Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts

I Dig You, Valentine!

Oh hey, it's the day after Valentine's Day and I'm posting about the boys' Valentines.  Apparently, that's how I roll these days.  But because I like to share and I like to make someone else's life a little easier, I don't care!  So here's a thought--you like the idea and want to use it next year?  Go ahead and pin it to your Valentines board so you don't forget next February. 😉

Anyway, I came to the realization last Friday night that Valentine's Day was just five days away and my children had nothing yet to give to their little school friends.  (Again, that's how I roll!)  While I would have loved buying those cheap little cards and having the boys sign them, the crafty, control-freak in me just couldn't do that.  (Maybe next year.)  However, Walmart did come to the rescue with their cute, pre-made, pun-worthy Valentines.

I bought a box of 10 "I Dig You" Valentines for under $2 (that included mini shovels), threw in some conversation hearts and baggies, and designed my own printable to replace their version.  Holden helped me stuff the baggies and we stapled the printout to each baggie after each boy signed his name.  Looking back, I wish I would have created the printable to fold over the top of the baggie so that the contents were visible, but I didn't and it was what it was!



What You'll Need:
White cardstock 
A color printer 
Scissors or a paper cutter 
 Individual boxes of conversation hearts
Mini toy shovels*
Snack-size baggies
Stapler

*Look for a box of 10 in the pre-made Valentine section at Walmart!  Otherwise, maybe a dollar store.


 What You'll Do:

1. Download and print this free printable that includes four "I Dig You" Valentines per sheet of paper.

2. Cut length-wise at the 4.25 mark (so you'll have two columns of paper, each 4.25 x 11 inches).  Then cut each Valentine so it measures five inches from top to bottom.  Have your child sign each Valentine.

3. Place box of conversation hearts and shovel into a small baggie.  Seal baggie and staple the Valentine printout to the front.

That's it!  So easy and so cute!


Want some other DIY ideas?  Here are our old Valentines!

Valentine, You Rule
Color Your Heart Out (printable / how to)
You're a Great Catch

Our 4th This Year

Let me start by saying I love the 4th of July.  Love love love it.  I'm a die-hard summer fan and the fourth pretty much encompasses all things summer.  We didn't have big plans this year (four sets of our neighbor friends were out of town), but we did have plans to attend our town parade, spend some time at the pool, and go to a neighbor's barbeque for dinner.  Except that we woke to rain.  And thunderstorms.  It wasn't forecasted to quit until that afternoon...if that.  The parade was cancelled.  Our pool plans were obviously a bust.  I felt like we were cooped up on a winter weekend.  It pretty much just ruined the holiday vibe.  I did force my family outside during a 10-minute break in the rain for a family photo.  After all, we were all matchy-matchy in our red, white, and blue - not to mention, I specifically buy 4th of July outfits for the boys - so I definitely wasn't going to let that holiday photo opp pass us by.  However, by dinner time, I was over it.  We decided to just stay put indoors and maybe maybe venture out for fireworks.  But at that point, putting the kids to bed early sounds just as nice!


That evening (it had finally stopped raining 🙌🙌), we noticed a few neighbors were outside.  So we joined them.  And what started as a bummer of a holiday, ended with the most impromptu, but best and most low-key gathering.  Just a few families, eight kids (plus two babies), Papa Johns pizza, and some illegal fireworks.  What more could you want?!











For the first year ever, Brantley wasn't afraid of the fireworks.  A little timid at first, but once he saw his neighbor buddies participating, he was all in.  Holden, on the other hand, was terrified for most of the day all weekend.  He finally decided around 7pm on the 4th they weren't so bad, though he would not remove those darn noise-blocking headphones.











Turns out, a day of rain makes for some pretty photos.  The sky was dreamy that night.  The perfect shade of gold and I couldn't get enough.  









The photos stopped once the sun went down, but the fun continued until fireworks time.  We drove a few blocks away to the outskirts of our neighborhood to catch the city fireworks show, which was just the icing on the cake to a few hours of 4th of July fun!  

Star Spangled Kids 2017

I have such a love/hate relationship with the 4th of July.  I love the holiday itself.  It's my second favorite to Christmas, but only a teensy bit lower on my list.  However, the 4th seems to be the beginning of the end {of summer}.  Which makes me sad.  But I'll try not to think about that quite yet.

I'm happy once again to be co-hosting the Star Spangled Kids link-up with a few of my favorite blogger friends!  All you have to do is post some festive photos of your kids donning their best red, white, and blue and then link up using the widget below (open through the 7th)!  Make sure you also tag your photos {on Instagram|} with the hashtag #starspangledkids.

I tried snapping photos of the boys on two separate occasions.  I didn't get anything super amazing, but 'tis the season of life, right?  These three are still my favorite!

I hope everyone has the best holiday full of friends, food, and fireworks!






























Liz from Ellie And Addie 
Kristy from Seven Graces Blog 
Sarah from Seeing All Sides 
Brettni from Honeysuckle Avenue 
Whitney from Work It Mommy 
Stephanie from Wife Mommy Me