Posts Tagged ‘family activities’

This year’s Back to School Feast theme was Psalm 25:5 (see last years here)

“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all day long.”

During dinner, Brad talked about growing in faith and wisdom. He talked about how we are set apart and that if we are sad we have true hope in Jesus. We can depend on God ALL DAY LONG. No matter what. All the time. Then we gave Eli a special blessing for the school year.

The décor was all circles, color and silly.

Table settings:
~Red wrapping paper cut in a wavy line as table runners
~Bright beaded necklaces down the middle of the table
~Colored 3×5 cards as name plates
~Mismatched colorful dinnerware
~Molding foam and a back to school book for each guest for dinner play

I made this poof chandelier with a small hula hoop, curly ribbon and tissue paper. (Thanks Amanda!) 1) Stack 6 pieces of tissue paper. 2) Cut piles into 4 squares. 3) Stack into two piles, 12 pieces in each pile. Set one pile aside and fold the other one like a fan. 4) Tie a length of ribbon to the center of the fan (you’ll have a bow shape). 5) Separate tissue pieces and fluff into a poof shape. 6) use the extra length of ribbon to hang around the hula hoop.

Menu:
~Ravioli with meat sauce
~Spinach salad with carrots and cherry tomatoes
~Strawberries, blueberries, grapes
~A dollop of nutella for fruit dipping

We wore the necklaces from the table, read the books during dinner and let the kiddos play with the toys (a treat around here).

Dessert:
~White cake (dyed blue with food coloring) with chocolate frosting and a strawberry on top. I baked them in these neat silicone cupcake thangs I got years ago. They have feet and they are adorable.

We had so much fun! I feel like this celebration sets the stage for a great school year. We have our feast the night before school starts, but I think it would be fun to close out the first week too! (I spent less than $20 on the supplies at the Dollar Tree!)

The next morning we took pix, walked to school and said goodbye.

I missed that lil’ fella!

While Eli was at school we baked cookies, then ate them later while he told us all about his day. That was special too. I think I’m gonna like this new phase of life. I think I don’t have a choice. My time stopping remote control is broken. I keep trying to hit pause, but it’s stuck on fast forward. I can grasp on to what’s already gone or look ahead. I’ll choose to look ahead. I choose joy. And eating cookie dough. Yep, eating lots of cookie dough sure does help.

Happy 1st week of school!

We fell in love with sunset hikes last summer with Inside the Outdoors. LOVE! (Pic below taken 7/23/11 with Tess in my belly. Check out the Inside the Outdoors schedule here! I highly recommend everything they do.)It’s so much fun to explore local places that go unnoticed- like a secret adventure made just for your lil’ family. It’s magical. Now that we live so close to the canyon I put Tess in a wrap and we can practically walk out our backdoor and into the lovely Saddleback mountains.

Hiking makes me want to live in the wilderness with my own vegetable garden. And have chickens. And make bread. Churn butter. Hell… how about a barn raisin’??

I’m being serious.

As we hike, I pretend we are walking through our land (I’m weird like that).

We also like to invite friends into our lil’ world. If you come over for dinner we’ll take you too! No matter how many peeps in our group. One night this summer we had 13 kiddos. (Just 3 families and all the kiddos are 8 and under.)

(I love the pic on the right because the oldest kiddos from each family are studying the Trail Regulations together. Oh, the responsibilities of being a 1st Born.)

On one hike, with just our family, we took a rest to look at the view. Eli made a profound observation, “I can’t believe there are so many people down there, and we are the only ones enjoying this beautiful nature.” It started a conversation about the values in our family. That sometimes it may seem like we are on the outside looking in on the world. But our “outside” is so filled with beauty and splendor. SO FILLED. Beyond filled with things people on the “inside” can’t even fathom.

Unless we invite them.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Our favorite Halloween tradition is BOOing! (see last year) You make a simple “BOO” sign and put together a fun treat or goodie bag, then secretly put it on your neighbors’ door at night. Included is a fun poem which instructs them to do the same to two other neighbors. It’s a chain letter of fun! Before you know it your whole neighborhood is covered in BOO signs (unless you have a neighbor who returns your BOO… still in shock about that!!). It’s super fun for the kiddos (and parents).

We let the kiddos go crazy at the dollar store for the goodies and we did 6 BOOs to get a healthy start in our neighborhood.

We got our night camo on (aka washable black marker) and of course our Lids…

(side note: Tessa’s Lid was a bit loose so I put one of those crochet headbands under the brim to keep it snug.)

(when am I going to learn to put on make-up before we do something I KNOW I’lll blog about?? Blarg!)

Every time a car goes by we all dive into the bushes or hide behind trees. We looked pretty shady jumping into shrubbery with our double stroller in tow, but the kiddos take this all very seriously and we had to follow suit.

Isn’t being a parent soooooo rad!!!!!

We always pick the houses with the most décor because I think they are more likely to actually do the BOO fun!

Who knows.

One neighbor had a fog machine and I almost stole some wreaths from another neighbor.

Is it odd that I think we would be friends because we have the same taste in wreaths?? I also peeked in their windows and we have the same style. (You can’t deny it’s fun to be a window peeker!! The non creepy kind… the I wanna check out your decorating kind.)

We go Booed the next night.

And the circle of BOO love came… um… full circle.

And now we get to do two more houses.

Doesn’t get better than that!

Side Note:

Cy is growing up. Is there any way to stop time because I’m going to go cry in a corner now…

(Cy BOOing at 4 months & 16 months)

Me too!!

Here are some awesome things to do in So Cal…

Check out Pretend City on Friday nights from 5-8pm. Click here for a Pretend City buy one get one free coupon! We are for sure going one of the Friday nights and maybe the early Halloween event (details below).

29 Hubble, Irvine, CA 92618 or visit www.pretendcity.org

Halloween A Day Early!

Sunday, October 30 10am-3pm
Dress up in your favorite Halloween costumes and explore the city for all sorts of frightfully fun surprises. Super Why! will be on site to play with the children. Brought to you by PBS SoCal.

Family Autism Event: Safe Trick-or-Treating

Monday, October 31 5:30-7:30pm
This special evening is an opportunity for children and their families to share in some safe "Trick-or-Treating" fun in an autism-friendly environment along with other families. You MUST reserve a place if they want to go! RSVP: Call 949.428.3900 extension 233 or go HERE for tickets. Max 80 families, 5 people
This event is FREE thanks to the OC Register and The Festival of Children’s Season of Caring, Possible Dream Grant

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Every weekend the UltraLuxe theater in Anaheim offers a fun movie (and you can ALWAYS print up free tickets by following the link  at the bottom of my sidebar to the right—>). The October movie is Spookley the Square pumpkin. I know we’ll be going at least once! Click here for tickets! Saturday & Sunday 10:30am through October.

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Have you been to Newport Dunes?

Super fun!!

They are hosting their first family-friendly haunted House. Put on a costume between Oct 27-31 from 5–9 p.m. each night, and do crafts with your kiddos, decorate cookies and carve a pumpkin.
Free admission with parking- $20/car, $30/SUV-Vans and $100/bus. Walkups are welcome for $10.

1131 Back Bay Drive, in Newport Beach visit  www.newportdunes.com

Coming soon (here on the Eli’s Lids blog)…

At least one great Fall craftie…

Tess coming home from the hospital post (that’s for you mom!)…

and…

Two awesome giveaways!!

After kiddos everything is a little harder than it used to be.

Going to the dinner or the movies on a whim? Only if the sitter is available!

A weekend trip? Only if you rent a u-haul for all the extra baby gear!

But some things are easier than you think they will be!

Like going to the beach.

When Hot hubby and I were dating/newly married we went to the beach a lot. It was close enough to ride our bikes on weekends or just to  hang out after work. All we needed was sunscreen, our beach towel made for two and a few snacks. We ALWAYS spent the day there after church. Hours of sleeping in the sun, smash ball and bodyboarding!

Then I got preggers (2006). We still went…

After Eli was born everyone said our Sunday tradition would stop (2007). It didn’t…

(side note: Burying your baby in the sand is like the best way to keep them close.)

Then Cora Jane was born and we were still hitting the Sand Sundays (2008)…

(Though Hot Hubby’s bodyboarding time turned into skimboarding so he could be close at hand to watch the kiddos.)

Still going (2009)…

Then I had Cy (2010) in the Summer and we weren’t as consistent. Hot Hubby took the big kiddos while I stayed home with the lil’ leech and we went to our local lagoon or pool on Sundays instead.

This Summer we were determined to get back into the beach groove – and we are down at Salt Creek every Sunday after church. We want our kiddos to {heart} the beach as much as we do. And we can’t expect them to just fall in love with the beach when it’s “easy” for us to go!

Sure, we need to pack a bit more than our beach towels and body boards…

And instead of sleeping on the sand we play in it (or clean it off lil’ hands)…

But going to the beach isn’t as hard as you think it will be.

It’s different. But doable.

Here’s a few things to keep in mind when venturing out of your local park/library comfort zone.

~Keep it simple. Wherever you are going don’t think you have to pack for Armageddon. Sure, it’s nice if you have that one thing you may need that one specific time but stick to the necessities. Otherwise you’ll get so caught up with the I must be prepared for everything mind set that the prep will be too stressful and you won’t want to do it again. For the beach, we pack sand toys, sunscreen, towels, snacks, an umbrella and our camera. No change of clothes or extra anything. Somehow we survive.

~Keep it short. We loved our all day beach sessions years ago but our trips now are about 3 hours. As the kiddos get older we hope to start staying longer.

~Always pack snacks. But again don’t get overwhelmed. Sometimes I just throw in grapes, fruit snacks and goldfish, or we may drive thru somewhere on the way.

~Try again. If things don’t go well the first time reassess, modify and go again. You are a parent. I guarantee you’ll have all the kinks worked out by the next trip!

~Don’t stress about having the “perfect day.” Just relax. Every trip may not be magical but you can make it memorable just by going!

~Kids are kids. Get messy, have fun and know the unexpected will happen. i.e. Your kiddo will eventually stop eating the sand (And if they don’t, why not get them checked for anemia at their next well-check?).

We are passing down memories of beach fun to our kiddos.

What’s the “activity” in your family?

Camping. Morning fishing. Movies. Museums. Theme parks. Hiking.

What’s holding you back from actually doing these things with small kiddos?

If we wait till they are old enough for an easy trip (and really, is it EVER easy??) it may be too late to brainwash encourage them into liking what we like.