Cracker Whacker/ HooDoo

If you need a fun summer game that is great for all ages, this one is for you! We played this at a family reunion on my side of the family, and it was great. So great, in fact, that when we were asked to do an activity for the family reunion on my husband's side, we knew just the thing.

We called it "HooDoo" after driving to Bryce Canyon and learning about their "HooDoos", someone in the family said that they didn't want to get hit in the "HooDoo's" during our family reunion game! :) So, the name stuck. We were also calling it Cracker Whacker because it's fun to say. Whatever you call it, it's good old fashioned fun!

To start, all you need are saltine crackers thread with dental floss, and swimming noodles cut into 3rds (I think).

Everyone playing needs to tie a cracker (or safety pin) to their pants. Then on "go", everyone tries to break each other's crackers. You are still in the game as long as some part of the cracker is still on the dental floss. The winner is the one with the most cracker still remaining.

We divided the game into two groups. 10 and under and 10 and older, mostly because there were about 50 people there. The video clip below is of the 10 and under group. They had such a good time!

As a family, we played this on Family Home Evening and it worked, even with only four players! We played with two crackers instead of one to make the game longer. This will definitely be a favorite summer game for years to come!

Garden Inspiration

My Dad has an amazing garden this year. I pulled up their street and was greeted by beautiful, green rows of vegetables. They have peas, corn, different types of squash, soy beans, black beans, cherry tomatoes, large tomatoes, different varieties of pumpkins for the grandkids, brussel sprouts, onions, peppers, and zucchini. (I'm sure I am forgetting some!)

My Dad's wife, Georgie Ann, is one of the most ambitious women I have ever known. She will be canning most of what she doesn't use. She cans just about everything from salsa to fruit juice, and is always kind enough to share the bounty! They also have fruit trees in the backyard, so she is busy, busy during the harvesting season.


This little piece of land has become such a treasure to me. Before my Dad started taking care of this garden, it belonged to my Grandparents. (My Grandpa says he gets more compliments on it, now that my Dad is taking care of it! :) I learned many lessons in this garden while growing up, many of which I hope to pass on to my children.


I tried to label what he has growing here, but I think I did a poor job. I think what I labeled as beans is actually peppers, now that I look at it. Oh, well. You get the idea. It is so attractive without a weed in sight, which is a testament to my Dad's dedication.

A little slice of heaven.

What a Couple of Weeks Can Do

It's amazing the growth from my garden in just a matter of about 2 weeks!

Father's Day Ideas

Father's Day is coming up this Sunday, and I love all the little craft blogs that have amazing ideas on ways to celebrate. Here are a couple of the ideas I loved:

• Make and Takes--She lists a whole bunch!
• Father's Day Feast at Your Home Based Mom
• Family Fun Magazine--Wealth of ideas

My Step-Mom suggested a great idea for my Dad. She said that every Father's Day Sunday, the LDS ward that they live in hands out mini breads to all of the father's. Since they will be out of town this weekend, my dad was a little bummed that he wouldn't be getting the bread, so my sister and I are each making a couple of different kinds. I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip and Lemon PoppySeed. (They were box mixes...I won't tell if you won't!)

So, as I was looking for ideas on how to gift the bread, my friend over at My Muddled Mind posted a cute idea and I totally copied it! (See how I am...) Go check it out HERE.

I baked the bread in disposable mini-loaf pans (3x5 size) from Walmart. They were 5 for $1.50. Each box made 3 loaves of quick bread. (side note: Any of the boxed muffin mixes can be made into quick breads and usually have the recipe to do that on the back) Then, I made these little cards (should have made them smaller) and punched a hole at the top and bottom of the card.

Next I wrapped the bread in plastic wrap and then again in waxed paper and folded the top of the waxed paper.

Then I tied twine through the holes and around the bread to hold the waxed paper in place. I put them in a basket and I'm ready to go!

And...for the card! I saw this cute idea for an origami shirt and tie at AlphaMom. Her instructions were awesome and it was a breeze to make. In fact, I made three!

I hope you have a great Father's Day! I will be out of town this weekend starting tomorrow, so I'll have more posts ready for you on Monday.

For Baby

I had my eye on THIS bag for months. It was strategically placed at the top of my favorites list under "This Is The Diaper Bag I Want!". Then, I realized that we didn't have $175 just laying around for me to spend on a bag for diapers. It sounds silly now that it's written out like that, but I think I shed a couple of tears about it. I'm over it now, though. I've just made myself the cutest bag with accessories included!

There were a couple of easy tutorials that I used for the following. The first one is a diaper clutch. This is perfect for keeping one diaper and portable wipees together. I should have made the pattern a little larger so I could keep a couple of diapers in there at a time. It would be great to store in the car or for the times when you just want one diaper with the wipees and you don't want to take your entire diaper bag apart to find them. Find this tutorial HERE.

I found this wallet tutorial last weekend. Now that I've made it, I want to try again and make it perfect because I made a lot of mistakes and didn't follow the directions and did my own thing for most of it. Re-reading the directions, I was like, "Oh, that would have made sense, I should have done that." So...follow the instructions! If I make another one, I will use a snap instead of velcro. I would also put a little elastic piece in the middle to hold a pen. That would have been a cute easy thing. It would be nice to have a little zipper pocket in the back for change, too. (Man, I guess I need to make another one!) Anyway- That tutorial is HERE.

And I made this adorable diaper bag. But, I'm thinking of starting a little business on the side making all types of bags from these large diaper bags to scripture cases, etc. Leave a comment if you are interested in having one. I need feedback, so let me know what you think!

Here's everything together! I get so many compliments on it, and I love carrying something other than the bag I got from the hospital. No more coveting the Bumble Bags!
(ok, that's a lie...I would still love one of those...)

Cute as a Cupcake!

We made cupcakes tonight. The ones you bake in an ice cream cone. They were delicious! You should try it!