We just went to a good old fashioned country picnic and had such a good time! Not only did my kids swim in a “watering hole” (a.k.a. icky looking pond I wouldn’t even put my foot in) they caught frogs. When the party host asked “Who wants to have a frog jumping race?” this is the response she got!

It was such a huge hit I had to share the idea! If you’re interested in this summer fun idea, you’ll need to follow these simple steps:

Find the Frogs

It helps to work in pairs, but more eyes the better.

Catch the Frogs

This was definitely just as much fun, if not more fun, than the frog jumping race itself! It helps to have a net to catch the frog, but my daughters also caught frogs with their bare hands. I was so proud!

Contain the Frogs

You definitely need a bucket, WITH A LID, to contain the frogs until it’s time to have the frog jumping contest. Even then it’s tough to keep the little buggers from getting out!

Start the Frog Jumping Race

Have the kids all line up at the starting point and explain the one rule. Once the race starts, they can’t touch the frogs!

Unfortunately for my oldest daughter, her frog didn’t have a competitive spirit. Despite her efforts to talk to him and push the sand underneath him, he just wouldn’t move.

He not only wouldn’t jump, he wouldn’t leave her side! Thus came the inevitable question.

“Mom, can I keep him?”

“Remember what happened to all of our goldfish! Not a chance.”

If you’re looking for more summer fun ideas, try this outdoor scavenger hunt and these backyard game posts:

Summer Birthday Party Games

Olympic Birthday Party Games: Part One

Olympic Birthday Party Games: Part Two

Olympic Birthday Party Games: Part Three

Cherries are in season so last night we made this wonderful cherry pie recipe that I want to share with you. While “pie” would be somewhat of an overstatement, it did involve cherries and a pie plate! Just none of the fuss and muss of making pie crust.

Here’s What You Need to Make this Cherry “Pie” Recipe:

• 5 cups fresh pitted cherries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 Tbs. plus 1/4 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Here’s How You Make this Cherry “Pie” Recipe:

1. Pit cherries.

I think this must be where the expression, “It’s the pits!” comes from because this is the longest part of the recipe! Luckily, it goes a whole lot faster when kids help!

2. Toss pitted cherries with the sugar and 3 Tbs. flour; then put mixture in 8 inch pie dish.

3. Mix oats with brown sugar, remaining flour and cinnamon; then cut in the butter to make coarse crumbs. Here is where you can add the nuts, but we didn’t because my baby has a peanut allergy.

4. Sprinkle topping over the cherry filling.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the cherries are bubbling.

This cherry pie recipe is delicious, but if cherries aren’t your thing, I also highly recommend this apple crisp recipe!

The Fourth of July is this week and for many Americans that means family cookouts and backyard games. So I thought it would be fun for my daughter and her friend to make patriotic frisbees in honor of our nation’s birthday. Nothing says “Happy Birthday America” more than a homemade frisbee! Well, I guess an American flag cake would, but we already made that. If you want to make our country a cake, here’s one of our Fourth of July recipes.

Here’s What You Need to Make Your Own Frisbee:

• Red plastic plates (two for each frisbee)
• Scissors
• Steak Knife (optional)
• Large ziploc bag
• Red, white and blue sequins (we used multi-colored)
• Stapler

Here’s How to Make Your Own Frisbee:

1. Cut out the center of two red plastic plates.

(This is where I used the steak knife to create a slit in the plastic plate. Then I had the kids cut the rest of the center out with a pair of scissors.)

2. Fill the large plastic bag with colored sequins.

(The frisbee works better if you don’t put in too many sequins. In this case, more is not better!)

3. Place the plastic bag filled with sequins in between the two plates.

4. Staple the two plates together around the edges with the plastic bag in between.

(It helps to have one person hold the plastic bag on each end so it’s taut, while the other person staples the plates together.)

5. Cut off the parts of the plastic bag that hang outside the edge of the plates.

6. Then go outside and throw your new frisbee!

For another Fourth of July craft, check out this red, white and blue pinwheel wreath. For more backyard activities, here’s a list of things to find in a scavenger hunt and some summer birthday party games.

School’s out, but that doesn’t mean your kids need to stop learning! There are a lot of indoor and outdoor activities that can keep their minds engaged. Some outdoor activities include letterboxing and nature scavenger hunts, while indoor activities include printable fill in puzzles and coloring pages. But since both my daughters love math, I decided to find some multiplication games for them. So I looked around and discovered that each of the websites below has a variety of math games for kids that help them with their multiplication skills. With these online math games, they’ll be so focused on the fun, they won’t even realize they’re learning too!

Multiplication Games for Kids

Gamequarium

Multiplication.com

Multiplication Bridge

Batter’s Up Baseball Math

Multiplication Memory Game

These multiplication games are not only fun for kids, but they will help ease their transition back to school in the fall. That said, here are even more math games for kids!

A lot of the activities I share on this blog are geared towards kids in elementary school or even preschool. So I decided I need to start sharing activities for tweens and teens as well. Since I have a tween daughter, I’ll start with an activity for tween and teen girls. But I promise I’ll find some activities for tween and teen boys too!

Day at the Spa

Occasionally I indulge myself with a trip to a day spa and my daughters have been asking when they can go with me. But until they’re a lot older, I won’t be shelling out the big bucks to take them to a real day spa for the full treatment. So I created a day spa at home and gave them the full treatment myself!

Their day at the spa began by choosing from the following list of spa treatments I typed up with decorative font and paper:

Facial Mud Mask

Bubble Bath with Aromatherapy

Back Massage

Pedicure

Manicure

Hair Styling

Not surprisingly they chose all of the above! So I started with the first spa treatment and worked my way down the list. While they lounged in our jacuzzi bath tub amongst the fragrant bubbles with their mud masks on, I brought them chilled juice in fancy wine glasses. While I did take a picture of this adorable sight, I know they would be absolutely mortified if I posted it! Wouldn’t you be?

After their leisurely bath, I gave both my daughter’s back rubs with pretty smelling lotion before giving them their manicures and pedicures. While they waited for their nails to dry, they enjoyed another glass of chilled juice and flipped through the pages of the latest fashion magazines.

Last but not least, I styled their hair any way they wanted. Since they couldn’t quite decide, we tried out a few different hairdos before they settled on the one they liked.

My daughters enjoyed their day at the spa so much, we’ve made it a tradition. So I highly recommend this activity for your tween and teen girls! If you’re looking for more fun activities for tweens and teens, check out the great activities at Camp Weary Parent.

My girls love to cook. So many of the activities we do together as a family are in the kitchen. This past weekend, in honor of Flag Day and Father’s Day, we made this yummy cake and decorated it with fruit and chocolate chips so it looked like the American Flag. When we were done my girls squealed . . .

“This would be great for the Fourth of July!”

“You’re right!”

So here is our Flag Day / Father’s Day cake that also makes a great Fourth of July recipe!

At this point I feel compelled to remind you that this website is for kid friendly recipes, not gourmet ones with a professional presentation!

Here’s What You Need to Make this Fourth of July Recipe:

• White cake mix (While I do make cakes from scratch, this isn’t one of them!)
• Vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• White frosting (I bought frosting, but you can make some if you really want to!)
• Chocolate chips
• Blueberries
• Raspberries

Here’s How to Make this Fourth of July Recipe:

1. Prepare the cake according to the instructions on the box and allow it to cool.

2. Spread the white frosting over the top of the cake.

3. Create the flag pole by making a vertical line with chocolate chips.

If you want your American flag centered on the cake, put your chocolate chips further to the left than we did!

4. Create the flag’s stars by arranging blueberries in a rectangle at the top right of the flag pole.

5. Create the flag’s stripes by creating rows of raspberries.

Although we don’t have quite the right number of stars and stripes, you get the idea! For another Fourth of July recipe, check out this deviled eggs recipe my kids love. If you’re looking for a Fourth of July craft, check out this red, white and blue pinwheel wreath.