1st Day of School

Every year I like to do 3 things on the 1st day of school!  

1st- We start the morning off with a pancake in the letter/number of the grade they are going into!  We may even stick a candle in it and sing "Happy School Days to You..."

 2nd- Make them suffer through a mini photo shoot before heading off to school.  I've always just cut the letter/number out of white card-stock... they have much cuter ideas now, but since I started this way, I decided to just keep it going!

3rd- After school I make them a favorite treat with once again the letter/number of the grade they just started represented.  My cousin Lynne gave me this idea.  She always does giant cookies!  

I love traditions that help make things fun!!  

Bear Lake

 Bear Lake is our families FAVORITE spot to visit each summer!  We absolutely love it!  Here is our favorite places, and tips to make the most out of your trip to Bear Lake!!
  

Our Favorite Camping Spot:  Cloverleaf Campground up St. Charles Canyon. Reserve a spot and find out more information here  (Bring BUG SPRAY!) This picture is the view from the head of the creek in that campground!  Gorgeous!  

http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/Cloverleaf_Campground/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=73931

Favorite Raspberry Shake:  Le Beau’s Drive Inn     69 N Bear Lake Blvd  Garden City, UT

Favorite Beach:  North Beach located on the road right by “Bear Cave Drive Inn” The address for the bear cave is 101 N. Beach Rd. St. Charles, Idaho 83272.  You follow that road for a ways and then you pay a fee at a booth, then you can go wherever you would like! This is a good map that shows you where North Beach and Rendezvous Beach’s are!  http://bearlakefun.com/wp-content/uploads/boat-launch-map.pdf

Favorite Golf Course: Bear Lake West Golf Course

155 US Hwy 89, Fish Haven, ID 83287
Phone: (208) 945-2744
Bear Lake West Golf Course is a 9-hole golf course nestled in the mountains over looking Bear Lake. Some of the most spectacular views of Bear Lake and its surroundings can be seen from this course. This course is as beautiful as it is challenging. It is a must play.

Favorite Cave:  Minnetonka Cave

"Minnetonka Cave is the largest commercially developed limestone rock cave in the state of Idaho, and one of the highest, with an entrance elevation of 7,700 feet.

Location: In the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Idaho. 
Time to Allow: 60-90 minutes of walking & climbing. Tours start every 30 minutes & they do fill up. So on a busy day you may have to wait a few minutes to catch the next tour. There are also around 400 steps down to the cave's entrance so I wouldn't recommend going if you're seriously out of shape, have a heart condition, breathing problems... you get the idea. The cave stays a brisk 40 degrees all year round so make sure to bring a jacket! 
Hours of Operation: 10:00am-5:30pm. 7days a week. Runs from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day... weather permitting. Tours run every 30 minutes. The last tour starts @ 5:30.
Fees: $5 for adults (16 years or older), $4 for 6 to 15 year olds, Under 5 years old are free, Family Pass is $20, Groups (30 people or more) get 10% off.
Phone: (435) 245-4422"

Favorite Hidden Lake: Bloomington Lake:
If you’re up for an adventure drive to Bloomington Lake.  The most gorgeous lake I’ve ever seen.  It’s a short little hike (don’t stop at the first pond of water… keep going until the LAKE!) Bring a raft, canoe if you have one!  Crazy people even snowboard off the Glacier into the Lake.  Rather entertaining.  Other crazy people cliff jump, and rope swing into the FREEZING water.  It’s a gem of a place for sure.  Find directions and more info here;

http://www.utahoutdooractivities.com/bloomington-lake.html
http://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/idaho/bloomington-lake-trail

Other…

·         Watch a show at the Pickleville Playhouse

2049 S Bear Lake Blvd  Garden City, UT 84028
(435) 946-2918

·         Great Bike path along the lake  

2 Buck Tuesdays at Thanksgiving Point in August

Get all the information on 2 buck Tuesday's HERE

Tips: 
-The BEST week's to go are the 1st (before everyone hears about it) and the last week (when most everyone is back in school!) 
-Arrive 20 to 30 minutes before opening. Bring a snack and a game while waiting in line. This will save you time in the end... promise. 
-If you can't go early, go LATE! Go 2-3 hours before closing time.
-Have your cash ready to go, so you can get through the line as quick as possible.
-If you head to the Farm first, RUN to get in line for the horse rides the moment your through the door!
-If your headed to the Curiosity Museum, hit the Rain-forest area first. (The climbing/jungle gym area.) As the museum fills up they will limit the amount of time you can spend in there, or not let you in that area at all.
-Be patient. It will be busy, but you are saving TONS of money, so just enjoy what you can, and have a good attitude!

Back to School Dinner

Having a "Back to School" dinner the Sunday night before school starts is quickly becoming a favorite tradition.  Each year I pick a goal/theme for the school year, and base the decorations and food off of that!  (If possible!)  I love spending the night talking about the goal, and getting excited for the year ahead.

Last year we did "Be Positive!"  My kids love to come home and tell me all the bad things that happened in their day.  While I want to hear that, I also don't want them to dwell on it either.  So for every negative thing they said, they had to tell me 2-3 positive things.

For the table I whipped up a couple Chalk Arts, printed a few be positive quotes, use a yellow table cloth, black plates, and Bee paper's I found at Utah Idaho Supply.

Super easy/cheesy Bee Brownies for dessert.

Another year our theme was WORK HARD!  I wanted my kids to learn that they can do hard things.  That we are hard workers at our house.

So of course a construction theme came about!

Nothing says work hard like hard hats!  Hobby Lobby sells great cheap ones!

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This year I am thinking the theme will be "Be Kind" because our world could sure use more kindness right now, and no better place to start than at home.

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So keep it simple, or go all out, but I promise you, you won't regret setting a family goal for the school year ahead!

Olympic Birthday Party

For my son's 7th birthday he wanted an Olympic themed party!!  It was so much fun!!  

When the kids arrived we had them make their Country flags, and did the march of the athletes to some fun Olympic music!  Of course my son held the Olympic torch at the front of the line!  

Then we did our Olympic games!  Each event had a sign like this to make it feel official! 

We did the Javelin (throw a water squirter as far as you can!) 

Shot Put- (Throw a Bocce Ball or any heavy ball... as far as you can!)

We did the Long Jump

Soccer Shoot Out

Other games... 4X100 Relay, Hurdles, Basketball, and a 100 Meter Dash!

And finally it was time for the Medals Ceremony!  We had each child stand on the podium!  Then my son award them all with a Gold Medal!

Then it was time to dig into the treats!

Gold Medals: Vanilla Oreo's with Fruit By The Foots!

Olympic Torches: Ice Cream Cones filled with Cheetos

Olympic Rings: Donuts!

Instead of having the kids bring birthday presents, we asked each of them to bring sporting equipment to donate to Camp Kesem!  My kids have more then enough toys, so we decided to pay it forward.  Camp Kesem was so grateful for our donations!  Nothing better then giving.

Fettuccine Alfredo

This is ONE meal my family ALL agrees on!  I have tried Fettuccine at so many restaurants and this one is still my favorite! I love to use Penne noodles instead of Fettuccine noodles, but feel free to use what you like!  It's all about the sauce!!!  

Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup butter
1 (8oz) package of cream cheese
2-3 minced garlic cloves
2 cups milk
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. pepper

Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Add cream cheese and garlic.  When cream cheese is mostly melted slowly add milk with a whisk to smooth out lumps.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and pepper.  Remove from heat when reaches desired consistency.  Serve over your favorite noodles with some yummy veggies or grilled chicken!

I highly recommend you use Kraft Parmesan Cheese, and 

Philadelphia Cream Cheese!

Believe There is Good in the World

 I made this simple print for my sons bedroom awhile ago... I feel like this message is needed more today then ever. (If you want a copy, make sure you click on the size you want, wait for it to show up big, then right click on the picture, copy and paste!)

13X19

8X10

4X6