VBS Decorating Recap: The Classrooms

My teachers this year did a phenomenal job of making going to class seem like the kids were stepping right into a theme park! The Bible study portion of VBS was done in "Coaster Alley." At the entrance, a sign read- "you must be this tall to ride". 

In the main room where the classrooms broke off, we had one big roller coaster set up. 

The coaster was constructed from our regular kids chairs, foam pipe insulation taped in an arch over them, cardboard boxes- cut, taped together and covered in paper, and duct tape to hold it all together. 

Our Pre-K/Kinder class was too much fun. They entered under a darling awning. 

Past the ticket tree

They even had a perfect photo-opp area! 

The 1st-2nd grade class was full of thoughtful, adorable details.

 On the first day, the teachers took photos of the students and attached their photo in the roller coaster cars! Too cute!

Would you believe our 3rd-4th grade class was decorated by two college guys? They did an awesome job!

And finally, our 5th-6th graders had more fun details in their room!

We also had multi-colored pennant banners made from construction paper and curling ribbon throughout the hallways in addition to balloons and streamers- fun and cheap ways to add pops of color throughout!

What do you use as inspiration for your classrooms?

Watermelon Limeade

This has been a summer of fun, fresh, fruit flavors- including strawberry pineapple lemonade (pureed strawberry, canned pineapple and lemonade powder), sparkling strawberry limeade, mango ague fresca, and now- watermelon limeade.

If you think biting into a juicy slice of watermelon is refreshing, wait until you take a sip of this balanced, sweet and tart, fresh fruit juice! The notes of watermelon leave a stunning pink color and a distinct taste- with almost the same hint as cucumber- light, lovely and summery. The limes add complementary tartness, coupled with simple syrup (or agave/honey/etc), to make this drink well-rounded. 

There is plenty of room to adjust according to taste with the recipe. In fact, I did not follow a recipe when I prepared the giant batch for our group- I just adjusted by taste. I am including estimations of how much you'll need, but adjust for your liking!

What You'll Need:
1 cup diced watermelon
2 cups cold water
2 limes
1/4 cup simple syrup*

What to Do:
In a blender, combine watermelon and water until homogeneous. Strain liquid through a fine mesh strainer to catch any seeds and pulp. Squeeze limes directly into watermelon mixture, add simple syrup, stir and pour over ice! 

*To make simple syrup, simmer one cup water with one cup sugar, stirring frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow the syrup to cool and then measure and add to your drink!

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After posting on Instagram, my friend Jackie posted a photo of her girls making the watermelon limeade and I was so tickled! If you ever try a recipe I have posted, please let me know! I love seeing how they turn out in other people's kitchens :)

Simple S'mores Bar

There are so many wonderful things about summer. S'mores happen to be one of my favorites. There is something inherently nostalgic and comforting about the simple combination of roasted marshmallows with toasty graham crackers and chocolate. 

One messy bite and I am taken back to roasting marshmallows, laughing, and telling stories on the chilly beach in Seaside, Oregon with my Go Now Missions team. Another bite and I remember the campfire in my grandma's backyard where all of my cousins and I gathered around with hot dogs and s'mores- seeing who could avoid setting their treat on fire. As I finish off my s'mores dessert I relive sleepovers with my best friends in high school, out in the country, dancing and laughing around the fire, hyped up on the sugary sweet dessert. 


From toddlers to senior citizens, s'mores have a way of bringing people together and pulling the goodness of summer together in a bite size treat. But sometimes, it's impractical or impossible to initiate the s'mores magic with a campfire/bonfire. Sometimes, you gotta roast them in the fireplace, over the bbq pit or (gasp!) in the oven. We did just that with our youth group and added in some fun variations to keep things interesting. Here's what we did and some super simple ideas for you!

We had plain Graham crackers, Hershey's chocolate bars, and jumbo marshmallows with the following add-ons available:

• peanut butter
• Nutella
• honey
• bite size candy bars 
• white chocolate chips 
• cinnamon 
• brown sugar 
• cayenne pepper 
• coconut 
• instant coffee

I would also suggest:

• dark chocolate 
• caramel sauce 
• sliced strawberries
• sliced bananas
• bacon 
• mint 
• cream cheese spread 

(peanut butter+honey and brown sugar+cayenne flavor combos. both stinkin amazing!)

We allowed each student to build their s'more, placed them all on a baking sheet and baked at 400 for 10 minutes (or until marshmallows were toasted and chocolate was melted).

Alternatively, you can leave the top cracker to the side and use the broiler to toast the tops of the marshmallows in the oven, then place the crackers on top when cooked!

They turned out fabulously! No burnt mallows, served up in little bowls to steep the mess,  a great indoor solution to a popular outdoor favorite! 

What's your favorite s'mores memory? What's your favorite way to prepare them?

Piña Colada Popsicles

I made these sweet and creamy dessert pops for youth group last week. They went super fast and unfortunately I didn't snap a picture. I used the leftover mixture to make a nice little virgin piña colada afternoon treat! However, even without the nicely staged and edited photos, I can vouch that these popsicles are quite delicious and very easy!

The recipe is ridiculously flexible- sub in coconut milk for cream of coconut, add mango or papaya, or garnish the pops with chunks of fruit. I have some cute popsicle molds that I found on sale at Wal-Mart for $1. However, if you don't have those, you can use ice trays (regular or water bottle style) with toothpicks or popsicle sticks. Another simple option is to use Dixie cups- 3oz disposable paper cups- with toothpicks, wooden ice cream spoons, or popsicle sticks.

What You'll Need:

1 banana

1 8 oz can crushed pineapple

1 10 oz can cream of coconut 

juice of one large lime

1 tsp vanilla extract 

What To Do:

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend well. Pour into molds. Allow pops to set for 30 min- 1 hour before adding popsicle sticks. Freeze for at least two hours- and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Loves Food and Art

Summer Tuna Salad

If you're looking for something light, simple, healthy and delicious, this is a great salad to throw together! I was improvising with what I had on hand, but was surprised at how much I loved this dish. The flavors work really well together- with sweet, savory, and creamy. It's also great because it fits into pescetarian, paleo and gluten free diets!

I'll admit that I didn't use exact measurements, so be sure to adjust to your specific taste preferences!

What You'll Need:

(1 large portion or 2 small portions)

1 can white albacore chunk tuna 

1/2 small mango, diced

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 avocado, diced

1/4 cup corn (I used canned but fresh or frozen would work as well!)

sea salt

fresh cracked black pepper

salad greens (I used baby spinach, but romaine or mixed greens would make great subsitutions)

*optional* chipotle dressing 

What To Do:

Combine all of the ingredients together and serve over greens. Drizzle with chipotle dressing if desired.

   

Miscellany Monday

My students call themselves The Rugged Kids. Yeah, they're cool.

We are officially done with The Rugged Kids Cafe! It was a great camp fundraiser.

Our most popular item? The Green Monster Smoothie!

Ched 'R' Peppers should never come without a pepper! Sad day, Sonic.

My mom makes the best salsa in the world. She uses her garden grown tomatoes and cans it all summer long. Well, I got tired of waiting on this season's crop and made my own using this recipe. It's pretty good. It went well with our enchiladas.

I made my students my favorite enchiladas and they LOVED them. Definitely give them a try if you haven't!

After consuming crazy amounts of enchiladas, we had some live band karaoke at the church. This may have including 1000 Miles by Vanessa Carlton and Only Hope from A Walk to Remember. David was thrilled.

This past week, our church had Kids Bible Camp in parks and home in four separate neighborhoods around Austin. I took pictures and video each night and it was awesome to just observe and capture how God worked through that time! 

Also, I worked for hours trying to put a decent edited video together and failed miserably each time. David graciously volunteered to take care of it for me and did a fantastic job!

On Saturday we invited all of the children from Kids Bible Camp to the church for a big celebration service. We had free food, lots of songs, silly skits, puppets, and shared the gospel.

(practicing a skit)

At the very end we surprised all the kids with a giant water balloon fight! It was seriously so fun (even though none of the children listened to me, and they still threw the balloons at my head.) I was so grateful to all of the students who gave up their Saturday morning to come help us fill up 1000 water balloons! 

Sadly, yesterday I missed out on spending Father's Day with my daddy and I missed a surprise party for my grandma's 70th birthday. I'm so grateful for video messaging and phones that I was still able to communicate with both of them! 

Oh, and I'm definitely sending this card late. It's so perfect! My daddy still tells me I'm his favorite oldest daughter. 

Happy Monday, y'all! 

Baked Coconut Shrimp with Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce

So I have a confession.

I don't like coconut. 

There I said it.

The texture is all weird. 

This is the ONLY way I'll eat it!

These shrimp are so tasty! Plus it's a cinch to throw together.

And by baking them, it's pretty dang healthy too!

I served mine with rice pilaf and baked broccoli for a tasty, 

well balanced and scrumptious meal.

Also, the dipping sauce is pretty forgiving 

The original recipe called for pineapple preserves and lime juice

I already had apricot preserves in the fridge, and a lemon cut open from making the broccoli so I subbed those ingredients in. It was a perfect pairing!

What You'll Need:

1 tbsp lime juice

2 tsp finely chopped fresh jalapeno pepper

1/2 cup pineapple preserves

1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 egg whites

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a small small, beat egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Place cornstarch and coconut on two separate plates. 

Dip shrimp in the cornstarch, then the egg whites, then finally in the coconut coating, being sure to coat them well. Place shrimp on cookie sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until coconut is golden brown. Flip the shrimp over halfway through to ensure even browning.

While cooking, combine lime juice, jalapeno and pineapple preserves in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refriegerate until ready to serve. 

Recipe from here