If your kids love cars, trucks, and fire engines, they will love to visit this annual event, Touch-A-Truck.  Children are encouraged to touch, climb and discover construction vehicles, police cars, fire trucks, semi-trucks, buses, and more.  Home Depot will be conducting their Kid’s Workshop, too!  The event is free with a donation to the Manna Food Pantries.

Things to Know Before You Go:

• We didn’t go last year, but we got several messages that the event was a lot of fun but that it was HOT!  Bring a cooler full of water and drinks for after the event.
• Roger Scott Athletic Complex is home to the Roger Scott Pool.  If you time it right, you can attend one of the swim sessions and make this a full day outing!

Friday, July 1

$1 Movie at Silver Screen

First Friday in Downtown Milton

Preschool Storytime and K-5 Summer Reading Program at Pace Library

Friday Night Swim at Roger Scott

Barrier Island Experience Ft. Pickens

Sounds of Summer

Pirates of Pensacola Trolley Tour

Sunset Sea-Wall Beach Walk Ft. Pickens

Free Gulfside Concert

Saturday, July 2

Stars and Stripes Parade in Milton

Home Depot Kids Workshop

Storytime at Barnes and Noble

Sounds of Summer

Snorkeling at Ft. Pickens

Campfire at Historic Ft. Pickens

Fireworks Show at Pensacola Beach

Sunday, July 3

Sounds of Summer

 Library of Congress Gateway to Knowledge Traveling Exhibition

Monday, July 4

Riverfest Activities in Downtown Milton

Pensacola Beach Fireworks Extravaganza

Free Movie at Silver Screen

Sertoma Fireworks Display

Sertoma’s Fourth of July Celebration

 Library of Congress Gateway to Knowledge Traveling Exhibition

Tuesday, July 5

$1 Movie at Silver Screen

Movie at the Ridge

Movie at Bayou Rave

Movie at the Breeze

Preschool Storytime and K-5 Summer Reading at Navarre Library

Preschool storytime at Century Branch

Red String Wayang Theater at Century and Westside Branch

Geocache Day

Bands on the Beach

Wednesday, July 6

Storytime at Barnes and Noble

$1 Movie at Silver Screen

Movie at Bayou Rave

Preschool Storytime and K-5 Summer Reading Program at Milton Library

Preschool Storytime at Main and Southwest Branch

Red String Wayang Theater at Tryon Branch (at WHS cafeteria) and Main Branch

Thursday, July 7

$1 Movie at Silver Screen

Movie at the Ridge

Movie at the Breeze

Preschool Storytime and K-5 Summer Reading Program at Gulf Breeze Library

Teen Underground Movie Lounge at Main Library

Preschool Storytime at Tryon

Sunsets at the Plaza

Evenings in Olde Seville Square

We try to campout in our backyard several weekends during the fall or spring.  It is easy to set up because all you have to do is put up a tent or grab a few blankets.  The food can stay in the fridge and I usually head to my cozy bed while dad and the kids stay outside.  We started our adventure outside with a suggested Backyard Campout Scavenger Hunt.  My kids love scavenger hunts!  We wandered around looking for little creatures and plants living in our backyard.  We drew pictures of them and talked about where they lived.  The garden was a source of discussion because we found a HOLE in it and several plants missing.  We had a long discussion about what decided to dig into our garden and eat lots of plants.

Afterwards, we decided to move the campout inside.  Unfortunately, if you live in Florida you know that camping in the middle of the summer is pure torture!  My outdoor thermometer has been reading in the triple digits all week and don’t even get me started on the humidity!  Ugh!  This is the great thing about backyard camping though…you can always move indoors if you have to!  We huddled up on this great Sid the Science Kid Blanket to watch the show.

We watched the Sid the Science Kid show on the iGo Pocket Projector that we were sent to try out.  Can you believe this little thing projects such a great, clear picture? 

You can watch Sid’s Backyard Campout on PBS (WSRE) today!  But that isn’t all!  We have a great giveaway so that you can have your own Sid the Science Kid Backyard Campout!

We are giving away one Sid doll, a blanket, and a video with four Sid the Science Kid episodes to one lucky winner!

How to Enter 

If you would like a chance to win, leave one comment in this post before 5:59pm CST on Friday, June 24th, and tell us what your favorite camping activity (backyard or otherwise) is.  Don’t worry about being creative with your comment, the winner will be chosen by a random number generator.  Please make sure that you fill out the required fields by putting your first name in the name field and your email address in the email address field.  I do not share email addresses and you will not receive mail from Pensacola with Kids unless you win.    

Extra Entry

For one extra entry, add a second comment.  You can comment with a camping story, favorite camping item, or just say extra entry! 

*I removed the FB extra entry due to the new FB rules for contests that were brought to my attention.  For the five ro six that had already entered, I changed your entry to read “extra entry”.  They are still in the same order they were commented and no additional changes have been made. 

Winners

We will choose ONEwinner randomly and announce the results here on Pensacola with Kids after Friday, June 24th.

Rules

One comment per person per giveaway post with the exception of the extra entry.  Duplicate comments and anonymous comments will be discarded.  Please make sure that the email address in your comment form is valid so that we can contact you (email addresses are never made public).  Winners must claim their prize within three business days after the date of notification of such prize.  We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology.  No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except that Pensacola with Kids reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state and local taxes on the value of their prize.  Relatives of Pensacola with Kids are not eligible to win.

Because this is a family site and we get a lot of spam comments, all comments on this site are moderated.  If your comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry!

*Disclosure: I was sent a Sid the Science Kid video, blanket and the iGo Pocket Projector to facilitate this review as well as the giveaway.  As always, all opinions and reviews are mine without any outside influence. 

Friday, June 17

Preschool Story Time and K-5 Summer Reading Program – Pace Library

Pencil Techniques – Tryon Library

Sounds of Summer

Pirates Trolley Tour

Sunset Seawall Beach Walk at Ft. Pickens

Free Friday Family Flicks

Saturday, June 18

Story Time at Westside Library

Read to Dogs at Tryon

Palafox Market

Home Depot Kids Workshop

Storytime at Barnes and Noble

JAKES Outdoor Event

Campfire at Historic Fort Pickens

Zoo Tots

Sunday, June 19

Sounds of Summer

Monday, June 20

Preschool Story Time and K-5 Summer Reading at Jay Library

Karaoke and Open Mic at Tryon Branch

Beach Blanket Movie Night

Tuesday, June 21

Preschool Story Time and K-5 Summer Reading at Navarre Library

Kathleen Gibson Music at Westside and Century Branches

Gulf Islands National Seashore Free Day

Blue Angels Practice

Free Movie at the Ridge

Free Movie at the Breeze

Free Movie at Rave Bayou

Wednesday, June 22

Preschool Story Time and K-5 Summer Reading at Milton Library

Kathleen Gibson Music at Southwest Branch (held at Big Lagoon) and Tryon Branch (held at WHS cafeteria)

Family Pajama Story Time at Main Library

Storytime at Main, Southwest, and Century Library

Storytime at Barnes and Noble

Blue Angels Practice

Free Movie at Rave Bayou

Thursday, June 23

Teen Underground Movie Lounge – It’s Kind of a Funny Story at Main Library

Preschool Storytime at Tryon

Preschool Story Time and K-5 Summer Reading Gulf Breeze Library

Sunsets at the Plaza

Evenings in Olde Seville Square

Free Movie at the Ridge

Free Movie at the Breeze

Summer Activities

55 Days of Summer in Pensacola

Blueberry Picking

Chagall for Children

Splash Pad Hours

Summer Reading Programs

Sunsets at the Plaza

Free Summer Movies

Breeze Cinema 8 Free Summer Kid Show

Destin Commons 14 Free Summer Movies

Friday Family Flicks

Rave Bayou Free Summer Movies

Ridge Cinema Free Summer Kid Show

Silver Screen Movies

Pools

Roger Scott and Cecil T. Hunter Summer Hours

Friday, May 6th

Bands on the Bayou

PMA Chagall for Children Opening Exhibit

First Friday in Downtown Milton

Saturday, May 7th

Barnes and Noble Storytime

Day Out with Thomas

Westside Branch Storytime

Children’s Treasure Hunt

Palafox Market-Opening Day

Chalk it Up! Pensacola Sidewalk Art Festival

DK Mommy and Me Cooking Class

Home Depot Workshop

Lowes Build and Grow Clinic

Sunday, May 8th

Day Out with Thomas

I was able to get my hands on the Bayou Rave Free Summer Movie Schedule and I am so happy to share it with you here!  Remember that this schedule is subject to change.  The Rave free movies are a great way to get out of the house and still stay out of the humidity!  So mark your calendars!  The tentative schedule is as follows:

June 7th and 8th - Megamind
June 14th and 15th – Yogi Bear
June 21st and 22nd - Diary of A Wimpy Kid
June 28th and 29th -  Marmaduke
July 5th and 6th - Ramona & Beezus
July 12th and 13th - Percy Jackson
July 19th and 20th – Chronicles of Narnia 3
July 26th and 27th - Gulliver’s Travel

When it gets closer to the first showing, I will post our tips to know before you go!

*Photo courtesy of NightRPStar via Flickr

My pal, Briony, has started a new blog called Freeze Your Way Fit.  I have learned so much from Briony over the past two years on how to eat cleaner and healthier, waste less food, and save more money!  I am so excited to share her new blog with you!

Freeze Your Way Fit includes information on how to start eating healthier, utilize your freezer as a tool to help you cook less often and save money on groceries through couponing. 

Every Monday, she posts a weekly meal plan with healthy recipes and coupon link ups.  She also shares stockpile scenarios that will help you save money in the long run. 

One of my favorite things to see now is my stockpiled freezer.  For example, whenever I make a lasagna I will make two.  We eat one and freeze one.  It helps me to save time and I have a healthy meal waiting for me in my freezer.  Last night, we had leftovers that freeze well.  Instead of putting it in my fridge where I know it will just move into the back until I finally clean it out and throw it away, I freeze the leftovers and have entire meals ready for me in minutes! 

Here are a few of my favorite recipes (I have made these at home on my own and they really are easy!):

Clean Eating Healther Granola Bars

Joan’s Homemade Hummus

And these are some of the site’s most popular recipes:

Homemade Yogurt in the Crockpot

Sneaky Sloppy Joes

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars

If you aren’t sure how to begin couponing, freezing or moving to a healthier eating lifestyle, stop by her Getting Started Page.

The thing that I love about Briony is that she shares easy techniques to help everyone get started without making you feel overwhelmed.  Making it easy for all of us comes easy to her because she changed her eating habits gradually.  Here is Briony’s story!

Changing our eating habits was a very gradual process for our family. It all started when I was pregnant for the first time. I was sitting at the dinner table after reading the section in What to Expect When You’re Expecting about nutrition during pregnancy. I’m one of those people that can never do anything half way… and I want a book for everything. I had sat down earlier that day and made a chart to ensure that I was fulfilling every category of nutrient every day (seriously, I’m that crazy… I do this sort of thing regularly). I realized I was behind for the day so I made whole wheat pasta with meat sauce for dinner. I put ¼ cup of wheat germ into mine because I needed my dose of folic acid for the day. On the side I had ½ a red pepper and a baked potato w/ cheese. 

I took one bite of the pasta and started to cry. The wheat germ was way too much and made the sauce totally thick and dry. On top of that, we always ate white pasta so the whole wheat pasta seemed too heavy and just added to the thick, pasty mess. The amount of food surrounding me was simply overwhelming. “I can’t eat this. Our baby is going to be nutrient deficient!!” I wailed. My husband, Matt, was very sympathetic and reassuring… he kept his laughter down to a low giggle.

I ended up just eating the baked potato and the rest of my pregnancy consisted mainly of eating mac n’ cheese out of a box. The fact of the matter was that it was just too much of a change all at once and I was completely overloaded with information. I was so stressed out trying to get a check in each nutritional box that I wasn’t able to enjoy my food. Okay, pregnancy hormones might have had a little bit to do with it as well.  It was too big of a leap from what I was used to, which made it harder to stick with.

So how did I go from eating only simple carbs and processed cheese for nine months to the way we are now? It all started with baby food. Once Colwynn was old enough to start solids, my friend lent me Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. I already thought that we ate well. After all, I cooked dinner every night and I liked fruits and vegetables. However, my version of “cooking dinner” was anything from chicken stir fry (good) to Hamburger Helper (not so good). As I read through the book I learned a lot about how to make better food choices and what foods were more nutrient dense than others. I started making Colwynn’s baby food and began making VERY gradual changes to what Matt and I were eating as well.

Super Baby Food helped me develop an incredibly efficient system of using my freezer to make big batches of food for Colwynn and then use it one portion at a time. As Colwynn got older and started eating non-pureed foods, I began making even more changes to what Matt and I ate. I didn’t want to have to cook more than one meal for dinner so I started planning meals for us that Colwynn could eat too. Because the change had been gradual over a few months and we started making small substitutions and changes at a time, we didn’t notice as much and it was easy to keep up.

A little while later another friend introduced me to Clean Eating magazine. I combined the concepts of Clean Eating with the methods of batch cooking and freezing to develop a system of only cooking three or four times a week and utilizing our “freezer stash” so that we were still eating a nutritious, home cooked meal every night. Then I started adding different veggie purees into regular dishes to increase the nutritional content.

When we first moved to Pensacola, our family was living on one income and paying two mortgage payments. We needed to really watch our spending so I started looking into couponing. I checked out some how-to sites and planned my first trip to Publix. I walked out with an entire cart full of groceries for less than $20 and I was totally hooked! I found at first that it was difficult to save a lot of money on the things I wanted to feed my family. But once I got the hang of stockpiling and creative meal planning, I was regularly saving 50% or more a week.

Thanks so much for sharing with us, Briony!  If you want to learn more, be sure to connect with Briony on the Freeze Your Way Fit Facebook page!