Make Your Own Panning for Gold Adventure Trip

I have been researching all types of fun summer trips to try. They all have one thing in common. They are expensive! One of the trips I was really excited about was the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. Kids can actually dig for real diamonds and keep what they find.

 

However, it was Sunday night, and I wanted somewhere I could go Monday while I was off. I was looking for a day trip. I decided to make my own summer adventure trip for only a few dollars.

I went out in our backyard and found three broken tree limbs. Then I hunted down three bandanas from our house for our lunches. I tied them up in Tom Sawyer style. The boys were very entertained by their lunch sacks.

 

 

Next, I found a free river at The Big Rocks Park in Glen Rose, Texas. I am pretty sure most of you can find a creek or something nearby that would suffice for your own gold mining or panning adventure.

 

Supplies:

Tin foil pans with holes poked in the bottom

Plastic gems

Gold Painted rocks (gold nuggets)

Treasure bags

 

Upon arrival at our "gold panning site," we let the boys use skewer sticks to poke holes in the their tin foil sleuce. I had prepared ziplock bags with dirt and treasures hidden inside.

 

I poured a bag in each child's handmade sleuce, and they got to work! Hopefully you can see the gold rocks in the pan above. They knew it was fake and they were still excited by their discoveries.

 

My youngest thought he hit the jack pot!

 

I also created small bags to hook on to their belts, for additional treasures they found. I got the idea from this months Family Fun Magazine. Click here for directions on their Explorer Bag. It is made out of a produce sack and duck tape. I made ours smaller, and then put clips on them, so the boys could wear them in the water without losing them. It made the perfect treasure pouch.

 

Even the little princess enjoyed the morning activities.

 

 

Sweet brothers! (No they don't always get along that well!) I think they truly enjoyed our day trip adventure!! Good luck planning your own.

 

 

DIY Egg Carton Fire Starters for Camping, Fireplace, and More

We are officially moved into the camper and out of our old house. This is our second week of camping bliss. Yes...I am lying. It has been...edited version...an adventure! We borrowed the camper from a sweet cousin, but it had not been used in a while, and it had a few problems. First there was a hose leak, and we didn't have water inside for about 4 days. Then we found a gas leak, and we did not have hot water for another 3 days. 7 1/2 months pregnant (A 5 year old, 3 year old, and a husband) without water or without hot water is NOT paradise. At least they have started building our new house. I am pretty sure this will lead to some funny stories years from now but I might be lacking a little humor at this point! (I'm laughing thinking about it though)

In the meantime, I made some really cool fire starters.

 

 

I have to say I learn so much from my patients. One of the best parts of my job as a nurse is talking to people. I meet the most interesting patients that I have to credit for teaching me a wide variety of things. One day, I had a patient that was a retired firefighter. I am not sure how we got on the topic, but we began discussing fires and ways to make fire starters. He explained to me this simple process for making homemade fire starters out of candle wax, sawdust, and cardboard egg cartons.

 

My husband was very skeptical the first time I used one of these little homemade fire starters. I placed one under the logs of our fire pit, and lit it on fire. Within minutes, even with quite a strong wind, our fire was ablaze. I made a quick believer out of him! I have to admit...I was quite amazed myself at the power of one little egg carton fire starter.

 

Supplies:

Old candles

Old pot

Tin can

Clamp

Sawdust

Egg cartons (cardboard)

 

 

Step 1: Fill egg cartons with sawdust 

 

 

Step 2: Melt old candle wax. I rigged a pot of boiling water with a clamp and a tin can to melt the wax in.

 

Step 3: Pour the candle wax in each egg carton compartment.

 

 

Step 4: When the wax is cool, tear apart each section, to create an individual fire starter.

 

Trust me...these things are amazing. It takes only 1 to start your average fire!