Beautiful OREGON

Do you live in the Northwest? If so, have you been to the Oregon Coast? (If you live in Idaho, the nearest coast line is the Oregon coast, my favorites being Seaside, Cannon Beach, Lincoln City, and Newport.)

What about the Columbia River Gorge?? I grew up in the Portland, Oregon area until I was 14 years old. We did a lot of camping, hiking and short day trips growing up; so I was able to see it all back then. But I surely took it all for granted! That place is BEAUTIFUL!!

This last weekend I got to take a quick trip to Portland with my folks (and brought along my daughter) for the funeral of my great aunt. The weather was sunny and perfect (which isn't always the case when you go in June). We had a wonderful time, shopped WITHOUT TAX, and brought home some fresh picked raspberries and strawberries- the best you would ever taste!

On our way home Sunday, we had to stop off at Multnomah Falls- one of our favorites. Then on down for a short hike into Wahclella Falls. When the sun is out and the sky is blue, I don't think there is a more beautiful place to be in the whole northwest (than up the Gorge or at the Coast)!!

The reason I'm posting this is that if you live in the northern-ish west, looking for somewhere to take the family, and you haven't been to western Oregon, you may want to make your way over this summer. (I think August/September is actually the best, driest time to go.) And DON'T forget to stop along the Columbia River Gorge to enjoy the magnificent waterfalls and vegetation. I'm glad we took the time to stop on Sunday. It was a breath-taking sight to see!

{Summer} Schedule

I love the summer break for many reasons. I didn't want to repeat the long days like last summer where the kids played wii and watched TV all day & then bickered about everything because they were on each others last nerve. So this year I came up with a Summer Schedule to follow so we have some consistency & less chaos. It has been working great & they are excited to see what we are going to do for the day.


Each Day
7am-10:30 Breakfast/Kids Free time/ Mommy Free Time
10:30-11:45 "To Do" Time(exercise/crafts/errands)
12:00 Lunch

I got this magazine from Walmart. I needed some quick & easy meals. I don't like to spend alot of time in the kitchen in the summer. This magazine has recipe "cards" to take out.
12:15-1:30 Water Activity ( we have a pool by our house which is free so we go there a few times a week, others days we do : sprinklers, water balloons, water "tags",anything with water)
2:00-4:00 Quiet Time/Mommy Time (this is a must! The first hour they have to be in their rooms by themselves & the 2nd hour they can do something quiet together but if they talk to me I tack on more quiet time.
4:00-5:45 Activity Time(we pick an activity to do from the jar-love these marshmallow jars they have such grreat shape)
[make puppets, go to different parks, play new card games, puzzles, playdough, games, make cards, make up fairy take stories, sidewalk chalk, play sport games, etc]
6:00pm Dinner
7:00 Reading Time(we all read something)
7:20 Church lesson/game
8pm Free Time (until bedtime)



My kids have been happier not only because we have things to do but that I'm spending quality time with them. Even though some days are a challenge for me because I want to get other things done; I remember the smiles I put on my kids' faces & the good feeling I have when I go to bed & its all worth it!

Have a {FUN} Summer!

A Princess Party!

My little girl turned 5 recently, and wanted a Princess Party.  So I ordered up a princess!  This is Princess Keatan, my neighbor who was crowned PROM QUEEN at her senior prom last month. She was such a saint for doing this for me!!!  Her DRESS was perfect, SHE is beautiful, and her TIARA finished off her character perfectly! (Not to mention she was so cute interacting with the little party guests.)  Oh, that sash on my daughter says "Birthday Princess" and I got it from Target for $2!

I invited all the party guests to come dressed as a princess (boys as superheros).  We played some princess games such as "pin the crown on the princess" and the "royalty walk" (like a cake walk, only we used pictures of princesses and princess STUFF).  Then I put sparkles and lipgloss on the little princesses.

Then Princess Keatan showed up and surprised everyone, including my little birthday girl...


We had the girls sit down for a little Q&A with a REAL princess!  They asked cute questions about her castle, her prince, etc. Then we lined the LITTLE princesses up to get their picture taken with the princess. They had a ball.

For prizes in their loot bags, I went to the Dollar Tree, 

Michaels craft store,


and Walmart.

As another favor to take home, I made sugar cookies in shapes of stars and hearts and poked scewers in them to make them look like princess wands. They turned out okay (to my liking), but the kids loved them!

Here is the "TUTE" for my cookie bouquet.

With our little girl as PRINCESS for a day, we naturally had to be the King and Queen!!  Thanks Burger King!  All I had to do was glitter-glue some fancy designs on these BK crowns and tac on some fun jewels.  

For the cake, I did this one...

I am making the thank you cards out of the pictures I took of each little girl with Princess Keatan. 

This is my LAST Birthday Post for our Creative Homemaker birthday month. 

Have a FABULOUS week!!

Birthday {Frame}

This is a cute way to display who's special day it is with this Birthday Frame. I got this frame at a second hand store.


I mod podged some birthday paper on the front. And put some vinyl that says "happy birthday"(stickers work just as well) on the front of the glass.


Then I cut a piece of sparkle paper to fit where the picture would normally go.



Now all you have to do is use a dry erase marker to write their name. When the day is done simply wipe it off.

Ang's Birthday Binders

I love my kids' birthday binders!  A few years ago I made a birthday survey for my kids to fill out every year.  It's been so fun to see their cute answers and watch them grow.  In my kids' binders I keep their birthday surveys, pictures of them on their B-day, B-day cards and love letters, and their party invitations (if applicable) all in sheet protectors.

I love Heather's "Mom's Top Five Favorite Things About..." too, and I will add that to mine this year.

The clipart I used for my birthday stuff is from a CD that I bought at Deseret Book a while back...

I have printable downloads to share with you of my Birthday Surveys!!
Birthday Survey with BLUE border
Birthday Survey with PINK border. 

I also have printable downloads of my Binder Covers-
GIRL and BOY

{Rewards} for Chores

Lately when I have asked my kids to do the everyday type Chores they have grunted and groaned(with the weird looking face) to even do them. So the other day when I got my Family Fun Magazine I was thrilled to read an article(I would link the article but couldn't find it on the site) that inspired me to try something new. She got some jars, put her kids' names on them & printed up a job list using a "stone" point system. Each job had a certain number of "stones" they could earn. For example:brushing teeth = 1 stone, unloading dishwaher = 3 stones. But if they choose to treat others unkindly they get some of their stones taken away. When it was full she rewarded them with going on a date with a parent, money or something else. I think this will be perfect for my son who is finally potty training.
I am so excited to try this, this summer.

I got these containers & "stones" at the dollar store and put their pictures in them.

I glued ribbon to decorate the lid.


This is the side view with the "fill line" and the "stones"(looks like Boomerangs). I think I'm going to explain the meaning of a Boomerang & relate it to chores.

My four kiddos & their jars ready to go.

What types of rewards do you give your children for the everyday chores?

Happy Summer!

Are you having a good summer? Our summer starts tomorrow (cuz of year-round school.) Since today is actually the first day of summer it's a great day to share some fun summer ideas for moms and kids...

First of all, have a PLAN. I like to see what kind of summer events/activities are happening in my town and write them all down on my calendar in RED (or other color that stands out). I do this whether or not we really plan to do it. Then at a glance I know what is going on out there.

ALSO as part of our summer plan, I like to involve the kids. So at the beginning of the summer we have a family meeting and write down some activities we would like to do as a family.

HERE's the link to a PRINTABLE copy of my Family planning sheet!!

Now for some summer fun... Here are some links to the FREEBIES...


Free Movies
KidsBowlFree.com

Check your local city parks and rec sites for FREE lunch programs

FamilyFun Website
Activity Ideas from SearchWarp
Creative Kids at Home Ideas
TheDollarStretcher Summer Ideas

{My Town} Local Links:
Don't Get Bored in Idaho (My friend, Amanda ROCKS!)
Starlight Mountain Theatre
City of Boise
City of Meridian Parks and Rec
Nampa Parks and Rec
Treasure Valley Family
Visit Idaho
Idaho Parks
Boise Museums
FREE LUNCH in the Park
FREE MOVIES
Friday Night Movie Schedule at Settlers Park

Have a FUN and SAFE summer!!

Father's Day Printable

I was doing some last minute Father's Day preparations and came up with THIS survey for the kids to fill out for my husband. I printed it to PDF if you'd like to go grab yourself a copy!

Also here is one for Grandpa and one for Papa too. Don't tell the kids the answers to this survey. It will be hilarious to see what they come up with! Hehehe. Happy Father's Day to our daddies and hubbies!!

{Father's} Day Ideas

Even though Father's Day is a bit more of a challenge(gift wise) than Mother's Day, I enjoy helping our kids pamper their hard working Dad.

This year I found this great idea. Since my husband Loves to fish we decided to use this picture for the front of his Father's Day card. We took this picture at the pond behind our house. Then after the picture taking our son just had to put the fishing pole in(not that we had any bait, of course) & he caught a fish-he truely is his father's son.


This tie is what our kids made for him a couple of years ago. He wears it proudly ever year.


A simple(good thing cause I'm making 80 of them) dessert I am making for the Father's in our church. I haven't made the fondant yet but on Saturday I will dress it up like this. I'll attach a cute tag.

[For the Cupcakes I just "heather" altered a boxed cake mix.]
RECIPE
1 box French Vanilla Cake Mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1/2 cup of instant potatoes(before adding this mix 1/4 cup potatoes+1/2 water) This makes it so moist. They are so good, I had 3 last night-should I admit that?

This is the food coloring I used(FYI:walmart has them for $1.50 & Michaels for $1.99). I put (2) 1/8 tsp. of dark blue + (1 ) 1/8 tsp. Beat really well with mixer.

Bake at 350 for about 28 minutes.
My "end" cupcake.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Father's Day Ideas?

What am I going to do for my husband for Father's Day?? AAaa!! Do you feel this way? What do YOU do for your dad, father-in-law and husband for Father's Day? We usually make him a big, yummy breakfast. And the kids make him homemade cards for them.

A couple of years ago I helped my kids make my husband a necktie to wear to church. (Sorry, I couldn't find the picture I took of him/it that day, so here it is 2 years later with half the "stuff" fallen off. We will have to fix it up for this year.)


I made this with red felt, and used one of his ties as a template to trace for the shape/size. I let the kids glue pom-poms and foam shapes on the front. (We used Tacky Glue.) Then on the back they wrote their message and each signed it.

To make it "wearable" I took one of my sons' little ties that was quite "tattered", took the zipper part off, and hot-glued it to the homemade felt piece of art that the kids decorated. Walla! A special tie for Daddy to proudly wear to church. He wore it last year too. (We will either make him a new one for this year or fix this one up for him.)

Father's Day is just a few days away. I better think of something before it's too late. Does anyone have any other fabulous ideas??

Birthday Decor for House AND Hostess!

Birthdays are so much fun, and I love to decorate in honor of the birthday person! Here is what I do for decorations...

Out front- Birthday Party Sign (made by Heather)

Front door- Birthday Wreath

Kitchen Table- Birthday table cloth, Chair back, Birthday Child's baby pic center piece, "You Are Special" red plate, and birthday banner.

I found all the birthday fabric at JoAnn's. They have some really cute prints!

For the chair-back I used iron-on transfer paper (that I got from Walmart).

(This little frame I found at the dollar store several years ago. Not sure if they would still have these or not.)

(Red charger with vinyl lettering.)

Bedroom- Birthday Pillowcase

And I just created this new BIRTHDAY APRON for myself to wear on my kids' bithdays!!

Summer {Reading} Program

So our children continue the habit of reading we have taken advantage of our libraries' Summer Reading Program.
There are 3 levels. Each level they read for 10 days & 20 minutes. When they complete it, they take their slip of paper and redeem it for some prizes. Each level the prizes get better(and more of them). Our kids are so motivated; makes me think I should do something like this during the school year.