Summertime is a great time to keep your preschooler busy with some fun summer busy books for toddlers!
These activity books are full of summer-themed puzzles, games, and coloring pages to keep your little one entertained for hours.
There are many benefits to using busy books for toddlers. They can help improve hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and problem solving abilities.
Are you heading to the beach this summer? Don’t forget to pack a kids beach towel!
When choosing a kids beach towel, it is important to consider the needs of your child.
If you are looking for a towel for a baby or toddler, choose one that is soft and absorbent. For older kids, look for a towel that is easy to carry and quick drying.
Machine-washable towels are also a good option for kids, as they are easy to care for. Consider the size, shape and design of the towel when making your purchase.
You may prefer a hooded towel for a kid. Or, you may want your kid to have his or her favorite character on the towel.
There are many different kids beach towels on the market, so it is important to do your research before purchasing one!
The summer season is here and we are soaking up the sun in the Pacific Northwest! The kids didn’t get out of school until mid-June, but for anyone that lives in this area, that’s about the time that the sun starts to peek out and the weather gets warmer. I’m from the south and I’m not used to waiting that long for summer to arrive!
Our summer has already been full of fun. There are many beautiful beaches and hikes to take in the Washington area that we’ve been taking advantage of as a family.
We recently went on a camping trip to the West Coast and are planning more camping trips in the near future.
The kids just finished up a week of Vacation Bible School and we have another week of VBS planned in a couple of weeks. Swim lessons are scheduled for August. Other than that, our days are filled with plenty of play time, sleeping in, watching T.V., and family gatherings!
We’ve been entertaining guests since mid-June and before school let out for the summer. My sister and my nephew came to visit in the middle of June. My in-laws came soon after and are staying for another week. My brother will be coming in for a short visit tomorrow! I’m excited that we are having so much company coming in to visit us. With that being said, I’ve had my hands full with entertaining and it has been much fun!
My husband and I love to host backyard BBQs. He’s an expert at grilling and I’m the expert at eating up the delicious goodies he cooks for all of us. 😉 I guess I could say that I’m good at providing the fun and festive decor that goes along with BBQs. I try to keep the themes family friendly since we have three kids that we entertain at our own parties. This means plenty of easy throw-away party supplies like plates, cups, napkins, plastic ware, and snack bowls. For our most recent backyard BBQ, I picked up bright and festive party supplies. We also served the following delicious goodies that I recommend serving at your next backyard BBQ!
1. All Natural Cuts of Meat
My husband is the grill master. He cooked up three cuts of meat from Fareway Meat Market including pork, steak, and beef patties for hamburgers. He grilled the pork and steak for the adults and the hamburgers for the kids! The pork chops were grilled with a BBQ sauce rub for extra flavor and the steaks were extra juicy! When hosting your next backyard BBQ, include a variety of condiments and extras with your hamburgers including mayo, mustard, pickles, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and cheese!
Buy the Backyard BBQ Bundle from Fareway Meat Market Now! This bundle includes:
Two 8 oz. Tender Beef Fillet Tenderloin Steaks (reg. $39.99)
Two 12 oz. New York Strip Steaks (reg. $39.99)
Two Packages of Premium Steakhouse Burgers (reg. $27.98)
Regular Price: $107.96, Bundle Price: $87.96
2. Crunchy Snacks
Add crunchy snacks for your guests to munch on at your next backyard BBQ. Popchips are perfect for serving in little cups for your guests. There are a few different flavors that we tried including Zesty Jalapeño Cheddar, Barbeque, and Buffalo Ranch Ridges. I served my Popchips plain, but these tasty treats can also be served with dips. Dips are another great addition to your event. Serve each flavor of Popchips and ask your guests which flavor is their favorite! My favorite flavor was the Barbeque flavor! My husband loves spicy flavors and he enjoyed the Zesty Jalapeño Cheddar Popchips the most.
Shop Popchips now!
3. Sweet Tea
A backyard BBQ isn’t complete without cold and tasty beverages on hand! Sweet tea is a common beverage that we serve at our backyard BBQs. If you want to save time and serve a sweet tea without worrying about how much sugar to add, consider serving Southern Breeze Sweet Tea, the zero calorie sweet tea! There are a variety of flavors to choose from including original, peach, half & half, and raspberry!
If you haven’t planned your next backyard BBQ, what are you waiting for? There’s still plenty of time to host a fun and fabulous backyard party with all of the goodies mentioned above.
What do you like to serve at your backyard BBQ? Leave a comment below!
It’s the first day of summer! Are you ready? While summer may seem like a great time to simply kick back and relax without a whole lot going on, the truth is that if you want to make this an awesome summer, you’re going to have to plan ahead.
Whether your family has a lot going on or your schedule is relatively free, a summer routine is essential. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself rushing from activity to activity, forgetting things along the way, or you’ll find yourself wasting days on end not doing much of anything because you didn’t plan ahead.
Personally, since I work from home, I know I need a routine to make sure that I get the work done that I need to do while also making sure that I have plenty of time to spend making awesome memories with the kids.
How to Create a Summer Routine
Depending on how much you love or hate schedules and to-do lists, your schedule can be fairly loose or rather rigid. It’s all up to what works best for you and your family! Here are two different options–feel free to choose the one that works best for you, or use a combination of both!
Daily Routine
Daily routines are perfect for moms who follow the same basic routine pretty much every day. They help you designate which times of day you will do each activity so you don’t accidentally let the entire day slip by.
Take a piece of paper and write the hours of the day going down the left hand side. Then, fill in all of the events that happen pretty much the same time every day. For example, you may fill in the hours you work, the times your children nap and the times you prepare and eat meals every day. Note when everyone wakes up and goes to sleep as well.
Once you see what blocks of time you have left, fill them with the tasks that are most important to you. For example, you might choose to take a walk or go to the park or the library in the mornings or to go to the local pool in the afternoons. This way, you have those times already set aside and can be prepared to make the most of them. Plus, it will help your children know what to expect too.
Monthly Calendar
Perhaps your daily schedule is all over the place but you want to make sure you find the opportunities to take your kids on outings throughout the summer. This is where a monthly calendar comes in handy.
Print out a blank calendar template. Jot down any important events or activities you already have planned, such as soccer games, ballet lessons or summer school. Once you see which days you have open, start jotting in trips you’d like to take with your kids. These trips don’t have to be set in stone–in fact, you may even want to write in pencil–but simply having them on the calendar will help you be more intentional about taking the kids on fun outings you always mean to get around to.
Have you started thinking about what types of fun activities you’d like to do with your children this summer? What do you have planned?
Use this Summer Bucket List Bingo printable to help you find ideas for your family to participate in and cross them off as you complete them this summer.
Print and laminate this free printable Bingo page to use for next summer and use dry erase markers to mark off each space when completed.
Or, hang on your refrigerator and use stickers, markers, or a pen/pencil to mark off the spaces.
Try to complete a summer blackout by completing the entire card!
Don’t have a beach nearby? No worries! Enjoy these fun and engaging beach sensory bin ideas available at Etsy!
This summer, while the kids are indoors (or outdoors!) allow them to have time to engage and be entertained with beach sensory bins!
Beach sensory bins are a great way for kids to explore the beach without having to be present at a real beach!
Take a look at the beach sensory bins below! If you are interested, you can create your own, too. You can place a variety of beach themed items in a beach bin including:
Are you going camping soon? Don’t leave home without all of your camping supplies for a successful trip! Here’s a list of my favorite Camping Checklist Printable lists to check over before you head out on your adventure!
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: Make the Most of Summer Vacation with Fun Family Activities, Games, and More!
