Fun
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I finished reading These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls recently. They have really enjoyed reading this series together; These Happy Golden Years is the eighth book in the series. The only thing they are disappointed about is that we only have one book left and it is a short one.
In this book Laura Ingalls gets her first teaching job, at the age of fifteen, in a school twelve miles away from home. Since it is winter time she will not be able to live at home while she is teaching. She wants to work to help pay for her sister Mary’s tuition at the college for the blind, but the place she is boarding while teaching is unpleasant and she is very homesick. The time spent in another family’s home makes Laura appreciate her Pa, Ma, and sisters even more. Laura begins to look forward to hearing Almanzo Wilder’s sleigh bells ringing as he arrives to pick her up from school on Fridays and take her home so she can spend time with her family. While Laura was not teaching she was spending time with family and friends, studying, taking singing lessons, and going for rides in Almanzo’s new buggy. It is in this book Laura’s friendship with Almanzo blossoms into love.
I am so excited that the girls have loved this series as much as I did as a kid. It has been a lot of fun reading through these books (and others) with them. They look forward everyday to reading the next chapter. Thankful for some time to spend enjoying the simple things in life with my girls.
Greenville Drive Baseball Game & Fireworks
Greenville Drive Baseball Game
The other night as we were talking about summer the girls brought up the Greenville Drive and how much fun they had going to the games. There is just something about watching a game in person that makes it extra fun. It’s a great family summer activity too. Plus, if you time it right on certain nights they do fireworks (that is always a big highlight for our kids)! 🙂
We try to go to at least once (maybe more) to a Greenville Drive Baseball game each summer. Also, the past two summers the girls have earned rewards for doing the summer reading program through the local library which includes free tickets to a Greenville Drive game. Way to go girls!
As I was thinking about our conversation I came across some pictures of our last Greenville Drive Game and thought it was a good time to share. If your starting to think about summer break and planning some fun activities for your kids you should check into your local sports teams! For those of you who live near Greenville, SC you can check out the Greenville Drive’s 2013 Schedule online.
Brina and Karlie pausing for a brief moment from watching the game so I could snap a picture.
Fireworks after the Greenville Drive game are always a hit!
Fun Edible Snacks
The girls love it when we put together a snack with a silly edible face. Usually after Awana on Sunday evening while they are taking their baths I will get a small snack for them to eat before heading to bed. I don’t want to give them something too heavy or unhealthy so there is usually a mix of fruits and veggies. On this particular silly face they had:
- Fresh Watermelon Slices
- Fresh Honeydew Slices
- Orange Pear Tomato
- Two Ritz Crackers
- Two Slices of Pepperoni
- Two Whole Cashews
Reading Eggs – FREE Two Week Trial
Reading Eggs is offering a Free Two Week Trial Offer. All you have to do is sign up to try out their reading program, no credit card required. Do you have a little one that is just starting to read or one who wants to increase his or her reading skills? Then this may be the perfect time to check out Reading Eggs program.
You want reading to be fun and easy for your child so why not try out Reading Eggs and see if it is a good fit for your family. Reading Eggs strives to make learning to read interesting and engaging for kids whether they are just beginning to read or increasing their reading fluency. Through the use of reading games, activities, songs, and other resources your child will pick up great learning tools that will help them on the road to becoming a proficient reader.
The kids will work through various maps that on their level and will earn golden eggs, ribbons, trophies, and other rewards to encourage them to continue learning more. Reading Eggs is an interactive program that our family has used in the past for our young readers and our kids LOVED it! They got a kick out of working through the maps, accomplishing goals, and earning rewards. The kids can even customize their own “reading egg” avatar to match their personality.
All you have to do is click the “free trial” button once you get to their homepage and get started!More information about Reading Eggs:- Reading Eggs was developed by an experienced team of teachers, educational writers, animators, and web developers. People who have interacted with children and have taught kids to read.
- Reading Eggs focuses mainly on the core reading curriculum skills and strategies that help readers develop more successful reading skills as well as builds their reading confidence level. The program is perfect for ages 3 to 12.
- Each reader can work through the Reading Eggs program at his or her pace so if you have a young reader and more advanced reader in your home both would be able to focus on their specific skills.
- A more advanced reader would move through the first few maps a little more quickly because it may be more of a review for him or her until they reach a point where the information is newer and more challenging for them, whereas, a new reader would work through the first maps more slowly but steadily as they get more excited about the program and earning rewards.
- Reading Eggs launched in the United States and Canada in 2011. Since launching they have had over 500,000 subscribers and have presented more than 15 million lessons.
Our readers will receive a Free Two-Week Trial Offer! Register now for a two-week trial of the Reading Eggs program. No credit card is required. Help your child learn to read, increase their phonics skills, or increase their reading fluency with Reading Eggs free two-week trial!
A special thanks to U.S. Family Guide and Reading Eggs for offering a free two-week trial to my readers. Any specific product information was provided by Reading Eggs and U.S. Family Guide, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own. We received a complimentary subscription for sharing information and our family’s experience regarding Reading Eggs.
The Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry
Heading to the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry
While we were in Charleston over Spring Break we made a trip to the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry. We haven’t been there before so the girls were very excited. We headed out first thing Wednesday morning to downtown Charleston so we could be there when it opened to go exploring. The girls had a blast playing in all the rooms from being creative in the art room to checking out all the nooks and crannies in the castle, splashing around in the water wise room, experimenting with golf balls using Newton’s Laws, steering the pirate ship, shopping for groceries, and all the neat games outside too.
We had only been there for a little while and McCown Bridges came to welcome us as well as let us know about the upcoming events. If you are in the Charleston area and want a fun place to take the kids you should check out the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry! Here are some of the highlights of our trip to the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry.
Karlie having fun exploring the castle room!
Brina and Karlie having fun
Brina and Karlie at the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry
What things happen in Spring?
Walking the plank
Brina steering the pirate ship
Our little Karlie pirate!
One of Karlie’s paintings. Both girls loved hanging out and doing several crafts & paintings in the art room
Brina really liked the art room and the colored rice
Travel & Vacation: Nighttime Fun at Walt Disney World
Still going strong!
The girls were still going strong after a full day at Disney! We had just watched the Electrical Parade & Firework Show and the girls still wanted to do some more. So we decided to keep on going and we ended up staying until midnight when the park closed! They had a blast, but crashed immediately after they got into the van. For more posts about our Disney adventure you can go to Walt Disney World or Rides & Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade or Walt Disney World (part 2) or Disney’s Electrical Parade & Firework Show posts.
Karlie riding the train, it was a quieter ride after going on Space Mountain
Brina going for another ride on the train
Someone’s having fun!
Pull harder!
Hanging out in Eeyore’s house
One more ride on the carousel, this time at night!
Travel & Vacation: Disney’s Electrical Parade & Firework Show
Disney’s Electrical Parade
Another one of the highlights at Disney was their electrical light parade and the firework show. The girls LOVED it (so neat)! I can see why so many people stay for this event! Thankful for a chance to spend the day at Disney with family and friends. For more posts about our Disney adventure you can go to Walt Disney World or Rides & Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade or Walt Disney World (part 2) posts.
Watching the Disney’s Electrical Parade, super cool!
Fireworks at Disney
Amazing fireworks over the castle
Beautiful fireworks
The castle changed colors throughout the firework show
Watching fireworks at Disney
The firework show at Disney is awesome!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Walt Disney World (Orlando, FL – Part 2)
Enjoying a funny show at Disney
We had a blast taking the girls to Walt Disney World for the first time. Thankful for a great time with both family and friends. There were a lot of fun rides and shows as well as a walk through the Swiss Family Robinson tree house which we finished reading to the girls awhile ago. You can read more about our trip in the Walt Disney World or Rides & Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade posts.
Getting a lift to the next activity
Riding the big carousel
Karlie checking everything out and loving it!
Exploring the Swiss Family Robinson tree house
All the kids checking out the cool items in the Swiss Family Robinson tree house.
Daddy & Karlie in a Honeypot
Awesome family behind us in their honeypot!
Having fun at Disney
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Rides & Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade (Orlando, FL)
Karlie having a blast shooting laser during the Buzz Lightyear ride
We went on several rides at Disney with the kids and had a lot of fun! We were thankful for friends who guided us in the right direction and recommended certain rides for the kids. There were some hilarious shows we went to as well. A few rides the kids loved so much we went on them several times! 🙂 You can read more about our trip in the Walt Disney World post.
Mommy and Karlie’s screen shot from the picture they took during our first game, hilarious!
Daddy and Brina’s screen shot from the picture they took during the first game!
What did the four older ones get themselves into now!? Such fun exploring the place with friends!
It threatened to rain as the parade was starting but we were prepared with disposable ponchos
Disney – “Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade!”
Mickey and Minnie Mouse – Your Invited, Celebrate Today!
Travel & Vacation: Walt Disney World (Orlando, FL)
We made it to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida
A few months ago we had the opportunity to go visit friends in Winter Park, Florida. While we were there we took a day and explored Walt Disney World – Where Dreams Come True. The girls were so excited! Jake and I still have passes leftover from our honeymoon (which was my first time to see Disney World) so we only had to get tickets for the girls. It was so neat taking the kids and seeing their reactions to all the amazing rides and adventures at Disney World. We arrived right about opening time and stayed until they closed the park at midnight. It was a full day packed full of great activities and amazing memories!
Three girls watching all the people in front of us get onto the Frontier log ride
My seat buddy Karlie is loving the ride. Smiling the whole time but not taking her eyes off all the stuff around her.
Brina mesmerized by all the stuff to look at. Was the wolf scary B?! Good thing she has Daddy to protect her!
Karlie found a small purple flower that had dropped off a tree and gave it to me. Sweet girl!
Our family at Disney World
Ready for the next adventure, this time we need our 3D glasses!
Daddy and the girls in front of the Disney Castle. It was bright, hot, and crowded, but we managed to snap a quick picture!!
