Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles

Nothin' says summer like a glass of strawberry lemonade. Even better than that, try these Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles.

Nothin' better than a strawberry lemonade popsicle!

These pops are the perfect summertime treat. They kinda taste like a pink Starburst candy - only better and fresher. These pops are sweet and tart and fruity and the prettiest strawberry pink color.



You'll need the zest of one lemon and the juice of three. Also, hull and halve a cup and a half of strawberries.



Throw your fruit, juice, and zest in a high speed blender with some sugar and water. After blending, give it a taste and add in more water or berries until you like the flavor.

These strawberry lemonade popsicles boast a pretty strawberry pink hue.

Freeze your pops for about 4 hours or until completely frozen. Just a head's up, it will be hard to wait. 😉

The boys enjoying their favorite summertime treat.

Make a batch for your next pool day and watch the kids go nuts. Happy popsicle making!

Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles
Makes 8 to 10 medium popsicles

INGREDIENTS
3 large lemons
1 1/2 to 2 cups halved strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
About 2 cups water

DIRECTIONS
1. Zest one lemon and juice them all.
2. Pour strained lemon juice, lemon zest, strawberries, sugar, and 1 cup of water into a high speed blender and blend on low until the strawberries are broken down.
3. Increase blender speed to high and blend until you can no longer see flecks of lemon zest and mixture is smooth. Taste and add in more water to taste. I ended up using about 2 cups total. You can also add in more berries.
4. Pour into popsicle molds. Mixture may separate. That's okay.
5. Freeze for 4 hours or until completely solid.

Nature Wreaths

My boys have been little nature scavengers lately. They've turned our kitchen windowsills into a natural museum, including a jar full of chicken feathers (our neighbor's lost a chicken to a bobcat).

Mateo, my eldest, came back with several big bunches of some scraggly looking plant. Apparently it hangs all over the Oak trees around here. He jumped and climbed and received several scratches and scrapes to obtain his prized bundles. That's the kind of kid he is. 💖 I asked my neighbor about the plant (she is quite knowledgeable about all things natural and country out here). She told me that the plant is called Usnea, is non-toxic, and even has herbal uses.

Mateo's hard earned bundles bulging out of a bowl on the windowsill were begging to be used in art class. The plant is quite dry and scratchy and sticks to itself wonderfully, so I decided we would make wreaths.

I made a prototype first. I cut the center out of a sturdy paper plate with an exacto knife type of tool. I used a hole punch to make two holes on top to loop a ribbon through, and there you go, I had myself a frame to build on.

I took small sections of the plant and wrapped it around the plate gently pushing the plant into itself to stick it together. I overlapped each layer a little for good stick and good coverage. This is a totally great plant to work with.



















At this stage I was ready to bring in the boys. I prepared their plates, they picked ribbons, and we got to wrapping. This is a good floor activity. The plant is messy and a quick vacuum at the end of our project was all that was needed to clean up.

Mateo loved making his wreath. Ezra was a slightly different story. You know you've missed the mark just a bit when your youngest asks you if you can do his for him. 😜 After some more instruction, and hands on help, Ezra got his done too and was very proud of his wreath.

Here's my finished wreath on the door. Pardon my fingers. I had to steady the wreath to get the shot - windy day.