Badges of Fun: Eat Dinner Together

Last week, the girls earned badge number eight in Disney Family Fun's Badges of Fun challenge! The theme was Eat Dinner Together. Because we already eat dinner as a family every single night, we wanted to change it up and do something totally different.  We had a picnic out in our back yard!

The girls laid out the blanket and set out the plates and utensils.

It was fun and a nice change from our everyday dinners.  The girls had chicken nuggets, pineapple, puffs, and cheese.  Mike and I had kabobs :o)  Yum!

I think that the girls would agree with me when I say that we definitely turned dinner time into family fun time :o)

They earned their badges and got their certificates, after their bath, of course!

Great job girls!!

Badges of Fun: Winter Fun

The girls recently earned their seventh badge in Disney FamilyFun's Badges of Fun challenge!  The theme of this badge was Winter Fun.

Jaden, which I'm sure you've figured this out by now, has a heart of gold.  She is always concerned about others.  When winter arrived, Jaden was worried that the birds would not be able to find enough food under all the snow.  So, for our Winter Fun badge, we decided to help out our feathered friends!

First, we made bird seed cakes to hang on our shed.  

We used a really long string of yarn to connect all of the cakes.

Then, we made a couple of feeders to stick in the bushes in the front of our house.  To do this, we spread peanut butter on a toilet paper roll core and then rolled it in bird seed!

After letting our treats sit out in the cold garage overnight, we headed out into the snow to deliver them!

Our shed has an overhang where we store wood, sticks, and fallen limbs.  This has become a nice nest for a bunch of birds :o)  We hung our bird seed cake string across the shed.

The girls had a lot of fun with these projects.  The birds killed these treats in only a day or two!  Jaden and Taylor successfully earned badge seven!

Great job, girls!!

Badges of Fun: Start a New Tradition

With the help of Mike and myself, the girls earned badge number six in Disney Family Fun's Badges of Fun challenge!  The theme of this badge was Start a New Tradition.  As always, FamilyFun offered a bunch of fun ideas.  The only problem was, their tradition ideas were annual traditions.  We LOVE traditions!  I think it is a great way to celebrate with family and carry on my own childhood memories into my own family.  We pick out and buy new ornaments for our tree every year at Christmas.  We have our favorite meal on our birthdays.  We (well, mostly just me) eat sauerkraut and pork on New Year's Day.  We wear green on St. Patrick's Day.  We eat heart-shaped pizza on Valentine's Day.  Our year is FULL of traditions!  For this badge, I wanted to start a monthly tradition.  We decided that the first Saturday of every month is now

FAMILY GAME NIGHT!

The girls have lots of fun games, including a few new ones they got for Christmas!  The one main rule is that everyone must participate.  It is another way for our family to do something together!  Our first family game night was a huge success!!

Playing Trouble

Playing the Cupcake Memory game

The girls had a lot of fun, as did Mike and I!  We don't "let them win" so it is a great way for them to learn how to be a good loser and not a boastful winner.  They learn fairness, patience, and how to take turns.  Also, it has be a big help in teaching Taylor numbers!  Jaden and Taylor both earned their sixth badge!

 

Great job, girls!!

 

To earn their next badge, the girls will get to have a little winter fun!  We are excited to get outside for that badge!

Badges of Fun: Preserve Family Memories

The girls earned their fifth badge in Disney Family Fun's Badges of Fun challenge!  The theme of this badge was Preserve Family Memories.  Disney Family Fun offered many great ideas on how the girls could earn their badge, but like always, we decided to make up our own activity to go with the theme!

To earn their badge, the girls put together a Family Tree Book.  I created pages for each of our family members to fill out. 

   

 

Then, we took their picture to place on their page. 

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

When we got the photos printed, the girls matched up the photo with that person's page! 

 

They had a lot of fun putting their book together and we will always have it to treasure.  The best part about this book is that we can add to it and keep building our family tree!

UPDATE: These pages (38-page printable PDF) have been added to my Etsy store!

The girls successfully earned their badges and we continue to add family members to our book!

 

 

The next badge in the Badges of Fun challenge is Start a New Tradition.  We are excited to start a new tradition with the new year!