Let the Games Begin!

I’m proud to partner with CVS Pharmacy to promote their exclusive Gold Emblem™ and Gold Emblem abound™ from CVSsnack lines. I am being sponsored by CVS Pharmacy for my posts and activities, but all opinions expressed are my own, and all product claims or program details shared should be verified at CVS.com or with the appropriate manufacturers.

Forget the Back-to-school ads, there’s still plenty of summer to enjoy. You know how I know? Because tonight’s the opening ceremony of the summer games, so technically it’s just the beginning. So who’s watching tonight and what’s your favorite event? Since I was a kid, our favorite events were always figure skating in the winter and gymnastics in the summer, and I can still remember the 1984 games like they were yesterday–Mary Lou Retton was everything. I mean, the haircut alone. That summer, my cousins and I reenacted our own summer games, complete with competitions in trampoline (my sister fell off it), trapeze (back yard swing set) and track and field (races down our street). I just saw one of those cousins last week, and we recalled it all together. “Remember the medals we made?” she reminded me, “we wrapped tin foil around Pringles lids.”

If you’re looking for one last summer hurrah with the kids, the summer games is a great opportunity  to get everyone outside for some good old fashioned competition. Make some homemade medals out of tin foil and lids (or dig up some real ones from any 5Ks you ran), line up some sporting events and start it all off with the running of torch.

We made our own summer games torch–super quick and easy–using a silver noise maker horn stuffed with red, orange and yellow tissue paper.

We set up a summer game snack table using CVS Gold Emblem™ and Gold Emblem abound™ snacks. And I have to tell you, I was so pleasantly surprised to see how the drug store snack aisle has changed over the years. It’s like a little gourmet  grocery store up in there! Gold Emblem™ and Gold Emblem abound™ offers an impressive variety of high-quality, great-tasting products–salty, sweet, spicy–they have them all.

As always, we had so much transforming our food to fit the theme–a task that now involves the entire family. Chewy fruit balance beams, BBQ potato torches (fill cones made from foil), uneven parallel pretzel bars and lemony gold medals.

Let the games begin!

We made our own shot put throwing a big rock in the sand and marking where it fell. This was everyone’s favorite game because it goes against everything I ever taught them: don’t throw rocks.

We rated our snacks…

…and  designed flags for made up countries we represented.

My country was Lovania, Lainey’s was Caringville and Nella’s was…wait for it…Target.

Dash’s country is full of color and expression, and he named it, coincidentally, Dash.

Want to try some CVS  Gold Emblem™ and  Gold Emblem abound™ snacks? CVS is giving away a prize snack pack. Just follow the CVS Instagram handle to be eligible, and I’ll choose one winner (contacted through your Instagram handle) on Monday, August 8th.

Go Simone Biles!