November Thanks Day 24 - Holiday Fun

Yesterday the kids, my dad, and I kicked off the holidays by doing a walk through at our local park. Every year they will the entire park with pretty lights and displays, and the Sunday prior to it opening, they open it up to the public to walk, instead of drive, through. The last time I had been was on a date with my husband almost 8 years ago. We drove through, were disappointed, and vowed not to go back as the park charged to see a lit up sign placed maybe every 10 or so feet, nothing fancy or impressive. Last year, my parents took the kids and ooh'ed and awed about it for the entire month of December. I decided that it was time to give the walk through a try.

 For a while, because of how sick my son was, it looked like we may not be able to do it, plus the weather is usually really yucky in Washington State every fall/winter. Scarily, yesterday morning we woke up to a monsoon going on outside, and reports that it would probably rain that evening. By noon, though, the sun was out and the ground began to dry. That evening was perfect, no rain, very little wind, and warm enough that with brisk walking my daughter took her jacket off.

Area sponsored by Clover Park Tech

The lights were pretty, the music was fun, and all of the volunteers were cheery. The kids, my dad, and I had a wonderful time staring at the lights, looking at the different sponsors (his employer had a sponsor/set up there), and being able to spend some quality time together while being mesmerized by everything around us. Don't get me wrong, driving through would be pretty spectacular too, but being able to slowly walk made it feel like we were enveloped in a winter wonderland.

I am very thankful that we were able to go, that the weather held up, that my son was doing alright enough to make the trek, and that I decided to just do it instead of backing out at the last minute. It was fun, and we will definitely be doing it again (although, big regret of the evening is that I left my good camera at home, and had the poor one on my Kindle for the picture perfect moments).

November Thanks Day 15 - Operation Christmas Child

Photo from www.samaritanspurse.ca

Today I am thankful for a wonderful project called Operation Christmas Child. I have learned about this organization through the church my family and I have attended for the last few years. Every year we have seen the mountain of shoe boxes going out to children all over the world, and have wanted to take part, but have always missed the early November deadline.

This year, my parents grabbed two boxes to fill up with the kids. My daughter chose a girl, and my son chose a boy, and off to shop they went. The kids had so much fun trying to figure out what would make another child happy, and learned about being sensitive to worldly situations (such as explaining to my son that no, a toy gun isn't okay. The child who receives this gift may come from a war torn area). Today, the kids completed their letters introducing themselves, wishing the other child a Merry Christmas, and including an address in case that child wishes to write to them in return. We will definitely do this again next year, and may start as early as January in getting something once a month for our box.

Operation Christmas Child provides you with decorative shoe boxes, labels, and the ability to choose the age and gender of child that will receive it. Then, shop away until the box is filled, include a picture and letter so that the child has a connection with who provided them with the box, and return to your church (or send in yourself). It can take weeks for them to reach some of the locations these children are at, so all boxes must be turned in by the middle of November in order to reach these kids by Christmas. When the packages are delivered, so are Bibles for all of the kids, which is truly a blessing! For more information directly from the organization, go here.

For an extra chuckle, here is Uncle Si partnered with Operation Christmas Child!

Easy Peasy Pizza Dough

The best part of this pizza is how fast it is to make, and how easy it is for kids to help with. Not only is it easy, but the kids love to get in the mix and create their own food. Definitely a must do for any night of silly, family fun!

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups self rising flour (or regular flower if that is all you have)

1 cup of plain (we use Greek) yogurt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (if not using self rising flour)

3/4 teaspoons salt (also if not using self rising flour)

Combine ingredients, and knead the dough with extra flour. This dough will be VERY sticky and soft, so do not worry about whether or not there is too much extra flour during kneading and rolling out. After the dough has been kneaded, roll out with rolling pin (I gently rub mine with flour several times during this process) to fit desired baking sheet - we use a cookie sheet for a thin crust, or a cake pan for deep dish. Please keep in mind that if the table was not covered well with flour, that transferring the dough from the table to the sheet will be an absolute bear! Before moving the rolled out dough, spray the sheet, or lightly cover with oil (butter could work as well). Then, place desired toppings and bake for approximately 10 minutes at 400 degrees!

End of Summer Catch-Up

Back in June, I found out that I would be having a crazy school schedule. As soon as I accepted what was in front of me, I realized that I would be shorting my kids on having a great time this summer. So, we sat down and made a bucket list of all of the things they wanted to do before summers end. Though I realize I should have shared this at the beginning of summer, I forgot and am making up for it now. Side note, the items that are bolded are what we have accomplished so far.

And here it is:

1. Baskin and Robbins
2. Going to the beach
3. Family game night
4. Picnic pizza day at the beach
5. Holiday celebration
6. Getting shells at the beach
7. To see lily pads
8. To see frogs
9. Have another family movie night
10. Go to the Rainforest Cafe/Museum of Flight
11. Go to the Art Museum
12. Go to the Glass Museum
13. Go to the train station
14. Play in the sprinkler
15. Going to Uncle Doug's
16. Ice skating
17. S'mores nights
18. Swimming lessons
19. Art projects
20. Sleeping in the tent
21. Go to the park
22. Go to the water park
23. Squirt gun fight
24. No tattling for a day
25. Watching The Lego Movie
26. Watching Smurfs 2
27. Staying up late
28. Alder Lake
29. Mount Rainier
30. Put put golf

As you can see, we haven't made much progress.  That being said, we have done #29 several times this summer, and have had family come to us (#14) instead of us going to them. Also, some of them were done two weeks before school let out (we went to the beach, collected shells, and slept in a tent), I just haven't put it as official summer fun since school was still in session. I hope when my kids look back on all of this that they won't be disappointed, and will have had an awesome summer!