Yesterday I co-hosted Hebrew National’s Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnic in Boston with some of my favorite blogging friends – Emily, Christine, Jodi and Christy.

We couldn’t have asked for a better day! The sun was shining! The setting was gorgeous! We had our family and friends with us!

(William’s favorite part of the day was that he got to keep the “wonderball” from the Wonderball Game he placed 2nd in twice!)

The smell of delicious Hebrew National hot dogs cooking away filled the air!

The kids (and any willing adults, see below!) got to ride a mechanical bull!

(My husband couldn’t resist!)

And the best part of it all, the “better-than” part… everyone got the chance to give back through the service projects we had available at the picnic.

We collected donations for Women’s Lunch Place, a Boston-based organization that serves homeless women and children. The amount of toiletry items (travel sizes), office supplies (paper, pens, envelopes), and gently used books/magazines was overwhelming to see.

We also collected donations for Room to Grow, a Boston-based organization that serves babies born into poverty (throughout their first three years of development). Their top priority donation items included: board and soft books, toddler clothing (especially boys sizes 18 months – 3T) and safety equipment. This is what was dropped off in the first 20 minutes…

The activities throughout the day was what truly caught the attention and time of the kids. Since our picnic was on Memorial Day, we had a card making station where everyone made cards for military service members (cards will be sent to Operation Gratitude). It was incredible to see the time and effort the children put into the cards. One of our best friend’s was killed in Iraq 5-years ago, so this project was very special to me because I remember Dimi always telling me how nice it was to receive cards. It warmed my heart to see the amount of cards we had made at the end of the afternoon – there were easily over 60 cards.

(Alexander and William making cards.)

(And Henry!)

We also hosted a craft project (to benefit Women’s Lunch Place) that attendees are invited to help with in making adorable toiletries out of soap and face clothes.

The day was just wonderful. We had an amazing turnout… spending time with my guys, my friends and giving back just made the day so special for me.

(They couldn’t get enough of the cow puzzle!)

I felt honored to be there co-hosting with such an incredible group of women. Thanks so much to The Motherhood and Hebrew National for bringing this all together! Here’s a list of the upcoming Hebrew National Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnics:

• June 5 – Pittsburgh
• June 11 – Raleigh
• June 13 – Charlotte
• June 19 – Atlanta
• June 26 – Tampa
• June 27 – Orlando
• July 3 – Cleveland

Disclosure: As a co-host of the Hebrew National Better-Than-A-Picnic Picnic, I worked with The Motherhood and received a stipend for my involvement.