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How To Have A Swimmingly Fun Family Summer Celebration

School’s out for summer!!!  The kids and I are very excited for school to be wrapping up and for all of the fun that awaits us this summer.  We decided to have a swimmingly fun family summer celebration!  We celebrated by watching Finding Nemo as the kids and I are eagerly anticipating the upcoming release of Finding Dory.

A few weeks ago when I was browsing in Walmart I noticed the signs for Walmart Family Mobile.  Since I started blogging I seem to burn through the 1GB of data that our family plan shares and the sign stating 10GB of 4G LTE in the Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan peaked my interest.  I popped into the aisle in the electronics department and liked what I read.  

The sign touted the Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan to include unlimited text, talk and data for $49.88 a month.  The plan includes 10 GB of 4G LTE plus a free movie on VUDU (a $7 value!!) every month complimentary!  Did the sign really say 10 GB of data?!?!  We are planning a big trip to California this summer and I am sure that all of that extra data would definitely come in handy while we are traveling for two weeks.  Not having to worry about running out of data while staying connected on social media and using the GPS is crucial for our RV trip (at least I think so – my husband probably only cares about the GPS – not me checking in on Instagram!).

I decided to sign up for the Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan to try it out and figured the free movie on VUDU would be perfect for streaming Finding Nemo on our TV for our end of school celebration.  You can find a listing of the movies by signing up for a free account at VUDU.  I am excited that we will get a free movie each month on VUDU – we love movies in our family.  Hubby and I used to go to the movies frequently pre-children but now its a rare occurrence so being able to stream new release movies in the comfort of our home with the kids sleeping upstairs is a great benefit!

After I made my decision to sign up for the Walmart Family Mobile Plus plan in the store I bought the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime for $79.92 on rollback from $99.92.  I also bought the Starter Kit for $19.88 (on rollback for the first time ever from $25).  It’s pretty awesome as you can start any service on a Walmart Family Mobile plan for just $19.88. 

My new Samsung Galaxy Core Prime is great and with minimal setup I was up and running (and surfing social media!).  I was glad to have the extra data and capability to browse Pinterest for ideas for our celebration of summer movie night while I was out and about.  I had a starting point for our Finding Nemo movie night as I had previously purchased themed plates and cups when I found them on sale.  But some great ideas I found while searching on Pinterest helped inspire our dinner.

Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/3edbv or your local Walmart for current pricing.

One of our kids favorite ways to watch a movie is by having a dinner movie picnic.  Since this was a special celebration I decided to go above and beyond our usual finger foods to theme everything with the movie.  We focused on Dory as soon she will be the leading lady! 

I used my phone to search Pinterest for some ideas for what would be on the menu.  With 10 MB of data I didn’t have to worry about watching my data or limiting my surfing.  Our final menu consisted of fish sandwiches, fish & chips, octopus vegetable sticks, and ocean water.  The finishing touch was a Dory cupcake cake.

When I was out shopping I found a few fun (and inexpensive) Finding Dory items.  I picked up new bubbles and coloring packs.  While I was working hard at pulling together the food the kids were running around in the backyard with the dog blowing bubbles. 

In preparation for our picnic I pulled out the blankets and spread them on the floor.  When the kids were hot from running around they came in and I pulled out the coloring packs and they happily colored while I finished up.   I opened up VUDU on the DVD player and got Finding Nemo set to play.  The kids were eager to see the food and sit down and watch the movie!

Keep reading below for instructions on how to recreate our Finding Dory themed menu yourself!

Finding Dory Themed Menu

Fish Sandwich

Ingredients

• Bread
• Tuna Fish
• Mayonnaise
• American Cheese
• Lettuce

Directions

• Cut the bread using a fish shaped cookie cutter – two slices per sandwich
• Mix the tuna fish and mayonnaise
• Use a fork to put a layer of tuna on one piece of the fish shaped bread and press down to help it stick
• Cut the cheese with the fish shaped cookie cutter and place on top of the tuna
• Cut the lettuce with the fish shaped cookie cutter and place on top of the cheese
• Put the other fish shaped bread on top and press down

Fish & Chips

Ingredients

• Ruffle Potato Chips
• Goldfish

Directions

• Mix the potato chips and goldfish
• Scoop into serving dishes for snacking during the movie

Ocean Water

This one is simple – you just need a blue beverage and clear cups.  I used Cool Blue Gatorade and clear plastic cups.

Octopus Vegetable Sticks

Ingredients

•  Cucumbers
• Red pepper
• Yellow pepper
• Orange pepper
• Celery
• Ranch vegetable dip
• Candy eyeballs
• Any other vegetables you would like to include

Directions

• Cut up the vegetables – you could use whatever your family favorites are.  I cut up some colored peppers, cucumbers, and celery and used baby carrots
• Cut the top off one pepper for the body of the octopus
• Using another pepper of the same color cut out eight legs
• Attach candy eyeballs (or you could use black olives) with a dab of ranch dressing on the back
• Place the vegetables in a serving tray (a tray with sections is helpful).
• Fill the center of the tray with ranch dip
• Put the octopus body on top of the dressing and arrange the eight legs out on top of the other veggies

Dory Cupcake Cake

 Ingredients

• Blue velvet cake mix (plus ingredients listed on the box)
• Bright blue frosting 
• Black frosting
• Yellow frosting
• Candy eye

Directions

• Make the cupcakes according to the box directions, allow to cool completely and start decorating
• Arrange 18 cupcakes to make a fish shape (see picture below)
• Cover all cupcakes with blue frosting (I used store bought frosting today to help decrease the amount of prep time) – fill in the gaps with the blue frosting as well
• Referencing an image of Dory add the details with black and yellow (her mouth, fins, tail, etc.)
• Attach a candy eye 

Do you do anything fun as a family to celebrate the end of the school year and the start of summer?  I would love to hear what your family does!  Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.  

Happy Summer!!