new for us friday: backyard s'mores, s'mores train

No, s'mores are not really new for us--I have to admit. We are big--and probably way too frequent--fans of these super summertime treats.

But what was New For Us on Friday was the very cool S'mores Kit we received from Hershey that included the "we've never seen them before" incredibly awesome toasting sticks. (I'm still finding out if there's a pair or two for some teach mama readers, so hold on tight!)

Another thing that will be New For Us will be the S'mores Road Trip to BlogHer that I'll be a part of next week, August 5-8. Hershey has generously offered to sponsor a train ride from the DC area to NYC for BlogHer10, a conference where I will be a speaker (eeeee!) and an attendee (woo-hoo!).

Here's the skinny on our Backyard Summertime S'mores and the S'mores Road Trip to BlogHer:

• Backyard Summertime S'mores: We're backyard firepit S'mores-makers, and on any night we feel like firing it up--which is usually a few times a month--we rock it out with one of our favorite snacks.

Marshmallows are ready to hit the fire.

Last night, all my husband and I had to say was Who's up for some S'mores?!! after we gave Maddy, Owen, and Cora seed-filled watermelon slices from our CSA (booo.), and three frustrated kids who were seriously sad about seeds came a runnin'.

We love making S'mores and eating them. But this time, our marshies were not full of dirt and bark from the fallen branches we use as toasting sticks. This time, we used real-life, expandable, rotatable, toasting sticks. And they rocked. As long as no one touched the metal part, that is. (Yes, I did, but the kids didn't and that's what matters.)

This time, we cleanly, calmly, easily--poked two marshmallows on our toasting sticks, held them over our fire pit, and ended up with perfectly toasted marshies. And then I helped everyone smash their marshmallows into their graham crackers and chocolate, and it was S'mores bliss.

S'mores = y.u.m

• S'mores Road Trip to BlogHer: I'm grateful that the kind folks at Hershey have agreed to send about 30 rowdy bloggers on the Amtrak train from DC to NYC next weekend. I haven't taken the train in years, so I'm looking forward to it for sure. And with company like these incredibly talented, creative, intelligent, and totally fun women? It surely will be a blast.
  

However, the really awesome part is that Hershey will have a S'mores Snacktivity booth at BlogHer (#4233) where they'll be handing out S'mores branded bags (will the toasting sticks be included?! I hope so!) while supplies last.

Come over to the booth, meet the great people from Hershey, check out the S'mores Memory Mural (and bring a photo of your S'mores making memory if you'd like to contribute).

I'd love to see you!

fyi: Please don't sweat it if you can't make it to the conference (a lot of the sessions will be live-blogged from the BlogHer Conference site--even our session! Or you can follow the action on Twitter (#blogher10). And I'll share what I learn--I promise!

Like I said, I'm hoping to share the S'mores Kit love, but until then, you can even follow the action on the train and from the Snactivity booth by following #smores .

And that's it--a double NFUF week, but that's how things go sometimes in the summer.

fyi #2: As part of the S'mores Road Trip to BlogHer, I received a round trip ticket on Amtrak to the convention and Hershey branded items. The opinions and ideas expressed here, as always, are my own, influenced only by my three little S'mores eaters.