July Recap Via Instagram

We started the month with the end of a camping trip.

 We stopped to pick up this beauty to add to the Airstream.

 We did a lot of playing inside with trains because it was so HOT outside.

 Yummy treats from a new to us ice cream place.

 Another trip to get a piece that we "forgot" that make our new awning attach to the Airstream.

 HUGE and yummy Sonic drinks! Gotta love Happy Hour!

 Fireworks on the 4th.

 Swinging at the park.

 PIE!

 Henry being silly...he was posing like Kung Fu Panda on the poster behind him:)

 Cutting, trimming, and sewing the new awning to make it fit....quite an adventure!

 Our first attempt at home haircuts...they turned out not too bad!

 Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning!

 Bike rides on a cloudy afternoon.

 Painting sun-catchers.

 Summer movies...$2.00 for the movie, popcorn, and a drink!

 Splashing at the splash pad.

 Lego fun on a rainy Saturday morning.

 PIE!

 and another PIE!

 Launching model rockets...and getting awesome {and lucky} pictures of it!

 Working on fun crafts to get ready for the Olympics!

 Laser Tag with friends.

 Shopping at World Market for some exotic foods to eat while watching the Olympics.

 Made a homemade strawberry cake for my grandmother's birthday...yum!

 Canoeing with friends in their pond.

 Fried rice with fun new chopsticks from Target.

 Trip to New Orleans...

 ...to check out the aquarium...

 ...watch an Imax movie....

 ...and get the best snow cones EVER!

 Shopping at Target.

 Camping,

 golfing,

 posing,

 souvineer shopping,

 playing,

 surfing,

 and relaxing at the beach.

 Go carts to finish off a great weekend trip!

Olympic Ring Waffles

The 2012 Summer Olympics start this Friday, and we are getting excited about it at our house! We started working on learning a few different flags from the Olympic nations, we've set our dvr to record our favorite events, and we picked up exotic snacks from different countries to enjoy while we watch some of the world's best athletes compete. AND to get us even more in the Olympic spirit, I had to try my hand as some Olympic themed waffles to celebrate the games this year! I ended up with these fun and easy Olympic Ring Waffles that would be the perfect "breakfast for dinner" while watching the Opening Ceremonies this Friday!

Start with waffle batter divided into five bowls. I usually make my waffles from a box mix, but I decided to try out a homemade recipe {that was way more than five servings} so I just measured about 3/4 cup into each bowl.

Then color each bowl one of the colors from the Olympic Rings symbol. I used green, yellow, red, and blue food coloring for those colored rings, but I used cocoa powder for the black ring just because I didn't think a black waffle would be very appetizing:)

Stir the batter up well to make sure the color is incorporated good, then cook your waffles according to the directions on your recipe/package of waffle mix.

Remove your waffles from the waffle iron and let them cool slightly. Use a 3 inch circle cookie cutter to cut out the center of each waffle. If you don't have a circle cookie cutter you could use the lid to a mason jar or even a small cup or bowl. 

After you get all the centers cut out, line up your colorful waffles like the Olympic Rings and see if anyone in your family can tell what you made:) Henry figured it out pretty quickly, but I that was because he saw the webpage I had opened to make sure that I lined the waffles up correctly:)

A Craft of Olympic Proportions

We love watching sports on tv. My boys could sit and watch ESPN for hours regardless of what sport is on. I love that for the most part {minus some of the commercials} sports on tv are family friendly entertainment for all of us to enjoy. The Olympics are always fun and exciting for me, and this year all of my boys are old enough to really appreciate the idea of the Olympics. So I decided we would turn the Olympics into a bit of a learning experience by making a few flags from some of the nations participating in the Olympics.

 We started with a pack of cardboard flags that I picked up at Michaels. They have a ton of different cutouts available and I just happened to notice these the last time we were browsing. I got a pack of 12 flag cutouts for around $3. You could also just use sheets of cardstock or recycle some other white cardboard that you have on hand. Then I printed out a clip art sheet with some national flags on it. I chose 12 flags for the boys to color making sure to include the U.S.A and the U.K. {because they are the host country}. I mostly just picked the ones that I thought would be easiest for the boys to color.

 I gave each kiddo a blank flag, a box of crayons, and a small clip art picture of the flag they were going to make. I let Henry and Grant figure their flags out on their own, but I gave Eli a little guidance by drawing a couple lines or the shape {like the circle on the Japanese flag} and then let him color the flag in.

 After the boys were finished coloring, we hung the flags up in our living room. We happen to have these two {still unpainted going on two years} canvases hanging in our living room that were the perfect spot for our flags, but you could hang them on your fireplace or string them together to make a banner to hang on an entertainment center.

We worked on learning which country goes with which flag, and Henry already has all 10 of our flags memorized! Knowing the nation's flags is going to make watching the Olympics so much more fun and educational for the boys. I think we are going to take our Olympic craft one step further once the games start and keep track of the medal count on our canvases as well! I guess we need to get busy making some gold, silver, and bronze medals:)

Linking up here..

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