Category: Family Time

National April Food Holidays

Apr 1- Wed

Apr 2- Thurs- National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

We made PB&J’s for lunch today.

Apr 3- Fri- National Chocolate Mousse Day

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 8 oz semi sweet mini chocolate chips
  • berries

Directions:

  1. Heat 3/4 cup of the heavy cream in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Remove once is starts to simmer.
  2. Add the chocolate chips to the hot cream and whisk until smooth.
  3. Let it cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
  4. Whip the remaining 1 1/4 cup of heavy cream with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes.
  5. Once is starts to peak, fold in half of it to the cooled chocolate.
  6. Then gently fold in the remaining cream to the chocolate until it is smooth.
  7. Place in 6 serving bowls and refrigerate for 2 hours.
  8. Top with berries.

Apr 4- Sat- National Ramen Noodles Day

We made Ramen Noodles for lunch today.

Apr 5- Sun- National Deep Dish Pizza Day

We tried some frozen personal deep dish pizzas.

Apr 6- Mon-National Caramel Popcorn Day

Ingredients:

  • 10 cups popped corn
  • 2 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup corn syrup (Karo)
  • 1 cup btter
  • 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

  1. Boil the sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a small sauce pan.
  2. Add the sweetened condensed milk and cook to softball stage.
  3. Add vanilla.
  4. Put the popcorn into large bowls and pour the caramel over it. Mix until the popcorn is covered.

To reheat, place in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.

Apr 7- Tues- National Coffee Cake Day

Cake Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 cups flour
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups milk

Topping Ingredients:

  • 1 cup melted butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 TBSP flour
  • 1 TBSP cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Mix the cake ingredients one at a time stopping when you get to the milk.
  3. Add in the milk slowly while it is mixing.
  4. Pour the cake mix into a greased 9×13 cake pan.
  5. Mix the topping ingredients with an electric mixer.
  6. Drop spoonfulls of the mixture evenly over the batter in the pan, then swirl it around with a butter knife.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Whisk together the glaze ingredients, adding more milk if needed.
  9. After the cake has cooled for about 10 minutes, drizzle the glaze over the cake.
  10. Allow it to set, but serve warm

Apr 8- Wed- National Empanada Day (mini meat empanadas)

I used this mini Empanada recipe from the Landscape Insight blog.

Apr 9- Thurs- National Chinese Almond Cookie Day

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup soft butter
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • sliced almonds
  • 1 TBS milk
  • 1 egg

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare 2 baking sheets.
  2. Mix the ingredients well, adding 1 at a time starting at the top of the list and stopping with the extracts.
  3. Scoop the dough, adding 1 tablespoon at a time to the cookie sheet. Place them about 2 inches apart.
  4. Place 3 almonds in a star shape on the top of each cookie pressing them slightly in to flatten a bit.
  5. Mix the milk and egg and gently brush on the top of each cookie.
  6. Bake for 18 minutes unitl the edges are golden brown.

Apr 10- Fri- National Cinnamon Crescent Day

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2 TBS sugar
  • 1 TBS yeast
  • 2 TBS soft butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 TBS cinnamon
  • 2 TBS soft butter
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Mix the sugar and water. Sprinkle the yeast on the top and let it rest for 5 mintues.
  2. Add the butter, salt, cinnamon, and flour (one cup at a time).
  3. Knead for 5 minutes, cover and let it rise for 20 minutes.
  4. Cut the dough into 2 pieces and roll them out into 15 inch circles.
  5. Cut each circle into 8 triangles and roll them from the large side in to the smaller side.
  6. Place on the baking sheet and let rest for 20 minutes.
  7. Brush with melted butter and cinnamon.
  8. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 13 mintues.

Apr 11- Sat- National Cheese Fondue Day

I used this Swiss & Cheddar Cheese Fondue recipe from the Butter with a Side of Bread blog.

Apr 12- Sun- Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day

Ingredients:

  • bread
  • butter
  • cheese (any kind you like)
  • garlic salt

Directions:

  1. Place a pan on medium heat.
  2. Lightly butter 2 slices of bread.
  3. Place one slice of bread butter side down on the pan.
  4. Place the cheese on bread.
  5. Place the other slice of bread on top of the cheese with the butter side up.
  6. Sprinkle garlic salt on the butter side.
  7. Once the bottom is golden brown, flip the sandwich.
  8. Once the second side is golden brown, remove from heat.

Apr 13- Mon- National Peach Cobbler Day

Ingredients

  • 4 Cups fresh sliced peaches
  • 1 Cup sugar for peaches
  • 1 tsp lemon juice

  • 1 Cup flour
  • 1 Cup sugar for batter
  • 1 Cup milk
  • 1/2 Cup melted buter
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 10×13 inch baking dish.
  2. Mix the peaches with 1 cup of sugar and 1 tsp lemon juice and let them sit while you prepare the batter.
  3. In a mixing bowl, add the ingredients 1 at a time starting with the flour.
  4. Spread the batter in the baking dish.
  5. Spoon the peaches and their juices over the batter, but do not stir it. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top of the peaches.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown.
  7. Cool for 15 minutes before serving warm with cool whip or vanilla ice cream.

Apr 14- Tues- National Pecan Day (pecan pie muffins)

I used this pecan pie muffin recipe from the No Dash of Gluten blog.

Apr 15- Wed- McDonald’s Day

We had lunch at McDonald’s today with a play place.

Apr 16- Thurs

Apr 17- Fri- National Cheeseball Day (Onion Ranch Cheese Ball)

Ingredients

  • 2 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup of dry ranch mix
  • 12 green onions (thinly sliced)
  • plastic wrap

Directions

  1. Mix the cream cheese with a hand mixer until creamy.
  2. Mix in the ranch mix and 1 TBS of the green onions.
  3. Wrap the cheeseball in the plastic wrap and form a ball shape.
  4. Unwrap the ball and roll it in the extra green onions.
  5. Re-wrap the plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.
  6. Serve with crackers, pretzels, and chips.

Apr 18- Sat- Animal Crackers Birthday

I found a small package of Animal Crackers for the kids. They like to dip them in peanut butter or Nutella.

Apr 19- Sun- Garlic Day (Garlic Butter Chicken, Garlic Butter Rice & Garlic Parmesan Rolls)

Chicken Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lb chicken breast ( 1 in pieces)
  • 1 tea Italian Seasoning
  • 1/4 tea salt
  • 1/4 tea pepper
  • 1/8 tea paprika
  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • 3 TBS butter
  • 2 TBS minced garlic
  • 1 TBS minced parsley

Chicken Directions:

  1. Heat the pan and add the oil and 1 TBS of the butter.
  2. Add the chicken pieces and cool thoroughly, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and paprika.
  4. Add 2 TBS of the butter and the minced garlic, cook for 1 more minutes.
  5. Add the parsley and serve.

Rice Ingredients:

  • 1 TBS butter
    • 1 TBS olive oil
    • 1/4 Cup chopped onion
    • 2 TBS minced garlic
    • 1 1/2 Cup white rice
    • 3 Cup chicken broth

Rice Directions:

  1. Heat pot to medium heat and add the oil and butter.
  2. Add the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add the rice and chicken broth.
  4. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat until the liquid is gone.
  5. Remoted from the heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
  6. Fluff with a fork and add more butter, salt and pepper.

Rolls Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 Cup warm water
  • 1/4 Cup sugar
  • 2 TBS yeast
  • 1/3 Cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
    • 4 Cup flour

  • 4 TBS butter
  • 1 TBS garlic salt
  • 2 tsp parsley
  • 1/4 Cup parmesan cheese

Rolls Directions:

  1. Mid the warm water and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let rest for 10 minutes.
  2. Line 10×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
  3. Whisk in the oil, salt, egg.
  4. Add the flour and mix well.
  5. Separate the dough into 15 balls.
  6. Place the balls on the pan 3×5 rows.
  7. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 10 minutes.
  8. Heat the oven to 375 degrees Ferenheit.
  9. Melt the butter and add the garlic sat and parsley.
  10. Brush the butter on the dough and bake for 18 minutes.
  11. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Apr 20- Mon- National Cheddar Fries Day

Ingedients:

  • Frozen Fries
  • Cheddar Cheese
  • Bacon Bits
  • Olive Oil Spray

Directions:

  1. Spray your baking sheet and spread the fries on them.
  2. Bake the fries according to the directions, spraying them before putting them in the oven.
  3. Place shredded cheese and bacon bits on the fries and put in the oven for 5 more minutes to melt.

Apr 21- Tues- National Chocolate Covered Cashews Day

Ingredents:

  • 1 10 oz bag of dark chocolate chips
  • 1 8 oz can of roasted cashews

Directions:

  1. Heat some water in a pot on the oven, placing a glass bowl on top of the pot.
  2. Turn off the heat once it starts to boil, and place the chocolate in the bowl.
  3. Gently stir for a few minutes until it is melted and smooth.
  4. Remove from the heat and add the nuts.
  5. Place some wax paper on a baking sheet.
  6. Place spoonfuls of nuts on the baking sheet and chill for half an hour.

Apr 22- Wed- National Jelly Bean Day

We found Starburst Jellybeans for today!

Apr 23- Thurs- National Cherry Cheesecake Day (Cherry Cheese Pie)

Ingredients:

  • 9 inch Graham Crust
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 14 oz sweetend condensed milk
  • 1/3 Cup lemon juice
  • 1 tea vanilla
  • 1 can cherry pie filling

Directions:

  1. Beat the cream in a large bowl until fluffy.
  2. Beat in the remaining ingredients until smooth.
  3. Pour into the graham crust.
  4. Refrigerate for 3 hours.
  5. Top with cherries.

Apr 24- Fri- National Pigs-in-a-blanket Day

We wrapped crescent roll dough around our hot dogs and baked them according to the directions on the crescent roll packaging.

Apr 25- Sat- National Zucchini Bread Day

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 Cup vegetable oil
  • 2 1/4 Cup White Sugar
  • 3 Cup Four
  • 1 tea salt
  • 1 tea baking soday
  • 1 tea baking powder
  • 1 TBS cinnamon
  • 3 tea vanilla
  • 2 Cup grated zucchini
  • 1 Cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour 2 bread pans.
  2. Beat the eggs, oil, and sugar.
  3. Mix in the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and vanilla.
  4. Stir in the zucchini and nuts.
  5. Pour the batter into the pans and bake for 60 minutes.
  6. Cool in the pans before you remove and eat.

Apr 26- Sun- National Pretzel Day

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 Cup warm water
  • 2 TBS sugar
  • 1 TBS instant dry yeast
  • 4 Cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tea salt

  • 1 Cup water
  • 2 tea baking soda
  • coarse sea salt
  • 1/4 Cup melted butter

Directions:

  1. Combine the warm water and sugar. sprinkle the yeast on top and let rest for 5 minutes.
  2. Mix and add the flour and salt, knead in mixer.
  3. Grease a bowl and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 baking sheets.
  5. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a 24 inch rope and from into a pretzel.
  6. Bowl water and baking soda in a shallow pan. submerge each pretzel in the water and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
  7. Bake for 11-12 minutes and the brush with melted butter.

Apr 27- Mon

Apr 28- Tues- National Blueberry Pie Day

Ingredients:

  • 2 pints fresh blueberries
  • 2/3 Cup sugar
  • 1/4 Cup corn startch
  • Lemon Zest from 1 lemon
  • 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 tea cinnamon
  • 1/8 tea salt

  • 2 TBS butter (cut into tiny squares)
  • 2 Pie Crusts 9 inch
  • 1 Egg for wash

Directions:

  1. Refrigerate pie dough for at least an hour.
  2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a baking sheet in the oven to heat.
  3. In a large bowl coat blueberries with sugar, corn starch, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. Let that sit while you prepare the crust.
  5. Spray and flour the bottom of a pie plate. Place one pie crust in the pie plate.
  6. Pour the berries in the pie plate, and spread the tiny butter pieces on top.
  7. Cut the second pie crust into strips and weave it on the top of the pie. Crimp edges and trim any crust hanging off around the pie plate.
  8. Brush with egg wash.
  9. Chill for 20 minutes.
  10. Place the pie on the heated pan, and bake at 425 for 20 minutes.
  11. Reduce heat to 375 and keep baking for 35-45 minutes until it is golden and bubbling.
  12. Cool on a rack for 3 hours.

Apr 29- Wed

Apr 30- Thurs- National Oatmeal Cookie Day (Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies)

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup shortening
  • 1/2 Cup butter
  • 1 1/2 Cup peanut butter
  • 2 Cu brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tea vanilla
  • 3 Cup oats
  • 2 tea baking soda
  • 1 tea salt
  • 10 oz peanut butter baking chips

Directions:

  1. Cream the shortening and butter. Add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  2. Mix in the rest of the ingeredents.
  3. Chill for 30 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 350.
  5. Drop teaspoonfuls onto a treated baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Hot Springs National Park (Junior Ranger Program)

We visited our third national park this weekend. We camped at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. The younger girls got a Junior Ranger National Park Passport Book to put their stamps in. They also completed the Hot Springs Junior Ranger program and received their Junior Ranger Badges. The older boys enjoyed exploring and hiking.

Junior Ranger Guide

We studied about Hot Springs before we went because they wanted to participate in the National Parks Junior Ranger program. I found this list of all of the Junior Ranger Park Programs here. The girls filled out this National Park Research Paper and Hot Springs Brochure (well, I filled out most of these since Storm broke her right arm again). We used The National Parks Scavenger Hunt by Stacy Tornio for help along with Hot Springs National Park website. We also printed out the Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide before we left, so we could look it over and plan out our trip.

Once we got there, they told us that they now have an updated Junior Ranger activity guide and gave us a copy, but they still let us use the one that we had printed out. Below is a picture of both activity guides next to each other, but my instructions are for the online printed one.

We planed our visit to see all of the things that interested us and also the locations that were mentioned in the Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide. We read and filled out pages 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 11 at home. We learned about the hot water springs water cycle and the growing city on these pages. We also filled out the certificate on last page, so we wouldn’t have so much to do at the park.

We arrived Friday afternoon and went right to our camp site at Gulpha Gorge Campground (read more about this below).

On Saturday morning we were planning on hiking to the Mountain Tower, but it was still raining so we decided to find an indoor family activity. First we went to the Pancake Shop in historic Hot Springs for breakfast. Then we decided to visit the Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, Arkansas. You can read more about our Pancake Shop and Mid-America Science Museum experience below.

Saturday afternoon we it finally stopped raining so we got to visit Bathhouse Row. We started at one end of the street so that we could walk along the front of all of the bathhouses to fill out page 4 in our Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide. We stopped in front of each bathhouse and looked at the page in our booklet to match up the architecture of the bathhouse with the name. The girls really enjoyed this scavenger hunt type activity. When we finished that, we went into the Fordyce Bathhouse which is now the visitor center and Hot Springs museum. While on the tour we filled out page 3 of our Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide. In the music room we found the answer to page 9 on the ceiling:

Once we were finished in the Fordyce Bathhouse we went back outside to the right so we could see the Grand Entrance and the hot spring fountain. We filled out page 5 in our Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide when we saw the 1921 “Hot Springs Reservation” monument statue:

Then we walked behind Bathhouse Row on the Grand Prominade for finish up page 11 in our Hot Springs Junior Ranger activity guide. You can read more about our Grand Prominade walk below. After this we returned our Junior Ranger books to the Fordyce Bathhouse visitor center. the Park Ranger helped the girls say the Junior Ranger Oath, and then she gave them each a badge. Then they got to stamp their Junior Ranger National Park Passport Books.

Sunday morning we finally got to hike before heading home. We also went up in the Mountain Tower, which you can read more about below as well.

Gulpha Gorge Campground

The only campsite at Hot Springs National Park is Gulpha Gorge Campground. Unfortunately the park was under a burn ban so we could not have a campfire this weekend. It also started raining after we set up our campsite so we decided to go out for dinner and then we went back to the campsite and played games in the tent during the rain. It continued to rain and occasionally storm until Saturday afternoon. We set up our CAMPROS tent and the girls liked using our LED lanterns once it got dark. We also used our new Asinking Car Rooftop Bag to pack things in for our drive this time.

Pancake Shop

We were hoping to go for a hike to the Mountain Tower, but since it was still raining, we found a local place for breakfast. The kids all really liked the Pancake Shop. They had giant banana and chocolate chip pancakes along with scrambled eggs and bacon.

Mid-America Science Museum

We didn’t plan on visiting the Mid-America Science Museum, but since it was raining, we decided to give it a try. It was amazing, all of the kids from the 3 year old up to the 20 year old enjoyed much of the museum. They had so many hands on educational activities. The little girls loved the water spouts best and the older boys like making a short video. Titus (15 years) also loved the blacklight climbing area, but this scared the girls too much.

Bathhouse Row

We walked down Bathhouse Row to see the front of all 8 historic bath houses. Then we toured the museum in Fordyce Bathhouse and got to see all sorts of old bath utilities and attire. When we came out of Fordyce Bathhouse we went to the right and saw a hot spring fountain. The kids all tried to touch it, but the water is over 140 degrees so be careful. We also saw the grand entrance to the original Hot Springs Reservation. Once we walked past it we came to the Grand Prominade.

Grand Prominade

Before you reach the Grand Prominade you can see a natural hot spring on the right. The kids also touched this Hot Water Cascade as well. Then we climbed the stairs to reach the Grand Prominade. The Grand Prominade is an easy half mile walk. We found some chess boards, but no chess pieces. The boys thought this one very neat since they both enjoy playing chess. At the other end of the Grand Prominade there was a fountain to fill your water bottles with the hot springs mineral water. It was too hot to drink at first, so be sure to let it cool.

Hiking

We got to hike around the Gulpha Gorge Campground. There were several trails to follow once you crossed the stone path going over the river. All 4 of the kids loved crossing the river and exploring the trails. The 15 year old wanted more time to explore, but hiking was cut short this trip because of all the rain. We tried to cross the river right after the rain, but there was so much water it was covering the stone path.

Mountain Tower

We ended our trip with an adventure up the Mountain Tower. When you enter the bottom (visitor shop) of the Mountain Tower you can purchase your tickets to go up the elevator. If you go to the second floor you get an enclosed window view with a little museum. If you go to the third floor (the top floor) you get an open air view of the surrounding springs. We could see the steam rising from the woods.

Here are some of our other National Park Adventures:

Gateway Arch National Park (Junior Ranger Program)

We visited our second national park this weekend. We took a day trip to Gateway Arch National Park in St Louis, Missouri. The younger girls got to add a stamp to their Junior Ranger National Park Passport Book . They also completed the Gateway Arch Junior Ranger program and received their Junior Ranger Badges. The older boys enjoyed exploring the museum and hiking down by the river.

Junior Ranger Guide

We studied about Gateway Arch before we went because they wanted to participate in the National Parks Junior Ranger program. I found this list of all of the Junior Ranger Park Programs here. The girls filled out this National Park Research Paper and Gateway Arch Brochure. We used The National Parks Encyclopedia by Allison Lassieur for help along with Gateway Arch National Park website.

We were not able to print out the Junior Ranger packet ahead of time, so we picked one up at the front desk of the visitor center. You can get the Junior Ranger book for the Arch at the Visitor Center, and the book for the Old Court House once you enter the Court House. We looked at the Arch book while we were waiting for our turn on the tram to the top of the Arch.

We arrived at the Gateway Arch first thing in the morning, we knew we could explore it all in just one day since it is the smallest National Park. We planed to visit the Gateway Arch museum, the Old Courthouse, a Riverboat ride, and of course a tram ride up to the top of the Arch. The Junior Ranger book is laid out so that you can fill it out as you walk though the museum. We filled out page 1 while waiting for our tram ride, it is all about the Osage American Indians.

Next we visited the Gateway Arch museum. Pages 2 through 7 are laid out so that you can fill them out as you walk though each time period of the museum. While you are at the tram entrance you can see the brick mural and fill out page 8. Page 9 is a list of people whom you can locate as you walk through the museum as well.

We filled out page 10 after our walk down to the Riverboat. Then we returned our books to the visitor center and the Park Ranger helped the girls say the Junior Ranger Oath, then she gave them each a badge. Then they got to stamp their Junior Ranger National Park Passport Books. 

The Junior Range book for the Courthouse is a bit to advanced for my young girls, so we will have to come back in a couple of years to get that one.

Tram Ride to the Top of the Arch

Right after we picked up our Junior Ranger books, we bought out tram tickets to ride to the top of the Arch. We rode in a tiny 5 seat pod that took 4 minutes to travel the 630 feet up to the top. The Tram System was specially made with a mix of elevator, escalator, and Ferris wheel science.

Once we were at the top, we had about 10 minutes to look out of the windows. We saw the Mississippi River, the River boat, Busch Stadium where the Cardinals play, the Old Courthouse, and much more.

Gateway Arch Museum

The Gateway Arch is sometimes called the Gateway to the West, because it was built to commemorate Thomas Jefferson’s vision to explore and settle from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

The museum had several hands on exhibits for the girls to try out. You walk through each time period as you move through the museum. It starts at 1764 to today.

Even the boys found something to do in the museum. They spent over half an hour on this puzzle, and they finally solved it.

Riverboat Ride

Then we walked down to the river and discovered that they don’t have riverboat rides in the winter.

So we just played by the water and hiked around the Arch. The kids had fun tossing rocks into the river and leaning against the Arch.

We were able to see the riverboat from out of the Arch window.

Old Courthouse

We decided to skip the Old Courthouse since the girls are still so young, but we plan to go back when they are older. The Old Courthouse is where Dred and Harriet Scott sued for their freedom in 1847 and 1850.

We did see the Old Courthouse from the windows in the top of the Arch though.

The circle at the bottom of this picture is the entrance to the visitor center and the museum (they are both underground).

Here are some of our other National Park Adventures:

Thanksgiving Turkey (fruit & vegetable) Platters -25

Storm loves fresh fruits and vegetables, so we made turkey platters to snack on while Thanksgiving dinner was being made. We also made a meat, cheese, and cracker platter as well.

Fruit Platter

We placed half of a pear on the bottom of the platter for the turkey body, with sliced olive eyes and cut carrot feet and beak. Then we placed strawberries, orange slices, and grapes around the platter for the turkey feathers.

We also used waffle cones for the kids to make their own cornucopia’s with their fruit.

Vegetable Platter

I cut the top off of a red pepper and cleaned our the insides to make a bowl for the turkey body. We placed it near the bottom of the platter. I used the end that I cut off for the turkey’s head, with sliced olive eyes and cut pepper feet and beak. I also cut yellow peppers into strips coming out the of top of the turkeys head like feathers. Then we placed cucumber slices, baby carrots, celery sticks, and more pepper strips around the platter for the turkey feathers.

To make the ranch, I used 16 ounces of sour cream and a ranch dry mix packet.

Meat & Cheese Platter

We placed a cheese ball on the bottom of the platter for the turkey body, with sliced olive eyes and cut carrot feet and beak. Then we placed cheeses, crackers, meat slices, and honey candied almonds around the platter for the turkey feathers.

Gingerbread Castle

I found an Oreo cookie castle kit for our Thanksgiving Gingerbread House Tradition. We added all kind of Oreo’s and Christmas candies including Mini Oreo’s, Christmas lights sprinkles, spice drops, snowflake sprinkles, pull and peel Twizzlers, and mini candy canes.

We used the icing that came with the kit as the glue for the cookie pieces, but I made my buttercream icing for the decorations on the bottom. Then she used my piping bags to put icing wherever she wanted it.

Buttercream Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup Crisco
  • 4 cups powdered sugar (2 lbs)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon milk (if thick)

Buttercream Directions:

  1. Cream together the butter and Crisco with a mixer.
  2. Slowly add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.
  3. Add the vanilla, if it seems too thick you can add a bit of milk.
  4. Color with yellow food coloring.

Here are some of our other Thanksgiving Gingerbread posts:

Gingerbread House -23
Thanksgiving Baking -20
Kids Thanksgiving Treats -19

And here are some of our other Family Holidays:

Pumpkin Party

We had a “Pumpkin Party” today with fun food, games, and pumpkin carving. We got many of our activities from FREE Preschool Pumpkin Activities (shapes, counting, name) Homeschool Toddler and Fall Fun Pumpkin Preschool /Toddler Math & Literacy Activity Pack Worksheets ZIP . We also used some of the pumpkin pages of I SPY Halloween Alphabet Coloring Pages Fall Autumn Long & Short Vowels.

Pumpkin STEM

We used the Jack -o- Lantern STEM worksheet to measure, weigh, and count the seeds of our pumpkin. We also used the Pumpkin Life Cycle poster to learn about how pumpkins grow.

Pumpkin Carving

The kids wanted to help with the carving, so I found some kid safe scooping tools for them to use. I always use a drywall saw to carve my pumpkins, it makes it so much easier. After we carved a face and counted the seeds, we fed the insides to the pumpkins. Then Storm put our tiny white pumpkins inside the mouth of the jack-o-lantern and put our small flat pumpkin for the hat.

Then she wanted to weigh the pumpkin again to see if it was less now that we took out the insides. It was 2 pounds less!

Counting Pumpkin Seeds

I laminated this Counting Pumpkin Seeds page for her to place the correct number of seeds on each pumpkin.

Pumpkin Lunch

For lunch we had quesadilla cut into a pumpkin shape with my Wilton Pumpkin Cookie Cutters. We also had cheese balls, an orange, and a candy corn pumpkin all served on Jack-o-lantern plates.

Pumpkin Coloring

We got our worksheets from FREE Preschool Pumpkin Activities (shapes, counting, name) Homeschool Toddler and Fall Fun Pumpkin Preschool /Toddler Math & Literacy Activity Pack Worksheets ZIP . We also used some of the pumpkin pages of I SPY Halloween Alphabet Coloring Pages Fall Autumn Long & Short Vowels. I let printed out a few for the kids to choose from and they used an assortment of Twistable crayons, Erasable colored pencils, and Skinny markers.

Pumpkin Fluff

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz. frozen whipped topping
  • 5 oz. package instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 15 oz. can pumpkin
  • 2 teas pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

  1. Whip together the pudding, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice.
  2. Fold the whipped topping in with the pumpkin.
  3. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.
  4. Serve with apple slices, Vanilla Wafers, Graham Crackers, or Ginger Spice cookies.

Pumpkin Playdough

We used the Pumpkin Playdough recipe and printed out and laminated the Pumpkin Playdough mat for the girls. We used my Gourmet Food Coloring to make it more orange, and our Wilton Pumpkin Cookie Cutters to make pumpkins. I also found some Pumpkin Shape Playdough Cards for the girls to review their shapes.

Five Little Pumpkins

We read the Five Little Pumpkins poem and then the girls glued their pumpkins on the fence with the letters of their name on them.

Pumpkin Games

We played Pass the Pumpkin and also did the Pumpkin March. The kids continued to play the Pumpkin March over and over for at least half an hour.

You might enjoy some of our other party posts:

Indiana Dunes National Park (Junior Ranger Program)

We visited our first national park this weekend. We camped at Indiana Dunes National Park on the southern part of Lake Michigan. The younger girls got a Junior Ranger National Park Passport Book to put their stamps in. They also completed the Indiana Dunes Junior Ranger program and received their Junior Ranger Badges. The older boys enjoyed cooking over a campfire and hiking up the dunes.

Junior Ranger Guide

We studied about Indiana Dunes before we went because they wanted to participate in the National Parks Junior Ranger program. I found this list of all of the Junior Ranger Park Programs here. The girls filled out this National Park Research Paper and Indiana Dunes Brochure (well, I filled out most of these since Storm broke her right wrist last week). We used The National Parks Encyclopedia by Allison Lassieur for help along with Indiana Dunes National Park website. We also printed out the Indiana Dunes Junior Ranger activity guide before we left, so we could look it over and plan out our trip.

We planed our visit to see all of the things that interested us and also the locations that were mentioned in the Indiana Dunes Junior Ranger activity guide. We read and filled out page 3 at home, we found the mission of the National Park Service online. We used this Great Lakes Map to fill out page 4 of the activity guide. On page 6, we looked up some of the Indiana Dunes Animals to figure out what the Potawatomi would have hunted. We had a little trouble on page 10 identifying the animals with their prints, so we got a little help from the big brothers! We talked about page 15 and answered the questions, then we filled out the last page as well, so we wouldn’t have so much to do at the campsite.

We arrived Saturday afternoon and stopped at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center to pay the $25 for our stay (this pass is good for a week). You can also pick up your Junior Ranger activity guide there if you didn’t print it out ahead of time. After this we went to visit Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm near the Visitor Center. Bailly Homestead was under construction when we visited, but we could see the house a bit from the road. You can hike a quarter of a mile between the 2 places as well. After we visited here, we filled out the bottom of page 6 in Junior Ranger activity guide. Next we went to Dunewood Campground to set up our campsite for the weekend (read more about this below).

On Sunday morning we went hiking while it was still cooler out. We decided to hike the 3 Dune Challenge in the State Park at the Nature Center (we learned that we had to pay an additional park fee to enter though). You can read more about our 3 Dune Challenge experience below. As we hiked we tried to use all of our senses, then we filled out the bottom of page 12 in Junior Ranger activity guide. A short distance from the Nature Center we followed the Great Marsh Trail where we saw Bull Frogs and a Great Blue Heron. We were able to complete page 10 in Junior Ranger activity guide after this trail.

Sunday afternoon we wanted to go to the beach for the warmer weather. We tried to visit Dunbar Beach or Lake View Beach because it was closer to the Lake View Pavilion that we needed to visit for page 4 of our Junior Ranger activity guide. Unfortunately, there was no parking anywhere along the beach here, so we had to travel farther to West Beach and try to visit the Lake View Pavilion in the morning. At West Beach we didn’t see everything on page 8 in the Junior Ranger activity guide, but we saw a couple of them. We saw the toad, marsh grass, and Herring Gull; we also saw a tiny dead fish that had washed up on the beach (the girls had fun observing it).

Monday morning we stopped by Lake View Pavilion before heading back to the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center to fill out the last pages (page 10 and 12) of our Junior Ranger activity guide. After the guide was completed, the Park Ranger helped the girls say the Junior Ranger Oath, and then she gave them each a badge. Then they got to stamp their Junior Ranger National Park Passport Books. We also bought a couple of the 3 Dunes Challenge t-shirts in the gift shop.

Dunewood Campground

The only campsite in Indiana Dunes National Park is Dunewood Campground. The girls brought play kitchen toys to use in the sand, and the had a blast getting filthy! The boys brought their cast iron camp skillet to make pancakes for breakfast and quesadillas for dinner (be sure to bring your own firewood). We also had the traditional hotdogs and s’mores! We set up our CAMPROS tent and Kijaro Camping Chairs. The girls liked using our LED lanterns once it got dark.

3 Dunes Challenge

The boys favorite part of the trip with the dune hiking; my 15 year old said that he would like to do it again some time. We wanted to climb The 3 Dune Challenge in the morning while it was still cooler out. The girls enjoyed this too, and discovered that climbing up the sand dunes was easier for them without their shoes on. The rest of us had piles of sand in our tennis shoes by the top of the first dune, except for one of my sons who wore his hiking boots… no sand in those!

The 3 Dune Challenge is a loop if you start at the Nature Center. We just followed Trail 8 until the top of the last dune, then we switched to trail 4. The first dune is Mt. Jackson, 176 feet with a 31 degree slope angle. I really felt it in my calf muscles but it helped to stop about three fourths of the way up for a rest. The next dune was Mt. Holden, 184 feet high with 34 degree slope angle. This one made my hamstrings burn, but again I took a short rest about three fourths up that really helped me. (I saw several families with small children and fantastical mommies with babies riding on their bellies during this hike!) My teenage boys and small girls just went right on up without stopping for rests. The last dune was Mt. Tom. This one had soooooo many stairs! And again, I stopped to rest halfway up. Mt. Tom is 192 feet with a 43 degree slope.

Great Marsh Trail

A short distance from the Nature Center we followed the Great Marsh Trail, which is just about a half hour walk. You can see herons and cranes sometimes, we ended up spotting Bull Frogs and a Great Blue Heron which was amazing.

West Beach on Lake Michigan

The beach was the girls favorite part of the trip, they would have stayed there all day but the boys are usually done with the beach after about an hour. One of the boys didn’t even wear shorts to the beach, so he sat on the towel and dug the deepest hole every… to his elbow! The little girls brought their toy kitchen dishes to the beach and kept collecting little white feathers. They also found and tiny dead fish that wash ashore that they observed until I had the boys throw it back.

Here are some of our other National Park Adventures:

Valentine’s Day Baking

I love making food for my family, so we did some homemade baking for Valentine’s Day this year. The girls loved helping and the boys loved eating!

Cream Puffs

Puff Pastries Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup frozen butter
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1/4 teas salt
  • 2 cups all purpose flour

Puff Pastries Directions:

  1. I used my food processor with the metal blade and the shredding disk.
  2. Place the flour and salt into the food processor.
  3. Slowly add the frozen butter through the shredder as the food processor is pulsing.
  4. Add the cold water and pulse until a ball of dough forms.
  5. Place dough on a clean and floured surface. Roll out dough until it is about 12×18 inches.
  6. Add more flour to the dough and fold it into thirds. Add more flour and fold that in half. Place in a zip lock bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Cream Puff Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line to baking sheets with wax paper. Spray lightly with baking spray.
  2. Wrap forks with aluminum foil to resemble a cone and spray them too.
  3. Unfold the puff pastry and cut it with a pizza cutter into long 1 inch strips.
  4. Start at the small end of the fork mold and wrap the strip of puff pastry around it overlapping each layer by 1/4 inch. Place on the baking sheet.
  5. Prepare an egg wash with egg and water. Brush each horn with the egg wash.
  6. Bake for 15-17 minutes turning half way though.
  7. Allow them to cool for a few minutes and then remove the aluminum foil fork to finish cooling.
  8. Fill with the following Whipped Cream Recipe and dust with powered sugar.

Whipped Cream Ingredients:

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream chilled
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

Whipped Cream Instructions:

  1. Add the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
  2. With the mixer on medium speed, whip the cream until it begins to thicken.
  3. Continue whipping for several minutes until the cream is fluffy (medium peaks) but not too firm.
  4. Use immediately or cover tightly and chill for up to 36 hours.

Heart Pizzas

Ingredients:

  • 2 teas sugar
  • 1 teas dry active yeast
  • 2/3 cup warm water (105 degrees)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teas salt
  • 2 TBS olive oil
  • Pizza Sauce
  • Pepperoni
  • Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

  1. Mix sugar and warm water. Then sprinkle with yeast and let sit for 5 minutes.
  2. Add in the flour, salt, and olive oil and mix with dough hook in electric mixer.
  3. Once it is well mixed knead for 5 minutes.
  4. Divide dough into 2 pieces and place into an oiled pan. Cover and let it rise for and hour.
  5. Preheat oven to 475 degrees and roll out dough. I cut mine into heart shapes.
  6. Spread the pizza sauce and cheese then bake for 12-15 minutes.

Strawberry Shortcake

Shortcake Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup butter softened
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 egg

Strawberry Ingredients:

  • 2 cups strawberries hulled and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions:

  1. Start by preparing the strawberries. Add sliced strawberries to a bowl and sprinkle them with sugar. Stir to combine. Let them hang out on your counter for about 2 hours and they will create a delicious juice. I recommend stirring them every half hour or so.
  2. Next, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. Spray the heart shaped cupcake mold generously with baking spray. Then, add some all-purpose flour to the molds, shake it around, and discard the excess.
  4. The next step is to whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Then add the vanilla, softened butter, milk, and egg. With an electric mixer, beat on medium speed for about two minutes.
  5. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared heart shaped cupcake mold . Each mold should be about three-quarters full. In case there are any drips, set the pan on a baking sheet while spooning the batter into the molds. Then place the shortcake pan in the preheated oven.
  6. Bake the little cakes for 18-20 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pan before attempting to remove them. Gently loosen each cake with your fingers: then invert the pan to release the cakes.
  7. While the shortcakes cool, prepare the whipped cream (I used the left over whipped cream from the cream puffs).
  8. Spoon a generous amount of the strawberries and juice on each shortcake. Top with a dollop of Homemade Whipped Cream. Garnish with a sliced strawberry and sprig of fresh mint, if desired.

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Ocean Theme School Lunches

We had a fun ocean themed lunch at school for our “Anchored” week at school. Each day we found creative ways to incorporate all of the food groups. We also had to keep the calories and sodium counts down to meet the state requirements for serving food to the school children.

We used clear plastic cups for the pudding, jello, and the banana cup. We also offered milk everyday even though it is not pictured.

Monday

Ham & Cheese Sea Monster Sandwich
Goldfish Crackers
Broccoli Ocean Sprouts
Coral Reef Fruit Cocktail
Shark Pudding (Gummy Sharks)

Tuesday

Fish Shape Nuggets
Barnacle Baked Beans
Sea Dragon Punch
Blueberry Bubbles
Teddy Graham Beach Jello (Umbrella Toothpick)

Wednesday

Peg Leg Chicken
Sea Shell Pasta Salad
Green Sea Beans
Dolphin Banana in Grapes
Mermaids Delight Ice Cream (Mermaid Sprinkles)

Thursday

Hot Dog Octopus on Seaweed Spaghetti
Crab Leg Carrot Sticks
Sea Cucumber Slices
Green Sea Turtle Apple

(We added the hotdog bun to get enough whole grain. And we added a banana, because we had extras left from yesterday.)

Friday

Sand Dollar Pancakes
Sea Foam Scrambled Eggs
Treasure Tater Tots
Poseidon’s Red Pepper Sticks
Orange Boats

You might enjoy some of my other party posts:

Christmas Tree Teepee

This year I really wanted to make a Teepee Tree for my girls to play in. The idea is that the kids can play inside of the Christmas tree for a month and then Santa puts the gifts inside of the Teepee on Christmas morning.

I really had no idea how to build it, and I couldn’t find any satisfactory directions. So I decided to go at it one step at a time (which took much longer than I wanted and was very much frustrating at times).

I started by purchasing a 5 foot Teepee. I put together the Teepee and saw that it was saggy since I wasn’t able to attach the corner stakes that go into the ground that hold it firm.

I decided to get some 1/2 inch PVC pipe to form the bottom boarder of the inside of the teepee. Since the teepee is 5ft x 5ft I made the PVC square, but the corner pieces that hold it together add about and inch on each side; so I had to cut an inch off of my 5 foot pieces.

Next I folded the flaps back, but I needed something sturdy to attach my garland to. So I got 2 six foot pieces of PCV pipe and a three foot piece to form a triangle door for my Teepee. I attached the six foot pieces to the three foot piece with 90 degree corner pieces. (The PVC pipe is much cheaper at Lowes or Home Depot.)

I used zip ties to attach the triangle PVC to my 5 foot square PCV. I also zip tied the top of my PVC triangle to the top of my teepee poles.

I used 250 feet of green Christmas garland for my teepee. I place the first row of my garland all the way around the teepee, securing it in the 4 corners with a safety pin where the tent stake goes through.

After the first wrap or two around the entire teepee, I needed to wrap the garland around the PVC triangle opening to my teepee every time I came around to the front to create the opening.

I noticed that the garland was sagging, so I used binder clips on the corner teepee poles to hold the garland tight.

I continued wrapping the garland back and forth around the teepee using the clips on the corners until I got to the top of where I wanted the door opening to be.

The PVC triangle doorway was showing quite a bit of white pipe through, so I wrapped some smaller pieces of garland around it to cover the pipes.

I then started wrapping the garland all the way around the teepee top to close up the top of the door.

I had extra garland and the top of my tree looked a little scrawny, so I used the rest of my garland and wrapped the top part of my tree t more times. Then I wrapped the top of the teepee poles with the last bit of garland.

For the lights, I just zig zagged them back and forth on the side of the tree that showed. I used the binder clips that were already on the tree to keep the lights in place. When the lights got to the top of the tree, then I could wrap the lights all the way around the tree.

We decorated the tree and put a tree skirt in the bottom of the tree.

The girls liked to take their stuffed animals into their Christmas tent.

Merry Christmas!

Here are some of my other Christmas DIY posts:

Thanksgiving Gingerbread Nativity -24

Every year we make gingerbread houses on Thanksgiving. We made a Nativity scene with graham crackers and gum drop people. We used coconut for the hay and animal crackers with candy canes as well. We tried something new this year, using peanut butter instead of icing; but it wasn’t sturdy enough so the gumdrops kept falling over. Next time we will have to add some powdered sugar to the peanut butter to thicken it up.

We also got this Gingerbread Train to try.

Homemade Apple Cinnamon Play Dough

We made some homemade Apple Cinnamon Play Dough, it is included in my Teachers Pay Teachers Fall Fun Autumn Preschool Pack. I also laminated the Apple Tree Orchard Play Dough Mat that is included in the pack.

Ingredients:

Directions:

  • In a small saucepan, mix together 1 cup of water, 1 TBSP vegetable oil and a few drops of red food coloring.
  • In another small bowl mix together 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup salt, 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar and 2 teaspoons Apple Pie Spice.
  • Turn the stove on medium heat and slowly mix your flour mixture into your water mixture.
  • Continuing mixing until the color is fully blended and the playdough begins to pull away from the saucepan. The batter will be lumpy but as you stir the playdough begins to form and sticks to itself.
  • Place the playdough on a piece of parchment paper and allow it to cool a bit.
  • Once it’s cool to the touch knead for a few minutes until soft.

Here are some of our other Thanksgiving Gingerbread posts:

Gingerbread House -23
Thanksgiving Baking -20
Kids Thanksgiving Treats -19

And here are some of our other Family Holidays:

Talk Like a Pirate Day
Easter Minute-to-win-it
Christmas Fireplace & Crafts
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