Ideas for Celebrating the 4th of July

Good Wednesday morning!

I added a couple of pics in the Gallery from Sunday. Nothing magnificent, but still part of our weekend.

SUMMER RAMBLINGS - I hope you are all having a great, fun-filled summer. The days are long and hot. The kids are staying up late watching movies and talking to friends who have spent the night... but the good news is they are sleeping late, too.

A summer with three teenagers and their friends is very different from previous summers spent with preschoolers or pre-teens... but it's good. In fact, I'm learning it can be very good. It's all about letting go of the old and embracing the new. Something we all know I am SO good at doing! NOT!

But I'm learning. I really am.

Wednesday Wisdom - In honor of all things Toy Story (1, 2 and 3), I have decided to share some wise words from the characters of those movies today.

"You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity. Farewell." Buzz. (This probably would not have made my list except I heard Austin say this to his Sunday School teacher as he was leaving class the week after we saw the movie many, many years ago. I thought it was funny. The teacher... not so much.)

"That wasn't flying! That was falling... with style!" Woody speaking to Buzz.

"Excuse me,I believe the word you're searching for is 'Space Ranger'" Buzz.
"The word I'm searching for, I can't say, because there are preschool toys present." Woody. (I've been there!)

"I'm packing you an extra pair of shoes and your angry eyes, just in case." Mrs. Potato Head. (She's a great example of a very good wife.)

And my two favorite quotes EVER...

"To infinity... and BEYOND!" Buzz.

"I can't stop Andy from growing up. But I wouldn't miss it for the world." Woody. (Woody is my favorite character. He sounds just like a mother of a teenager!)

Ideas for Celebrating the 4th of July

Your 4th of July Celebration may already be well-established, but just in case you want to add something different to the mix, here are a few ideas.

1. Organize an old-fashioned game of baseball. For those guests who insist on sitting in the "stands," serve them Cracker Jack and Coke while they watch the game.

2. Create your own 4th of July parade by having everyone decorate a bike or wagon! (I have a friend who lives in Georgia. When the kids were young, her neighborhood held a 4th of July parade each year. The kids loved it.)

3. Make two large copies of a map of America. Cover up the names of the states and have a competition between the boys and girls to see who can identify all 50 states the fastest.

4. For a meaningful activity, have the older generation pass on stories about America when they were growing up. Ask each guest to share what they like the most about living in the United States.

5. Plan a trivia contest with fun facts about American presidents, history, inventions and folklore.

6. To pass the time between the cookout and fireworks, have the older kids paint the younger girls’ fingernails red, white and blue. You can also face paint a flag or fireworks on their cheeks!

7. Buy some very large boxes of sidewalk chalk and let each of the kids draw HUGE brightly colored sidewalk murals.

8. Let the little ones wear matching 4th of July outfits, but try to get everyone (including ALL the adults) to wear something red, white or blue.

9. After dinner, have each member of the family finish the sentence "I Love My Country Because... ."

10. Have a favorite game for everyone to play together toward the end of the celebration. (This year, we're playing Bunco since it was a hit at Bev's birthday party.)

11. End the day by watching the movie National Treasure. It's patriotic, fun and age-appropriate... and if you're not careful, you'll probably learn something about our forefathers and the Declaration of Independence. Great movie!

Have a wonderful Wednesday. Thursday is Blog Linkage and Date day. It's one of the best days of the week, I tell you.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda