Fresh picked strawberries!

 The picture might be a bit blurry but the sweet flavor was right on!! This was our first picking of the season of berries. Some of them are still a bit small but they are all packed full of flavor. We made several smoothies, enjoyed berries and cream, and ate them fresh. The boys all loved it!

I could have made a batch of jam....gonna have to get some pectin to keep on hand. Ooooh boy! I love fresh strawberries.

Duct Tape Lanyards

Thanks to Pinterest for finding another great idea. I made these lanyards for my 7 yr olds birthday party favors. The boys loved them, flames and camo. My older boys enjoyed them too. With so many colors and prints of duct tape now days the possibilities are endless. These came together so fast too.

I measured 3 feet of tape.

Folded it 1/3 over then the other side over, just enough to over lap a bit.

I did little sections at a time to make sure I didn't get off.

Then measure it around so that it lays flat. I had these rings already. Pull the tape ends through the ring together. Then use a small strip of tape to secure the ends together....I hope you can see it.

Give it a try. I wish I had girls so I could play with the polka dots or flower. So COOL! And cheap. My dear mom-in-law is gonna use this idea at family scout camp. They are always looking for simple boy projects.

100 Activities for Summer

 With 4 active boys life can get pretty crazy! Then summer comes. Now, don't get me wrong...I have been looking forward to summer. No more chasing boys to and from school and various activities. For us, summer is family time. It's a time to go on hikes and trips; to have water fights and read a great book in the warm sunshine. BUT...I don't want to have it be a totally unproductive time. I like the boys to retain some of what they learned through the school year and to explore new things. I want them to have something to write about when the teacher gives the "what I did this summer" assignment. So this year I made a list.

(I actually made most of the list during church hehehe) Each of the boys, dad included, added to it. Now, I don't know if we will get to all 100 things but it will be fun all along the way.

 Some things are simple, maybe something we would do anyway, but this will be a way of tracking all the fun summer brings. I just wrote them out on regular poster board. Nothing fancy. I want the boys to look forward to crossing each one off. Wanna know what we included on our list?

Well here you are.....Our 100 Activities of Summer list

1. Light off fireworks

2. Dip Strawberries

3. Send thank you cards

4. Roast hotdogs

5. Go to daycamp

6. Build a summer project

7. Have a pizza night

8. Have a block party

9. Play with the giant sling shot

10. Duct tape fun

11. Sidewalk chalk art

12. Enjoy snowcones

13. Pioneer Game day

14. Build a fort

15. Do leave rubbings

16. Write in a summer journal

17. Go to the thrift store

18. Do a giant family crossword puzzle

19. Make a beans and pasta mosaic

20. Ride go carts

21. Ride a roller coaster

22. Sew a button

23. Build a kickball field in the empty lot across the street.

24. Have a neighborhood beautification day

25. Make a craft

26. Dutch oven

27. BBQ

28. Go to a parade

29. Go to Yellowstone

30. Go to Zions National Park

31. Go camping.

32. Go to Bear Lake

33. Have a Tug-of-war

34. Make popsicles

35. Bake cookies

36. Make homemade ice cream

37. Pick Huckleberries

38. Sleep on the tramp

39. Do "50 photos with your kids"

40. Go to Grantsville Reservoir

41. Swim Lessons

42. Go to the pool

43. Hike

44. Go to Timpanogoos cave

45. Memorize a scripture

46. Memorize an Article of Faith

47. Make homemade chocolate

48. Make a fingerprint map

49. Draw a picture

50. Plant a flower

51. Plant a tree

52. Have a backyard movie

53. Make a craft

55. Read a book

56. Water-balloon Relay

57. Sew a pillowcase

58. Go to Hogle Zoo

59. Go to the Idaho Falls Zoo

60. Go on a family bike ride

61. Have a bike car wash

62. Have a tournament

63. Scripture Chain

64. Play catch

65. Shaving cream slip and slide

66. Nap in the Sun

67. Make Sugar cookies

68. Make smoothies

69. Make paper airplanes

70. Sponge waterballs

71. Homemade strawberry lemonade

72. Walk Scooter

73. BBQ with friends

74. Dutch oven

75. Buy fabric of your choice

76. Piano concert at home

77. Build a sandcastle

78. Goblin Valley

79. Go to a New Temple

80. Go fishing

81. Geo-caching

82. Scripture Chain

83. Backyard Smores

84. Tie Dye T's

85. Bird Watching

86. Real Soccer game

87. Slip and Slide

88. Feed Ducks

89. Run through the Sprinklers

90. Fly RC plane

91. Day at the park

92. Drive Inn Movie

93. Blow Bubbles

94. Visit a museum

95. Homemade rockets

96. Roast Marshmallows

97. Have a picnic

98. Do an experiment

99. Look at the stars through the telescope

100. Go to 4 Corners area

What's on your list?

School supply cake

 We love our teachers! At the end of the year there are oodles of ideas of thank you's to give teachers. I have several friends that are educators and they have always said they end up with so many crafty nick-nacks that they don't know what to do with they all. They prefer consumable gifts. Great! Shoots all sorts of ideas for this crafty mom down the drain. So, what's a thrifty mom to do? Start by looking at what I have on hand already. Thanks to stocking up during fall back to school sales I had lots of supplies.

 Have you seen this stuff? Fun-tak?! It is sticky for wall hangings but can be easily removed. I used it to help stick the pencils to a box of kleenex. Then I wrapped around a rubber band.

 Add a few glue sticks, ribbon, post-its, and pens and.........

 Voila. One fantastic teachers gift. I don't have a clue how much this cost regularly....it was all purchased previously on screaming deals. That's what I like the best about it. I had all the supplies on hand. Everything can be dismantled and reused. And it is exactly what the teachers need to help MY boys out. Gotta luv it!

 I made another for a different teacher with some touches she prefers, like Clorox wipes. ;-)

 We also hit the Scholastic Warehouse sale to get screaming deals on books. I love helping the teachers add to their classroom supplies. We purchased book series. Hopefully some other student will love these as much as we have!

Thank you teachers for all you do!

PVC bikerack

 I love Pinterest! And I use the ideas from there A LOT. This is one of them a PVC Bike Rack. Our vehicles were getting quite the scratches from little boys moving their bikes in and out of the garage. They ride to school so bikes are always on the move. This turned out to be a great mom and sons project.

 With a $25 gift card from grandma- Thanks mom! we picked up all the supplies we needed. Then we headed home and started measuring. I had my oldest do the math to make sure we made the correct cuts. He had to work with fractions so it was good practice. Then they helped assemble it. Once we were sure we had it right we went back through and glued it all together. They were thrilled! Dad was impressed. So was our neighbor. ;-)

 We placed just inside the garage so now they just pull up and park the bikes in their slot. When they leave in the morning they can just pull straight out and be on their way. It saves lots of room and organizes the garage. But the best part is I don't have to worry about another handle bar crashing into my van!

See...Nice and Neat. Just how mom likes it!

Here is the direct link to the project.