Joy's Fun Stuff

These 10 ideas are not spectacular, just simple, funny activities that get everyone laughing and creating some great memories, including the

In an effort to fulfill my life goal of unnecessarily complicating every possible situation, through the years I have spent hours and hours

Decorating for a party doesn't have to be expensive. It does take some planning ahead and a little elbow grease, but this Harry Potter party for my 3rd kiddo turned out pretty fun and hardly cost a thing. I know it might seem like I'm a bit obsessed with the Dollar Tree (see here, here, here, and here) and that they must sponsor my life (I wish), but it's just that they have so many great things for so dang cheap. And for the record I actually purchased some of this party stu

Kid's birthdays are easy, but I have struggled with the old birthday for my husband, poor guy. It's silly because he's an amazing man who loves me and our kids. But I have struggled. While marriages are complicated and all different, these are some truths I've (slowly) discovered through the years for me with my husband, mostly through trial and error. The emphasis here is on the error. *Disclaimers: 1. Not everyone fits into these generalities but maybe this will give you so

One year we had some friends with the last name Baire and they had the greatest family costumes for Halloween- the baby was dressed in the most snuggly, adorable bear costume and the hubby and wife had teddy bears tied to their heads like hats. They were the best 3 Bears ever and it was hilarious. I knew right then that we had future Halloween plans. So every year we hash around trying to come up with a creative costume theme that is acceptable to all involved. This is gettin

So a few weeks back my kids sang in church in front of the whole congregation. It was seriously adorable and sweet and was just one of those happy moments you know you will look back and fondly remember. But in this particular case the nostalgia would not last long as you would then be smacked in the face with the memory of the full-on, soul wrenching, blood curdling death scream immediately coming forth from the small 3 year old on returning to her seat to find her brother h

Have you played Flashlight Tag? It's not complicated and it's a hit with just about any group of people you get together: family night, date night, crazy teenagers, family reunion. I first played this game as a teenager on a double date with a married couple and their son, a potentially awkward situation turned completely awesome with this free game. Since Flashlight Tag is mostly in the dark, it brings out the wild side of people so be prepared. Grandma might throw an elbow

Matt and I just got back from San Francisco. We had such a great time and I thought I'd pass on some of the vast knowledge I gained from our experience. #10: They do things big in California. This giant portapotty provided even more space for holding disgusting stuff. I'll spare you the interior picture. #9: When taking an open top bus tour, make sure you schedule it for when it's super freezing so you get your choice of seats. I mean, who cares that you're rear is like ice c

My little now-3 year old requested a pink cake for her birthday. No sweat. I can do that. Sunday night I went to pump it out, as I wanted to get ‘er done quickly while the kids were in bed. Cake mix: check. Powdered sugar for frosting: nope. Since I wanted it done then, while the cake baked I pulled out the blender and powdered my sugar. (cue "Little House on the Prairie" music) Clock ticking After whipping the butter I added the sugar and... watched as my butter totally melt

We had some Target gift cards begging to be spent. Giving target my money is never a challenging task for me but we wanted to do something a little different. So Dinner Challenge 2017 was born. We split into teams and drew out our assignments from some scratch paper in the car: main dish and side or side and dessert. Our only rules were 1) we couldn’t try to see what was in the other team’s cart and 2) we had to use at least one ingredient from home in each dish. Matt’s team