Ever since Cute was born we have been collecting books for The Cutes' library. Some of our absolute favorite ones to read to the littles are by the author Doreen Cronin. All of them are fun reads with silly characters. Most notable are those in her Click Clack series.
So when I heard that The Center for Puppetry Arts was doing a show based on Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That TypeI instantly grabbed tickets for our little crew to see it. The kids were so excited and spent the morning of pouring over their Click Clack books.
Our summer so far has been filled with hot sports days, and cooling off in the pool, so heading to The Center for Puppetry Arts was a nice cool treat. An afternoon full of cow themed silliness was just what we needed.
It is an adapted rendition of the of the book told through puppeteers, a musician, and - of course - a variety of puppets.
There's singing. There's dancing. There's even a special surprise at the end. I'm not going to spoil it for any one, but all of my kids loved the ending.
The show is geared towards kids 4 and older, but my 2 1/2 year had no problem sitting and enjoying the approximately hour long performance. There's a ton of audience interaction to keep children of all ages engaged and entertained.
CLICK CLACK COW
One of our favorite parts of each show is always the puppet making class that you can attend after the performance. This workshop created a Click, Clack, Cow hand puppet.
The kids always love this part, and thought it was so fun to create a Click Clack puppet of their very own. The supplies and directions make it so easy for even non-readers to figure out how to bring their puppet to life.
It's also so much fun to see their own creativity be exercised with the variety of art supplies available. This lets each child put their own touch to their puppet. In my little crew I had a princess cow, a angry cow, and a Picasso cow.
MORE MOO FOR YOU
I knew our trip wouldn't be complete without a quick visit to the puppet museum. The kids love this part too. Each time they stroll through seem to find something new to play with mixed in with some of their classic favorites.
If you are in the Atlanta area or visiting this summer I highly recommend cooling off with a little Click Clack fun. It's open until July 29th with several performances available each day. You can find out more about the show by checking out The Center for Puppetry Arts website.
This post is sponsored by Discover Boating but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
It's no secret that we are major boat lovers. During most months out of the year, if we have a free moment, you can find us somewhere cruising on the water. From the lake to the ocean; from weeknight dinner cruises to weekend staycations - we enjoy it all.
We both own boats, and live near several large bodies of water, so we get the opportunity to enjoy boating often. However, even when our travels take us to places we can't bring our own boats, we love it so much as a family that we seek out opportunities to where we can include boating as an activity (This "Go Boating Today" tool is one of our favorite ways to find boat rentals, clubs, activities and more in any zip code.). We've even rented a house boat and taken week long family vacations on a boat. If that's not a show of commitment for our love of boating, we don't know what is.
Boating offers the chance to take part in a variety of activities and experiences that there is a little something for everyone to enjoy in each outing. When we sit down with our families to plan out our summers, boating always tops the list of must do activities. Here's a peek at why boating tops our summer to do list...
WHY BOATING TOPS OUR SUMMER TO DO LIST!
We get to sit back and RELAX. Being on the water is just plain relaxing. There's just something about it. According to a recent Discover Boating survey 82% of Americans say that being around water is relaxing and we couldn't agree more.
From cruising around to floating quietly in a cove, there is this instant calm that just comes from being on the water. Even though it is summer we still have work, sports camps, weekend tournaments, and never ending to-do lists to contend with. Life's chaos doesn't slow down one bit, but the moment we get on the boat we tend to let all that go for a few hours.
We still get in our exercise. Yes, doing any activity with small children will seem like a workout, but that's not what we're talking about. We love that our boats give us the opportunity to take part in a variety of water sports that help keep us active as well as having tons of fun.
We enjoy water skiing, wake boarding, and popping into a cove to pull out our paddle board. Not to mention the countless hours we log swimming. We burn tons of calories the moment we get on the boat, and we can't think of a more fun way to stay in shape.
There are no iPad chargers on the boat. Okay, so that might be a small lie, but our kids don't know any better. Boating offers so many activities that you never uttered are the dreaded words of parents around the world, "I'm SO bored.". Plus the internet is spotty in most places on the open water anyway so boating is the perfect time to "unplug", put away the electronics, and just be present with those around you.
We get to expose our children to new experiences. Our kids are lucky in a lot of ways. Mainly because they won us in the parenting lottery, but aside from that because they have been given the opportunity to experience a lot of non-mainstream activities in their young lives. Yes, the do a lot of typical sports, but boating has opened them up to various other experiences and activities as well.
The same water sports we enjoy as adults, we've taught to our children. They can wakeboard with the best of them, and have done so since they were old enough to stand.
Fishing is a favorite activity amongst several of the kids and they now know more than either of us combined about fishing.
Boating in itself is an experience. From getting exposed to how to drive it, to where it can take you and what it's capabilities are - there are tons of great youth boating programs available to teach kids a little more in depth about boating.
We expose ourselves to new experiences. Kids aren't the only ones who learn a thing or two while boating. Mommies do too. From deep sea fishing for the first time to diving for lobsters - boating continually offers something new for all of us to experience.
Boat naps are the best naps. Need we say more?! But seriously, it never fails that one or all of our Mini Magnolias will take a little siesta at some point, and that's just plain enjoyable for everyone involved.
There's no party like a boat party. Boats make for such a fun way to be social. Sure you can host a dinner party or schedule a playdate to hang out with your friends and family, but with boating there is a whole other level of fun. We love how easy it is to entertain a variety of personalities in one single outing. Whether you're two or 102 there is a little something to entertain everyone all in one floating venue.
It feels like a mini-vacation. You're relaxed. You're having fun. You're getting to explore new beaches, a constant change in scenery, and take part in new experiences. You can't hear the ping of your phone with 4,529 new work emails (nor can you respond). Each boating outing literally feels like a little mini-vacation. And if you are lucky enough to be boating in a place where those new trendy little boating bars that are popping up then you can grab yourself a fruity drink with an umbrella and cheers to the vacation life my friend.
Making Memories. So many of our own childhood memories involve boating. We cherish those sweet summer days of our youth filled with fishing with our grandparents, learning to get up on skis for the first time with our friends, and sailing the Intracoastal in front of our family's home. We are so lucky that we live in a place that we can make similar memories now with our own children.
We made a quick little video to share with you a little peek at what our boating days look like!
It's Friday! This is the first week of our summer break that has actually felt like summer. We've been so busy with all sort of stuff up until this point that I was getting worried our entire summer would pass us by. I'm linking up with some of our favorite bloggers today and happily sharing my Friday Favorites from this week.
Last weekend I took a little trip to the coast of North Carolina for my cousin's wedding. I missed my people back at home, but loved getting to spend the weekend with my mom and catch up with my extended family over the weekend was a big favorite! I think it might have been the first time I had been away alone since my kids were born! We went to the beach a few days and it was so nice to just sit, talk and relax.
The wedding was the main event of the weekend and it was so much fun. My mom and I both planned to wear pink, so we loved coordinating for the evening.
Before I left for the wedding I got some new lip glosses to try out and I just love them. They are NYX Butter Gloss and my new favorite glosses! I love the texture, the color and the price (only around $5 each!).
Also while on the wedding weekend getaway I had a chance tor read!!! Something I haven't had time to do in what feels like forever, but I got to read The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena that Jen gave me a few weeks ago and my mom recommended back at Easter.
My favorite books hook me from the first paragraph, keep me turning pages and wanting to know how the story ends. This was my kind of book. I definitely recommend it for a quick and easy summer read.
Earlier this week Jen and I got together to knock out a lot of things. We have lots of blog projects in the works and we needed a day to get a bunch of things done. We promised the kids if they were good while we worked we could head to the pool. We kept our promise and this "work day" turned into our favorite kind of summer day.
The Middles
The Mini-Magnolias had a blast splashing, swimming and soaking up the best kind of summer days.
The bookends...oldest and youngest.
The wild ones...AKA the boys of the bunch.
Speaking of a pool day, the kids and I made a run to Target yesterday and I did a quick pass through the women's department. I tried on a few swimsuits and my eye was immediately drawn to these cover ups.
The tassels!!! Oh my goodness!!! Can you even?!
I have seen similar coverups for WAY more expensive and the detailing on these are just SO cute.
This black one is under $20!!!! I went with a medium in this one for length.
This cranberry colored one is less than $25 and has sleeves. I went with the small in this style. They are both shorter, but that is what I expect in a cover up and I just love them both! I even snagged a new bikini that matches, too!
