Category: pammcmurtry.com

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98 Days ’til Halloween

Autumn fun will be here before you know it and once school starts you will be BUSY. If you are hosting a harvest or Halloween carnival or large party and are looking for projects to do with your children this summer, consider creating some of the games you’ll need. Ideas and instructions for harvest and Halloween party games are ready for you here:

http://www.amazon.com/Harvest-Halloween-Handbook-Artisan-ebook/dp/B009PA8ON6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374677760&sr=8-1&keywords=pam+mcmurtry or
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/pam-mcmurtry?store=allproducts&keyword=pam+mcmurtry

For inspiration please check out my Pinterest boards: http://pinterest.com/pammcmurtry/halloween/

I’ve got your back!

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Pioneer Day Prairie Party

pioneers with style
July 24th is the anniversary of the day my ancestor, Chauncey Gilbert Webb, entered the Salt Lake Valley, Utah with Brigham Young and the first company of Mormon pioneers in 1847. Chauncey’s great…great grandmother and William Shakespeare’s mother were sisters. You never know who you’ll meet on the plains. Here’s a Prairie Party to celebrate the day, with games for everyone. Happy Pioneer Day!

Prairie Party
Serve this on a quilt; use bandanas for napkins and
canning jars for glasses.
Bread bowls for the chili would be another treat!

Honey lemonade
Chili beans
Cornbread muffins with homemade butter
 (let the children shake a jar of cream to make butter – they love it)
Cold watermelon
A crock of crudites and dip
Butterscotch haystacks
Saltwater taffy
Midwest Prairies
Children’s Scavenger Hunt
Hide items around the yard that represent activities and chores of pioneer children:
Tend animals (a small stuffed animal)
Make cheese (wrap string cheese in brown paper and tie with a string)
Sew on a button
Gather firewood
Hunt for eggs
Make a quilt
Sing a song
Pick fruit
Make candles
Make soap
Plant potatoes
Milk a cow (bucket)


Teen Challenge 
See how many points you can get by completing these challenges:
Say the alphabet backwards: 1 point for each correct letter in backwards order.
Name 10 flowers: 1 point each.
How many buttons are on your clothes?: 1 point for each button.
Write your name and phone number. Count the letters in your name for 1 point each. Add together the digits in your phone number then add the number of letters in your name.
How many large marshmallows can you stuff in your mouth? 1 point each,
no you don’t have to swallow them – ewww.
Blow a bubble with bubble gum, 2 points for each piece up to five pieces.



BEAN For Adults (could you have bean a pioneer?) Its like a bingo game – use dry beans for markers and move the activities around to different places on each card, cut one up to call with. To win, get four in a row


Last summer, for Pioneer Day, I invited my 2 year-old granddaughter Ellyza to have a treasure hunt in the yard. She took her tiny basket and began collecting oak leaves, flowers and small pebbles. A two year-old knows what treasure truly is.
bluebonnets, stone farm house, and antique farm tools

  Need a bit more Pioneer Day eye candy? Check out the cuties at: http://pinterest.com/pammcmurtry/pioneers/

Butterscotch Haystacks

12 oz. butterscotch chips
1 C. peanut butter
10 – 12 oz. chow mein noodles

Melt butterscotch chips over low heat, stir in peanut butter. Add noodles. Drop by large spoonfulls onto wax paper. Form into haystacks.

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Now on Barnes and Nobles.com

 
 
Hi Friends,
Are you starting to think about creative new themes for your harvest and Halloween celebrations? 
 
A HARVEST AND HALLOWEEN HANDBOOK
 
is now available on Barnes and Nobles.com. Party plans, recipes, games, décor and more will help you and your little ones enjoy the season and plan unique events to share your happiest Halloween ever!
The Handbook is also available on Amazon.com, the link is at the bottom of the blog. I’m preparing for my first radio interview on August 21st – more information coming soon. I hope you ‘ll join me.
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How I Spent the 4th; Walt, Max and a Summer Vacation in the Midwest

Driving from Utah to Illinois and back again in one week takes a special skill set (and few brains), no matter, I had a desire to visit the heartland of America; I love the Midwest!

We first stopped at my friend Jodi’s house and enjoyed the beauty of Fort Collins, Co. Jodi and I have been friends for 25 years and it is a treat to spend time with her. She’s funny. I forgot to unpack my camera, so you’ll just have to imagine how cute she is.

The next day we drove to St. Joseph, Missouri and camped near a lake where I saw my first wild fire flies! Would you believe they wouldn’t hold still for me to get a picture of them?

As we were driving up the freeway, my husband spotted what he thought was a cathedral – wait, there was a gold statue of an angel on the spire. It was the Kansas City LDS Temple. We stopped to pay pay our respects and tell the Lord how grateful we are for the wonderful things in our lives.

We also went to the cemetery where my great…great grandmother, Elizabeth Duncan Porter, a Revolutionary War heroine was buried. After being captured by the British, she was marched from Virginia, while pregnant, up to Canada where she was held prisoner for the duration of the war. Her husband, a member of the Virginia Militia, was sentenced to be executed but the commander liked him and eventually released him. Several chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution are named for her.

The weather turned rainy so we checked into a hotel in Independence, Mo. The next day, July 4th, off we went to visit Walt Disney’s childhood home in Marceline, Mo. My youngest son Tim was born on Walt Disney’s birthday and we LOVE Disneyland so this was a necessary stop. Here are Newell and I under Walt’s “Dreaming Tree.”

 
 
Here’s Walt’s boyhood home, still cute as ever.
 

And his barn where he and his brother and sister used to play. He had one built just like this in his yard in California. Disneyland’s Main Street was based on his memories of downtown Marceline.

 
We had kids waiting for us in Illinois so we scooted off to meet them. Because Newell and I are writers, we decided to make a quick stop at Hannibal, Mo. to see the haunts of Mark Twain.
 

 
Here’s a red, white and blue B & B – now that’s the Spirit of the 4th!

 

 Newell liked this house – check out the hewn stone facade.
 
 
Downtown – love this!
 

Samuel Clemmens/Mark Twain’s home. His dad’s law office was across the street. I love the brick sidewalks and streets.

Ok, here is where it gets interesting to a California girl. In the center of the Mississippi River, across from Hannibal, is an island that looks suspiciously like the “Tom Sawyer Island” in the “Rivers of the World” at Disneyland. Hmmm. We didn’t have time to explore the caves, will need to make another trip to Missouri

We arrived in Peoria, Illinois just in time to meet baby Max, catch the end of the sons’ softball game, grab a bite at Steaks and Shakes and be dazzled by the fireworks on the river – the folks in Peoria sure know how to celebrate Independence Day with style!

Baby Max celebrates his first 4th.
 

 
I imagine that we all ooohed and aaawed like this when the universe was created.
You know how folks like a good light show.
 
The next day we were treated to a pipe organ concert at the U of Illinois/Champaign by Dylan. Dylan, Karl and Tim are working in Illinois for Vivint this summer. If you need a top-notch home security system, they can hook you up.
 
 
 
 After ping pong, billiards and darts at the LDS Institute of Religion, we visited the school’s fine art museum and enjoyed art from ancient Greece to modern Africa.
 
 
Sunday was the big day. At the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Champaign/Urbana Illinois, Baby Max received his name and a priesthood blessing from his Dad, assisted by the men in his family. Here they are afterwards. These men traveled from Washington, Oregon, Utah, New York and Indiana to participate. I hope he felt the love.
 
 
Congratulations to Dylan, Brianne and Max. May you live long and enjoy the good things of life.
 
 
We left this happy group and drove for 23 hours to get Newell to work the next day.
 
This is how I spent my summer vacation. By Pam McMurtry.
 
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A Happy Summer with Children

You LOVE your children and want to have fun and make good memories. But summer days can be a bit long. Here are a few ideas for activities for a happy summer with your favorite people. Print these, cut into slips, pick out the ones that work for your family and store in a cute container. When they finish their chores and are looking for things to do, here you go. 
Happy Summer!
(Republished from an earlier blog)