DIY Sun Print Pop Art

As you might have noticed in our Final Summer Bucket List Update, one of our favorite art projects is making sun prints with materials we collect while out and about hiking, geocaching, and at the beach. This summer, Cam and I were working on some feather prints when I spied a pile of "guys" Kane had left nearby (we all refer to the endless number of toy policeman, ninjas, knights, cowboys, etc. generically as "guys") and thought they might be fun to try. Crisp, pop-arty images from the toys' silhouettes emerged -- I LOVED the result! And thought I'd share this super easy way to make some quick art for your kiddo's room.

Jack O'Lantern Macarons

I don't know about everyone else, but my kids are OBSESSED with everything pumpkin from Trader Joe's this season. I feel like a fall Forrest Gump at the checkout line: pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bars, pumpkin granola, pumpkin croutons, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin bagels, pumpkin cream cheese ... it's honestly a little ridiculous. But as soon as they spotted the pumpkin macarons, it was, well, macarON. Everyone ate their dinner the night we brought those home, and as we had them for dessert, the idea to make them into little Jack O'Lanterns popped into my head. It's so cute and so simple, and is taking a little edge off the kids' general requests to decorate the entire house. No need -- we have festive macarons!

Yummy Veggie Recipes

Did you know that today is World Vegetarian Day!? I have my friend Suzanne to thank for dropping that knowledge (check out her yummy vegetarian recipe over at AFL today), but it got me thinking about my kiddos and vegetables. They both eat them, but can be a little particular about sticking to a limited number. Cam will eat random vegetables -- kale (as kale chips), seaweed, and tomato soup are her favorites. Kane has been more adventurous since getting access to his new school's salad bar, which they have to hit up before going to the much more enticing bread bar -- he'll now try "leaves" (salad) and claims to love broccoli. And they are both pretty good with carrots, edamame and corn. But that's about it. So I decided to try and think outside the box a bit -- not necessarily hide vegetables from them, but try to make them more interesting, show off their colors, and make it fun. First up on my list is those veggie gummies!

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Easy DIY Halloween Costumes

We are deep in the midst of serious Halloween costume negotiations at our house. After several years of sort of dressing up with the kids, last year we went all in with a family of vampires. I'm talking full makeup, wigs, etc. It was insanely awesome. And now the kids are obsessed with family costume ideas, none of which are going to be the likes of these below. I'm guessing that some day, instead of insisting we have a family costume, our kids are going to refuse to let us dress up with them. So I'm going to take advantage of this phase. But, if you're in the market for a more sane costume, I love each and every one of these DIYs. Anyone else have a costume in the works?

1. Love this French Baker costume, which works for either a girl or a boy. Plus, they'll have their snack at the ready.

2. Duct Tape Skeleton! Comfy! And you could use reflective tape for trick or treating, too.

3. This Hipster Kiddo would fit right in in our neighborhood.

4. My loves would be right at home in this Instagram costume. I'd skip the sewing and just paint on the cardboard.

5. Let them take their show on the road and dress as the Artist they know they are.

6. Kane is obsessed with legos right now and this building block Lego costume looks relatively easy to make.

7. This Carmen Miranda costume would be a great way to re-use those pretend kitchen toys gracing your playroom floor.

8. Cam would kill this Anna Wintour look.

9. Send out a whole crew as Mummies by playing a quick TP game first.

Scottish Rite of Freemasonry: House of the Temple

Right before the end of our summer break, we snuck in one of our most favorite field trips of the season -- a visit to the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry House of the Temple for the Southern Jurisdiction. How the heck did we find ourselves there? Well after our trip to the Library of Congress, I thought the kids would get a kick out of watching some of the National Treasure movies, which discuss Freemasons at length and their involvement in supposed conspiracies. Not only did the kids love the movies, but they immediately became incredibly interested in Freemasonry and, well, treasure hunting. Then I remembered that we had several important Masonic buildings in the area, including The George Washington Masonic National Memorial. We deeded to keep it slightly low-key to start -- I wasn't exactly sure what the deal would be with touring with kids. So we went to the nearby Scottish Rite Temple.

Summer Bucket List 2014: FINAL Update!

Well, since this week technically marked the last bit of summer, I don't feel too bad that I'm just getting around to posting our final Bucket List update. Here's the final wrap up that got us to 46 items for the season. While we checked off a smaller number than last year, we also accomplished some LIFE bucket list items, including swimming in a waterfall and riding horses on the beach. Clearly we underestimated ourselves! Kane has already added bungee jumping to next year's list.

37. - 39. Three new geocaches -- we finally scored all of our projected geocaches and even got another new state!

We're Baaaack!

Notice anything different?! After three plus years of blogging in essentially the same format, with some slight categorical changes, we decided that a redesign was in order. We've grown up a lot, and we want the blog to reflect that.

In fact, in addition to looking different, the blog is going to sound a bit different. I've come to the conclusion that the kiddos are simply too busy to keep up their blogging duties and I'm simply too busy to keep juggling everyone's growing interests. I mean, technically I have as many hours in the day as Beyonce, but it seems that my driver, stylist, and house manager routinely fail to show up for work. So, I'm consolidating a bit. The focus is still the kids and family-friendly activities, but I'm going to be the voice and I'm going to include some of my own family-friendly interests that aren't necessarily undertaken by the kiddos themselves (i.e., DIYs, celebration ideas, etc.). Don't worry, the kids' personalities will still come through -- I couldn't keep those under wraps even if I tried.