Digital Camera Race, Pick a Town... Any Town, Pinterest Stuff (Cooking Hacks), A Little More Eden, Judith and Build-A-Bear AND Faulkner Family (Party of Ten) Easter

Good Monday morning!

I have many pics today, and only minimum useful stuff. Hoping the next post will be a bit more informative!

Digital Camera Race - This is a party I planned for Roxie and Friends at the end of their 5th grade year. It was lots of fun, but did not involve a lot of expense OR prep time!

NOTE: This party works just as well for boys as it does for girls.

You need two vans, two parents for each van (one to drive and one to take the pictures), and a set of girls in each van. You will need to make clues that match your area. Each team will begin at the same location, and each team will end at the same location. However, as with all of my scavenger/treasure hunts, one team is working clues 1 through 10 while the other team is working the clues backward (10 to 1). The last clue stays the same for both teams.

These are the clues we used for our Race:

1. Go to a place where yellow balls bounce. (LET THE GIRLS GUESS WHERE THEY NEED TO GO BEFORE READING FURTHER.) Somewhere inside your van, you will find a ball and a racquet. Each girl must take a turn hitting the ball to an adult (just once). Take a picture with one girl holding the racquet and the other two girls on either side of her. (Tennis Courts)

2. Go to a restaurant where you love to eat chips and salsa. (LET THE GIRLS GUESS WHERE THEY NEED TO GO.) Once there, go inside with an adult and ask for three sombreros. Go outside on the bench and have your picture taken wearing the sombreros. (RETURN THE SOMBREROS BEFORE GETTING BACK IN THE VAN.) (Habaneros)

3. Go to a place where books are EVERYWHERE. (LET THE GIRLS GUESS WHERE THEY NEED TO GO.) Once inside, find one Hardy Boys Book and check it out with an adult’s library card. Take a picture outside the building on the bench holding the book. (Library)

4. Go to the place where Roxie lives. Look under the mat on the front porch and get one envelope. (DO NOT OPEN THE ENVELOPE UNTIL YOU ARE IN THE CAR.) Take a picture on Roxie’s front steps before getting back into the van. (OPEN THE ENVELOPE AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS INSIDE.)

NOTE: Inside the envelope was the next task. The girls had to go to the Dollar Store and buy three different kinds of candy to share with everyone at the end of the Race. The envelope also contained $5.

5. Go to a place where you can get a drink out of a lion’s mouth. (LET THE GIRLS GUESS.) Take a picture with all the girls standing around the lion. (Moncrief Park)

6. Go to a place where you’ve spent most of your time this past year. In fact, you were there at 8:00 this morning. (LET THE GIRLS GUESS.) Take a picture of all the girls standing near some playground equipment. (Elementary School)

7. Go to a place where white and black balls are kicked around. (LET THE GIRLS GUESS.) Once there, take a picture of the girls beside the fence with the fields behind them. (Soccer Fields)

8. Go to a place where one of your moms does nails. (LET THE GIRLS GUESS.) Take a picture of the girls in the back of the shop by the big tree. (Nail and Hair Salon)

9. Go to a place where you’ve all played in the gym the past 10 or 11 years. (LET THE GIRLS GUESS.) Take a picture of the girls in the gym. (Church Family Life Center)

10. Go to a place where you can take a dip in the summer when it is very hot outside. (LET THE GIRLS GUESS.) Take a picture of the girls beside the gate and/or the sign. (Community Swimming Pool)

11. LAST STOP!!! YOU’VE WORKED HARD!!! NOW GO TO THE PLACE WHERE A SNO-CONE CAN BE BOUGHT TO REFRESH YOUR TIRED, WORN-OUT LITTLE BODIES!! FIRST ONE THERE WITH ALL THE PICTURES WILL WIN!!!! (Sno-Shack)

Once there, everyone ordered a treat and an adult checked the winner's camera to make sure all the pictures were there (IN ORDER) before we declared the winning team. The losing team (my van) was only a minute or so behind the winners.

What also makes this fun is passing the other van as they go in the opposite direction to complete different tasks. It was very inexpensive (except for gas), and it ended with all the girls together talking about their past year and their plans for the summer. (I liked it because it was a no mess, no fuss kind of party. When it was all over, the house was still in tact. Always a plus.)

As always, make it your own.

Family Spring Fun

Pick a Town... Any Town

On slips of paper, write down any and all little towns surrounding your area. For example, in my area I would write down the following: Trussville, Cahaba Heights, Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Hoover, Pinson, Homewood, Birmingham, etc. That's eight right off the top of my head.

Now put the slips of paper into a bowl, and pick a family member to draw a piece of paper. Whatever town is written on the paper you draw, you will be spending a day in that town this spring. That's right. A whole day.

Now that the town has been chosen, as the mom and/or dad you will need to do a little research. Call the Chamber of Commerce. Go to the town's website. Call the local librarian. They know EVERYTHING! See if you are going on a day the town hosts a Festival or other special event.

You will need to choose five or six (or more) things to do in that town on any given Saturday. Here are some ideas:

1. Restaurant (Not a chain. Pick a restaurant located only in this town. Example: Cafe on Main in Trussville.)

2. Park or playground

3. Library (Check to see if there is a story time or something special going on that particular day.)

4. Stream or creek (You can use this for wading or fishing or tubing or pictures.)

5. Store (Pick a store that is unique to this area alone. Example: Smith's Variety in Mountain Brook.)

6. Bakery

7. Museums

8. Biking Trails

9. Tennis Courts

10. Some sort of Fun Zone (Example: Froggy's in Warrior or PlayStation in Trussville.)

11. Book Store

12. Yard Sales

13. Movie Theater

Mountain Brook is the location of The Birmingham Zoo and The Botanical Gardens. Hoover, of course, is home to the Galleria and the Hoover Met. (There might even be a ballgame scheduled for the day of your visit!) Homewood has a fantastic little bookstore, as well as Ed's Pet World. As you can see, the possibilities are limitless.

You may have all of the above in your little part of the world, but everything is a little different and exciting 15 minutes away.

NOTE: This can also be a very low cost activity. If you pick going to yard sales, the library for story time, a park for a picnic, playing tennis, a museum, etc., you are talking gas money only. This can cost as much (or little) as you like.

Pinterest Stuff

Cooking Hacks

Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to water when boiling eggs. Once cooled, the shells will slide right off.

NOTE: Hallelujah! It really worked.

RANDOMNESS #1 - A Little More Eden - She gets prettier and more bright-eyed with every passing day.



RANDOMNESS #2 - Judith Does Build-A-Bear - Since Courtney is off work for the next few weeks, she made a list of things she wanted to do with me and Judith AND Eden.

Build-A-Bear was at the top of the list!

We were the only ones in the store, so we were not rushed at all and Judith had much fun building her bear/white dragon.






When it came time to name our new friend, she chose Julie.


I think she looks exactly like a "Julie."

Personally, I was drawn to the rainbow-colored llamas, but that day wasn't about me...

Obviously.

RANDOMNESS #3 - Faulkner Family (Party of Ten) Easter - Mike and I hosted our little family's Easter get-together the Sunday BEFORE Easter.

Up until everyone arrived, I thought we were actually going to get to hide eggs outside and eat on the deck, but cooler weather descended upon us AND cloudy skies and sprinkles kept us inside on this particular celebration day.

Not to worry...

Egg hunts are fun inside, too.


Josh, Courtney, Judith and Eden.

This pic was taken before the inevitable newborn-hair-ribbon-slide."


And this one was taken after.
















And before you even ask...


I gave the big kids harmonicas in their Family Easter Baskets.

(And I made sure they took them home.)

Easter Traditions at Nana’s House – These are a few of the things we have started doing the Sunday before Easter when the ten Faulkners get together.

1. As the kids walk in the door, Roxie greets them with a bowl of jelly beans and shows them a small planter filled with dirt. They have to “plant” the jelly beans in the dirt before coming into the house. When they leave a few hours later, they find Dum-Dum suckers have grown from the jelly bean “seeds” planted earlier in the day. (My friend, Cam, does this in a little garden patch beside her house for the grandkids, and they love it.)

2. After we have a traditional Easter meal (ham, deviled eggs, fruit salad, vegetables and rolls), we open Family Easter Baskets in the den. These baskets contain some family snack items, one or two pieces of candy for each person in the family, a couple of small toys for the little ones, a clothing item for each of the adults and an activity for the adults to have together while Pop and I babysit the kiddos at a later date.

This year, it was a Gift Certificate for axe throwing.

Yeah.

Axe throwing.

3. We have at least two good Easter egg hunts. This year, we had a Color Hunt. Judith’s eggs were pink, yellow and purple. RT’s eggs were orange, blue and green. I also put small items in six of the eggs. RT had bunny crayons and cars in his eggs while Judith had quarters and bunny crayons in her eggs.

4. The past two years, Melia has prepared a devotion for the kids. A simple version of Resurrection Eggs were front and center this year, along with an age-appropriate Easter book about Jesus rising from the dead.

As always, things will change here and there as the kids get bigger and understand more and more about what Easter truly means.

I hope you and yours had a blessed Easter weekend. Take care, and I will be back soon with a little more of this and that.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

Appearing in the next post...


Mike had a conference in Nashville the week before Easter, and I tagged along.


Courtney and I took the girls to Let's Play in Huntsville for an afternoon.


I was able to attend RT's class Easter Party.


Mike, Roxie and I celebrated Easter Sunday in Oxford with Mike's family.

No pics below. Just a couple of things I came across on Social Media that tickled my funny bone.

"I'm just a girl, standing in front of a salad, asking it to be a doughnut."

"I don't always exercise, but when I do, I expect the results to be instant, dramatic and spectacular."

WHEN YOU FALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET LEAVING CHURCH BECAUSE YOU WALK UP YOUR FLOWY PANTS LEG... A SAD, TRUE STORY, Construction Birthday Party AND Pinterest Stuff (Candy and Ice Experiment Object Lesson)

Good Tuesday evening!

RANDOMNESS #1 - WHEN YOU FALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET LEAVING CHURCH BECAUSE YOU WALK UP INTO YOUR FLOWY PANTS LEG... A SAD, TRUE STORY - Yeah. So this happened Sunday.

You've heard the Bible verse, "Pride goeth before a fall," haven't you?

Well, if you were one of about a hundred or more people in the parking lot of Gardendale's First Baptist Church between the first and second service, I kinda supplied the visual for the verse...

If you know what I mean...

And I think you do.

Something you may or may not know about me... I am not necessarily a vain person. I mean, I have my good hair days and my bad hair days. I have outfits that look better on me than others. I try to look presentable and wear lipstick on more days than not.

I am, after all, a Southern girl born and raised, but all in all, I don't over-obsess when it comes to appearance.

In other words, I didn't think I was very prideful about my looks.

Until Sunday...

Because Sunday I wore my navy blue patterned flowy pants, my off-white silk flowy top and my big ol' navy blue and rhinestone studded necklace.

Also, my hair was exceptionally big and coiffed.

Remember when Justin Timberlake said he was "bringing sexy back?"

Well, I am single-handedly "bringing big hair back."

I am not ashamed to admit I liked the 80s. I thrived in the 80s. I miss the 80s.

When big hair comes back, I am going to start bringing back the enormous shoulder pads...

And I'm starting a petition to get Designing Women on Netflix for the next generation of Southern women to watch and learn.

All of the above being said and recorded for posterity, I may or may not have looked at myself in the full-length bathroom mirror of Gardendale's First Baptist Church second floor bathroom after Sunday School and thought to myself, "Looking good, Enchanting! Looking good!" before meeting Mikie in the hallway and heading to our seats for the first service.

Yes. I know. Very, very prideful.

Not only was it a good service, but The Chick arrived home Saturday afternoon and was sitting with us, so I was feeling especially happy and bouncy.

In hindsight, I now know I was feeling much too bouncy, because in the parking lot of the church, crossing the street to get to my car, my right toe/shoe caught in the leg of my flowy pants.

I lurched forward, but caught myself. Mistakenly thinking I had gotten my toe/shoe OUT of the flowy pants, I took another little hop/step to make up for the slight trip/stumble.

The only thing worse than tripping/stumbling in the middle of the street in the church parking lot AND catching yourself, would have to be tripping/stumbling in the middle of the street in the church parking lot AND realizing you didn't catch yourself, but instead walked up your flowy pants leg two more steps...

And then falling in front of the cars coming to and leaving church (completely stopping traffic in two lanes) on your hands and knees.

And if that wasn't enough of a humiliation (and I'm assuming it wasn't enough because it just gets worse from here), I rolled over onto my back with my hands and legs up in the air...

And I rocked back and forth very turtle-like until Mikie put his hands under my arms and HOISTED me to my feet.

There was nothing left to do except dust myself off and do the princess wave to all of the cars who were patiently waiting to park and/or leave the parking lot.

I did not limp to the car. I needed to limp, but I refused. When I see that in writing, I immediately start thinking to myself, "That was pretty prideful, too, wasn't it? Why not just admit one toe, two knees, my right wrist and elbow and the top of my left wrist were all scraped and bleeding? Not profusely bleeding you understand, but bleeding just the same."

Hmmm.

That's a question for the therapist if I've ever heard one. I'll need to write that down in my handy-dandy notebook.

There isn't much left to say except if and when I wear flowy pants again, I will probably hold them up in front (not unlike a wedding dress) while walking to and from church or up and down steps.

Also, I seriously doubt if I will ever look in the full-length bathroom mirror of Gardendale's First Baptist Church second floor bathroom ever again.

Nor will I utter, "Looking good, Enchanting! Looking good!"

Mentally or verbally.

Heavy, heavy sigh.

I will end this little tale with two final words...

LESSON LEARNED!

RANDOMNESS #2 - My great-nephew, Sawyer turned ONE today, and we attended his birthday party this past Saturday.

Talk about a cute party...








These are just a small smattering of the wonderful decorations at the party.


Watermelon and pizza.

I ask you, is there a better birthday lunch?

I think not.


This was RT's first official time to attend a kid party. It just took a few minutes until he got the hang of it.










The battery-operated Thomas the Train ride was a big hit with the two and under crowd.








Turns out, Sawyer was a pro when it came to annihilating the Smash Cake.

I think it's in his genes.


Aunt Katie, Sawyer and Uncle T.J.


Josh, Sawyer, Judith and Courtney.


Sawyer didn't take his eyes off Josh. I think he sensed the remainder of his Smash Cake was in danger.

I think he was right.

Pinterest Stuff

Candy and Ice Experiment (Object Lesson)

You will need the following:

Candy of your choice
Ice cubes

Ask everyone to eat a piece of candy.

How does it taste?

Ask everyone to put an ice cube in their mouths and leave it in for as long as possible.

Immediately after removing the ice, replace it with a piece of candy.

Now how does the candy taste? (Because the ice has numbed the tongue, they should not taste the candy.)

Why did the candy taste different the second time? What caused the change?

When we only think about ourselves, our heart (tongue) is numbed toward others. When we are unable to taste the sweet candy (we are unaware when others need help), we are not able to taste the sweet reward for giving service to others.

There are many acts of service we are able to give each day. Service, big or small, is equally important. Learning to recognize when service is needed is a learned skill. Small acts of service are often easier to perform because they can be done immediately. What are some small acts of service you saw/did/could have performed today?

The next time you are with your family, or at school or in a group, ask yourself if there is something you can do for someone else? When you begin tasting the sweetness of service, you will crave it and want to do it more and more. The more service you perform, the more you will be able to recognize where service is needed. You might need to work at reminding yourself by asking the question, “Is there something I can do for someone else?” Soon it will become part of your life.

Have a great week. I'll be back in a few days with a couple of back-to-school traditions.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda

Happy Fall, Y'all Party (First Posted in 2009) AND Pics of Halloween 2016

Good Tuesday afternoon!

RANDOMNESS - Mike is out-of-town for a few nights this week (last night being one of them). I tell you this because he most definitely would have been with me last night if it hadn't been for the "I'm-in-another-state" thing.

I met Courtney, Josh, Judith and Donna (Judith's Grandma... Courtney's Mom) at Grandma Margie's house (Courtney's grandmother).

From there we went Trick-or-Treating at a few houses before heading down the street to a very nice church Fall Festival.

I gave it very high marks. It was perfect for Judith.

No lines, small crowds and several age appropriate games just right for a cute little bumblebee.


In this pic, she is a very happy bumblebee (seen here with Grandma Donna)...


And in this pic, she is a very thoughtful bumblebee.

She's probably thinking, "I've been given two tons of candy, and I have yet to have a piece. What's the deal?"


Josh taught her how to play the golf game at the Festival...


And when she finished, she promptly picked up a new ball, and walked away with the club and ball as her prize.

I didn't take a pic of the golf club and ball being taken away from her.

That would have been a pic of a mad bumblebee.


They had a little train pulled by a small John Deere tractor.

Of course, Josh wanted to ride...

And that made the ride MUCH slower than it normally would have been.




Cutest John Deere Driver in the history of the world.

No kidding. We loved this guy!


Why stand behind a line and throw a ball into a bucket when you can gently place the ball in the bucket instead?


Seriously. Why?

She got the same amount of candy and a lot more cheers than the kids throwing, believe me.


And throwing the glowy hoop-like thingy over the pumpkins?




Again, gentle placement and rearrangement seemed the way to go.


Throwing bags covered with Velcro strips at a board with covered with Velcro strips...


Well...


Please refer to the ball toss and glowy hoop-like thingy above.


And just in case you were wondering...

This is a very tired bumblebee.

Happy Fall, Y'all Party

This is a party for fall lovers, young and old. It includes old-fashioned fun, relays and great food.

Invite up to ten people (teenagers or adults) and have the following activities. This party is definitely an outside party, so check the weather often and have a Plan B if you have to move it inside at the last minute.

Wheelbarrow Races - You will need two wheelbarrows, a little hay and two blankets for this race. After you have "padded" each wheelbarrow with hay and a blanket, divide the guests into two teams. Once the teams are divided equally, one person will ride in the wheelbarrow while another person pushes them to a designated tree or bale of hay at the other end of the yard. Each team will have to push the wheelbarrow around the tree or hay and make it back to their team. Depending on numbers, make sure everyone gets at least one turn pushing OR riding. For the relay to be fun, there should be at least THREE runs per team.

Pumpkin Chunkin' - This is hard for a pumpkin lover like myself, but it is fun, too. Again, supply as many medium-sized pumpkins as there are people. If there are too many people, ask each team to pick two of their strongest players to chunk a pumpkin. (You will only need two pumpkins per team.) Standing behind a line, let the two members of each team take turns chunkin' their pumpkin as far as they can. Measure the distance to see who wins this game.

Scarecrow Relay #1 - Give each team the following items:

1 pair of overalls
1 flannel shirt
1/2 bale of hay
1 farmer's hat
1 pumpkin (for the head)
1 Sharpie marker (to decorate the face)
1 lawn chair (to let the scarecrow sit when finished)

When you begin the relay, the team who finishes their scarecrow first wins. The scarecrow has to be able to sit independently in the chair (head and all) for it to be considered totally finished.

Pumpkin Pie Throwing Contest - You do NOT have to make a dozen pumpkin pies to be wasted. Use food coloring to make an inexpensive brand of whipped cream orange. Tape three or four quarters to the bottom of the pie tin before adding the whipped cream. Then divide into teams and have them take turns trying to hit the target. (The target could be the scarecrows you just finished making.) Adding the quarters will give the pie tin a little weight and allow them to throw it farther. The team who hits the target the most times will win.

Searching For a Penny in a Haystack - Make two piles of loose hay (fairly large piles). Drop 10 to 20 pennies in each pile in different spots. Give each team a time limit (1 to 2 minutes) to go through their pile of hay and find as many pennies as possible. The team with the most pennies is the winner.

You can finish off the evening with an old-fashioned hayride around the neighborhood. If you are taking teenagers and you don't have a trailer to pull them, you can use loose hay in the back of a truck with them sitting DOWN and SAFELY ride around a large neighborhood in the crisp, fall air.

ADDITIONS - If you begin this party before dark, you can let the kids or adults play horseshoes or bob for apples.

TODAY is the day to plan this party for family and friends. I've had two of them, and they are always a lot of fun!

Have a wonderful first day of November! I will talk to you soon.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda