Summer Fun Week 1

Each week I will post a photo montage of the previous weeks summer special day activities with a brief description. To see my list again check it out here.

Week 1

Day 1: #9 Pot a plant and watch it grow
We used the treasure pots that we made for St Patrick's Day. And a pot S decorated at a local art class.

Day 2: #30 Dirt Dessert
In the kitchen, the kids made the chocolate cook 'n serve pudding. Topped with "dirt", crushed oreos, and buried sour worms.

Day 3: #34 Water Fight
I was feeling under the weather and things didn't go quite as planned. So a water fight with the neighbors and a lengthy play date were the special activities.

Day 4: unnumbered
I was still sick. S took his kindergarten test and did so well! Instead of miniature golfing as planned we bought a gigantic doughnut and posicles and watched a movie instead. It was a happy compromise.

Day 5: #43
Paint patriotic T-shirts.


Day 6: #48 Memorial Day festivities
BBQ with our friends Dave and Georgia (from Georgia Leigh) and enjoying sprinkled ice cream sandwiches.

I'm excited for this upcoming week. In honor of Memorial Day it's Service week. My goal is to visit with our elderly friends, serve Grandma next door and other service related activities.

Later this week I'll post my summer fun calendar which was featured on delia creates! Plus a photo of our pet rabbit who was featured on A little Sussy!

Memorial Day 2011

Although it was rainy most of the time, we had a fun filled Memorial Day weekend anyhow. We celebrated with friends and family and ate way too much delicious food!

Here are a few snapshots from the weekend.

S'more Pops. Huge hit with the kids. And with the mom's :)

Patriotic T-Shirts, #43 on Summer Fun list S. is wearing his shirt from last year because his was still drying.

Little C with Otis

BBQ with friends, with Georgia Leigh

Movie night

More desserts coming soon.....

Marshmallow Pops

We had a Memorial Day BBQ with some friends. Between the two families we had 8 hungry kids! As I was setting up they spied these marshmallow pops and their eyes popped. They were so tempted by these kid friendly little treats that I had to hide them until after dinner. I saved one for myself to try and they are pretty tasty and fun to eat too!

Here is a little tutorial on how to make them.

Ingredients:
--1 pound of Candy Melts OR 1 block of melting chocolate.

**These candy melts can be found at any craft store. They come in a variety of colors and flavors. They were cheaper than the same amount in the melting chocolate from the grocery store, and that was before I used a coupon! If you buy the chocolate you can dye it with oil based colors which are found in craft aisles too.

--6 inch Lollipop sticks, also found at craft store

--Large marshmallows

--Sprinkles, nonpareils, mini chocolate chips, etc

Instructions:

Follow the instructions on the packaging for the candy melts or chocolate. I used just a few at first to see how many they would coat. To make 16 of these little guys I only used about 30 of these chips, in other words, not even close to the whole pound.

Stab the marshmallow with the lollipop stick.

Swirl the marshmallow in the melted candy. It's tricky to get it evenly coated so make sure it's melted enough so it's not gloppy on parts of the mallow. No, those are not my lovely pink nails. I'm too lazy to paint my nails.

Gently sprinkle the candy sprinkles onto the covered marshmallow. Hold over a plate so you can catch the excess and use them again. Turn at the same time to evenly coat. Don't forget the tops!

Stick them in a candy filled bowl like I did. Or in a glass, vase or dish with Styrofoam in the bottom. Not only is a fun to way to display them it keeps them from touching each other! Don't smudge them! They can be set in the fridge for a few minutes to harden them quickly.

They have a nice candy "shell" and aren't a terrible mess to clean up!! You can put them in plastic candy bags and give as party favors. This is a quick, easy, simple and tempting little treat for kids.....and adults :)

Total Cost (after sales or coupons):
Candy melts: $1.50
Lollipop sticks, bag of 35: $1.50
Marshmallows: $1
Sprinkles: $1
Total: $5 and I have enough leftover ingredients to make them again!

Here are some additional photos from our Memorial Day Barbecue. I looked forward to making these ice cream sandwiches for weeks! I hand picked the red and blue mini m&m's out to match. I pre-made the cookies and froze them in advance. However, I did not test them enough because the ice cream still squished out the sides when we ate them. So, I made them again and learned that if you find the perfect cookie recipe, bake them slightly undercooked so they're still soft. Then scoop some ice cream into them, sandwich them together, wrap them individually in saran wrap and then freeze them. Then when you're ready to eat them, just roll the sides in sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or mini m&m's and eat them right away. They're much easier that way!


The food table without the BBQ food items. Western pennant banners found in my shop.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Photo from this party. Strawberry lemon cupcake recipe here.

Happy Birthday to ME! Wow. I am 32 years old now. Pretty cool ? I've had a good day so far. Breakfast in bed, slept in a bit longer, facebooked, blogged, visited with friends, and dinner at SmashBurger soon!

Last year I celebrated big by throwing myself a vintage themed French birthday party. It was a hit! I had a blast planning, hosting and being at it! Here is the party and some more inspiration here.  But this year I wanted to take it easy. My house looks like a tornado hit it. My life has been quite a whirlwind the past two months. Shall I expound? Okay.

Well, it really began about 15 months ago when I really started party planning. But let me cover the last two months first. You see, I received a BFA in acting years ago. It was my first passion in life for many years. And then I was able to wed and have children. It was still a passion but I tucked it away for a bit to have babies. Well, I've been able to be in three shows since my oldest was born 7 years ago. Three! An average of about every other year. Not bad but something I still love. So, I tried out for Anne of Green Gables at one of our community theaters and was cast as Marilla! I was terrified! I never dreamed of being Marilla. When I was younger I wanted to be Diana. And then I thought I could be a good Rachel. But then I was cast as Marilla. It's been fabulous!! I love the role, the play, the story. But it's been very time consuming. In addition to the play, I've been involved in a making a 20 minute video for my Church  Relief Society group, in addition to packing (we're moving in a month), in addition to buying and training our new pet puppy, in addition to overcoming a three week "cold", regular mother and wife duties, etc etc I have been so dizzy that my thoughts are not totally clear, I've forgotten simple things and I've been more short tempered (no, I am not pregnant, though it sounds like it, huh?) . But looking back beyond these last few months I've thought about the last year as the "Year of Parties" for me. I've hosted over 16 parties in the last 16 months! That's an average of one a month. It's been an exciting and busy year for sure. Here is a recap for you inspiration and pleasure!

December 2010--Baking Party

January 2011--Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party

Super Bowl Party

February--Church Relief Society Formal Dinner

March--Vintage French themed Birthday Party

April--Carnival

May--Mother's Day Brunch & Memorial Day

July--Summer Water Party

September--Lego Birthday Party

October--Halloween

November--Cookie Exchange Church Social

January

Alice in Winter Wonderland Tea Party

Super Bowl

February--Potty Training Party

March--Relief Society Party. No images  because I was making the video! I had very little  to do with the decorating :) It was a Pioneer themed party. Heirloom quilts were displayed all over, we ate these Cafe Rio Style salads, and had white Ikea lanterns and wild flowers for centerpieces. It was lovely. 

So that has been my year! It's been fabulous. Busy. Exhausting at times. 

Will you keep planning parties? Yes, of course. 

Did you make any money? Nope. It's not a business. 

Do you love it? You betcha. 

When is your next one? Well....in two weeks I'll host a Western themed party for the Law Partners, an organization I am a part of at my hubby's school (he graduates in a month, did I mention that??). But it'll be pretty low key. I'll use a lot of the same elements from this party I did a few years ago, the first of my craze. 

Is your Etsy shop still open? Nope and hasn't been for over a year now. I am not sure when I'll re-open, to be honest.
Do you want to re-open your Etsy shop? Yes, but my priority is my family right now.

Will your kids birthday parties this year? Not like the ones of the past year. They get them at ages 4, 5, 7 and every other year after that, if they'd like. We celebrate with family on the even years. 

What is average budget or your parties? I try to keep it around $50

So that is what I've been up to. So FUN! Thanks for hanging out with me for the ride. Thank you for all the inspiration!

Red White and Blue desserts

Remember these from last year? Yum! I wanted to make these again but decided to branch out a bit. I didn't have to go very far from sandwiched ice cream with sprinkles and candies.

I found these on Pinterest and had to make my own. Do you love Pinterest as much as I do? My new Inspiration Board place to store and remember cool images and inspiration. Love it!!


You saw these S'more pops in an earlier post but I wanted to show them again because they are so tasty and easy to make! These were made with the gigantic campfire marshmallows. Have you seen those at your local store? They're pretty fun.

More sprinkled and mini m&m covered ice cream sandwiches on a stick!

Trifle in a jar.

What is your favorite red, white and blue dessert for Memorial Day or 4th of July?

Recipe of the Week

These recipes were passed on by my Aunt and Uncle M. over the Memorial Day weekend. We tried their recipe again this weekend and were just as pleased to eat them as the first time around. 

Pecan Oatmeal Pancakes topped with Bananas and Buttermilk Caramel Syrup

Pecan Oatmeal Pancakes

Yield: about 20 pancakes

4 C buttermilk

3 C quick oats

1⁄2 C white flour
1/2 C wheat flour

2 t baking soda

1 t salt

4 lg eggs

2 T powdered sugar

1 C pecans chopped (try them toasted)

Mix dry ingredients then add eggs and buttermilk. Let oats soak for 5 minutes. The batter will seem runny. Stir before pouring onto hot griddle. 

BEST served with buttermilk syrup (caramel version) AND topped with sliced bananas. 

Buttermilk Syrup

(serves 6-8)

1/2 C butter

1/2 C buttermilk

1 C sugar

1 T karo syrup

Add

1T vanilla

1/2 t baking soda

In a medium heavy bottom saucepan add first 4 ingredients. Mix. Then add vainlla and baking soda.  Cook on medium-low. Stirring constantly, to avoid burning and foaming over, for 5-10 minutes until it thickens and reaches a deep caramel color and the foam subsides.  If you like a thick caramel flavored sauce, boil and stir for longer.  If you like a bit thinner syrup, add a little bit more buttermilk. 

Stir until foam decreases and serve on pancakes.

**If you increase this recipe do so with all the ingredients except do NOT double the amount of soda.