Friday Favorites!

Hey friends!!

Happy Friday!!

This is the first Friday since the beginning of the school year where I am not rushing to get ready for work at the same time I am making sure all the kids are dressed and ready for school. It's kind of a weird feeling NOT to have to be anywhere....but I think I will get used to it REAL fast and manage just fine! ;)

YAY for summer break!!

So- a bunch of random things for this "favorites" post- with most of them being food related. HA!

//ONE//

On Wednesday, I shared our Summer Schedule and what I hope to do with my kiddos each day! You can read about it HERE! Of course, snack time is one of the most important parts of our day- and I have found that if I feed my kiddos a good snack, that sets us up for a great rest of our afternoon. I am such a genius...right?!? HA!

The most efficient and FUN way I feed the kids is by using a party snack tray!

I pile a bunch of items in each of the compartments and usually put a sweet treat in the middle compartment. This time it was a chocolate chip cookie cut up into little bites :)

The kids will either take the snack tray out to the back patio or have a picnic in the living room. It's definitely one of the FAVORITE parts of their day...and for some reason...this little snack tray just sends it over the top for them! For me it's easy and there's little to no clean up- WIN-WIN for all of us!

//TWO//

I have shared MANY items that I love from Aldi...but I don't know if I have ever talked about this HUGE container of organic mixed salad greens!?! I eat at least 1 if not 2 salads every day and Aaron loves to a have a side salad with his dinner. We buy one of these containers at the beginning of the week and use it all week long to make our salads. This 16 ounce container of ORGANIC spring mix is $3.99 at my Aldi (prices due vary a little at different Aldis)!!! It's washed and ready to go and is definitely one of my most FAVORITE grocery staples!

Speaking of favorite Aldi items...I did a specific post on items I love from Aldi a couple years ago...would be you interested in me doing another post like that? Or are you kind of over "Aldi" posts? Aldi has become a lot more popular and trendy- so I know a lot people have shared their "go-to" items...so it might be overkill if I did ANOTHER post about that. 

Let me know!!!

//THREE//

Okay- final food item of this post! HA!

I know SOOO many people absolutely love this Everything But the Bagel Seasoning from Trader Joe's...but I had just had to share my own personal obsession with it. HA!

It is SO GOOD!!!

I actually just got my first bottle of it back in April when we were in Austin, TX and we popped into a Trader Joe's to pick up a few things. I remembered all the hype about it and made sure to pick up a couple bottles of it. 

Well- we got home from our trip and I went through those 3 bottles of seasoning in like a month. HA! Lucky for me- my brother works right by a Trader Joe's in Raleigh (we don't have one in Greenville) and he was so sweet to pick me up another SIX bottles of it. 

He GETS ME. HA!

If you have not tried this stuff and you have a Trader Joe's in your town- go GET SOME. I put it on everything...cut up cucumbers, lunchmeat sandwich wraps, salads, grilled veggies, eggs...EVERYTHING! And it's so good!

FYI: There are a lot of different little "seeds" in this seasoning...so make sure to check your teeth after you eat it. HA!!

//FOUR//

Wednesday was our last day of school and we had our first "adventure" of summer break yesterday! We went to one of our local parks, had a picnic and then played at the park!

We happened upon this beautiful display of flags, called the Field of Honor. It was breathtaking! Each flag is in memoriam of a service member who has sacrificed his/her life for our country. It was such a special surprise to see this display and it got a great conversation going with my girls about the sacrifices of the amazing people who serve in our Armed Forces.

Picnic Lunch!!!

We use our Walmart picnic blanket EVERYDAY!!!

I got our's last year- and it is one of my most FAVORITE things! It washes SO well and we use it at the beach, at the park, in our driveway...everywhere! It is only $9.97 and you can find it HERE on Walmart's website or I am sure they have them in your local store!

(I just looked on Walmart's website and it looks like most patterns and colors are sold out...so you might be better off checking your local store for one!!)

//FIVE//

YAY for it being Friday and heading into the weekend!!

We are headed to the pool today and then are having a pizza picnic for dinner tonight!

Tomorrow- I have a fun surprise planned for Aaron and the kids and I are going over to a friend's house to swim! Saturday night is our family date night- first we go to church and spend a little time there- then we go to Mellow Mushroom for pizza!

On Sunday, Aaron's brother, his wife and their 2 kiddos are coming to visit for a quick little overnight! We are just going to grill and hang out and we are all so excited to see some of our FAVORITE people!

It's going to be a FULL, FUN weekend!

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Anything fun???

Hope you have a FABULOUS Friday and a WONDERFUL weekend!

Linking up with Andrea, Erika and Narci!

Also joining April, Christina and Natasha for their fun link-up!

Linking up with Tif, Becky, Della and Katie too!