Grin N' Bear It

This last month we were able to spend a fabulous week up in Grand Teton National Park and Island Park (just outside of Yellowstone) with my brother and his family! It was so fun! We have boys just about the same age and they are such good buddies! Since we were camping a few of the nights and spending time in the beautiful outdoors, my sister-in-law Caitlin and I decided to plan some fun nature/forest animal activities for them to do while we were up there. 

So I thought I'd share some of these cute ideas that you can do to spice up your camping trip or use for a Forest or Nature-themed Unit. 

Paper Binoculars

These little guys LOVED their paper binoculars and played with them for hours! They were perfect for "spotting wildlife" on a little hike we took. Get instructions on how to make these HERE at andweplay.com! 

Haha, they are such goofballs!

I spy...

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Caitlin put together the cutest little scavenger hunt. She taped a key of things they were supposed to look for onto a paper bag and then the boys could put some of the things they found in the bag.  Her list included things like a pinecone, a leaf, a flower, a rock, a twig, etc. And also some things like animals tracks, a deer, a spider web and so on. 

Click  Here  or Here for some suggestions (and printable versions) of a nature scavenger hunt. 

These boys crack me up!

They were pretty excited about all the things they found. 

Painted Rocks

The boys had fun painting some rocks. You could also paint walking sticks, pinecones or something like that!

Forest Learning Activities

I used ateachingmommy.com to print out some cute forest-themed activities for them to do too to practice counting, sorting, etc. 

 Bear Toast 

This makes an awesome breakfast, lunch or even snack! Just spread a piece of toast with peanut butter to make a face, then use banana slices for a snout and ears and raisins or blueberries for eyes and a nose. 

 Bear Masks

We made bear masks for the boys to wear after reading some of our favorites books about bears (see below).  

Grizzly Discovery Center

For a fun outing we visited the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone to get an up close and personal look at some real life grizzly bears and wolves! 

We got to pet some real bear fur :)

Dad of the Year right here!

Bear Books

We read some fun books about bears too. 

Some other fun camping books:

So often we go places but we don't stop to really SEE and LOOK! I think the best part about doing these activities was how it got our boys thinking about and noticing their surroundings. 


xoxo
Annie

Ready, Set, September!

 This summer went SO fast that I am not ready for it to end!! But like it or not, September is here!

Check out my September Posts for lots and lots of ideas for having a fun and festive September whether you have kids or not! There are crafts, recipes, treats, books, activities and more! Even suggestions for Turning Over a New Leaf this month with a fresh take at life!

LINK HERE

To get set for September, I stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up some of their Cinnamon Schoolbook Cookies! These make the cutest little addition in your kids' lunchboxes or are a fun way to work on letters and spelling with your little ones! My son has LOVED them!

And I found the cutest new book that I'm looking forward to reading with Beckam! It teaches about different kinds of fall leaves!

More September ideas are just around the corner so check back soon!

xoxo

A Name and a Blessing: Haiya's Blessing Day

We are so grateful that we could bless our little Haiya in the presence of so much family! Caleb had a week break from school this August so we drove up to Utah so that we could have both of our families be there for the special day. We blessed her at my parent's home in Salt Lake and had a light dinner afterwards. It was a beautiful and memorable day! 

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, instead of christening our babies like many others do, we give our children a special priesthood blessing in which we present the new infant to our Heavenly Father and officially pronounce a name and a blessing on them. 

The name we have officially chosen to give our daughter is Haiya Elizabeth Stott. Yes, you read that right ;)  We announced when she was born that her name would be Haiya Sophia. I have always loved the name Sophia and wanted to use it, but since Haiya has been born I have had some very, very sacred experiences in which I have come to know that Haiya and I have a very special and unique relationship. One that began long before this lifetime. As such, I have felt really bad over the last few months that I didn't give her part of my name. The day of the blessing, Caleb and I had an impression come over us in which we felt prompted to change her name - giving her the same middle name as me.  We have felt such a sweet, beautiful confirmation since then that it was the right thing to do!  To read more about what the name Haiya means, see my post Haiya: The Meaning Behind Her Name. 

On August 24, 2014 Haiya was given a beautiful and poignant blessing by her daddy, wearing the very same dress her mama wore when she was blessed 28 years ago. It was such a sweet and tender thing for me to see Haiya in my blessing dress. 

We are so thankful for all of our family who were able to be there in attendance, and especially to those who helped us to make it a beautiful day! I am thankful to both our mothers for providing delicious food, to my sister Jenn for a gorgeous floral arrangement, and to my sister Caitlin for taking pictures. She did SUCH an amazing job- I am so thankful for her talent and how it has helped to capture and preserve this special day for us.  {Check out her photography website http://www.caitlinnicolephotography.com/ to see more of her amazing work!}

It was also so special to have four generations of women present at her blessing: Haiya, her mother, her grandmother, and her great-grandmother. I am so thankful for these two amazing women (my mom and Grandma) and for the remarkable examples they are to me of what it means to be strong, virtuous women. 

Haiya and her great-grandmother Charlotte. This picture is precious to me!

Our growing family

Us and Caleb's Parents

The men who participated in her blessing

 This beautiful little dress is the one she wore to church on her big blessing day. It is so beautiful! And so is she :)

Words cannot express how much we love our little Haiya! She truly is such a light and joy in our lives!! (Thank you again Caitlin for the beautiful pictures!!)

xoxo