Raising Multiples
Travel & Vacation: Adventure Ocean’s Family Arcade Night
Found a fun one to play together!
Earlier today we were able to take a ferry off the boat to visit Grand Cayman Island, explored the island, took a chartered boat ride, swam with the stingrays, and snorkeled. When we got back to the boat later that day we had fun with all the activities on the ship. The older four kids really enjoyed the time they spent at the Adventure Ocean’s club specifically for kids their age. Normally, when we took the kids to the club activities you had to walk through a room full of arcade games (which you had to pay to play).
Tonight they had Family Arcade Night and all the games were free. Yippee! Since the girls had been wanting to play a few of the games we figured it would be a fun activity for them. They had a blast playing the games both by themselves and even a few together. It was a lot of fun having the girls with us on the cruise this year. We were able to do some different activities that we had never participated in while on other cruises. Little activities like this were a lot of fun for the kids and parents both!
Brina concentrating on her game
Look OUT Karlie!
Brina Bee playing a racing game now!
Karlie is concentrating hard and Brina looks concerned (maybe Karlie is about to crash!)
Daddy and Brina playing a game together!
Teamwork!
This one just makes me laugh! Brina and Karlie playing an arcade game together.
Bouquet of Fresh Flowers
Bouquet of flowers from my girls
My girls know how to warm my heart. Last week we spent some time with extended family in Vermont. Jake’s grandpa has a green thumb and when we first moved into our house he brought down some of his iris bulbs from his garden. Every year the girls pick some of PopPop’s flowers and bring them inside to make a fresh bouquet for a counter top. Here is a picture of one of the bouquets they brought to me a few months ago. Thankful for my girls and their little tokens of their appreciation that brightened my day. Grateful for Grandpa for sharing his beautiful flowers so we can enjoy them every year.
Happy Birthday Brina & Karlie!
Happy 8th Birthday Brina and Karlie! We love you sweet girls more than words can say! Wishing you both many more amazing years packed full of great memories! 🙂 We are thankful for the our beautiful girls and the many rays of sunshine they bring into our lives! We are so blessed to be your parents!
Lots of LOVE & HUGs,
Dad & Mom
XOXO
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week I was finally feeling better so I was able to get caught up on a few items. Thankful for some time together with my family while we were all healthy and back to the normal schedule. We celebrated Valentine’s Day by flying up north to Vermont visit Jake’s Mom and grandparents. The girls were super excited to play in some snow!
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
Read On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls– finished the book with the girls, they are ready to start the next book of the series nowRead Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume to the girls– finished the book, the girls loved it so much they wanted to know if there were any more in this series! 🙂- Read Imagination Station: Voyage with the Vikings by Marianne Hering
Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforeDaily School Activities & Homework CompletedAttend After School ActivitiesPlan one special Activity with the FamilyGirls Dentist CheckupPick up Brina’s GlassesCelebrate the Valentine’s Day HolidayPrepare for the Girls BirthdaySpend Extra Time with Extended Family
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week – didn’t get a chance to walk all 5 days, need to get back into the routine
Drink 8 glasses of water each dayStart with my new YouVersion plan(s)– staying up to date with the plan- Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp – working on it
- Finish reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan- going through this book with a group of friends
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the weekPay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attentionWork completed for clients
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
For my January Grocery Budget I am replacing my typical Groceries $40 for 4 with my Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping in order to use up some extra items in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.- Payoff the Van – working on it
- Pay medical bills in full – started making payments
- Complete 2012 Taxes – started preparing
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Read On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls
- Read Imagination Station: Voyage with the Vikings by Marianne Hering
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
- Attend After School Activities
- Plan one special Activity with the Family
- Prepare for the Girls Birthday
- Spend Extra Time with Extended Family
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Start with my new YouVersion plan(s)
- Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
- Finish reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan- going through this book with a group of friends
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- 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
- Work completed for clients
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Write and Send Out Community Group Email
- Email a meeting reminder for Alms & Legs Ministry Team meeting
Financial Goals
- For my January Grocery Budget I am replacing my typical Groceries $40 for 4 with my Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping in order to use up some extra items in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.
- Payoff the Van
- Pay medical bills in full
- Complete 2012 Taxes
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.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
I started reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume to the girls while we were on the cruise. The girls loved hearing about Peter, Fudge, and their adventures so much that they begged me to continue reading it. I finished reading this book to the girls earlier this week. They thought the book was hilarious and wanted to know if there were any more books.
The book is about a fourth grader Peter Hatcher and his little brother Fudge. Fudge was always getting into Peter’s things, messing up his school work, playing with his turtle, and many other things to embarrass Peter. Every chapter contains the daily interactions and adventures of the Hatcher family. The story is fun and silly which captivates the young listeners attention. We have the older version of this book from when I was a kid. The girls love that they are reading books that I read as a kid too.
Travel & Vacation: Once Upon A Time Show
Once Upon a Time Show
The first full day on the boat was packed full of fun activities from swimming, playing, Freeze Frame Ice Show, our formal dinner together, and more! After dinner we went to the Once Upon a Time Show. They re-told a lot of the traditional fairy tales from Cinderella to Snow White to Pinocchio and more. The kids were fascinated by all the action on the stage!
They even had fairies flying around!
Fascinating to watch
They even had Cinderella
Some of the outfits made me laugh!
The girls loved this show!
Once Upon a Time Show – Rapunzel
Travel & Vacation: Pool Adventures
Fun times at the pool
Our first full day on the cruise we had a full day at sea which was really nice because we got to do a lot of fun activities on the boat. The kids started the day early (at least our kids did), they were up at 6 am and ready to go! After eating breakfast with Grandpa and Grandma the kids thought it would be a good time to go for a swim in their pools. The adults caught up on conversations as the kids went swimming. They were bouncing from splash zone to pool to hot tub. Much to our surprise most of the pools on this boat were chlorine, in the past most were salt water. The kids tended to sit more still when they were in the jacuzzi so I noticed we got more of those pictures, ha!
One of the kids favorite places to swim. It was a circular pool with moving water. The kids loved it. Brandon, Nathan and Karlie are in this picture. If you look at the back of the picture you can see the ocean out the ship’s window (the water’s about the same color too).
Karlie loving the extra time swimming
Brina, Karlie, Brandon and Nathan getting warmed up in the jacuzzi next to the H2O Splash zone
Brina having fun
My nephews Brandon and Nathan. The girls had a blast hanging out with their cousins for the week!
Brina and Nathan in the jacuzzi
And there off to the next great adventure…
Someone’s tired…Zach did a good job keeping up with the group. Thankfully he can sleep almost anywhere!
Nicko playing in the pool!
Travel & Vacation: Waving Goodbye to Fort Lauderdale, Florida
One of Karlie’s favorite places on the boat….yes, you guessed it! The LIBRARY!!! I think she read several books from the library and even checked out one to read in the room too.
After getting onto the Independence of the Seas, eating lunch at Windjammers, and exploring a little bit we take a few minutes to sit down and relax in the library. The kids read through several of the books while some of the adults talked and others take a nap in the soft comfy library chairs. Once the kids have picked up library books to read for the week we are off to watch the ship leave the Fort Lauderdale port. It was really neat hearing all the kids comments and seeing the cruise adventure their eyes.
Brina pausing for a moment to read a book at the library
Karlie and Brina enjoying the breeze on the top deck over looking the H2O Zone (which was a very popular spot for the kids)! It was windy as we were leaving but the kids seemed to love it.
Jeremy and Amber’s family…all ready to go cruising!
Our family, super excited about our first cruise together
Watching the cruise ship ahead of us going out of the Fort Lauderdale port
It’s a bird….it’s a plane….it’s both!
The kids were fascinated by the draw bridge at Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Watching the ship leave the Fort Lauderdale, Florida port. You think the ship’s horn is loud on shore, try standing right in front of it when the boat blasts off, it is really LOUD!!! The kids stood on the chairs so they could see a little better as we took off.
Fort Lauderdale Skyline as we were leaving the port
When the sun goes down and the wind picks up near sunset it can get a little chilly on the top decks of the boat. Brina is using Karlie as her human wind shield to help her stay warm, ha!
Travel & Vacation: Exploring Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas
Looking out over the port in Fort Lauderdale. There were several other cruise ships leaving the same day as ours.
Once on the Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas the older four kids were ready to explore everything! We were all over the ship in a matter of minutes from looking over the top deck to walking down the Royal Promenade (aka Main Street). The kids were very excited to check out all the neat places on the ship.
Checking out everything on the upper deck
Are we ready for take OFF? Preparing to leave Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Karlie taking it all in….
Having fun in the Adventure’s Oceans club. Karlie checking out the geographical map (where are we?!) while Brandon, Brina, and Nathan have fun with the hula hoops!
Looking down from the top…..don’t lean over too far!
We refer to this part of the boat as “Main Street” because it is where all the shops, restaurants, and stores are located
The older cousins hanging out on the glass bridge. Wonder if they realize that the only thing between them and the next level is a piece of glass.
Creative Kids: Fuzzy Caterpillars & a Princess Crown
Brina created these super cute fuzzy caterpillars for everyone in the family
The girls love to do crafts! Whenever we have a little bit of extra time the girls like to sit down and get creative. It is really neat to see the girls get more creative and they can do a lot of the crafts on their own. The other day the girls requested to do a craft. We had several leftover items from an earlier craft we did so they used the scrap construction paper, fuzzy balls, and googly eyes. Brina made adorable fuzzy caterpillars and Karlie made a princess crown for Brina. Love seeing their creations! 🙂
Karlie decided to take her construction paper and fuzzy balls to create a princess crown for Brina
Brina gluing the craft pieces together
Karlie finished Brina’s beautiful princess crown….sweet sisters
