Fun
Creative Kids: Color Spin Painting
Color Twist Craft – Brina adding a little yellow to her masterpiece
Karlie used some of her spending money to buy Brina this special gift. They both had a blast trying it out! It was a lot of fun watching them do their craft. This gift has been a great source of entertainment for both girls.
Brina’s turned out really well!
Karlie doing two colors at once!
Jake pushed the yellow knob on the side to spin the paper while the girls dropped some paint onto their papers. They were fascinated by it and there was very little mess because all the paint stayed in the holder.
Karlie’s masterpiece
Creative Kids: Edible Wildflower
Edible Flower
The first time we made this large “edible flower” was at the girls birthday party. It was a lot of fun to put together and was a big hit. The flower is not only delicious and healthy it adds to the overall decorations for the party. It is a great appetizer for any family or friend get together. The flower is about two feet long and covers most of our large cutting board. You can substitute items to make any shape, color, size or variety you want, here is what I used:
- 1 (8 oz) block Cheddar Cheese
- 1 Celery Stick
- 6 Snow Peas
- Handful Grapes
Slice the cheese into triangles (leaving an open space in the center, see picture below) and place in a layered circle on the cutting board or serving dish. Wash all the vegetables and fruit. Trim the ends off the celery and tuck under the cheese petals. Add the snow peas for leaves and place a handful of grapes in the center of the flower.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
It was great to have some time back home last week catching up with the pets, housework, appointments, and more! The girls had fun playing with the animals and hanging out at home. While waiting at the doctors offices the girls and I read a bunch of books together too. This is the girls last week at home before going back to school so are spending some time having fun and creating memories this week.
Last week’s goals:at
Family Goals
Read regularly to the girls and have them read to meParticipate in at least 2 fun Summer Activities with the KidsPlan out the Girls “Swim Into Reading” Summer Reading Goal (total 2,000 Reading minutes) Grand Prize for CompletionSpend time with extended family
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week – didn’t get it all in this week
- Pick out my next book to read
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day- Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week – didn’t get it done
Work on My Summer Organizational SchedulePack for upcoming tripPay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attentionWork on projects with the family business
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – temporarily on hold
- Car Fund – save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled – working on it
- College Fund – put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – temporarily on hold with the car
My goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Read regularly to the girls and have them read to me
- Participate in at least 2 fun Summer Activities with the Kids
- Spend time with family before the kids go back to school
- Get the girls items packed for school
- Go to the pool / beach
- Doctor Appointments complete before school starts
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
- Prep for my Fall Organizational Schedule
- Pay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
- Car Fund – save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled
- College Fund – put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
Kids in the Kitchen: Fruit Cars
Apple Cars
The kids loved these fruit treats. It was a fun snack and craft to do at the girls birthday party too. At their party we set out a bowl of apples, oranges, grapefruits, and grapes so the kids could put together their own cars. The cars we’re a lot of fun and you could even drive them (so cute with their wobbly wheels).
Orange Car
Cute little fruit cars made by the kids. All it takes is some fruit and toothpicks (broken in half for the wheels). If you have smaller kids you may want to help them put them together and take out the toothpicks for them before they eat their fruit car.
Creative Kids: Random Notes of Love
Cute little surprise note!
On one of our trips this year the girls hid a note in my backpack. I love finding fun notes from my girls. So who do you think put this note in my bag? If you guessed Brina you are correct! Jake got one in his backpack from Karlie. It’s the little stuff like this that makes me so thankful for my sweet girls!
Sweet note hidden in Daddy’s backpack!
Family Activities: Date Night Wish Lists
Found one of Brina’s Date Night Wish lists from earlier this year!
Jake and I try to routinely go on a Date Night with the girls. He’ll take one out and I will take the other girl out on a Date. Sometimes we’ll ask them to write out a list of some fun activities they would like to do during Date Night. As I was going back over some things I came across these two lists from earlier in the year. They made me smile reading them and remembering all the fun memories. Many of the activities are free they just require some extra time and attention.
Karlie’s Date Night Wish List for her Date with Daddy
We like to request these lists every few months because it gives us a good idea of what is important to our kids. So often we think the big elaborate activities are the most fun but after talking with them and reading their lists sometimes they would rather sit down and read a book with you, look through the telescope, picnic in the park, play ball, go look at animals at the pet store, or even a trip to the library. Just reading these lists again make me thankful for my girls and the little activities that make an big impact on their hearts and lives. Spending time together one-on-one and as a family is more important then all the trinkets in the world. These date nights are priceless memories that have opened up many wonderful conversations with our girls. They always look forward to their special date nights!
Do you plan one-on-one time with your children? If so what activities do you enjoy doing together?
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
We were blessed with the opportunity to spend a long weekend away with the St Clair side of the family. All my extended family was able to make it out this year and it had been awhile since all of us were together for a weekend. It was great catching up with everyone. Thankful for the amazing blessing of having a family that gets together to relax and enjoy each others company.
Last week’s goals:
Family Goals
Attend Family ReunionRead regularly to the girls and have them read to meParticipate in at least 2 fun Summer Activities with the Kids- Plan out the Girls “Swim Into Reading” Summer Reading Goal (total 2,000 Reading minutes) Grand Prize for Completion – have a plan that I need to execute once we get settled back in at home from our travels
- S
pend time with extended family Narrow down what type of vehicle we want to get
Personal Goals
Spend extra time helping and making memories with my extended family
Home Management Goals
Put mail on hold for when we are awayLine up someone to come by and check on the house / pets while we are away
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attentionWork on projects with the family business
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – temporarily on hold
- Car Fund – save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled – currently looking at cars and praying the perfect one comes along
- College Fund – put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – temporarily on hold
My goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Read regularly to the girls and have them read to me
- Participate in at least 2 fun Summer Activities with the Kids
- Plan out the Girls “Swim Into Reading” Summer Reading Goal (total 2,000 Reading minutes) Grand Prize for Completion
- Spend time with extended family
Personal Goals
- Spend extra time helping and making memories with my extended family
Home Management Goals
- Check in with the person coming by and check on the house / pets while we are away
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work on projects with the family business
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
- Car Fund – save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled
- College Fund – put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
Happy Birthday to My Handsome Man!
Wishing Jake a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I am so thankful for my amazing husband and all he does for our family. He is generous, kind, and loves me despite all my craziness. Wishing him many more awesome years packed full of great memories. I am looking forward to celebrating this special day with him.
Another really cool part about Jake’s birthday is he shares it with two other family members – his Grandpa Conklin and my Uncle Rick! Happy Birthday to Grandpa and Uncle Rick! May it be a wonderful birthday for both of you!
Travel & Vacation: Road Trip Snack Bins
Brina and Karlie’s Road Trip Snack Bins loaded and ready to go!
Our family loves traveling and going on road trips together. Road trips have always been one of the exciting adventures our girls look forward to every summer. It is pretty common for us to pack up the suitcases, snacks, and hit the road with the entire family. We have done several 40 plus hour road trips with the kids and they still look forward to them. We try to make the road trips a fun adventure for them. No we don’t take them to fancy restaurants, hotels, or amusement parks along the way…..we do this without adding a bunch of extra costs to our family. We pack picnic lunch / dinner so we can eat on the road. We bring along snacks, books, games, audio books, little goodies and more. We used to pack a basket full of snack items for the girls but it never failed that the basket was always out of reach for someone so that’s when we came up with the road trip travel bins for the girls.
Delicious treats ready to be eaten on our upcoming eighteen hour road trip.
The kids have LOVED having their individual containers of snacks that they can eat as we drive. The containers are smaller and snap shut so they can be stored right beside the girls seats in the car so they can always reach them. Each kid gets their own snacks and they can choose what to eat first, second, and so forth. The girls enjoy having the nuts with the shells to peel off and the majority of the time those are the first items they munch on. It is hilarious hearing them in the backseat cracking open a peanut! We try to give them a mix of sweet and salty items, nothing in the bins need refrigeration. Our kids don’t eat all of these items on a daily basis but when you are doing a 5, 10, 20 or 40 hour road trip it’s important to keep everyone in good spirits and this is an easy way to help.
Items that we packed for this road trip:
- Homemade Apple Chips
- Snoopy Fruit Gummies
- Chocolate Covered Cherries
- Foot Long Fruit
- Pack of Oreos
- Mixed Berry Granola Bar
- Cheese & Dipping Sticks
- Twizzler Stick
- Fruit Punch Powdered Drink Mix Package
- Mint Chocolate Swirl Marshmallows
- Pink Frosted Animal Crackers
- Pink & White Heart Shaped Marshmallows
- Chocolate Covered Raisins
- Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
- Multiple Flavored and Colored Miniature Marshmallows
- Sweetarts
- Box of Nerds
- Rice Crisps with Chocolate Drizzled
- Dried Fruit
- Raspberry Chocolate Covered Pretzels
- Whole Shelled Peanuts
- Dried Cranberries
- White & Pink Flowered Marshmallows
- Pecans
It is a lot of fun finding a variety of items to fill the Road Trip Snack Bins. We fill it after the girls are in bed and stick them on their car seats to find when they get into the van and buckle in for the trip. It is a special treat and gives us a positive start to the road trip too.
Brina and Karlie’s snack containers ready to be put into the car!
When we travel we typically stop only for gas and potty breaks. We have most of the food, drinks, and snacks we need to eat in the car. Occasionally, we’ll use a coupon to get a free drink when we fill up with gas but otherwise we try to keep the costs to a minimum which make road trips more affordable and doable. The girls get to watch DVD’s, listen to audio books and we play games as a special treat. The trip must be longer than 5 hours for us to get out the DVDs! Here’s a little more information about the Road Trip Snack Bins and what to pack.
We picked up the containers at Walmart for a couple of dollars. The stickers were at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbook section and we used a 40% coupon. We have used these Road Trip Snack Bins for several road trips with our girls and they have held up well. Once the trip is over and they have finished eating the items in the bins all you have to do is wash them and store until the next family adventure. It is a blessing to be able to travel with our family. We have created many amazing family memories on the road together.
Travel & Vacation: We Made it to Bangalore! (part 2)
A little critter on their porch…..thankfully the little lizard is on the outside of the house! One of them did make it into our room but thankfully Jake and the kids were able to catch it quickly.
A little critter on their porch…..thankfully the little lizard is on the outside of the house (at the moment)!
Fresh watermelon stand, you can buy a whole watermelon or a slice from the box.
Burning the fields and underbrush, you see this often in India! You will often see a pile trash burning on the side of the road or paths.
A village near Bangalore
Monkeys on the side of the road!
A lady walking on the side of the road carrying a pile of sticks on her head. A common sight in India!
Two ladies carrying potted flowers on their head.
PVP Indus Day 2011 – 2012…..Respect, Love, Discipline, Empathy. The kids school put together an amazing presentation. It was really neat to watch all the performances that the kids had worked so hard on over the past couple of months.
Rachel dressed as the wind!
Erica all pretty in her beautiful costume!
David up on stage
Mike up on stage as a panda bear….his class did Noah’s ark!
Rachel on stage as the wind!
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!
