"A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" Munchie Mix!

 Hello my friends!!  Are we all geared up for Turkey Day?  I am so excited to spend the day with family and just RELAX :)

One of our favorite Thanksgiving-time traditions is watching "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving".  I remember being little and wishing I could have a Thanksgiving dinner made out of popcorn, toast and jelly beans ;)  This year I thought it would be fun to make a yummy treat for the kids to munch on while we are watching one of the only Thanksgiving movies I know of.

I give you our...

"A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" Munchie Mix

This was a quick and yummy snack I whipped for the kids this weekend as we watched Chuck and the gang celebrating Thanksgiving.

For our Munchie Mix I just threw together Crunch 'n Munch for the popcorn, Cinnamon Toast Crunch for the toast, and jellybeans for the...jellybeans :)

I threw them all in a bowl and mixed up all the goodness.

Then I dished them out into individual servings and served up the kids (and the adults!) a yummy treat while we enjoyed the show.

This would be a wonderful activity for the night before Thanksgiving, or even for Thanksgiving Day when everyone is needing a little down time.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today and I hope you all have a most wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!

Travels with Gannon and Wyatt book series {Review and Giveaway!!}

Reading is one of my absolute favorite things to do. When I was a little girl, my reading was the subject of many family jokes. No matter where I was, or what I was doing...I always had to be reading something. My mom always loves to ask me if I still read the back of cereal boxes at breakfast ;) 

Being such an avid reader, I have definitely hoped to pass that love along to my children, and my oldest daughter Skylar seems to be following along quite nicely in my footsteps. I am always on the look out for great books that will keep her entertained, use her imagination, and expand her mind. I was thrilled when we received the Travels with Gannon and Wyatt series for exactly all those reasons! 

Travels with Gannon and Wyatt is an adventure series written by Patti Wheeler and Keith Hemstreet perfect for your middle-aged school kids. Twin brothers Gannon and Wyatt travel to exotic locations full of mystery and adventure.  The Travels with Gannon and Wyatt series include: 

Botswana (released May 2013) 

Great Bear Rainforest (released October 2013) 

Egypt (to be released January 2014) (and I just have to say...my daughter thought it was THE coolest thing ever that we got to read Egypt before it was released ;)

 My daughter was excited to start right at the beginning, so we decided to start our new adventure with Gannon and Wyatt as they traveled to Botswana!  

From the beginning of the book, we found a lot to keep us engaged.  My daughter especially enjoyed the format...where you have two different points of view written in the style of a journal.  My girl is also a major animal-lover so it was really exciting to read about so many different kind of animals you would encounter on an African safari.  I felt like the authors did a great job of making this a book that boys AND girls would both enjoy, and I personally loved reading it with my daughter and am looking forward to continue on with the next book, Great Bear Rainforest.  And you KNOW its a good book when you walk around the corner to yell to your daughter it's time for school and this is what you find...

If you are looking for a clean, imaginative and exciting book for your child this holiday season, make sure you check out Travels with Gannon and Wyatt.  And while you're at at, check out the Travels with Gannon and Wyatt Facebook Page.  They are giving away THREE Kindle Fires throughout the month of November...don't tell, but that's what I'm hoping Santa brings to my oldest this year! ;)

Oh yeah...speaking of giveaways...how about if we do one of our very own?!

I am so thrilled to be giving away a Travels with Gannon and Wyatt SERIES for one lucky reader!   That includes ALL three books, including Egypt, which isn't even being released until January 2014! This would make a fantastic gift for the holidays, and who doesn't want to get their kids reading even a little bit more?!

I like to keep things simple, so if you want to enter just leave a comment here :)  That's it, no sharing, pinning, or anything else.  We are busy people, am I right?! ;)  Make sure you comment before midnight on Sunday, November 23rd.  I will announce the lucky winner on Monday...good luck friends!!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Turkey Pancakes!

 And no...I do NOT mean pancakes made out of real turkey! ;)

This morning I realized that Thanksgiving is in just 2 1/2 weeks...and we haven't done one turkey craft, activity or treat.  Unacceptable!  I guess that's what happens when your boys (7 months old and 4 years old) battle strep and double ear infections for 10 days.  Oh man...last week was one of those mommy weeks where you just want to run away from it all.  Luckily, most of the kids are all better this week and I was able to get away for the weekend and get some much-needed girl time with my mom, aunt and sister-in-law.  I came home ready to tackle life and get back to enjoying this wonderful time of year with my favorite people :)

This morning as I was preparing our breakfast (trying to console my crying kids because we had NO milk for cereal and they ONLY want cereal for breakfast EVERY single day) I thought maybe I could add a little something to our normal pancakes to start the day off with a little fun.  What we came up with were these Turkey Pancakes!

All you need to make some of your own are 2 pancakes, one a little bit smaller for the head.  Then slice up an orange and an apple and arrange the slices to make the turkey's feathers.  Finally we made chocolate chip eyes, candy corn beak and red frosting for the wobbler-thingy (really need to find out what that is really called!) and we had a darling little Turkey Pancake Breakfast.

Thanks so much for checking out Blue Skies Ahead today!  We have some fun crafts, treats and activities to share so come back again soon :)

Happy November {November Re-Cap!}

Happy November everyone!  I am so excited to kick off our month-long celebration of GRATITUDE!  I have all sorts of ideas about how to teach my kids (and myself!) how to have a more grateful heart.  Today I whipped up this printable to serve as our daily reminder...

Right?!

I hope to teach my kids that EVERY day is a great day to be grateful :)

I thought it would be fun to kick off the month sharing a few things we have done in past years to celebrate the month of November!

 

The kids loved making this Fruity Turkey with pears, cantaloupe and grapes.  Super easy and healthy snack for your littles! 

We spent a week doing fun crafts, activities and making snacks all about Indian Corn!

Make sure you check out our Tom the Turkey Family Home Evening as well.  Its a great lesson about learning to control our tempers and even has a darling Turkey Cupcake recipe to go with it ;)

Finally a great way to help your children think and ACT on things they have to be grateful for...Don't be a turkey, give thanks!

There are just a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing!  Make sure you come back next week for some new snacks, crafts and activities to enjoy with your family!