Happy Father's Day!!

I just wanted to take time today to say 

Happy Father's Day! 

to my dad :-)  He's an awesome dad that would do anything for me

My kid's would like to say 

Happy Father's Day!

to Darryl - their dad!  

We've done a little shopping and I have a nice dinner planned ( he doesn't have to grill - what is it with making dad cook on Father's Day?).  

 

Camping - Food!

We really do enjoy camping (even backyard camping) and have come up with some favorite "recipes" to sue every time we camp.  I thought it would be fun to share my camping ideas and "lists" over the next few weeks. 

A little background - we are tent campers.  We bought a tent for our first anniversary and have used it ever since.  When we had Josh, and then Nate, we decided to rent Mini-Cabins while the boys were little in order to have a more "controlled" environment in case of rain or cooler temps.  It also made it nicer for the kids to nap and go to bed on time since the tent gets so warm during the day.  This year we are retuning to tent camping since the boys are older and they love the idea of a tent.  Ultimately we want a camper/pop-up trailer and have committed to save this year for one so that by next spring we can purchase one and, ultimately, camp more often and for longer stretches of time.  The camper will help with not needing to worry about the weather and we'll also be able to bring our dog since she'll be able to sleep in the camper (she is not a lover of storms, fire, lakes, loud noises, etc HA!)  I personally would love a small camper (with A/C and a bathroom) with one pull-out to open the space up (so I can leave everything packed!)  but financially, a pop-up may be in our future instead.

So our food ideas are pretty simple.  We've always been limited on space for packing (starting with a trailblazer, then an Alero, an impala and now back to a trailblazer) so we only took one large cooler one one small cooler.  This usually means one store run mid-way through the weekend to pick up a few more things but that's ok too. 

Some of our favorite camping foods are:



Breakfast
Eggs, Bacon and Danish
Pancakes, Sausage and fruit
Cereal and Donuts

Lunch
To be honest, before kids we always ate out for lunch.  Darryl and I liked to explore little towns on the lakeshore so we would stop on the way and pick a fun place to eat. With kids, we are changing our ways so here are few things that are on my radar for lunch this camping season.
Walking tacos or nachos
Sloppy Joes
Chicken Tacos

Dinner
Marinated Steak Kabobs (cooked over the campfire) with fried zucchini and baked potatoes (crock-pot)
Hot Dogs with chips and homemade salads

Snacks
S'more's (of course!)
Family favorite chips, crackers and cookies - I usually make homemade cookies but not always
Cheese Sticks
Popcorn (I would like to get a popcorn popper eventually so we can make popcorn at our campsite)


We do have Pie Irons but really haven't used them.  There is a post over at Mustard Seeds that shares links to lots of ideas for Pie Irons including this idea for breakfast.

Do you have favorite camping recipes?  Feel free to share!

The Loss of a Friend

Today we are attending the funeral of a wonderful woman who was taken from this life much too early.  I know that God doesn't make mistakes and that He has a perfect plan but it sure is hard to watch a mom of 6 kids slowly lose her battle with brain cancer.

I've known Betsy for about 16 years.  She and her husband, John, have 6 kids ranging in age from 7 through young adult and Betsy is a homeschooling mom.  She poured her life into her kids and into missions through the church.  She is by far one of the sweetest ladies you could ever meet.  Even through out her battle with cancer this past year, her sweet spirit spilled over in everything she wrote and shared.  She trusted God every step of the way and shared her wonderful testimony through the daily grace she showed.   I saw her about a month ago when we were visiting my parents and had a few moments to say hello; she took time to thank me for sharing that the we prayed for her with the boys and had this photo above posted on our Bulletin Board so we could talk about her and why we were praying.

As hard as it is for those left behind to see her go; she is so much better off.  She is healed - she can see clearly, dance, sing, and even skip along heaven's roads. She is complete with no more pain.  Betsy will be greatly missed by her family, her friends, and her church.

Recently, I've had two other acquaintances from college who have lost their wives to various illness' - one to a stroke that took her unexpectedly and another to a year long battle with cancer.  It has made me stop and think what I need to do to make sure that my family . . .my husband and my boys . . can carry on.  Both of these men have mentioned how they had no idea what their wife did on a daily basis until she was gone and have been overwhelmed with all they did not know.  This has impacted me and I want to make sure to leave a legacy in many ways.  I'll post more about that later but for today, we will remember Betsy as we celebrate her life with so many friends and family.

Weekly Menu - the one before vacation

 Once a week, The Lean Green Bean does a "Food Prep" link party.  Prepping food after grocery shopping has never been a strong point of mine so often fruits and veggies get tossed because they get lost in the fridge.  A few weeks ago I was inspired by a friend who posted photos of her prepped fruit on facebook and have taken time to do some prep myself.  This is what I prepped from the store this past week.

1. Grapes - a big bowl for at home and one bowl for Darryl's lunch one day.
2. Strawberries - a big bowl for home, one for Darryl's lunch and one for a smoothie
3. Lemons and limes for my water
4. Pineapple for a smoothie
5. Raspberries for snacking on (My favorite!)
6. Ham wraps for my snack - Ham with cream cheese wrapped around a pickle

Looks yummy doesn't it?  I recently picked up the round Zip-lock bowls (both big and small) and I love them.  Round is so much more fun than square :-)


Oh boy, oh boy, oh BOY!  I cannot WAIT for vacation :-)  We are so excited to get to enjoy some family time without the stresses of work or day to day life.

So, here is our plan for eating from now until our vacation starts!

Friday - We are attending a Funeral today so we will be gone all day.

Saturday - Hopefully the boys and I are going to head to the park in the afternoon and have Darryl meet us for a "picnic" - I think I will have him pick up some McDonald's.  If it is rainy . . then we will just have a picnic at home with either Taco Bell or McDonald's :-)

Sunday - It is Father's Day! Several months ago I made panned Fried pork chops, corn, and homemade mac and cheese - Darryl said THAT is what he wanted for special meals so that is what I will make along with some biscuits.  I think for dessert we will have fresh strawberry shortcake and I'll make some vanilla ice cream.

Monday - I have a recipe from a friend for some Awesome stuffed, twice baked potatoes so that is the plan.  A Salad and some rolls will round it out for the night.

Tuesday We'll have something with chicken - whether it be Oven BBQ'ed or grilled along with some rice or potatoes and a canned veggie - I'm scrapbooking all day so I don't want anything difficult

Wednesday - The kids and I are on our own. Some Mac and Cheese for them and I will pick up something frozen for me :-)

Thursday - Dinner will probably be a Little Ceaser's Pizza - I have a hair appointment at like 4:30, people are going to be here all day working on our porch . . . .we'll see what unfolds :-)

Friday -Weather permitting, we are going to a local fair downtown so I would imagine we will get some "fair" food or grab something on the way home.

Saturday - so today, I decided to prepare a fun snack feast for my husband and I for after the kids go to bed.  I didn't really want to spend money on eating out, since that is what we will be doing for the next few days, so instead I am going to make a couple new ideas and a couple of old ideas.  The new are: A new take on Shrimp Cocktail and a Greek Salad on a Stick that I saw on a Food Network Show.  I will also make bacon crescent wraps, and nachos.  Then I saw a Coconut Creme Fruit dip on Pinterest that looks awesome so we'll do that with some fruit (which I can then take leftovers of that with us!)  For dessert, just nuetella dip and crackers - again, something I can pack and take with us to snack on.

Lots of fun food!!!  I may just do store bought cookies this week and maybe make a strawberry pie I haven't made in a long time (It is strawberry season after all!!) 

Our "Uncamping" weekend

We decided that since we weren't actually going to go camping this past weekend, we would still have some fun family fun time.

It started on Friday.  Because we were supposed to be camping, I was not babysitting.  I was going to let them know that plans had changed but I found out before we cancelled that the kids were going to the Grandparents for a few days so I knew grandma would be excited.  This gave me a day with just my boys.  My plan was simple - go to Dairy Queen for Lunch (my favorite "fun" place) and then to my favorite local park just down the road.  The playscape is awesome and now the boys are old enough that they can run and play without me needing to be right beside them.

We had burgers for dinner on the grill - Darryl was teaching the boys how to make the patties and then how to season them.  Yes, the burgers were a little saltier than normal :-)

On Saturday we decided to go to a local zoo we had never been to before called Potter Park Zoo.  We were not disappointed and I would have to say that it is now my favorite zoo!

 There were peacocks everywhere - they just roamed free throughout the entire zoo - we even saw a few on rooftops :-)

 The boys loved getting to ride this little train.  The best part of the ride?  A REAL train went by right next to them as they road the toy train.

 After leaving the Zoo we went out to dinner at a favorite Italian place before heading home.  Josh felt pretty special; he wanted pizza so we let him order a small cheese pizza for himself.  Little things that make kids happy, right?

This is a sure sign of a good day - Nate sound asleep.  He fell asleep on the way home and never woke up even when I put him in his PJ's and laid him in bed.  His poor little legs were so tired after traipsing through the zoo!

Finally, Sunday was filled with a concert!

Darryl's group, Alive!, had a spot at a local festival so we headed downtown to watch the group perform.  The boys and I wandered past all of the (great smelling) food booths and found one that sold fresh squeezed lemonade (which was fabulous) before heading back to sit in the sun to listen to the group.  After the concert we headed home but, as promised to the boys, stopped at our favorite little ice cream place for a treat.  The boys love their ice cream cones!! (Especially Josh!!).

Despite not camping, we really had a fun weekend and are actually starting to feel better.  We had talked about doing some backyard camping on Saturday night but after the day at the zoo, the boys were very tired and Darryl and were ready to sleep in the A/C :-) 

Too Cute Not To Toot!

Don't hate me for starting out with a Christmas Ornament but the well is almost dry for new ideas so I'm taking what I can get!!  This idea comes from Simply Cute Creations.  These would make great gifts and, since Hobby Lobby brings out Christmas decor in . .. July . .. you can get them done early!

My mind has been taken up with camping and "new outside ideas" to use all summer.  I love this idea of a yard twister game from eucharisteo.  The kids would have a blast with this one.

Learning 4 Kids 
gives an awesome idea . . .or should I say ideas . . .for a backyard water park.  I might have to pick up some cheap pools to do something like this during this summer. 

This is a really cute craft from Craft Goodies.  I'm not sure if it is something we will try this summer or if I will file it for next spring when the boys are just a tad bit older.

That's it for today! 

Summer Preschool - Our Plan

We are officially 1 week into our summer routine and I love having a plan.  I took an idea I used last year and tweaked it through an idea of a friend and planned our summer.  I took montly calendars for  June, July and August and first plugged in all of our set in stone plans like camping, vacation and special trips.  Then, I took my bucket list and plugged in as many ideas as I could on free days (day's I don't babysit).  Finally, I took the simple ideas like making lemonade and plugged those ideas in as well.  Finally, I filled in the blanks with crafts, fun food to make and outside activies so we have lots to keep us busy.  This is just a plan - it allows me to look ahead a few weeks and make sure I have supplies on hand to do the things we want to do; it doesn't mean we will do everything. 

 Besides my bucket list, I had two other resources that I have used to help make plans.  One I found on Pinterest and is from Modern Parents Messy Kids.  It is a printable book called "Camp Mom" and includes so many awesome ideas that are easy and often use just items you have at home.  There is a fee to purchase this book but it really is worth it to have everything in one spot.  The other resource I used is called GR Now for Kids and shows you how to "Map your way to 92 days of summer".  This will only benefit you if you live in West Michigan but I wanted to share just in case any of my readers are planning a vacation to Lake Michigan - this would also be a great way to find things to do while on vacation! I also have various Theme Units and Crafts saved in Pinterest to use as well and promise to share any links of the items I use this summer.

Now, to share some photos of what we did this past week!

 Our big event this week was a field trip with the homeschool group to our local airport.  Josh was in his element and enjoyed every moment of watching the small airplanes fly in and out of that airport.  We learned that there is a small viewing area (which is where the outside photos were taken) where anyone can come and watch the planes.  I'm hoping for some "perfect" Saturday afternoons this summer were we can take a picnic lunch and enjoy the planes.

We didn't do anything else this week school related.  My little guys played outside for hours and hours AND hours.  I wasn't about to stop the creativity outside to bring them inside to sit at the table and do something.  Not to mention this cold I've had has made me not want to do much either!!  We are enjoying a very cool start to summer (which I LOVE) so, while the outside play time is good - I'm going to let them play.  I'm sure that come July and August we will have some hot days and NEED to stay inside.