Local Activities
Local Activities: “Dine Out for Mom” Event on Thursday, October 25, 2012
There is a special event going on tomorrow, Thursday, October 25, 2012 called Dine Out For Mom which is a part of the Let There Be Mom organization. As a Mom with small children it is important for me to remember that life is precious, sweet, and short. We never know what joys and trials life will bring our way. You may know of a friend or family member that has gone through serious illness and given only a short amount of time to live. This event is to remind us to celebrate life, create memories, cherish our family, and help others because our life here on earth is not forever.
What is Let There Be Mom? It is an organization that provides help to Moms when they or their spouse is diagnosed with a serious illness. How was it started? “Let There Be Mom” comes along side the family going through this difficult time to preserve memories. They do this through a variety of services tailored to meet the needs and wishes of the individual families. Some examples of ways you can get involved – photography, scrapbooks, journals, videos, meals, errands, special events, care packages, family cookbooks, and many more wonderful activities. The Dine Out For Mom event tomorrow is designed to help raise funds for this great organization. When you eat at one of the participating restaurants they will donate a portion of the proceeds to “Let There Be Mom” so they can continue to help families that are losing a loved one.
Take some time out of your busy day to meet a friend for lunch or take the family out for dinner. What a great way to spend time with those you love while helping a wonderful organization that is committed to preserving family memories.
For more information about the “Let There Be Mom” organization, their services, and how to get involved please visit their website.
FREE Military stay at Bed & Breakfasts in North America on November 11, 2012
Inns and Bed & Breakfast’s throughout North America will open their doors to active and retired military and vets plus one guest on Sunday, November 11, 2012. As a way to say thank you for your service 217 (and counting) Inns and Bed & Breakfast’s are offering a free room to those who’ve served in the military.
The rooms are offered on a space available basis, and there are far more deserving vets than B&B space allows. Offers are updated daily and may be sorted by state (or province), so check back often and scroll down for participating inns and Bed &Breakfast’s.
Click here to learn more about how to find a participating inn or B&B and more details about the requirements to participate.
Click here to learn about Canadian B&Bs for Vets offers from BBCanada. Look what’s in store.
Travel & Vacation: Charleston History & Sites to See (part 2)
Checking out a more modern one….some serious discussions are taking place.
This post is in addition from our post earlier today on Travel & Vacation: Charleston History & Sites to See. At least one night every time we go with Jake to Charleston we spend some time in walking through Battery Park looking at all the monuments, reading them and talking about history. You would think by now the girls have this park memorized and would be tired of it, but they request to go here every time we are in the Charleston area. The pictures of Battery Park are a little darker because we went at night. Plus you’ll see some other great items to look out for on your road trip to Charleston (at least if you are heading to Charleston from the same direction we go).
The girls always request a trip to battery park when we are in Charleston
A large monument in Battery Park, the girls want us to read the monument then they have fun seeing how many different states they can find etched on the stones.
Exploring the cannons at Battery Park
This tree’s looking a little spooky at night in battery park. Still haven’t figured out the meaning behind the white feathers from an earlier trip Travel & Vacation: Fun in Charleston. If you know the reason I would love to find out!
Mommy and girls in the giant gazebo at Battery Park
Karlie especially gets excited when we pass the “rocket” because she loves rockets. Brina gets excited because she knows that we are almost to Daniel’s Island! 🙂
Another favorite sight on our trip to and from Charleston! The girls always love seeing the USA Flag and on the other side of the road is a huge smiley face!
While Battery Park is one of the kids favorite places to visit it is only one of the many great historical sites to see while in Charleston. You can take a tour of Fort Sumter or Fort Moultrie or take a ride on a horse drawn carriage through Charleston as they share history and facts with you or many more wonderful activities. Battery Park is an easy one because it is free (as long as you can find parking). What are some other great historical or fun places to visit in the Charleston area?
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: Charleston History & Sites to See
Karlie and Brina standing at the pier with Patriots Point and USS Yorktown in the background.
Brina and Karlie love going to Charleston with us. One of their favorite things to do in Charleston is to explore and learn tidbits of history. Charleston has a lot of history so it has provided many opportunities for us to learn and appreciate our country’s history. We always visit Waterfront Park in Mount Pleasant whenever we go to Charleston. Near the pier is an area with a fountain, monuments, and plaques honoring our military. You can also see the USS Yorktown from that area too (see picture above). There are other areas in Mount Pleasant, Daniel’s Island and Charleston with a lot of history as well. Here is a few we enjoy visiting when we are in the area.
A sign near the monument
Monument….”on behalf of a grateful nation”
Department of Army (1775) monument
Throwing their coins into the fountain.
United States Coast Guard (1790)
South Carolina state flag flying in the wind next to the monuments
United States Air Force
Fountain near waterfront park
Department of the Navy – United State of America
This one is on Daniel’s Island and says “By 1680, Charleston had moved to its present location and was growing rapidly. It attracted French Huguenots and others drawn by the promise of religious tolerance and available land.”
Department of Navy – United States Marine Corps
In Peace and War – United States Merchant Marine (1775)
The neat part about reading these monuments with the girls is that it gives us an opportunity to discuss our country, its history, and show appreciation for the men and women who have served and those who are currently serving. We have many amazing blessings living in the United States. No country is perfect, but we have a lot of great things to celebrate in our history.
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!
Exploring Roper Mountain Science Center
Getting ready to watch the show at the Roper Mountain Science Center
The first time I took a tour of Roper Mountain Science Center was with the girls class earlier this year. It was a blast watching a space presentation, going on a nature trail, seeing the wildlife, having a picnic and more. The girls had so much fun. I always knew that Roper Mountain Science Center had some activities for the kids but until I went with the girls I had no idea how much!
Karlie entertained by the show, anything to do with space is always a hit with her!
Brina having a fun time! I got to sit next to Brina for the show.
What are they looking at? Don’t fall in the water!
Red Eared Slider Turtles (of course)! The girls were super excited to see the turtles, these are the same kind as Shipwreck and Overboard!
Beautiful flower garden and butterflies near the butterfly crossing.
The girls had a lot of fun exploring Roper Mountain Science Center and learning a lot of great stuff. Roper Mountain has since become one of the girls favorite places to visit. We try to go every month or two. It is a great learning environment if you have kids.
Travel & Vacation: Charleston Food, Lodging, & Fun (Part 2)
Jake, Karlie, and Brina shivering in front of the pineapple fountain downtown Charleston.
The girls REALLY wanted to see the fountain that we had been reading about in our book Very Charleston, however, the day we choose to check it out it was freezing. This was by far our coldest day in Charleston, earlier in the week it was in the 90’s and now it is 40 degrees outside. The kids were freezing because I didn’t bring jackets but thankfully it was our last day in town.
Brina snacking on Green Apple Rock Candy as we head to our next stop
Karlie munching on her Root Beer Rock candy
Next to the Chic-Fil-A in Mt Pleasant is a little pond with a fountain and……..
TURTLES!!!! The girls love watching turtles!
The girls were so excited when we parked next to the Charleston Creamery “Herby” that they insisted I take a picture! Oh how they love their ice cream and this store!
Charleston Creamery – a place the girls always request to visit when we are in the area!
Ice cream made by a robot is always more fun to eat!
Are you getting full yet Brina?!
The girls had their own bedroom and TV. It was pouring outside so we gave the kids a bath and let them watch TV for 30 minutes before going to bed.
Another great trip to Charleston with the family! The girls had a blast. It was very warm the first half of the week but by the time we left it was in the 40s. Thankfully we did a bunch of our outdoor activities and swimming the first part of the week so when it got cold we found other things to occupy our time. Jake got a lot of work done while we were in Charleston as well as created more great memories with the family.
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!
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?
Family Activities: Enjoying the Simple Things in Life……
Jake pulling Brina and Karlie in the wagon (Brina’s waving at me).
When the weather is beautiful you’ll often see our family outside. After more than a year without the mower we finally were able to get it fixed. My Dad and Grandpa actually found a local mower repairman that fixes older lawn mowers in his garage (we were thankful for the help in locating someone to get the mower repaired for a reasonable price, isn’t family awesome). You don’t realize how much you use a mower until it is broken.
When there isn’t the extra funds to fix it or to buy a new one you make do with what you have. We did purchase a walk behind cylinder mower (the one with just the blades, no motor) for a $6 dollars at a yard sale that helped hold us over until the mower could be fixed. With the push mower (and you really had to push with all the weeds in our yard) and weed eater we were able to keep the weeds down and made the front yard presentable which bought us some time.
Since the mower was working again and the girls had been helping they were given a ride in the wagon. It is amazing how just a simple ride in the wagon can bring out the giggles in the kids. If you take a simple activity like pulling the wagon behind the mower and make it an adventure the kids will have fun.
It didn’t take much of Jake’s time to give them a ride around the yard but it meant a lot to the kids. Even if you cannot do something big or fancy for your kids taking a walk, pulling them in the wagon, collecting funny looking sticks, or playing catch can be great opportunities to spend time together. The point is to deliberately spend quality time with your kids everyday. These precious memories are ones that you will look back and smile at because before long they will be all grown up. What are some fun activities that you do together in the yard?
Family Outings: A Walk in the Park
Brina and Karlie pausing “briefly” on our walk so I can snap a picture!
Every once in awhile when the girls are off school and it is a beautiful day we get to meet Daddy for a quick picnic and walk in the park. Legacy Park is pretty close to Jake’s work so he can pop over and meet us over his lunch hour. I think the girls get more excited about going for a walk around the park then eating, ha!
Legacy Park has paved paths for walking, biking or jogging plus a playground for the kids, beach volleyball, and a big open field perfect for flying kites or playing soccer. On those hot days they have plenty of shade and restrooms (which are very nice for little kids). I treasure these moments when we get get together over the lunch hour to grab a bite to eat, walk, talk, and play together as a family. I think it is important to have some relaxing times built into our schedules. Not only do we get a few extra minutes together as a family we get fresh air and some exercise which is beneficial for all of us!
Do you have a park you enjoy going to for a picnic or to play?
Family Fun: Rocket Sprinkler
One of the benefits to living in South Carolina is you still have warm days even in the Fall and Winter. Yes, last week it got down to 14 degrees at night but the by the end of the week we were enjoying 60 to 70 degree weather. To help everyone think “warm” thoughts this cool winter I decided to post a fun warm weather activity that you can look forward to doing with your kids before long.
Rocket Sprinkler blasting off! Jake had a sprinkler similar to this one growing up (his was a clown). At the end of summer we bought this rocket. Since we have a girl that LOVES rockets when this sprinkler went on clearance for a couple dollars I decided it was worth trying it out!
The rocket sailing through the air! The girls love spending time outside playing. The sprinkler provides a great source of entertainment (when it is warm enough). It might be a few more weeks….
Brina and Karlie running around in the sprinkler and getting ready to shoot the rocket off again.
The girls have a fun time playing in the yard splashing around in the water, climbing on the jungle gym, running around with Skipper (our black lab), drawing with chalk, riding bikes or many of the other fun outside activities. I am thankful to have a yard were they can run and play. I am looking forward to even more fun activities as we move closer to Spring and the weather continues to warm up, maybe even a couple “snow” days too.
