It was hot last week in Minnesota--the upper 90s with humidity making it feel like the 100s. It was a good week to hang out in the air conditioned inside, or better yet, have fun at the pool and lake! That's exactly what my family did... On Wednesday, we went to our friend's pool for the afternoon. We had a ton of fun, stayed cool, got a lot of exercise, and thankfully, didn't get a sunburn. Tottie even jumped off the diving board for the very first time! Thursday, Hubby had an unexpected day off of work so we headed out on our boat for the day. Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky in the sunburn department that day (I even put sunscreen on!)...Luckily, the girls were ok. Friday, was a mom's "playdate" with all of Nutty's friend's moms. We decided that since the girls have playdates so often, we needed one. After work, I headed to her pool for margaritas. Saturday, was fun in the sprinklers at another friend's house...Yes, our swimsuits got a lot of wear this … [Read more...]
Simple, Beautiful Sun Catchers
Last month Tottie and I made Fall Sun Spiral Sun Catchers. Today, Nutty and I bring you simple, yet beautiful sun catchers that older kids can make! To make them for yourselves, you'll need: Fishing line (shhh...don't tell my husband that I stole some from one of his fishing poles!) Small mirrors (6 per sun catcher) Beads (6 per sun catcher) Hot glue gun (or similar glue) 1) Make sure you give yourself plenty of fishing line. You'll need a longer string than you think because you'll have to put a hanging loop at the top. 2) Start by tying two beads at the bottom of your string. 3) Next, glue two mirrors back to back a little further up the line making sure your line is in the middle of your string. (Click on the photo to enlarge it if need be) Your sun catcher should look like the photo below. 4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 two more times moving further up the string. 5) Make a loop at the top to use for hanging. *Helpful hint: Put a dot of glue on each … [Read more...]
Sponge Ball Fight–Pinned it, Did it!
Welcome to our first Pinned it, Did it! post!! Every Friday, we'll bring you things we've tried after pinning them on Pinterest. Sometimes they'll be things we've pinned on our personal accounts, sometimes, ideas we've pinned on our Toys In The Dryer account. Either way, we'll let you know if the project or recipe was worth the effort and if our kids had fun doing them. We start with a sponge ball fight: When I saw this pin on Pinterest, I knew it was PERFECT for our neighborhood block party! We've had water balloons in the past that left a huge mess to clean up in the morning plus parents worried their little ones would try to eat the small balloon parts left in the grass. Thus, sponge balls were tried and were an exponential success!! Both the little kids and the teens loved them! Confession before I continue: I have no photos of the actual sponge ball fight because I got to the party at the very end of the fight (work ran a little late). These photos were also taken … [Read more...]
12 fun Beach Day Activities
1. Fill a bucket relay- Set up a bucket a few feet from the water. Have each child race to the water and fill their hands with water and race back to the bucket to dump it in. Time them to see how fast they can fill the bucket up with water using only their hands! 2.Go on an archiological dig- Dig deep into the sand to find rocks and trinkets. Discuss how each item looks, feels, and even smells. Explain how the smooth rocks got their feel from the waves crashing over them and buffing them smooth. Tell them how the sharp and jagged rocks may not have been in the water very long and they haven't been smoothed by the water. 3. Look for sea glass- Did you know that glass is smooth after it has been in the water for some time? Mason jar glass often takes a blue color to it when it has been buffed by the waves and shore. Brown glass is usually from root(beer) bottles and red sea glass is considered one of the rarest colors! See if you can collect enough sea glass to make a mosaic … [Read more...]
Gardening with your kids
For Earth day the kids and I decided to plant our veggies for the summer! It was GREAT fun! Last year was our first year growing our own veggies and we learned a lot. We learned that weeding is VERY important, we learned that the deer will not leave our garden alone without a little electricity (insert evil snicker here) and we learned that we did not plant ENOUGH of anything. This year we decided to add a few more (OK actually 24 more) crowns of asparagus to our crop. This time next year we will have asparagus coming out of our ears and I cannot wait (and neither can my kids)! We just finished planting three varieties of lettuce, radishes, onions, red potatoes, green beans and peas....and to top it all off we have room left over for a few tomato plants! I am....oops I mean the kids are, SO excited! Source Gardening with my kids last year changed the way they looked at vegetables. They actually enjoy them now. There is something magical about plopping a few … [Read more...]
