Summer 2021: Americana Week

 Week 3 of 8: Americana Week

For the week leading up to the 4th of July, I couldn't think of a better theme than Americana and good ol' Red, White, and Blue! It was a pretty short week because we went out of town for the holiday, but we still fit in plenty of fun.

Destinations

We only had a few days in town to go places, but we definitely crammed them in! For our park this week we played on the playground at Drace Park which gave us a chance to visit authentic log cabins from the 1800's! A great reminder of our country's history and sense of rugged adventure. 

We followed that up with the World Bird Sanctuary where we got to see Bald Eagles up close and personal, along with plenty of falcons and owls and emus and flamingos and more! I'm not sure people around here appreciation what a gem this place is. There's a small playground and plenty of picnic tables for lunches and I've never been there when it felt to crowded. This week was such a great excuse to go!

After the World Bird Sanctuary I took the kids down the path of Americana-kitsch with lunch at the Cracker Barrel. They had a blast looking through the over-stuffed shelves of the "General Store" and picking their food off the menu. It was their first restaurant meal in over a year (thanks, Covid) so it definitely felt like a treat.

Crafts & Activities

The kids and I made an apple pie and my son was so great and using a fork on the crust edges!

This area of my week fell a bit flat because I planned to bring my crafts to our lake house for the holiday weekend and I accidentally left the bag of supplies at home! I was sooooo disappointed with myself because I had planned several very cute activities. For the record though, in case you're reading this for inspiration, I saved three 38 ounce tin cans for the kids to paint red, white, and blue and turn into patriotic candle lanterns. I also bought red/white/blue and glow-in-the-dark star pony beads for the kids to make bracelets and necklaces. It would have been so fun to have those on the nights we let the kids stay up late to see fireworks!

We did get to take the kids shopping for fireworks though, and they were SO excited by all the pictures and descriptions. Since we were out of the city, we got to set some off and I have no doubt it was the highlight of the week for them.

Special Treats

At first I thought this week would be challenging for coming up with snacks and meals to fit the theme, but it all turned out great! Besides the apple pie, I packed up some red/white/blue snack boxes for the kids to enjoy on the road to our lake house. These were pretty simple with white and blue corn tortilla chips plus some nacho flavored ones for red. I put some salsa and blueberries on the side.

I also pulled together a tasty red/white/blue lunch board for the kids to enjoy on the dock... White cheddar popcorn, blueberries, watermelon, boiled eggs, pepperoni, salami, cheese, and crackers! Whew! It would have been glorious at home, but it was even better while enjoyed on the water.

The easiest treats I came up with were red/white/blue Spider-Man pops and decorating the kids' morning muffins with white icing and red/white/blue sprinkles.

Entertainment

Luckily, we didn't need a whole love tv and movie options since this week was packed with outdoor activities, but we did watch "Everyone's Hero" which is an animated movie about Babe Ruth's baseball bat. It's cute if you haven't seen it yet!