Events & Holidays
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day Girls! They were greeted by the little treats left on their bar stools when they walked into the kitchen for breakfast!
Valentine’s Day is a great day to celebrate with the ones you love! We don’t usually do anything huge on Valentine’s Day, but we do try to take time to make it special for the kids as well as have some time together as a couple too. Spending time with the ones you love, showing, and telling them how much you love them shouldn’t only be done on Valentine’s Day!
“Owl Be Your Valentine” goody bags for the kiddos!
They are awake and ready for breakfast!
A fun Valentine’s Day breakfast!
Our Snowman – Rainbow Sherbet
Karlie and Brina proud of their colorful snowman!
Of course one of the fun activities every kid wants to do during a snow storm is build a Snowman! While I cannot say our snowman will win any prices for being perfect or expertly made, especially since it was the girls and I who put him together, he is pretty colorful to look at. We had a lot of fun building and creating him together!
Since we were already doing the spray painting we decided to do something different this year with our snowman. We call him – “Rainbow Sherbet!”
Rainbow Sherbet added a little extra color to our white yard!
The girls are hoping Rainbow Sherbet will last for a few weeks. I am hoping he’ll last a couple days! Once it starts warming up everything melts quickly in South Carolina!
Karlie and Brina had the help of a certain black lab named Skipper! She was proud of their creation too, ha!
Karlie is armed with a paint spray bottle, wonder what she is planning to paint now!
Winter Wonderland!
Brina making a snow angel
We spent our days finding ways to have fun both inside and outside the house. I think they spent almost as much time outside as they did inside even on those days when it was snowing the whole day. They had so much fun.
A sweet “I Love You”
Karlie found a nice leafy spot for her snow angel!
I wonder who might have wrote this one! Ha!
Yes, we get another SNOW DAY! YAY!!!! So excited!
Every morning before the kids and animals were tracking in and out of the house the deck looked beautiful all covered in a fresh coat of snow!
One morning we measured the amount on the back deck – 3 inches overnight! Awesome!
Not sure how much we actually got but the kids sure have enjoyed all of it!
A good snow storm is not complete without some snow cream. The problem is my traditional recipe had dairy in it so I found another one and we substituted Coconut Milk. It didn’t turn out as creamy as our old one, however, the kids still had a great time making and eating it!
Whipping up two batches of snow ice cream – one vanilla and one chocolate!
Karlie’s stirring up the vanilla!
A bowl of snow cream with sprinkles on top! Delicious!
If you want the Snow Cream recipe it is as follows:
4 cups Fresh Snow
1/3 cup Sugar
1/4 teaspoon of Vanilla
1/2 cup Milk or Coconut Milk
Stir everything together and enjoy! You can add chocolate or any of your favorite toppings!
Sledding & Exploring the Woods
Pausing for a moment by the creek to snap a quick picture of the girls. They are thrilled to have the extra snow days!
Fun times together sledding and exploring the woods. One day Jake was able to come out a little bit over his lunch break and go sledding for a little bit with the whole family. We had a lot of fun!
Thankful for some fun time together!
Oreo was not entirely sure about the sledding adventure. Several times as we were flying down the hill on the sled the goats and dog would go bounding out of the way or almost jump into our laps!
Brina heading down the slope!
There goes Daddy!
Oreo finding some yummy leaves while Brina and Daddy decide on the next hill to go sledding down!
On your marks…..get set…..Go!!!!
Every day the girls wanted to take a hike through the woods. Today, Jake joined us on this fun adventure!
She’s looking mischievous….probably forming another snowball to toss my direction when I am least expecting it!
Jake helping Brina up onto a fallen tree covered in snow in the woods.
It was fun to spend some time outside with everyone for a little bit!
Brina having a blast!
She’s definitely getting ready for a surprise snowball attack!
Brina was pretty proud of this one! Love her face! Let’s just say this one took me by surprise and hit square on the camera and in my face! Silly girl!
A Rainbow of Snow Colors
Brina painting a huge rainbow heart on the snow!
We had a blast in the snow! One of the things we did this week was get some old spray bottles fill them with water and add a few drops of food coloring to it! We filled and refilled those spray bottles several times over the last few days as we painted pretty pictures in the snow! The girls had a great time!
I would like to take the credit for coming up with this awesome idea all on my own, but my amazing and creative cousin suggested we do some snow painting when I spoke with her earlier this week. Yes, it was a huge hit like all her fun ideas, thanks Renelle! The neighbor kids even came over and had a grand time painting pictures in our yard.
Pretty red heart in honor of Valentine’s Day spray painted in the snow by the girls!
Coloring the front porch steps! Coming up to our house was a rainbow of colors for several days, thanks to Brina & Karlie!
A friendly “Hello” to greet our friends and neighbors coming into our yard!
Pretty rainbow on the snow!
There were all kinds of random paintings all over the yard and driveway!
Karlie Kool Kat having fun painting the snow!
Brina Bee painted her name on the driveway!
Someone even did my name, so sweet!
A little more defined green star!
Someone painted Dad’s name on the yard too!
Karlie, Brina, and Skipper standing at the top of the driveway where they painted the word “Welcome”
I thought it was cute that they painted a smiley face next to the mailbox to bring some winter cheer to our mailman! Sweet kids!
Brina’s armed with a spraying, wonder what she’s going to do next!
The rocks, trees, bushes, and various random items had been marked by the spray painters!
The well covered was sprinkled with paint like confetti!
Skipper even got a pretty painted dog house. It looked like a big decorated gingerbread house when they were done!
Extra “SnowCATION” with the Kids!
Really concentrating on her throw!
In South Carolina we really don’t get a lot of snow. If we get a sprinkle here or there everyone gets excited and we might have a day or two off from school. Also, it is likely that many people will lose power. Somehow the last few years we have been lucky and haven’t lost our power! We haven’t have a big snow storm in South Carolina for several years. The girls have been waiting, hoping, and wishing for snow all winter. Their wishes came true this week.
We have several inches of snow and they have been out of school since Tuesday. They think its AWESOME they got an unexpected 6 day weekend or Snowcation (snow-vacation) in the middle of the school year. They have been having a BLAST playing outside several hours every day. It has been a lot of fun having them home and spending extra time with them this week too. Jake was home for most of those days too, but he still had to work. One of the “benefits” of having a job that he can work from home at times, but he got to join in on the fun here and there (we didn’t leave him out)!
One of the snowy morning the girls and Jake were up at the break of dawn to work and play. Their three smiling faces were first thing I saw this morning as they were bringing me breakfast in bed! Snow days are rated pretty high in my book already, but this makes them even better!!! I had a great breakfast of fresh strawberries, yogurt, cashews, homemade Egg McMuffin, and a huge glass of ice water. Feeling very blessed! Love my family!
Karlie all smiles! She got her wish of a big winter snow storm so she could play for several days in the snow!
Brina very excited to have a snow day. Snow is always fun and it gives them a little break from school. She loves playing outside with her animals (as you can see Skipper is loving the attention too)!
Karlie was definitely more into snowball fights this year. You had to watch out because every time you turned around another snowball would be zooming right at you followed by lots of giggles!
Here it comes! DUCK!
Here she comes again! LOOK OUT!
Skipper was excited to be out and playing in the snow with the kids all week too!
There’s just something about time spent playing in the snow followed by a good hot cup of hot chocolate or apple cider. Of course, the marshmallow and candy cane stir stick was an added bonus!
Gingerbread men and sugar cookies hit the spot too!
Snack time!Date Night with My Sweet Girl
My sweet date tonight wanted to eat at McDonald’s.
Last weekend I was able to go on a date night with my sweet Brina Bee! She was very specific about what she wanted to do that night so I went along with her date night plan. First, she wanted to go to the Goodwill Clearance Center, walk through a craft store, browse through used book store, and eat at McDonald’s. We had a blast going through the bins at the Goodwill store looking for treasures. Her big find was a cute FurReal pet dog (new it retails for about $90) and we paid between $1 to $2 for it (the goodwill clearance store charges by the pound). All it needed was a good cleaning and some fresh batteries. She was so excited!
It was a lot of fun walking, talking, exploring, and eating dinner with my sweet Brina. Love my time with her, listening to her talk, and watching her get excited. She is a real sweetheart. I didn’t take any pictures of us shopping, walking, and exploring because the only time we stopped moving was when we finally sat down to eat at McDonald’s! She kept us going. We packed a lot of fun into one evening. Love you Brina!
Love listening to her tell stories, laugh, and have fun together!
Thankful for extra time with my sweet B!
STEM Event at Roper Mountain Science Center
Jake & Brina working on her model!
Karlie’s creation is done, now it’s ready to see if it will survive the test! She’s proud of her creation and confident it will pass the testing….
Brina adding the finishing touches on her creation!
All ready for testing! Proud of her cool design.
Karlie watching carefully as they get ready to drop the big board on her creation. The goal was to make a creation out of the bag of goodies that they give you that will not change its shape once the board has been dropped on it (including none of the balloons popping). She did it!!!Brina putting her creation on the testing platform, she was concerned about her balloons popping, but it passed with flying colors! Way to go Brina!
Jake was a pro in no time at riding the Segway!
Brina riding a Segway all by herself, she did well!
Karlie learning how to ride the Segway! She’s getting the hang of it!
Karlie watching the show at the Planetarium
Snow Day!
It’s snowing!!
Since we live in South Carolina, when it snows during the winter it is a big deal, especially for the kids. The girls have been waiting all winter for the snow to come to SC. They were so very excited when we finally got a snow storm and they got a day off from school so they could play in the snow. The pets enjoyed some extra play time with the kids too. We packed in a lot of fun activities during their time off of school. We even got to try out their new sled!
Brina so excited that it is finally snowing this winter here in South Carolina!
Karlie running around in our first snow!
Brina’s first rainbow “snow” cone
Karlie loving her rainbow snow cone!
The goats are not really sure about all this white stuff.
They made a mini snowman!
Brina loves sledding down the side yard! Fun snow day adventures!
She’s laughing, but trying to avoid hitting the tree at the same time!
The goats with their thick winter coats were more concerned by the snow covering their food (leaves) on the ground then the cold!
Karlie was a little more cautious on the sled, but she zoomed down the hill several times!
Brina having a blast!
So excited to play in the snow!
“Hey Mom! Let’s go sledding!”
Very excited about having a snow day off from school!
Karlie all smiles!
Skipper loved having the girls home and playing outside for the day!
Disney On Ice: Princesses and Heroes
One of the girls big surprise Christmas gifts were tickets to “Disney on Ice Princesses and Heroes”! We made this crossword puzzle to share the surprise with them. It took them a couple minutes to make the connection, but they were very excited and couldn’t wait to go on this adventure!
Karlie doing her Disney on Ice Word Search
Brina doing her Disney on Ice Word Search
We made it to Disney on Ice! So excited! We got their a little early to find our seats (we got great seats were a perfect view)!
Tinker Bell, Mickey, and Minnie Mouse
It was beautiful watching all the characters skate.
Bell and gang on the ice!
Mickey and Minnie Mouse
Aladdin
Seven dwarfs
The fire was super cool!
Cinderella coming onto the ice in her carriage
So much fun!
Watching all the characters on the ice
The girls were literally on the edge of their seats during the show. They had a blast! It was a lot of fun and wonderful watching them get so excited too. Thankful for a fun evening with my family!
