4th of July T-shirts!

Anybody else getting excited about the 4th of July?!

Normally, our family will bbq, eat TONS of watermelon and red, white and blue desserts, light off fireworks at home and go watch a big display, too!

We weren't in Texas yet for The 4th last year, so we aren't completely sure where to go.

I'm sure the better part of the day will be spent just having fun around the house, though - 

and now we'll be wearing our Red, White & Blue pride!

Our version of 4th of July T-shirts:

My boys like tie-dye shirts.  I don't like the mess.  

Or the time they take.  

So when we found the spray fabric dye, I knew it'd be perfect for us!

These shirts are soooo easy and fast to make - we even did a birthday party once where everyone got to make their own shirt to take home.

There is no wrong way to do this - just let the kids (and yourself!) have fun!

You'll need:

white shirts

spray fabric dye (available at Hobby Lobby)

rubber bands

Decide on the technique you want to use.  I used rubber bands to bunch up my tank - I wanted to focus on my growing baby bump.

You can also just gently twist the shirt, spray, untwist, retwist different direction and spray with another color.  That's what The Chief did:

Con-Man just sprayed in a random design until he was happy with the way it looked:

Here are the finished shirts - nothing fancy, absolutely not perfect. 

But we sure had LOTS of fun making them and will wear them with pride on the 4th of July!

Mine

The Chief's

Con-Man's

Monkey Man's

Helpful tips:

Cover work surfaces - there will be over-spray.

Wear old clothes in case spray gets on them - it will not wash out.

Follow all directions on bottle - each brand is different.

Stencils are fun to use to make specific shapes.

Let go of your perfectionism - just have FUN!

Fun at the Children's Museum

You guys remember our Summer Bucket List, right?

We drew a trip to a museum last week - the kids were super excited!

Actually, so was I! 

Houston has one of the top rated children's museums in the country 
and we'd never been.

If you are in the area, I HIGHLY recommend a visit - 

the cost is low, there are TONS of activities and it's FUN!

Here are just a few highlights from our trip:

There is a little city within the building.  Kids are given a debit card with pretend money - they can buy things until money runs out, then they must get a job in the city to earn more money!  Love this!  Here are Con-Man and Monkey Man grocery shopping - dinner will be good tonight!

Outside there is a water play area.  Kids can build boats and race them, learn about dams and water flow and use sprayers to fill a big bucket that later dumps.  They can also learn how waves are formed!  This was perfect in the 100 degree heat the day we went - they didn't get soaked, but a little water cooled them off.

 Inside, there are TONS of physical challenges for the kids to try.  

They loved the rock climbing wall, the dance games, and could even check their heart rates between activities!

This was another physical challenge - the boys had to pull their own body weight up using pulleys.  I really just included this pic because Con Man looks so silly!

There was a little Mexican village where the kids learned a little about the culture.  They loved this cool little car - and even posed for a picture for me!

Next we went to the face painting station.  Clearly, Monkey Man is NOT impressed with my artistic abilities. 

 So I let him do his own thing, along with Con-Man and The Chief.

This is what Con-Man came up with. ??

 Monkey Man - he looks soooo much better, right?  

 The Chief.  Wow.  He was soooo embarrassed after he did this that he went STRAIGHT to the restroom to wash it off.  No way was he going to walk around with his face looking like that.  

The other two, oh yes - they LOVED the way they look and I let them keep it till we got home.

 Probably our favorite part of the museum was in a little building outside.  We got to see two baby chicks that had just hatched try to hobble around and dry off.  Two more eggs started to hatch while we watched.  Simply amazing.  The boys were just glued to this little table.  Another table had about 10 chicks that were already all fluffy and cute.  They'd come to your finger if you tapped on the glass.  CUTE!!!

1st Day Of Summer Break

Yesterday was the last day of school - a half day at that.

I felt like I did my part - baked brownies, attended wild class parties.
And they did theirs - signed year books, hugged teachers and said goodbye to friends.

But NOW what?


That's where I get a little anxious.  I worry about if I'll make it out of summer break alive!
I'm only half kidding.
How much fighting will there be?
Can I really get them to do their chores by a decent time?
Will they be at all impressed with the activities I want to do?
Can I honestly take all three of them to the beach by myself?
Will The Chief actually get to play on the select baseball team through the summer?
And how much of our time will THAT take up?
How do I get my kids to want to read more than watch tv???


Yesterday afternoon was a little rough.
Today, though I'm determined to make it a good day!
Hopefully they won't fight the new routines too much.
1st stop today is our local library - we are signing up for their Summer Reading Program!
Even Monkey Man (3 yrs) gets to participate and they have some great prizes.
Then I'm thinking a picnic and splash pad fun.


Who knows what the rest of our summer break has in store?
I'm sure some days we'll rely on our Summer Bucket List to help us survive!


What fun things do you and your kids have planned?
Any awesome vacations coming up??

Summer Bucket List - Tutorial

Can you believe how quickly this school year has flown by?!
My boys have less than a month before their summer break begins.
That gives me heartburn.  Just a little.
How on earth can I keep them occupied and not fighting?
Not tearing up the house?
Not driving me to the brink of insanity?


Part of the answer is routine - my kids thrive on routine.
They get it at school and they do awesome!
But summer comes & we let all routines fly out the window.
Not this year.
I learned the hard way last year.
The kiddos are going to wake up at a decent hour, get chores done and eat at normal times.
The rest, though, will be free time!


Do your kids get bored with too much free time?
Mine sure do!
I decided to revamp an idea I shared back in December.
I'm making a Summer Fun Idea bucket.
{Would have been a jar, but I'm fresh out.}
In case you want to make one, too, here are the instructions:

What you'll need:

Jar or bucket
List of activities
Summery scrapbook paper {for tag}
Twine or ribbon {for tag}
Scissors or paper cutter to cut list into strips


Instructions:

1 Cut list of activities to same width
2 Cut into strips {there are lines to make this super easy}
3 Fold up or roll each strip
4 Throw in bucket
5 {Not shown} Make cute tag for your bucket/jar
*I know this is so simple that you probably didn't need instructions, but I did them just in case, you know?*

Whenever my boys get bored this summer, they can take turns drawing a slip of paper out.
I plan to do all the activities as a family and hopefully beat the boredom blues.
Who knows, maybe you'll see some of our fun in action this summer!


Get your list of activities here - change, add and omit as you see fit for your family!




I'm linking up here: