Pink Day

(Photo via http://lets-explore.typepad.com)


I loved the idea of having a day that revolves around a color. The Let's Explore blog featured a pink day a while back. She tied in the story "Pinkalicious" and then prepared a pink lunch for her daughter. You can read all the details here. Start thinking about what other color days you could prepare for your family.

Ghost Hunters Live

I have fallen in love with the Sci-Fi series, Ghost Hunters. It's a show that follows a team of investigators as they search reportedly haunted locations trying to disprove the hauntings. When they gather substantial evidence they can't explain away, they deem the property as haunted or having paranormal activity. It's usually on Wednesday nights here, but today is a marathon. The show started running episodes at 6:00 am and will continue until they start their live investigation tonight at 5:00 and continue until midnight. If you need a good scare with your kids tonight, tune in and watch. It always sends a chill up my spine. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Halloween Countdown Printables

I ran across this calendar with a new printable every day for your little witches and goblins to count down to the big day. You can print off new activities every day and you can go back and print all the way back to October 1st. Have fun!

Pumpkin Patch

(Photo via www.ironkettlefarm.com)

Today is a great day to take your family to a pumpkin patch and pick out your pumpkins. Do a little searching to see if you can find an authentic pumpkin patch rather than grabbing your pumpkins on your way out of the grocery store. Be sure to bring your camera. Most pumpkin patches have some great photo ops...bales of hay, tractors, signs, carved pumpkins, and fall decor. Even if they don't have any fall props, those bold orange pumpkins make for great photos...especially if you dress your kiddos in complementary fall colors or in contrasting blue. Get your pumpkins now while there are still plenty to choose from.

31 Things to Do in October

(Photo via www.history.com)

My friend Jill made this list with fun ideas to do every day in October. A few of the ideas are local to Utah, but most can be done no matter where you live. Pick a few from the list or try them all. October is a great month to do fun things as a family.

Autumn Color I-Spy Car Game

(Photo courtesy of www.freepicturesfreepictures.com)

The leaves here are starting to turn beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow and brown. Pile the family into the car and drive around to look at the vibrant colors of autumn. Take your camera and squeeze in a family picture while you're out. Make the drive fun for the kids by giving them a list of things to spy. Here are a few ideas:

• An all-red tree
• A burned tree
• A lake
• A river
• A bright yellow tree
• An animal
• A tree with no leaves
• A red bush
• Yellow wildflowers
• Blue wildflowers
• A pine tree
• A tree with orange leaves
• A waterfall
• A green bush
• A tree with brown leaves

Tailor the list to the kinds of trees and plants you'll see on your drive. Have fun!

Take to the Skies

Take to the skies this weekend. Our family bought a pair of Air Hog remote controlled airplanes for our kids. We went to the park and took turns flying them and chasing them all around. If you don't want to spend the money on a remote controlled airplane, try paper airplanes. Check out some paper airplane books from the library or search online for directions on how to fold paper airplanes. Take your paper airplanes to the park and race them. Give awards for the furthest distance, the coolest trick, the fastest and the most creative. Your kids (and your hubby) will love it!

Family Mailbox

Here's an idea for a fun family project that you can carry on for weeks, months or even years. Start with a mailbox. If you have young children, they can make a mailbox out of an old cereal box and decorate it. You could also buy a real mailbox and decorate it to match your home decor. Wouldn't it be cute with vinyl lettering on the side? Place it in a prominent location. Introduce your family mailbox to your family. Tell them that they can write notes to anyone in the family and drop the notes into the mailbox. Once a week you can have a different family member be the mailman (or mailwoman) and deliver the mail. When your kids tell you they're bored, tell them to go write a letter to a family member. It will be lots of fun!

Summer Snowball Fight

Longing for cooler weather? Why not have a summer snowball fight?

Items needed:
Plenty of white pantyhose (check your local dollar store for these)
Lots of flour (25+ pounds)

Fill the bottom of one pantyhose leg with 1-2 scoops of flour. Tie as close to the top of the flour as possible and cut it off. Tie the next section of pantyhose and repeat until you have multiple snowballs. Make sure everyone in the snowball fight wears darker colors so you can see where you've been hit.

Be prepared for a bit of a mess, but great photo ops. The flour flying through the air in your pictures really makes it look like it's snowing!

Tip: Use leaf blowers to clean the flour off the kids before they come inside. And be sure to clean the flour in the yard up before the sprinklers turn on.

Family Night at the Arcade

Looking for something different to do with your family? Throw the kids in the car and tell them you have a surprise for them. Pull up at the local arcade and announce a family competition arcade night. Plan ahead for awards to give each family member: Valiant Effort, All-Around Winner, Skee-Ball Sister, Dancing Queen, Dead-Eye, Ticket Master, etc. Play for an hour or so before grabbing ice cream at an ice cream shop and having a family award ceremony on the spot.