Field Trip Thursday...Aquarium Scavenger Hunt

 

Today we had a great field trip to our local Aquarium.  One thing I like to do to make these trips a little more fun, is to occasionally make a Scavenger Hunt for my kids to do while we are there.  It just adds an extra element of fun, especially if its somewhere you have been before!

I made this printable really quickly before we left this morning and it was a HIT!  I stuck a few copies in page protectors and clipped them on a clipboard.  Using dry erase markers the kids either circled the animal when we saw it or my older girls would spell out the names of the animals.  The kids would get so excited every time we saw an animal from our list, it really added to the excitement! ;)

Feel free to click on the picture to print out your own! ;)

Here are just a few pics from Instagram...what did I do before Instagram?! 

Kendall's favorite, the sea turtles!

I love jelly fish!  They are almost hypnotic to watch, such amazing creatures.

EVERY time we go to the aquarium the kids number one task is to Find Nemo :)  Delighted screams were heard all around when they spotted the little guy today ;)

Britton's favorite...the sharks!

And these crazy animals?  These ones are my favorite :)

Thanks for visiting today...I hope you liked something that you saw and you come back soon! :)

One of our favorite St. Patrick's Day traditions...Leprechaun Dust!

I shared this idea a few years ago and thought I would update it with a fun new printable so you can do it in your family too!!

One of my kids MOST favorite things on St. Patrick's Day is when that sneaky little Leprechaun comes to wreak havoc...and always leaves behind a special treat to make it up to us :) Usually at the end of a trail of green footprints or a trail of shamrocks they each find their very own container of Leprechaun Dust!

What is Leprechaun Dust you ask?! Simply put half a small package of pistachio pudding in a mason jar with this cute tag attached.

Then add one cup of milk to each jar and let the kids go crazy shaking it! Once it has set up they have their very own yummy Leprechaun Dust treat :)

I would show you a picture of ours...but to do that I would have actually had them put together. And since it is not 11 pm the night before St. Patrick's Day...you can bet pretty much nothing is put together :)

Thanks so much for reading and stopping by today, have a wonderful day!!

Kind Words Printable (perfect for Valentines!)

I had an idea yesterday that simply COULD NOT wait! :)

If you remember, earlier in the year I posted about our family motto for 2012. You can read all about it HERE.

The motto we chose is Love is Spoken Here. I feel very strongly that home needs to be a safe place, a place where you always feel loved and important. Seeing our motto up in my living room made me think about last year around Valentines Day. I did a fun Family Home Evening that used conversation hearts to tie in the importance of using kind words. I wanted to do something similar this year when I thought up this idea last night.

First of all, I wanted a printable that talked about the importance of words, kind ones especially! I FIRMLY believe in the importance of words. They have the utmost ability to build you up or completely tear you down. Saying something kind is something SO small we can each do in our own lives to bless those around us. I have some people in my life that thing I am really awesome. They think I am more awesome than I am :) But because of their kind words...I want to try and become that awesome person they think I am . THAT'S what words can do for us!

I made this printable using one of my favorite quotes from Mother Teresa

After I had my printable all ready to go I placed it in a frame for this purpose:

Starting February 1st, every day we will pick a kind word or phrase that we will focus on for the day. Using a dry erase marker we will write that word on the frame to help us have a constant reminder. We will continue to pick a new word every day until Valentines!

I am so excited to see how using more kind words will change the spirit in our home. I am excited to focus more on the words I speak to my children and husband, and everyone else in my life. If you want to join me in this challenge, I made some printables for you too :)

All my Valentines Decor is in Aqua, Hot Pink, and Light Pink. In case you are a little more traditional with your colors, here is one you may like too :)

In the spirit of this post...THANK YOU so much for all of you that take the time to leave me so many kind words on this little blog! It always brightens my day and makes me want to be better.

I hope you enjoy these printables and that you FEEL the love more in your home as you focus on Kind Words!! :)