Our summer has technically just begun this week. Last week I got my last week of solo time with my little girl. It is hard to believe that she will be off to kindergarten next year. My heart aches a lot over that. She truly is my best little buddy and we lived it up this week with Chinese food (with chopsticks, of course), fancy haircuts, and lots of fun in the sun with our friends. I am so excited to have both the kids home and as I shared last week, we will be documenting our summer through mobile uploading fun and sharing what projects we are working on.
We had a celebration dinner to celebrate the start of our summer together! We love our pizza night and decided to try the tortilla pizzas featured on Living Locurto courtesy of Tidy Mom, for a fun dinner treat. These were so easy to pull together and I loved that everyone could have their own toppings on these. I have a different pizza in mind than the rest of the family and mine was oozing with fresh mozzarella, spinach, and mushrooms. These were crisp and delicious! Everyone really seemed to like them and it was a great way to keep the kitchen cool in the sweltering heat that we have been having here.
We made not one, but two different kinds of ice cream this week. I can’t say that purchasing an ice cream maker will be good for my figure, but the kids are loving it and I am loving experimenting with a new food. We made a cake batter ice cream from Annie’s Eats that was the absolute favorite of everyone in our family. It really did taste just like cake batter. It was rich and way better than any vanilla ice cream.
We also tried a dreamy creamy strawberry ice cream that was also from Annie’s Eats. That tasted just like a piece of strawberry cheesecake. The sour cream added so much flavor and it was a great way to use some berries that I found on sale at the supermarket.
I think we have our summer off to a fantastic start. I am looking forward to sharing more on our summer adventures and am all stocked up on craft supplies for a few projects next week!
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Stumped for ideas this summer? Have no fear! I have you covered this year with our 100 Days of Summer Pinterest Board. There are 100 ideas for crafting, eating, and creating with your children of all ages. We promise to keep it carefree on Tuesdays and share what we tackle through our mobile uploads and you can even follow our adventures in real time through Instagram or on Twitter (my name is momadvice).
Our family is on the move and we want you to be on the move too.
Do something cool together this week.
Your kids will love you for it.
What did you do this week from your summer list?
Oh my word, your daughter’s haircut is the CUTEST! Sooo kindergarten I might add;o) My youngest helped make caramel chocolate Chex Mix yesterday & I had my daughter make dinner (crock pot ham). Middle kid cooked nothing, but he read two books. Summer of learning. lol. We have had a p.j. day for fun. Lots on the list just need to do it! Tie Dye, Fairy Garden, camping, etc.
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Amy Reply:
June 14th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Oh, it sounds like you guys have some amazing things planned this summer. Can I be your daughter?
Yes, I can’t believe how grown-up Emily’s new hair cut makes her look. I am loving it though, just for the ease for going to the pool and all of our water activities this year 
Hope you guys have a great week!!
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Happy summering!
My daughter is just 2, but I already have a lot of fun summer plans for us! I want to take advantage of the weather!
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Amy Reply:
June 14th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
I agree, Tammy! We are trying to do the same! Hope you have a wonderful summer!!
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In Louisiana our summer started 2 weeks ago, and we only have 72 days. Since we’re already behind, I think we’ll have to work double-time to get it all in. Last week, we did a lot of berry – blackberry and blueberry- and peach picking. While it doesn’t beat Chinese with chopsticks, we enjoyed eating the results and freezing some for our future adventure in jam-making.
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Amy Reply:
June 14th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Oh, I promise you that we will not do 100 activities. We are trying to do one or two fun things a week
We haven’t done any berry picking here yet. Strawberry picking just started this week and we have to wait another month for the blueberries 
Enjoy all those fruits of your labor, Alice, and hope you guys are having a great summer!
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Looks like you are off to a great start! Enjoy
~Liz
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Amy Reply:
June 14th, 2011 at 8:13 pm
Thanks, Liz, I hope you are having a great summer too!! xo
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It was 90 here last week and now its barely breaking 50! My 5 year old and I need some warm weather! I’m excited for your summer activities every week!
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Amy Reply:
June 14th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Thanks so much, Lisa! We love sharing what we are up to and it has been nice to have a little break from heavy writing on the blog. It has gotten cool here too so our pool and water days are on hold right now
Enjoy the rest of your week!
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Can I ask what brand of ice cream maker you bought?
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Amy Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
One of our readers clued me (thanks, Rowena) to a $20 one that is over at Aldi. That is the one we got and it works perfectly. Walmart had one too and I think it was around $24, if you don’t have an Aldi near you! I hope that helps!
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Barbara Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Sorry to be a pain and interrupt your summer fun, but is your ice cream maker one of the kind that you freeze the insert, requires no ice or salt and makes about a quart or two of ice cream? We have had the larger, old fashioned ones in the past (don’t last) and wondered if these newer ones really worked well before we spent the money. No Aldi near us and I have already been looking at WalMart but didn’t see any. Everyone must have read your post!!!
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This week from our summer list, we went to an amusement park for my daughter’s 5th birthday. (She’ll be starting kindergarten this fall, too.) Probably the last year the little daredevil will be satisfied with the “little-kid-oriented” amusement park. And we ate cantalope — an easy summer request to check off.
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Amy Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
Oh, those sound like such fun activities! I wish we had an amusement park that was closer to us. And I can never resist cantaloupe! Yum!!
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Me and the kids are thinking of having a home made soft ice cream this summer. My hubby just bought us a soft ice cream maker. All I have to do is read the manual and buy the ingredients.
The kids are very excited about this now that schooling is off. It will be a good bonding time for the whole family.
We’re also planning to have several cooking lesson – for Asian and European cuisines.
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Amy Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Cooking classes sound like so much fun, Amelia! We have been having a lot of fun using our ice cream maker this summer. Have a great day!
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Summer is always been exciting to my family. We always make sure to have the summer vacation and enjoy it to the fullest. This is also the best time for our family bonding. As always, pizza is always a part of our summer treat.
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Just reading this post has made me hungry! I have thought for a long time about getting the family an ice-cream maker too. I have been doing some reading, and I think I can make “healthier” ice creams at home, but also seems like a fun activity to pass time with the kids!
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