My kids have really been into Super Mario lately. From playing Super Mario Bros. 3 on our NES Classic, to Mario Kart on our Nintendo Switch, to Super Mario Maker 2 on their DS, they have loved Mario for a long time and seemingly can't get enough of him!

Because of this, and school starting, it was time to make them another Super Mario lunch. One of my most popular blog posts is showing how to make a Nintendo themed birthday party, so I guess I'm not alone in our family's addiction to these video game characters. If your family is into Nintendo and Mario like mine, is keep reading to see how to make your own Mario Bros. themed lunch for your kids' lunchboxes!

Back-to-School Letters and Numbers Lunch

This is a sponsored post in partnership with California Walnuts. All opinions are my own.

If you're a parent back-to-school time means back-to-lunch time. This means it's not only time to go shopping for school supplies, it's time to start thinking about meal prep! Did you know that 45% of Americans don't plan what they are going to eat for lunch at all? This is the year that you can change that and "Choose Lunch" with the whole family. What better way to start than with this letters and numbers school lunch complete with a pencil shaped California Walnuts chewy trail bar!

A Candied Walnut Eating Squirrel School Lunch Recipe

This is a sponsored post in partnership with California Walnuts. All opinions are my own.

Over 50 years ago, my wife's grandfather bought land in Northern California and over time built it up to be a working cattle ranch. My wife has enough memories there to fill up her own blog! My kids also grew up going there and one of their favorite memories at the ranch is gathering walnuts with their grandma and eating her famous walnut pie. Well, I might not be up for baking or serving walnut pie for school lunches, but I did the next best thing and created this candied squirrel school lunch with California Walnuts!

The thing that I love about walnuts is that when you are feeling drained in the middle of the day, a few of them in your lunch can really boost your energy (or your kid's energy) to help you finish your afternoon strong. This lunch can help with that. While I made my own candied walnuts as a nod to my mother-in-law's walnut pie, you can also substitute homemade toasted walnuts instead to use less sugar.

How to Snack Healthier on a Family Road Trip

This is a sponsored post in partnership with Chase Freedom Unlimited. All opinions are my own.

My kids, wife, and I just finished an epic family road trip traveling from Oklahoma to northern California. We hit the road to visit family and friends. My wife and kids headed out before me and then I joined them a few weeks later. We drove all around the state that we used to call home, and then headed back across the country to the state we where we now live. We laughed and relaxed, enjoyed being around our loved ones, and put many miles on our minivan.

One of our goals for this year is to travel more together and make memories that we will talk about for many years to come. Thanks to Chase Freedom Unlimited, we are fulfilling our goal on a regular basis. Recently I have shared with you about how the cash back rewards are helping us to share experiences that we otherwise wouldn't be able to have. Here are a few of those memories we made!

Watermelon Pizza Recipe: Our Healthy New Summer Snack!

This post is made in collaboration with Chase Freedom Unlimited. All opinions are my own.

If you're a parent, you know summertime is packed with hot weather, fun activities, and kids always asking for more snacks! This summer, our family goal has been taking trips making memories together, as well as coming up with new summer lunch ideas, so I thought it was time to try out an easy healthy snack recipe that my whole family would love. Seasonal fruit is a great place to start, so my first step was taking a trip to the grocery store to see what was available.