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This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made at those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support!  The Fourth of July, or Independence Day should be an awesome celebration this year, now that the pandemic restrictions are being lifted! It will be wonderful to spend this important holiday with our loved ones and count our blessings that we live in the Land of the Free because of the Brave. My husband, my dad, my brother, many other family members and dear friends are in the ranks of those brave ones, and I am so thankful for them. I am happy and blessed to be able to express that gratitude on this holiday. Whenever we have family get togethers, it is always nice to have simple snacks for people to munch on until the actual meal happens! This year we are doing fruit kabobs with fruit dip and Patriotic Rice Krispy Treats! They all take very little time, the kids love to help make them and they fit many dietary needs!  We used an A-B-C-B-D-B pattern or watermelon, blueberries, strawberries and pineapple. Even these kabobs can be educational! LOL The little flamingo skewers were from Dollar Tree. They were actually stir sticks, but we snipped the knob off of the bottom so that they would have a pointier end to stab into the fruit. My 3 year old granddaughter loved helping me making the pattern of fruit as we put it on the sticks, and popping a few extra pieces into her mouth in between. Putting the kabobs on this star studded plater from Walmart makes these simple fruit snacks more festive! The fruit dip is one that I learned to make years ago from my friend Cindy! Now I see it all over the internet! It is a super simple recipe, but so delicious. 3 Ingredient Fruit Dip
*You can use vegan cream cheese to make this dip vegan!  I found the Stars and Stripes Sprinkles at Walmart! Two of my grandchildren helped me with the Patriotic Rice Krispy Treats! My 6 year old grandson was able to measure out the 6 cups of cereal just fine and my 3 year old granddaughter assured me that she could handle the marshmallows and the sprinkles! She was awesome at both. I simply followed the recipe on the Rice Krispy box, threw in a few sprinkles and then after pressing them into a 9 x 13 pan, (which my grandchildren had buttered), we pressed in a few more sprinkles on top. My gluten-free SIL is grateful when I make these gluten-free treats and if you use vegan butter and marshmallows, they are vegan as well.  I am going to visit a couple of my grandchildren who live an hour and a half away and bring them these treats all wrapped up. This would be cute for neighbor gifts or your kids friends. I love these simple ideas and how simple they are with a big result. What are you doing for the 4th this year? I hope that you all have a wonderful celebration!
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This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made at those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support!  Around here, we are always up for a new game! This one, Skyjo, was a gift to me for Mother's Day! Little did we know when we began playing it that my youngest grandchildren would be able to catch on to it so well! Skyjo is a great game for old and young alike!  Skyjo is a card game with numbered cards from -2 up to 12. The object of the game is to end up with the fewest points. The lowest cards are shades of blue and green and the highest are yellow up to red. My 3 year old granddaughter learned quickly that blue and green are "good" cards and that yellow and red are "bad" and those are the ones that you want to get out of your hand! After one time of playing "partner" with her mom, she was ready to have her own cards and play independently. She has beat me way more often than I have her! Playing Skyjo takes 2 things. Luck, or in other words, the luck of the draw literally! It also takes a certain amount of strategy and problem solving skills. You have to know what cards to replace when you draw and if it is worth replacing already fairly good cards with even better ones or taking the risk of switching out the unknown. I have been so surprised at how quickly even my youngest grandchildren have begun to figure out some of the more subtle strategies! Educational value of Skyjo: While the competition of the game alone makes it fun, there are so many great skills that kids can take away from it!
During these hot summer months in Phoenix when playing outside isn't really an option unless there is water involved, it is so great to have games to play that we can all enjoy and give the kids a way to play something besides electronics! Cooperative play is so important! Not only that, if they are having fun playing and secretly learning at the same time, that is a terrific bonus! Math skills are something that all kids should have reinforced! Skyjo fits the bill! Are you playing any great games this summer? Let me know what they are! I can always use suggestions! Related Posts You May Love:
This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made at those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support!  Most of us 3 Winks women live in Phoenix. Lindsey, Maddy and I are all jealous of Alicia during this time of year because she lives in the reasonably temperate California Bay Area while we live here, in the fiery inferno of Phoenix, Arizona. When you live in a fiery inferno, you still have to feed your family healthy meals, but you search diligently for ways to do it without turning on your oven and heating up the house. Even when we use a crock pot or other appliance, we sometimes put it outside on the patio to keep from adding any more heat to the house. The struggle is real. For years, I have used my crock pot as a great oven alternative during the summer. Now, in recent years, the Air Fryer and the Instant Pot have entered the picture. I am still in the learning curve for both of those appliances, but my girls have already embraced them as the blessing that they are. Today, I am going to share with you some of our favorite and simple recipes to make in these gadgets that truly help to keep the heat out of the house! Instant pot
Air Fryer
Crock Pot
Whelp, now I'm hungry! Luckily, recipes like these will help to feed me and keep the house from heating up! What do you use your Instant Pot, Crock Pot and Air Fryer for? I'd love to try some new recipes!
This post contains affiliate links. We will be compensated for any purchases you make at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!  To say that it is hot here in Phoenix is an understatement! Look at this meme that my son posted the other day:  That just about says it all! We are all about finding the things that make us cooler. We have spent a lot of time in the water already this Summer, and in between we are drinking as many cooling drinks as possible. We have shared a number of our cold beverage concoctions here on the blog in the past. Here are some favorites that you can click on to try out if you are suffering as much as we are!
Years ago when my brother was a teenager, and I was much younger, he got a job at one of the first Orange Julius Shops that we had ever heard of in our town! (Although, they have been in business since the 1920s.) We loved those things, and still do. But, I think the recipe has changed since all of those years ago. The recipe that I've been making is more reminiscent of the original one that I remember so fondly! It is such a great way to get cooled off with a thirst quenching beverage! The ingredients are simple and you may already have them all on hand. My blender is so great at crushing up the ice cubes that the texture is perfect. (Right now, the price on Amazon is amazing!)  The other night we were all feeling so hot! I asked, "Who wants an Orange Julius?" Everyone responded with a resounding yes! I whipped some up for everyone in the blender and I have to tell you that the coolness and bright flavor of this drink was just so wonderful and cooling that I am going to run out and pick up more frozen concentrate as soon as possible to make this our summer beverage of choice! More healthy than soda, cold and delicious, you can't go wrong. Let me know if you give it a try!  |
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
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Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! 
Click this link and visit 3WinksDesignShop on Etsy. Find our Hot Cocoa Bomb Idea Book, our For the Love of PIe e-book and more of our creations!
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