Puppy Party at Grandma's

My mom is seriously the cutest!  She loves throwing parties and having all of her loved ones up at her house, so she decided she wanted to start Grandma's Fun Club for all of her grandkids.  Every so often she wants to host a party for the kids to come and enjoy, where she'll have activities, games, food, etc.  Basically this is a win-win because I get to enjoy all the fun too and so does Olivia!  

For her first ever Grandma's Fun Club she decided to throw a Puppy Party!  

Keep reading to see all the cuteness!

She had each set of parents bring something for lunch and put some in the cutest little dog bowls you can find them HERE.  I made some Puppy Chow (Muddy Buddies), Mud Bath (Instant Pudding and Oreo Crumbs with a little dog on top, I used plastic dogs but THESE would've been adorable too!), and Dog Bones (Rice Krispie treats cut out with THESE cutters).

She also had chew sticks (licorice), more dog bones (Scooby graham crackers), Pupcorn (popcorn), Pawtato Chips (potato chips), Dogs in a Blanket (pigs in a blanket), and Puppy Kisses (Hershey Kisses).  

She had the cutest little plastic dogs sitting throughout the tablescape, find the plastic dogs HERE!

My mom always has a guessing game at each party.  This time she had everyone guess how many Tootsie Rolls were in the doggie jar (similar found HERE).  Everyone puts their guess in the cup and the winner gets the candy jar to take home!

Grandma's Pet Adoption center was the cutest centerpiece and the kids absolutely loved it! 

The kids were so cute looking at the little dogs.  

My mom is the master of using what she has and making things look incredible on a dime.  She reused the bone fence from Halloween decorations, had some fake grass (similar found HERE), used wrapping paper as the table runner, used things she already had and checked Dollar Tree and found things on sale to put together the party.  I found some really cute stuffed dogs HERE if interested, but she found quite a few at Dollar Tree!

These kids are completely smitten with their grandma and obviously you can see why!

On to activities and games.  She started by drawing names to see who could adopt a dog from the pet adoption center first.  She told the kids how they had to name it and take care of their new dog.  She then gave each kid their own crayon set that they'll keep at grandmas, and a My Dog coloring booklet.  They were supposed to color the dog like their dog they just adopted.

Olivia loves her new little puppy Oreo! 

Next came their collar.  The dogs needed a collar so my mom got the perfect little charms and pipe cleaners so we could put a collar on their dogs.

Next onto Doggie Bingo!  Since most of the dogs were adopted my mom put all the prizes in the center of the table.  She had a mix of toys, candy and books.

Next to Give a Dog a Bone Toss!  My mom enlarged a cute dog clipart, cut out the mouth and attached it to a poster board.  She also made bean bag dog bones for the kids to throw in the mouth.  You've got to remember to feed your puppies!

Next was to giving their dogs a dog house!  My mom and dad worked together to make this dog house for the kids.  The grandkids were able to paint it themselves and now the dog house is in the Play House in my parents backyard so they can always remember how much fun they had at Grandma's Puppy Party.

It was so bright when we came out and everyone was so excited to paint!

Livy had to sit this one out but she made sure to be the cutest cheerleader!

My mom even gave a little Adoption Certificate to make it really official! After all that she gave each kid their own dog finger puppets too (find them HERE)!

The kids had so much fun-and the adults did too!  

We are so lucky to have the sweetest and most creative mom and Grandma! 

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

Dream Together Date Night In Box

Dallin and I just had the funnest little date thanks to Date Night In Boxes.  Lately we have been stretched for time and when we do have a few minutes its usually on a Saturday, during Olivia's nap time.  It was the perfect time to bust open our Date Night In Box!

This box was all about Dreams!  Especially Dreaming Together!  Something I am awed about each time I receive my box is the attention to detail.  Every activity and thought is planned so well.  Let's dive on into this box shall we!?  Included in the Dream Together Box were:  2 Individual Dream Lists, a Master Dream List, Scattergories Dream Game Pad (This was so fun!) with pencils, a delicious smelling Northern Lights candle, a bag of Country Archer Jerky Co. Beef Jerky to share, and a Make-Your-Own Dreamcatcher kit.  

I love that these boxes come with absolutely everything you need-even with a treat!  It's so easy for Dallin and I to pick up our Date Night exactly where we left off even days after completing one of the activities in the box.  Forget Date Night, for us it's more of a Date Week! ;)

Our favorite activity this month was Dream Scattergories.  Our answers had us both laughing.  I still feel like a few of mine were justified even if Dallin didn't agree. haha :)  The box comes with all of the instructions for each activity and game so they make it simple to learn and play within minutes.

At this stage of life for Dallin and I dreams for us mostly center on home projects and trying to get the dream look on a budget.  We have been deciding on a few home renovation projects and recently we've been feeling burnt out and not wanting to complete them.  This box came just in time to refocus our thoughts and remind us of our dreams of living in a home that is just ours.  We are going to hang Our Dream List in our room so we can remember what our dreams are and do what we can to work towards them each day/week.  

We loved our quick date and can't wait to use the rest of the box when we have some more time.  I'm hoping to surprise Dallin with a few of the recipes found in the Date Night Booklet this week, the Midsummer Night's Dream Panzenella Salad and Fluffy Coconut and Almond Macaroons really do look dreamy!  

I'm looking forward to keeping this dream talk going and sharing our dreams more with each other.  It helps us look forward to something and also accomplish what we hope to accomplish while we are together.  It gives our relationship depth and a bit of adventure and fun!  Which I love.

If you'd like to add some fun into your Date Night routine I'd highly suggest researching these Date Night In Boxes.  The ideas for Date Night really are endless with these boxes, they are full of fun activities and conversation starters.  They really do help you get out of the rut of not doing a date night or the same old dinner and a movie.

Find out more about Date Night In Boxes HERE!

I did receive this box for free for reviewing purposes, 

I'm grateful and excited to share products I love with you!

Put Your Heart into the Sacrament

How can I make the sacrament more meaningful to me?

This lesson was one of my favorites to prepare for because it has such a universal and important message.  Everyone could use to make the sacrament more meaningful in their lives.

I started the lesson with asking the class about a time when someone did something especially for them.  Whether it was a present they gave or an act of service.  I asked them how it made them feel.  The Savior completed the Atonement for each of us individually.  When we partake of the sacrament we remember Him and renew the covenants we made with Him at baptism. 

Elder Runlund said, "Whatever our current direction or distance to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, we can choose to turn toward Them and draw closer to Them.  They will help us.  As the Savior told the Nephites following His Resurrection:  "And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, ... And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me."  To draw closer to the Savior, we must increase our faith in Him, make and keep covenants, and have the Holy Ghost with us.  We must also act in faith, responding to the spiritual  direction we receive.  All of these elements come together in the sacrament.  Indeed, the best way I know of to draw closer to God is to prepare conscientiously and partake worthily of the sacrament each week."

I also shared a story from Elder Runlund that went right along with making the sacrament more meaningful in our own lives.

We discussed what we could do to make the sacrament a more sacred experience and specific ways on how we could make it more meaningful.  One of the ways we talked about is reading hymns during sacrament specifically the sacrament hymns.  I had each person in the class share their favorite sacrament hymn and we read a few out loud.  Even though it is a little strange at first to read them and not sing it, I feel like reading the hymns silently or out loud help you grasp the words even more.

We then talked about what we can do to prepare for sacrament.  We read 3 Nephi 9:20 and D&C 59:8-12, and remembered that when we take the sacrament we are remembering and renewing the covenants we made at baptism.  We also watched a video "Upon My Holy Day-Getting Closer to God" (you can find it at that link, it's the second video listed).  

To help get this point across I was going to give each a chocolate heart so they would remember to 'Put their HEART into the sacrament!'  If you didn't want to do the chocolate heart you could also do mini heart mazes-I love this idea because you could give it on Fast Sunday or it's a great break from a sugary treat.

Find the free printable of "Put your HEART into the sacrament!" HERE!

This post may contain affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.