little bit of Italian Dressing Mix to taste and Walah! You have a great, ranch-tasting dip for all your favorite veggies. We love carrots, snap peas and cucumbers.

* Monkey Pops - Remember what I said about the fun names? :) These are a great treat for your kids that you can still feel pretty good about serving up. I just cut a banana in half, let the kids cover it in all-natural peanut butter, and then roll it in mini-chocolate chips. They think they are getting something super unhealthy with the chocolate...but they are also getting a ton of potassium and protein :)

* Fruit Kebobs - These are exactly what they sound like :) The kids love to get a skewer and stack different kinds of fruit on. We usually have apples, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, bananas...and whatever other fruits we have on hand. Then I let my kids dip it all in greek yogurt and roll it in shredded coconut. If you are not big coconut lovers (I'm not!) it is also super yummy to roll it in some homemade granola :)

* Smoothie on a Stick - We love smoothies at our house. Lately since its been so hot I have been blending up a batch and then pouring individual servings into small paper cups. I stick in a popsicle stick, let them freeze, and when the kids pop them out they have their very own Smoothie on a Stick! Smoothies are a great way for me to sneak in some veggies too...I always toss in some spinach with my milk, yogurt, bananas, ice and frozen fruit! :)

These are just a few that we have been enjoying at our house lately. Please feel free to share some of your favorite healthy snacks! I think the most important thing is switching it up so your kids don't get too bored, so share, share, share!!

As far as my goal from last week of running 3 miles...I ALMOST did it! I am totally blaming it on my husband though :) Yesterday I ran 2.8 miles with the intention of getting to 3 this morning. Then last night my hubs tells me he is golfing this morning so no workout for me. I am going to attempt it tomorrow morning though, so I will be sure to come back with an update after :)

The goal for this week is to add more water! I am HORRIBLE at drinking water! Really at drinking period. I can go all day without a drink, so its a big switch for me to drink water all the time. I am making it a goal to get at LEAST 96 ounces a day. I am going to fill up a big pitcher with all the water I am supposed to drink in a day, that way I will be able to see my progress throughout the day. So join me friends! What is your healthy goal for this week? Sometimes being accountable to someone is the biggest motivator....so lets help each other reach those healthy goals!! Heres to looking good and much more importantly feeling GREAT!!

Pioneer Week!!

I decided as I'm doing these weekly themes it would be better to post them the week AFTER we actually do them, then I will have pictures of the crafts and recipes that we actually ended up doing. However, when you are having a theme based around a holiday that won't always work, so today I am posting what we are doing next week and next week I will post what we have been doing this week :) Make sense?? :)

Next week we are going to be learning about mostly pioneers, and I'm throwing in some cowboy and cowgirl stuff too :)

For all of you locals, one thing we have done the last few years that we absolutely LOVE is to go check out all of the floats that will be in the big Days of '47 Parade this weekend. They have them stored at the Southtowne Expo Center, so July 20th and 21st you can take the kids and see them all up close. It is a free event and gets you out of the heat for a few hours too! They have facepainters, bands, balloon hat makers and more! My kids loved it last year and I am excited to take them again.

It wouldn't really be pioneer week if you didn't talk about covered wagons, would it? :) We are going to learn all about the differnt ways pioneers traveled and make our own little covered wagons. I think we will simply cut off the bottom of cereal boxes and paint them brown. Then fold a piece of white paper over the top and cut out black circles for wheels.....VOILA! You're very own covered wagon :) I am also tempted to try and create some they can actually sit in kind of like the Cars cars we made a few weeks ago. I'll get back to you on that one ;)

I am also excited for a fun idea I had, hopefully the kids will like it :) Later on in the week we are going on a Pioneer Trek (a walk around the neighborhood :) I am planning on doing this right before naptime. When we get home in the loft upstairs I will have hung stars I previously cut out from strings from the ceiling. Then we will pull out our blankets and "sleep under the stars" like the pioneers would have after a long day of walking.

I found about a bazillion fun cowboy ideas, but here are just a few we are going to be using. I ordered these super cute make your own cowboy hats from Oriental Trading, I know the kids will love designing their very own :)

An oldie but a goodie, the kids will be making vests out of paper bags and their own stick horses out of wrapping paper rolls and yarn. I also bought some plain white fabric and am going to let the kids design their own bandanas. Stay tuned for some very cute pictures to come :)

Lets not forget about the treats...right?? :) Now, this first idea is if your feeling a little ambitious. I made this for a YW Girls Camp activity a while back, and its not as much work as it looks....but its still kind of a lot of work :)

Campfire Cake

Adorable....isn't it?? :)

This second option is a lot simpler and if you have older children, it is a fantastic way to teach them the SAFE way to build their own fire.

Campfire Snack

Finally our letter of the week is the letter P, and here are the worksheets link if you want to do the same thing at your house. Letter P

I hope you will feel free to leave any fun activities you are doing with your children, I am always looking for more ways to enjoy the little darlings :)

Fit Friday...First Edition!!

Welcome to our newest feature at Blue Skies Ahead....Fit Friday!! I am going to take one day a week to focus on being more fit. We will have tips and advice about healthy eating, excercising, getting your family more active, and so much more!

Now, I am no expert on this subject....but it is something I have a lot of experience with. At least with the attempting to GET fit part :) Having 4 babies in 6 years and being on bedrest with 3 of those pregnancies sure does a number on your body! But this is not just about getting to that precious "number"....wether it be a pants size or what you see on the scale. This is all about getting truly fit, becoming healthier and stronger in every way. There have been times in my life when I was very thin, but couldn't even jog a mile without stopping to walk. This is not all about how I look, but about gaining strength and health, and seeing what this body of mine can do! :) I am sure I am not alone on this journey, and I am hoping you will ALL feel free to add comments and advice. I heard a statistic on the radio this morning...2/3 of adults in America are overweight and the number is growing every year. Join me as I focus on one area each week to get more fit, and make one goal for myself to reach before the next Fit Friday!

Last week we got passes to our local gym...and I LOVE it!! Now, I am also a fan of working out at home, but there is just something about getting away from everything, rocking my favorite tunes, and pushing my body through a killer workout that gives me a high like nothing else. The thing about the gym though is that it can be a little overwhelming. Machines and free weights everywhere, a million different cardio options, and lets not forget the ever present meat heads and body builders making you feel slightly silly as you hunt for the 5 lb dumbells :) Today I thought I would share a great resistance training workout that is perfect for easing yourself back into weight training...or for getting started for the first time! For great results do this workout for 2 weeks, 4 times each week alternating Day 1 and Day 2. Here goes....!

Day 1
Chest Machine Chest press 3 sets 8-10 reps
Chest Machine chest fly 3 sets 8-10 reps
Triceps Arm extension machine 3 sets 8-10 reps
Triceps Dumbell skull crushers 3 sets 8-10 reps
Back Lat Pull 3 sets 8-10 reps
Back Machine row 3 sets 8-10 reps
Biceps Machine curls 3 sets 8-10 reps
Biceps Standing dumbell curls 3 sets 8-10 reps

Day 2
Quads Leg Press 3 sets 8-10 reps
Quads Leg extensions 3 sets 8-10 reps
Hamstrings Seated leg curls 3 sets 8-10 reps
Hamstrings Prone leg curls 3 set 8-10 reps
Shoulders Machine shoulder press 3 sets 8-10 reps
Shoulders Machine lateral raise 3 sets 8-10 reps
Calves Standing calf raise 3 sets 8-10 reps
Abs Bridge 3 sets 30-45 sec each
Abs Ball crunches 3 sets 12-15

Whew!! Are you still with me??:) If you have any questions on a particular excercise feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you. This really is a great workout, and paired with healthy eating this will help you build muscle that will get that metabolism going and the calories a burning!!

My goal for this week is.....(no laughing!) to be able to jog 3 miles without stopping. I have been able to get up to 2 1/2 and by next Friday I want to be at 3. Running is SO not my thing, but in an attempt to be fit, I want to conquer it (on a very small level...no marathons here folks!)

I hope you liked our first Fit Friday, and I hope you will join us next week as well!! Have a fantastic day everyone and thanks for stopping by!!

Lost library books no more!! (A return to Cutting the Chaos??)

I admit it....I have paid more than my fair share of library late fees and lost book fees :) We LOVE the library at our house, but we are usually so crazy that we either forget to take them back or misplace them all together. Since we just got new library cards for me and the girls yesterday, I decided we needed a little organization to make the most of our library experience. Luckily I had the perfect spot in my house just crying out for a simple project :)

First I grabbed one of these cute buckets that I got fro Ikea that matches my kitchen. This is the new spot for all of our library books.

Then I cut this darling saying out of vinyl using my Silhouette. I thought it fit just perfectly!

I also cut 2 library card holders using my Silhouette. I just taped them up on the wall and stuck the girls library cards in them. They were so excited to get them, but they did NOT want them in my wallet...they wanted their own special place for them!

Finally I cut a mini file folder that I stuck the receipts of all the books we borrowed in. That way I can check each book off the list when we go back and make sure we are not forgetting any.


Here is how the whole thing came together....I am ecstatic at how it turned out. Not only does it look cute but it is completely practical and cut a little bit of chaos in our home!




Thanks for stopping by today, hope you all have a wonderful day and enjoy those "Blue Skies Ahead"!

Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

This is definitely one of THE easiest dinners I have ever made, but man was it good! It was also super healthy and once again passed the family test...everyone cleared their plates! I can hardly even call it a recipe it was so simple, but I thought I would share anyways :)

Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

1 lb chicken breast

1 bottle fat free Zesty Italian Dressing

Whole grain fettucini

1 lb steamed broccoli

First you throw a bunch of chicken breasts in a your crockpot with a bottle full of fat free Zesty Italian Dressing. My chicken was frozen so I cooked it on High for 5 hours. I could not believe how flavorful and tender the meat was, it really was delicious! Then I boiled some whole-grain, garden flavored fettucini til it was tender, put a chicken breast on a bed of pasta and added a spoonful of light spaghetti sauce. Add a little steamed broccoli on the side and there you have it!

Just a side note if you are like me and attempting to get a little healthier (and shed those baby pounds!;): one serving of pasta is 2 oz...I know I was eating way more than that before. There are usually 16 oz in a package so your serving should only be 1/8 of the box.

A delicious dinner made up of whole grains, lean proteins and some green stuff too! :) Please feel free to share your families favorite healthy recipes, I am always looking for more! Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Fun on the 4th!

What a fantastic 4th of July we had this year!! All day was spent enjoying our little family and celebrating this great country we live in. The day started off with a fun, healthy 4th of July breakfast.

Greek yogurt parfait with strawberries and blueberries...the kids LOVED them!

After that we made our way to the splash park. The weather was a little iffy, cloudy and kept sprinkling, but it turned out really nice because there was nobody else there :)

Of course, my camera died after those pics, but later we went to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point and all the kids went on pony rides and we did the 4th of July scavenger hunt they had going on. After that we came home, made some white-chocolate dipped strawberries with blue sprinkles and headed over to a neighborhood block party. It was such a blast, the kids had a wonderful time running around with their friends and we all enjoyed the no longer illegal fireworks :)

Sloppy Joes....Healthy Style!

We here at Blue Skies Ahead have been trying to cultivate a healthier lifestyle, and I thought I would post some of the quick, yummy recipes I have been making for dinner that have been a hit with my family.

My favorite healthy cookbook is Eating for Life, and this is a recipe I got from there with a few of my own little changes. Here's what you need:

1 lb lean ground turkey

1/2 red onion chopped

1/2 C chopped frozen spinach

1/2 C ketchup

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

1/4 C bbq sauce (I usually add in a little more :)

If you have never cooked with ground turkey before, this is a great way to get started! This has enough sauce you really can't tell the difference between the turkey and ground beef and it is just so much healthier!

So first you brown the turkey with the chopped red onion and the black pepper.

Once you have done that you simply dump in all the other ingredients and simmer on low for 10 minutes....WALAAH!!

See, I told you it was easy!! I found these great whole grain flatbread buns...they are only 100 calories a bun! Throw some fresh fruits and veggies on the side and you have got yourself one healthy, satisfying tasty meal :)


These recipe even passed the family test....every single person ate their entire sloppy joe, including my 2 year old! I always double this recipe so I can have leftovers for lunch for me and my husband.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

4th of July Family Home Evening

This is a really great family home evening idea that I found on one of my favorite blogs, Chocolate on my Cranium. I LOVED the visual of turning the water different colors to represent the colors on our flag and the primary songs you sing about each color. Make sure you check it out, it is all ready to go, all you have to do is print it out! Get the full family home evening HERE.

After we spoke about America being the promised land and how blessed we are we focused on the flag and talked about some fun things we do on the 4th. Of course, Fireworks!! So this is what we did for a little craft

All you do is get some acrylic paint, water it down A LOT (I think that was my downfall, not quite enough water :) and then put some drops on a piece of paper. Then you give the kiddos straws and when the blow on the paint it makes these cute little fireworks. Pretty fun!!
And what is FHE without a fun, themed dessert?

Mine didn't look quite that professional, but you get the idea :) All I did was make a yellow cake, top it with cool whip and then use blueberries and strawberries to decorate! Since I am on a health kick right now it would also be yummy to do yogurt parfaits with layers of vanilla yogurt, blueberries and strawberries :) Happy 4th everyone, and God Bless America!!

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