Day 230.. Bass Pro Shops

Today we headed out to one of the kids favorite places to visit.

 BASS PRO SHOPS!!

Carson was thrilled to get to sit on some of the ATV'S. 

Of course now he needs $3500.00 to get one. 

Kenna enjoying one of the boats!

Jack found his red dream boat!! When I asked him if he knew what the tall seat  behind him was for? He said "Yes it is for when you are on a top secret spy mission and then they ask you to take someone out." I suppose that is one answer! LOL

The kids were psyched that they had a penny machine. They all chose one for their collection.

Hanging with the kids by the warm fireplace. 

Jack making the craft of the day a sailboat. 

What can I say the kids had a great time at Bass Pro Shop. I see why they love to go. There are so many cool things to look at.  I love that it gets the kids thinking and dreaming about the future.

Someday when we can get a boat. Someday when we can come and buy unlimited camping equipment.  Someday when we can come buy an ATV, and someday when we can take a vacation.  Dreaming about someday sure can be lots of fun!

Day 229... Popcorn Cake

Tonight we made a Popcorn Cake Bundt style. 

Our ingredients.. Popcorn, M&M'S, butter, marshmallows, and Pretzels.

The girls and John had the task of melting the butter/marshmallows. Carson was in the back popping the popcorn. One of his favorite jobs. 

Jack opened the M&M packs and I broke up the pretzels. 

We poured everything into a large metal bowl and mixed away. 

Once mixed we put it into our home made version bundt pan. You could just as easily put it in a square cake pan like you would for Rice Krispie Treats. 

Once it cooled I pulled the plastic glass out of the middle and voila our popcorn Bundt cake. 

This was really a good snack. I loved the mixture all put together. We made it with roughly 1 bag of popped popcorn (no kernels), 10 small packs of M&M's, 1/2 stick of butter, 1/2 bag of mini marshmallows, and a hand full of pretzels cut in half. I loved how quick and easy it was to do. It was completed in less than a half hour. 10 minutes to put it together, 15-20 minutes more to cool down and then it was ready to cut and eat! If you were using a regular size Bundt pan you would probably need to double the ingredients. This was a perfect size for our family of six!! 

Day 228... BINGO NIGHT

 

Tonight we went to Carson's school for Family BINGO night!!

We pre-ordered dinner through the school for $3 each. 6 inch Subway sub, chips, and a drink. They gave everyone a BINGO card and a raffle ticket. They also came around with free popcorn. Talk about a budget family friendly evening. 

Kenna ready to start a new round of BINGO!!

Jack was just one away from a T shaped Bingo. We were close several times but none of us actually got a BINGO!! A little disappointing. Normally with 6 of us we at least get one!

Finishing up a fun night of BINGO!!

This was a really fun event at Carson's school. I loved that I didn't have to cook dinner, we got to play a few fun rounds of BINGO, and that all the kids were able to see the 

school Carson attends.  We will definitely head to the next BINGO night.  Lots of fun!!

Day 227... Winter Mural

Have I mentioned before how much I love the ideas and inspiration that I get from Pinterest? 

This idea came from there. We took a snow owl craft for kids and made it larger by doing three trees and turning it into a mural for over our fireplace. 

Here John is painting the moon. " I see the moon and the moon see's me!"

All the boys working on the tree's.

Carson working on his owl in the tree. For the owls we used our thumb print and then filled in the details with a little yellow paint and a sharpie.

Putting on the finishing touches!!

Our finished winter mural. I cut out some letters for the fireplace to complete the look. We may make some snow lanterns to sit on the fireplace to add a little glow. I wish the owls were a little bigger but overall I think it turned out pretty nice. It makes me happy to see the Christmas garland gone but the fireplace still decorated for winter!! 

Day 226....... Balderdash

Tonight we played Balderdash. This is an oldie but such a goody. I have great memories from the last 10 years playing this game with my family and cousins. Tonight we attempted it with the team. 

I love games that I pick up at Garage sales for $1. You get a chance to try them out without spending a lot of money. Balderdash is a GREAT one and I would probably pay retail for it. I knew when I found it, that it was a bargain. 

In this shot Maddie is being the DASHER. Truth be told my kids are still just a little to young for this game. The object is to convince everyone at the table that your definition is the right one. Sadly I think you need to be a little bit older to make the convincing argument. Kenna did a great job. Everyone else tried. My recommendation is for 11 and up!! A great family game  for older kids. 


Our family word of the night SWEAM: Real definition: A fainting spell. / Moms definition: To love something with all of your heart. Everyone at the table picked my definition: To love something with all of your heart. :)  I think everyone wants to love something with all of their heart and sweam seemed like the word to do it!! 

Day 225..... 3 D hand prints

Tonight we did a cool 3 D art project from Pinterest. We traced our hands and then used markers to create the 3D effect. The directions: draw a straight line with markers until you get to the hand and then curve the line for the hand or finger portion. If you are not on the hand or finger portion it needs to be straight. It is a little easier said than done. 

This was my example for the kids/John. It turned out to be the best one of the night when it came to looking 3 dimensional. 

Maddie, Jack and Carson worked really hard on their hands. They didn't come out right and just did not have the curved lines in the right place. Based on this try, I would say this project is for older kids age 6th grade and up. 

Kenna had a couple of issues, but you can see the 3D effect in her picture. Good job Kenna!!

LOOKING GOOD BABY!!

The three prints that were semi successful.  We are going to work on the boys and Maddies prints. They look pretty cool in person. The kids loved trying to make them and it was fun. I think the three younger kids just need to be a little older to pull it off. 

Day 224... Parent/Kid Journals

The fact is we are getting to a point with our kids where communication is getting tougher and tougher. Kenna is turning 12 and the boys are going on 11.  Things are just  not as easy as they once were. I saw this idea  of a communication journal on Pinterest.. HMM??? Could it work?? Maybe this could be interesting. We could maybe laugh a little and communicate in addition to our normal talking and conversations. How could it not be a win/win??  I write/draw something they write/draw something back.  I decided to give it a try.

Kroger had a buy one get one sale last week on journals.  I took it as a sign that maybe now was the time to try this idea. It took about 30 minutes to make each journal sign/cover. I picked different things for each of them and then , because I want this to be long term, covered the front with tape to protect and preserve. I made sure each child had their favorite things and tried to make it fun and personal for them. 

  

Here are our new journals!!

Carson loved his blue journal. On the other side it says Mom/Me.  One side is for dad the other for mom. 

My team.. Can't wait to see what we do with these books/journals! If tonight is any indication it will be a fun adventure!! They love new ideas and things to do!!

They immediately wanted to answer the things I had asked. This shocked me a little. I thought they might treat it more like a diary and want privacy.  I figured they would take it to their rooms and I might see half of them come back. Not the case. They sat at the table and worked on them. Then they gave them to me and headed to bed. Maybe it will be a new quiet activity prior to bed???

Tonight is only day 1 so I don't know if this idea will be a great one or not. Here is what I can say...

Day 1: Things they recorded back to me in their journals.

 A Word Find Puzzle that was made/designed for me.

A question asking me if I knew what happened to the inaugural gown after the First Lady wore it?

 A plan of how someone was going to spend future money. 

Notice that there would soon be a future Princess Sleepover invitation arriving.

 I loved their responses and enthusiasm for day 1.

 It would be worth the $1.50 investment that I made on each journal just for the answers I got today.  I can't begin to imagine what the journal might hold a month or two or six from now.

 I have a feeling it will be priceless!! 

*** I have the journal as one side mom/ the other side dad. I figure that somewhere along the line we will meet in the middle. Isn't that the way it is supposed to be..