Allison: Water Fun + Cool Treats = Summer

Welcome to another week!  Last week's theme was so fun!  A big "thank you" to all of those that took the time to comment about our blog!  We're so glad to know it's being enjoyed.  I know we're having fun, if nothing else.  :)

This week's theme was a little harder for me to relate to.  I'm no longer teaching full-time, and don't have any school-aged children, so being creative with the theme "summer kick-off" was a little tough.  Plus, I live in Arizona, where the temperature has been in the hundreds for multiple days now.  While others are waiting for it to warm up, I'm looking for a single cloud in the sky to give relief from the heat.  AND don't forget that I'm 6 months pregnant... better planning next time.

Sara, Gordon (Katrina's husband) and me.  I look adopted.

So instead, I thought to myself, "Self... what does summer mean to you?".  Growing up in Oregon, summer meant a few things: humid days, living in our bathing suits, playing on the slip 'n slide in the backyard, sneaking otter pops from the freezer in the garage, riding bikes in the cul-de-sac, and sleeping under the stars on the back deck.  So many good memories with my family!  For this week's post, I'll draw inspiration from two of those memories listed above.

Back to the pregnancy thing... I CRAVE cold things when I'm pregnant.  I joke that my first daughter is half milkshake, because I think I had at least one a day while pregnant with her (hence the crazy weight gain).  This pregnancy, I've tried to be a little more conscious of my sugar intake.  So I thought I'd share a low-fat, low-sugar version of this cool treat.

I found the Skinny Oreo Cookies and Cream Milkshake here.  Their picture turned out way better than mine, so I'm borrowing it.  Any excuse to buy Oreos...

The recipe was so easy to put together, and tasted great!  I didn't even feel guilty drinking it.  We don't have anything but almond milk and whole milk in my house, so I substituted with almond milk.  It's unsweetened, taking even more sugar out of the shake.  "I" was a big fan of this too...definitely a treat we'll have again!

Finally, I think that summer is synonymous with water fun.  The other day I had my first experience with an essential Arizona summer activity: the splash pad.  There are a bunch around here, but I'd never tried one.  But now that I have a kid who LOVES to be outside, I had the motivation I needed.

But there's another reason that we'll probably be visiting a splash pad again in the near future.  This is what happened for 2 1/2 hours after we got home from our water fun:

But I realize that splash pads aren't everywhere.  So I looked on trusty Pinterest, and found a couple of fun ideas that I'll probably try.

We all know that water balloons are fun.  But they take a lot of work, and then you have to clean up all those little balloon pieces.  I love the idea of sponge balls!  A great tutorial can be found here.

Next, I LOVE this sprinkler idea using only a soda bottle and $5 male to male adapter (that according to Pinterest can be found at Lowe's.  There was no actual link from the picture).  Hang it from a tree for tons of outdoor fun.  Brilliant!

I hope the rest of you enjoy moderate weather, while we sweat to death here in AZ.  But the end of the summer means a new baby in our household, so I'll enjoy the time I have with little "I" and my husband until then.  Have a great week!!

Allison