Project Date Night '16: July

We did this date night/family fun night in the last part of July, but it's been crazy busy and I haven't had a chance to post about it until now! Enjoy this installment of Project Date Night!

We began this month's date night as a Family Fun Night.  I don't know about you, but July is pretty much the dog days of summer for me... it's HOT and as much as I love camping, I do not love camping when it's HOT.  [When I say 'camping', I mean tent camping, not RV-ing.]

Solution? Go "camping" indoors!

If you have a small enough tent (or a large enough room), by all means - set up a tent inside your home!

Our tent is too large for our living room, so we put together a makeshift tent with sheets instead. Ry was SO excited! He kept running around yelling, "FORT!" When you're 3, few things can top a fort!

Menu
You could totally go campfire with this date and roast hotdogs and marshmallows over a gas flame (if you have a gas stove) or under a broiler. I chose to do my food on the stovetop, but do whatever you normally do for camping food.

• I saw this idea on Pinterest and decided to make my own version of s'mores bars. These are allergy-friendly graham cracker crust on the bottom, topped with homemade vegan marshmallow, topped with homemade dark chocolate.  Yumminess for the entire family, even with multiple food allergies. 
• Hotdogs w/ mustard (utlimate camping food!)
• Pan fried potatoes
• Hibiscus sun tea

Fun Stuff
We always bring an "entertainment bag" with us when we go camping, so of course we had to do something similar. Ry was excited to play his first board game, The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game. Super cute, and I love that the box is actually the 'board'. It's a cute game that teaches turn-taking, fine motor skills, color matching, and simple strategy (ages 3-6).

After we put Ry to bed, M and I chilled out after our crazy week and just played a simple game of Pass the Pigs. This game was a gift from my BFF, Beka.  Brought back some memories of hanging out with friends and killing time back in my single days. Pass the Pigs is a fun game that requires very little skill, brain power, or strategy. It's completely a game of chance... in this case, instead of dice, you throw little plastic pigs, then depending on how they land (on their back, on their nose, etc.) you get point. First person to a certain number of points wins. You wouldn't think something that simple would be so fun, but really, it is! Recommended for ages 3 and up.

Cost = FREE (I had all supplies on hand and food was included in the grocery budget)

How do YOU feel about camping?

Project Date Night '16: March

Did you know that March 14th is National Pi Day? And notice I said 'pi' as in math... as in 3.14....... get it?

Not sure who was the brainchild behind that awesome excuse for pie eating, but whoever you are, I thank you.

Any excuse to eat pie is a win in my book. Now, pie gets a little complicated when you've got food allergies. I typically cheat and eat crisps or crumbles or sloops or betties or whatever you want to call it. This month, we REALLY cheated 'pie' and just ate the filling.

Details
In honor of Pi Day, M and I played a round of Trivial Pursuit. Why, you ask? Well, if you've ever played the game, you'd know that the game pieces look like pie. In my face. In a pan.

This, friends, is the classic, original version. We find that we prefer the old version because it has questions about literature (books, people, BOOKS) instead of pop culture like the current version does.

Here's our board. I won this round!

And I can get the original version at thrift stores and/or yard sales for ridiculously cheap. So I did. Goodwill thanks me for my patronage.

Menu

• Triple Berry Pie Filling (M)
• Apple Pie Filling (me)
• Protein Packed Vanilla Soft-Serve (M)
  There's not actually a recipe for this, it's just a serving of Tera's Whey protein powder mixed with coconut milk, then blended with a frozen banana until it's soft serve consistency. Easy Peasy.
• Herbal tea

Total Cost: $2 [for the Trivial Pursuit game]

So, that's it folks! Simple. Pie filling. Pie game. Pi Day. What wacky holidays do you 'celebrate'???

Project Date Night: September + Apple Crisp for Two Recipe

 

September is a great month for all things APPLE! This month's Project Date Night was an extension of a family fun night. We went apple picking at a local apple orchard and stocked up on my favorite apples - Macintosh! I bought some cider, cider syrup and utility apples (the not so pretty apples that are a great value when you're baking or making applesauce, or in my case apple butter).

Fun times!

After we put little man to bed, we munched on apple crisp and sipped cider while playing a variation on Apple to Apples - one of our favorite card games.