Our April activity was a lot of fun and very informative. We had 6 wonderful ladies come and give us 5 tips on different subjects.
We started the night by playing a fun facts game and the winners got a cleaning/cooking prize. It was fun to learn some new facts and even the Bishop won a game!!
Our first speaker was Rita Tanner. She spoke to us on Fashion.
She started the presentation in one outfit and proceeded to change her clothes by adding different shirts, scarves, belts, jewelry, shoes, etc. She was awesome and we learned a lot. I definitely want to go stock on some basics as she talked about. She also talked about different body types. She suggested we go through our closets and try everything we have on. If it doesn't work, get rid of it. She had a whole segment on scarves, which we didn't even get to. We will definitely have to have her back. It so much fun!!
.JPG)
We also heard from Angelia Hansen. She gave us a great discussion about gardening. She said her favorite tip was to marry someone who loves gardening. (That's a good start). She talked to us about the basics of gardening and not to plant more than what you could eat. A good tip was to only plant one zucchini plant (as even on a bad year, you still have too much zucchini). A great tip also was to write on a rock with a permanent marker what you grew in what place. Then the next year you can turn the rock over and write again what you planted. Also write specifically what brand or type of food you planted (like a certain tomato) so the next year when you want to get what works, you will remember what you had. She also suggested we have fun with our gardens and try something new each year. I was definitely inspired to get my garden going (or have my husband who loves to do it start).
Crystal Leatham gave us a great presentation on fun and nutritious snacks. I learned a lot from the tips she uses to make snacks fun and healthy for her children. She gave us a great handout on some fun recipes to try. One tip she suggested is to put yogurt in a Ziploc bag and to cut the corner of it (or use pastry bag). Then squeeze it out making dots of yogurt on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. You then freeze the yogurt dots and you have a fun, healthy snack of frozen yogurt bites. Another fun recipe she gave us was for homemade fruit snacks. They sound very easy and very nutritional, made with real fruit.
1 cup mixed berries ¼ cup
water
½ cup applesauce ½
cup fruit juice (apply, cranberry, blueberry, whatever)
2 envelopes
gelatin (1 envelope = 2 ½ teaspoons)
In a small sauce
pan over medium heat combine the berries and water. Bring to a boil and cook until berries are
soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a
blender to puree berries until smooth.
Return to pot. Add applesauce and
return to a boil, then remove from heat, cover and set aside. In a large bowl, sprinkle gelatin over fruit
juice and let stand one minute. Add hot
fruit mixture and stir until gelatin completely dissolves, 3-5 minutes. Pour into 8 x 8 inch glass or ceramic baking
dish (or into molds). Refrigerate until
firm, about 3 hours. Cut into blocks or
shapes.
Corrissa Shumway gave us some great tips on cleaning. We learned a lot of ways to clean our house with products we already have in our homes. She talked about a concoction of vinegar and liquid dawn dish soap to clean our bathtubs and toilets. She also used this to clean her shower door. She made a baking soda and water paste and scrubbed it over the door. After she wiped that down, she used the vinegar/dawn mixture and she said it cleaned her doors great. She also talked about using vinegar/water mixture to clean our windows. It was also discussed to pour baking soda down our drains and then some vinegar (to start it bubbling) and it will help get rid of any smell coming out of your kitchen sink. Many ladies also use baking soda to clean their toilets. It was fun to hear a lot of cleaning tips to help make our lives easier and more productive (and cost effective).
Amy Rasmussen gave us some wonderful ideas on how to have a fun summer with our kids and grandkids. She suggested we make a plan with our kids before summer starts and make sure to have your kids involved in the planning so you can do things they want to do. She stated the importance of not stressing out if you don't get to everything on your list that week. Even if you did one of the activities you planned for the week, it is more than you would have done had you not planned anything. She suggested having themes for each day of the week when planning such as: Make and Create Monday, Time to Serve
Tuesday, Wonderful Reading Wednesday, Think and Explore Thursday, Fun Science
Friday. She also talked about having a "cool down" space for your kids. She is planning on making a space in her home that the family came up with: Alaska. She is planning on putting up some Christmas lights like the Northern lights and other fun decorations to make this room like their escape to Alaska. Then when the kids are fighting or frustrated she can "send them to Alaska" to cool down and come out when they are feeling better. What a fun idea!!!! I loved her idea of a reading corner. She took a simple brown box and they decorated it and put lights poking down from the top. Then they can lay their heads in the box with a pillow and have a fun, creative place to read. Anything to help our kids stay up on their reading is a great idea. They will be excited to read if they have a fun place to do it. She also plans on going to the library for their kids programs during the summer. I got some great ideas for the summer from her.
Our last, but definitely not least, speaker was Kristine Camp. She spoke to us on Family Home Evening. Wow!!! Some wonderful ideas. She started out by telling us the best idea their family ever had was opening treats. Her son told her that they have opening prayer and an opening song, so he wanted to have opening treats. So she gets something like skittles or Mike & Ike's, etc. and they begin by eating their opening treats. She says they usually end up singing the opening song with a mouthful of candy, but it makes the kids excited to come to FHE (and they didn't get rid of closing treats). She talked about taking advantage of the church's picture packets (can't remember the name) to use for Family Home Evening lessons. A tip that I do is to take my kid's Faith in God or scout books and have them each pick something out to pass off each week during FHE. There are a lot of good ideas in there. Kristine gave us some fun ideas. It was a great time. (I have to mention that I had a picture of Kristine, but it got erased before I had it posted--Kristine you are off the hook).
We ended the night with some treats brought by the RS board and presidency. A few of us made some go-to snacks that we like to make when we have to whip something up fast. They were all delicious.
Thanks to everyone who made this night great.
Don't forget to come to our next activity on Tuesday May 14th. We are doing a service project of tying some quilts for the Africa kits. (The same places our dresses we donated are going). We have a lot of quilts built up in the RS closet we need to get done. We did this last year and had a wonderful time so don't miss it. We are also going to be making some stuffed animal owls for the IHC NICU. They are in need of people to make these owls for them to give. They are really easy and fun to make so if you don't want to quilt, please come and help us with these owls!!!
We will have the quilts ready at 5:00 and will be done at 8:30. You can come anytime between 5:00 and 8:30 that you can. Come for the whole time or for as long as you can!!!
We will be having refreshments and babysitters will be there!!
.JPG)
.JPG)
