S’mores are obviously a huge part of our summer. We have tons of fires and we’re always craving the gooey treat. Sometimes, you can have a ton of leftover marshmallows. Instead of just throwing them away before they get hard, try this Marshmallow painting.
If you’re by the campfire making s’mores, you have almost everything you’ll need.
Marshmallows
Paint
Sticks
Canvas
To start this activity off, I had Mila go find sticks. It gave her some time to explore and find the perfect ones.
While she was doing that, I prepped the painting area. All you need to do is find a spot for your canvas, get a palette (I used old cardboard) to put the paint, and get out marshmallows.
Once Mila got back with the sticks, I stuck the sticks in the marshmallows to make a ‘brush.’
Before she started painting, I asked her to tell me a campfire story through her art. So, while she was painting, she was telling a big story. Everyone color represented something different.
The storytelling part of this activity is my favorite! People have been telling stories around the fire since the first humans.
I can’t remember exactly what Mila’s was about. There were a lot of details.
What I do recall is the story was about me, Mila, and Max. We rode on a bike to get plants and a tree. She was purple, I was pink, Max was orange, the plants and tree were green, the bike was blue, and there’s some colors she used again that I don’t remember why.
I should have been recording her tell the story, but I didn’t think about it until after. Either way, when I look at her little painting, I smile.
Afterwards, we enjoyed a little s’more and told more stories. It was such a fun activity to start our evening. Summer nights like these are my absolute favorite.
In the next week or so, I hope I can start writing down her stories. She’s been telling a lot of them and I want to make sure I always remember. When I do, I’ll make sure to write a post about it in case you’d like to do something similar.
Have you ever painted with marshmallows before? If not, what’s your favorite camping or summer craft you did as a child?
Here’s some other summer/camping crafts you might want to check out too!
A few weekends ago, Mila went fishing for the first time.
We decided to go for Father’s Day. It’s been a while since my dad and I have went, but we had been talking about it in front of Mila. She had been asking for days and it felt like the perfect time. Father’s Day weekend was a free fishing weekend, so we got a few fishing poles and found a spot by the lake.
What I didn’t realize was how different fishing was with a toddler. Just like my thoughts on Mila’s dance class, I knew I had to share what was going on in my head here too.
Feel free to laugh along with me.
What’s the difference between worms and night crawlers?
Seriously though… what’s the difference? Plus, is it really kosher that I’m buying whatever they are at a gas station? Either way, thank goodness I don’t have to touch them. Maybe Mila will be braver than me.
There’s a lot of gear and snacks that go into fishing.
Fishing pole. Check. Kid’s fishing pole. Check. Snacks. Check. Chairs to sit in. Check.
Did I forget something? Probably.
Thank goodness Papa is here to get everything in working order.
If it was just Mila and I today, there wouldn’t be a ton of fishing. It’d be more of me chasing her around than casting out and catching! She’s grossed out by the worms… I guess we have more jobs for Papa.
It’s time to fish!
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Our poles are ready. Mila is excited to catch a big fish. Let’s see if we can…
HOOOOOOOK!
Toddlers and sharp objects are not a good combination. Especially when said sharp objects are being hurled through the air. I guess we should have started with some ground rules to begin with and a few practice casts.
Why am I doing more fishing than her?
After the first few casts and no fish, Mila is highly disappointed.
Apparently in her mind they were all going to flock to the worm/night crawlers. I guess no one sent out the being patient while fishing memo to her.
I got one!
Cue the yelling to Mila to help me reel the fish in. As she ran over, I realized I probably scared the rest of the fish away, but this was a BIG moment for her.
No, you don’t have to touch the fish.
After the intense reeling, she eyes up her prize. Once it starts wiggling around, she’s not so sure about touching it. Finally, I convince her to pet it before we throw it back in. Of course, Papa had another job of unhooking it.
Thankfully, Mila stepped up and threw it back in the lake.
I need to catch all the fish for her!
Hours seem to pass quickly and her excitement makes me want to catch even more. We do our normal fish routine, but mixed in is the patience memo she missed.
I guess the boredom helped her get more brave in touching the worms.
This is pretty relaxing.
As it’s time to pack up, the day has been quite relaxing… minus the almost getting hooked every time Mila casted out and the persistent whining. Right before we leave, Mila proclaims that next time we catch a really big fish so we can eat it.
I guess that’s a goal and story for another time.
Have you ever been fishing with your child? If so, what was your favorite part of the experience?
Looking for other camping related activities? Check out these fun ones.
After a weekend full of fireworks, bonfires, and food, I had to share my latest creation. This time I skipped the strawberries and used bananas instead!
Of course, it’s s’mores related.
Since everyone loved the Whole Strawberry S’more, I knew the S’mores Banana Boats would be a hit.
So, let’s talk about the obvious, the strawberry s’more looked a lot cuter than this.
It’s not easy taking pictures of bananas.
What you can tell from this picture is how ooey gooey this campfire favorite is. Once you have one bite, you’ll go back for more!
This campfire treat is perfect for those who don’t want to sit and hold a stick. Just have some tin foil handy, wrap it up, and throw it in the fire.
Here’s all you’ll need…
Bananas
Chocolate
Marshmallows
Foil
Tongs
One thing I’d suggest is to buy mini marshmallows. I thought I had some, but instead had the huge, flat ones. Don’t fret if you don’t have minis. You can easily tear them apart.
To start off, take your banana and slice it longwise down the middle.
You can stuff the chocolate and marshmallows in there tightly. I ended up taking some of the banana out to make some room.
This lessened the mess!
Then, I wrapped it in aluminum foil and placed it in the fire.
I’m not sure if the exact amount of time I had it in the fire because I kept checking it. It was probably around eight minutes.
Pretty much, you just want to make sure the chocolate gets melted and the marshmallow gets a little gooey. It probably would’ve taken less time if I hadn’t kept checking in on it!
Once it’s done, let the foil cool down, grab a spoon, and enjoy.
Like I said, it’s not the cutest thing to take a picture of, but this S’mores Banana Boat is absolutely delicious.
The next time you’re around the fire, try it out. You won’t be disappointed.
What’s your favorite campfire treat?
Before you go, check out what others moms across the Internet bring for their families to snack on while camping.
I can’t think of a better way to start the month of than a DIY sign. Especially when a three year old is doing all the heavy lifting! With the Fourth of July right here, it seemed fitting to do a patriotic Stars and Stripes sign.
On Pinterest and Instagram, I’ve been seeing so many cute, patriotic signs. I knew Mila and I had to make one too. When I went to Joann Fabrics last, a wooden sign was calling out to me.
*I’ve looked all over Joann Fabrics’ website and Amazon to link the sign. There’s nothing comparable, but something still could be in your local craft store. Whenever I go, there’s a multitude of wood signs! Plus, you might find something else you like more!*
Unfortunately, I got too excited to actually take pictures of the plain wood. I painted the outside of the sign blue. Then, red and white went on the ‘stripes’ in the middle.
I just used craft paint and it worked fine!
Usually, I set up Mila’s activities and projects when she’s asleep or working on something else. When she saw me painting, she was not happy with me! She didn’t understand why she wasn’t painting either! Oops.
I promise the next part makes up for my apparent painting betrayal.
After the sign was dry, I laid out her part of the activity. She requested we use light blue in the sign too… which was a fantastic choice.
It always amazes me how she creates art. I have no idea what her method is, but it always turns out so cute.
She ended up layering all the star sizes and blended the colors. I love how some of the stars turned out ombré from navy to light blue. The pops of light blue are actually my favorite.
Since the sign wasn’t huge, it didn’t take too long to fill the inside up.
I went back and forth on adding words or something on the blue ring of the sign. Eventually, I decided it was perfect how it was. I didn’t want anything to take away from the stars. Sometimes less is more.
If you can’t find star cookie cutters, sponges would be an amazing alternative. We haven’t used sponges to paint a ton, but it’s on our list this summer!
I am SO happy with how our DIY Stars and Stripes sign turned out. It’s proudly hanging on our front door now.
My favorite part is just making art with Mila. It’s something I’ll always treasure.
The next few days will be ones to treasure too! I’m excited to see her react to our community’s festivities and fireworks. As a child, I loved being around my family for the Fourth and hope Mila does too. Check out her second Fourth of July here.
I hope you have a fantastic July as well!
Do you craft or make signs for different holidays? If so, which is your favorite holiday to craft for?
All you need to do is dip your strawberry in the marshmallow fluff. This is a little more difficult than I thought. The best way was to deeply dip the strawberry and twist. You can adjust how much marshmallow fluff gets on there!
Then, roast it like a marshmallow.
Seeing a strawberry roasting looked hilarious to me. It felt like I was roasting the biggest marshmallow ever!
Roast to your preferred marshmallow done-ness. I like mine slightly burnt.
The next part is MESSY… well it was for me.
Drizzle chocolate sauce over top the strawberry marshmallow combo. It might have been easier to dip it, but I just drizzled over a plate.
Now you’re ready to eat it!
Although I didn’t take a picture of it, I added crushed graham crackers to this whole strawberry s’more. It gave it the crunch that I love about s’mores.
Here’s a bonus strawberry s’mores idea.
Since I was just making random s’mores, I tried slicing strawberries and adding them to a regular s’more.
It’s a real game changer!
I loved both strawberry twisted s’mores, but loved the chocolate bar taste on this a little more.
Either way you make it, I’m telling you, add strawberries to your s’more agenda. It adds such a fresh bite to a sweet, summer treat.
Do you add any extras to your s’mores? Let me know in the comments.
With summer heat waves, it can be hard to stay cool when you’re outside. Our favorite way is to add water play to our routine. This week started off with a Mermaid Swim Party.
Every day, I like to do a hands on activity with Mila. In the summer, that usually happens first thing in the morning. It’s a great way to set the mood and guarantees extra learning for the day!
This activity was pretty simple to set up. The hardest part was getting the sprinkler in the hose.
All I did was setup the sprinkler (which wasn’t that hard at all), grab the items for the sensory bin, place them in, and fill up the bin with water. That’s all!
Before I let her play with the bin, we read a book. I believe reading books everyday is so crucial for a child’s development. They’re able to expand their vocabulary with every new word they here and start becoming familiar with sight words.
For this activity, we read That’s Not My Mermaid from the Usborne series.
It was a fun stepping stone to get her describing the differences of our mermaids during the activity. Plus, Usborne books are so educational. We love this series and find different ways to learn from it each time.
I would recommend the That’s Not My series to anyone!
After we read the book, I showed Mila her sensory bin and let her do whatever she wanted with it.
She went wild!
Between the water, the mermaids, and the sprinkler, she thought it was the best activity. I loved the way she reacted to it all. It’s always so much fun to see her growth through play.
I’d love to say I watched her the entire time, but she played with this activity for two hours. Yes. You read that right THREE HOURS.
For some reason, she really just thought this was a blast. We did different educational activities like talking about the resin letters and talking about the differences in the mermaids. She also loved pretending and making up stories about them.
At one point, Mila even got into the sensory tray to try to play with them more.
Eventually, after three hours, Mila was finally done with this activity and playing with the the hose. I was amazed that she was so engaged. It allowed me to wash the dishes, change the laundry, and tidy up. Of course, I kept checking on her, but it was hot!
Honestly, it makes me so happy to see how much she loves to play, use her imagination, and be outside. If creating simple activities helps, I’ll keep doing just that.
What are some of your favorite ways to beat the heat waves? Do you stay inside or like to play with or in water too?
Make sure to check out these other water inspired play ideas too!
All you have to do is combine the three ingredients in a bowl. Then, mix them up.
Next, transfer to a popsicle mold. I got this cute one here. This part can get a little messy. Just make sure if you get it on the mold to wipe it off.
Last, pop them in the freezer and wait!
I left mine in the freezer for about six hours, but overnight would have taken the ‘hurry up’ feeling away.
This is quite the tasty treat. I love how refreshing it is. It also feels like an adult popsicle. I’m all for sharing with Mila, but there’s real ingredients and I can actually see the strawberries!
Hopefully, I’ll expand to using other ingredients this summer. If not, they’re still really good.
What’s your favorite popsicle flavor?
If you need some other popsicle recipes, check out these!
Strawberries are the fruit of choice in our house. When I let Mila know she could actually go strawberry picking, we had to leave immediately.
Of course she had to dress for the occasion and picked out this fitting outfit.
Since strawberry season is coming to a close in Ohio, we had to find a place that was still doing you-picks. I ended up finding Smokey Lane Farms in Sugarcreek, Ohio.
It was actually their last you-pick day!
Smokey Lane Farms was a smaller farm that had two areas to pick strawberries. It also had places for kids to play and farm animals.
When we first got there, we started picking in the first field. It was pretty sparse since it was the last day, but Mila seemed to find a lot.
I’m pretty sure she ate more than what ended up in her bucket.
Who can blame her right?
One thing I wish I would have done before we started picking was to tell her what to look for. She picked small berries, mushy berries, or any that her eyes could see.
If I could go back, I would have told her to get big, light red berries that were mushy.
Live and learn!
After we found a bunch of strawberries in the first field, we took a play break.
She went down the slides, jumped on the air trampoline, and attempted to climb the ropes. Good thing mom was there to help out a little. I think her goal right now is to solo swing across the monkey bars.
We also ended up strolling through their green houses and checking out the farm animals.
After playing with some new friends on the playground, Mila was ready to tackle the second strawberry field. Thankfully, there were bigger strawberries so I could show her what we were looking for.
Let’s just say… she ate a ton of those too.
In all, I think we were at Smokey Lane Farms for like three hours or more. We loved finding the strawberries and just being outside.
It was the perfect day to go: not too hot or cold.
One thing I’d suggest to parents is to bring water. Mila drank a lot and it was nice to have some on hand.
We obviously didn’t need any snacks!
Not only was it nice to get outside with Mila, we love exploring new places.
It’s been years since I’ve been strawberry picking and it was Mila’s first time. Maybe it can turn into a fun first of summer tradition with our family.
I love having the opportunity to start and keep these types of family outings. Mila loves exploring and I know I do too.
Maybe we’ll have to try their blueberry you-pick!
Since we have a huge bucket of strawberries, it’s time to make our strawberry recipes and enjoy them.
Mila and I love the warm months and everything to do with our time off. It may be hard to think of fun things to do with your toddler in the heat, but getting outside is so important.
We’re going to track our time outside until next summer. Our goal is to hit 1000 hours and I have a feeling the majority of the time will be when the sun is shining bright. 1000 Hours Outside is a movement to get outside and lessen screen time. They have a fun coloring page to track your hours and I think it’s a fun little challenge.
I also think about how Mila and I only have EIGHTEEN summers together until she goes off to college or enters adulthood. We’re going to try to make the most of them.
This is summer 4/18.
Here’s a little list of what Mila and I will be doing this summer. I can’t wait to see all of our adventures.
Create a Scavenger Hunt
You know how much Mila and I love scavengers hunts. They’re easy to make and can be done anywhere outside. We love to do them in our backyard, but have also done them on hikes, walks, and on vacation too!
Scavenger hunts are great ways to keep your little busy and you can join along too!
Go to the Zoo
Zoos are such fun places to explore. There’s all kinds of different animals and kids are just in awe of them. It may get a little hot during the summer, so make sure to pack extra water.
I’d also suggest trying to go early in the morning or during zoo nights!
Mila and I’s FAVORITE summer activity is going to the pool. We love to swim and just relax in the water. She’s also started asking to go to the waterpark. She loves the slides!
For us, swimming passes the time so quickly and cools us down. It’s also fun to play pool volleyball, make floaty forts, and play Marco Polo! Pool days have unlimited opportunities to play and learn.
Watch the Clouds
One way to engage your child’s imagination is to watch the clouds. Ask them what they see in the sky. Mila tries to make up stories along with them too. Let’s just say, she always has me laughing with what goes on in her mind.
Stargaze
Summer means staying up a little later than normal. Just like watching the clouds, stargazing with Mila opens up different conversations than normal. She asks about the moon and how to get to space. We also try to find different constellations, but I’m not very good at finding them right away. I promise I’ll be better at the end of summer!
Play with the Hose
Some days you can’t get to the pool, but still want to play in the water. We love playing with out hose and the attachments with it.
It’s a fun and simple activity that I think most toddlers love.
Just like going to the zoo, going on a walk or hike can be hindered by the heat. Make sure to stay hydrated or go when it’s cooler.
If you go on a hike, it could be fun to go somewhere where there’s water to be cooler too!
Tending your garden can be so much fun for you and your toddlers to watch flowers, fruits, and vegetables grow. It’s even better when you can pick and eat what you’ve helped grow!
Have a Fire
Extend your time outside by having a fire.
You can make food, like s’mores, and just enjoy the moment. We also like telling stories. Anytime there’s light that makes shadows, Mila thinks it’s story time! It’s also a fun way to wrap up a pool day or time spent with family.
This is pretty self explanatory, but deserved a spot on the list!
Play with Chalk
Playing with chalk is not only creative for kids, it can be a great learning activity. You can do color recognition, practice shapes, and even help learn letters too!
Also, it always brings a smile to my face when I see sidewalk chalk art when we go on a walk.
Go Somewhere New
There are so many places to explore. Recently, I’ve joined an Ohio Facebook group to see if there are any quirky or fun new places for Mila and I to go. Honestly, i already have a huge list of things to do this summer and beyond.
If you’re in Ohio, I’d totally recommend going to the Fountain of Dogs in Mt. Vernon. It’s still one of the places Mila asks to go frequently.
Go on a Road Trip
Just like going somewhere new, going on a road trip is another fun option. Mila is finally loving the car. It’s a blast to sing songs together and watch her see the world around her.
The opportunities are endless when it comes to road trips!
Volunteer or Donate
No matter if you volunteer or donate your time officially or just on your own, it’s important to show your child how important it is. On our walks, we’ll pick up trash. When we have extra money, we’ve taken dog food to the humane society.
It’s a way you can get outside and help your community too.
HAVE FUN!
This is the most important thing on the list!
No matter what you do this summer, just make sure to have fun. Kids are only little one times in their lives… and I think it’s magical to watch your children experience this time too. I know I’ll be having just as much fun as her this summer.
What is your favorite thing to do on this list? And what’s something you’re planning that you’d add?
Summer season is upon us! I can’t think of anything more nostalgic than root beer floats to drink on a hot day. The kids love it. To step it up a notch for the adults, I add one more ingredient to make Boozy Root Beer Floats.
One of my favorite things about being an adult is putting a twist on my favorite childhood drinks. It seems silly, but it’s a lot of fun to taste. I imagine this is what all the adults did when I was a kid too.
Plus, when it’s only one extra step, it makes it a lot easier to do.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Root Beer
Vanilla Ice Cream
Whiskey (I used Jack Daniels)
Chocolate sauce *optional
Maraschino Cherry *optional
All you have to do is make it like a classic root beer float. I add the whiskey in first, then ice cream, and then the root beer. It feels like it mixes up the whiskey the best!
I also like to add chocolate drizzle and maraschino cherries to the top of my root beer floats too. It tastes so good.
This Boozy Root Beer Float drink will be such a summer staple. Mila loves drinking root beer floats too. So, I guess she’ll be motivating me to make them all the time!
What kind of childhood drinks do you like to put an adult spin on?
Grey Skies & Rainbow Highs 