Events & Holidays
Recipes: Fresh Blueberry Goodies
A friend let me come over and pick fresh blueberries last week. Our family has been enjoying delicious blueberry goodies all week. It was great having a chance to catch up with a friend and pick blueberries. I am thankful for the many amazing people in our lives. Thanks Dee for your hospitality and the blueberries!
Strawberry Blueberry Smoothie The Strawberry Blueberry Smoothies have been a huge hit with our family and the girls ask to have one every day for lunch now. Here’s what we put in our smoothie (we have done several other variations throughout the week):
- 1 cup Strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1/2 cup Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 Banana
- 1/2 cup Strawberry Yogurt (any flavor will work, we used Strawberry Cheesecake a couple times too)
- 1/2 cup Skim Milk
Blend everything in a blender until smooth and poor into cups. I poured this amount into three small cups, if you need more double the recipe.
Homemade Ice Cream Topped with Freshly Picked Blueberries We had Homemade Ice Cream and as a special treat we topped it with fresh blueberries. Next time I might put the blueberries in the ice cream from the beginning, I am sure Homemade Blueberry Ice Cream would taste delicious. The fresh blueberries were a perfect topping.
Blueberry Banana Pancakes Our family ate Blueberry Banana Pancakes for dinner this week. I added fresh blueberries to the recipe and more on top. It turned out very tasty. The girls loved the Blueberry Banana Pancakes and had three each.
Fresh Blueberries on my cereal The girls and I were eating Blueberry Pomegranate cereal for breakfast and added fresh blueberries as a special treat. Brina and Karlie thought it was the best cereal they had eaten. Our entire family has been enjoying the fresh blueberries.
Another great blueberry recipe is Blueberry Cobbler. You can make Blueberry Cobbler using this recipe. We have had blueberries on our yogurts and as a snacks. What is your favorite ways to fresh blueberries?
Travel & Vacation: Isle of Palms Beach, South Carolina
On our recent trip to Charleston, South Carolina we had the opportunity to spend a long day at the Isle of Palms Beach. The beach was busier than Tybee Beach in Georgia but it was beautiful. It was a great day swimming and relaxing together.
Two chickies at the beach! Karlie and Brina ready to swim at Isle of Palms Beach near Charleston, SC.
Karlie and Daddy digging. Karlie and Daddy made a sand castle while Brina and Mommy picked up sea shells.
Brina's favorite sea shells, she said they look like colorful butterflies. We found a lot of these little clam shells on the beach. Even though they are fragile Brina still insisted on picking up as many as possible!
Brina found a shell! There were a lot of people on the beach that day but Brina still spotted a bunch of shells!
Daddy and the girls swimming....well really just everyone standing on Daddy. Brina thought it was hilarious that she could stand on Daddy’s knee and Karlie is trying to put her glasses back on, silly girls!
Here it comes! I think Daddy was the only one aware of the big wave about to get them!
Karlie and Mommy swimming Karlie wore her sunglasses the entire time we were in the ocean.
Pruned feet from swimming in the ocean too long! The girls thought it was hilarious seeing their hands and feet pruned after swimming in the ocean. We had been in for at least an hour maybe two so its going to happen eventually.
Cool shades Karlie cat. Karlie chilling for a few minutes after eating her snack.
Brina spent the entire time eating her snack watching the little puppy next to our tent. Entertained by the little dog next to us.
Brina catching seashells. Brina thought it was great sitting at the edge of the water waiting for wave and catching seashells.
Karlie on the run. Karlie had fun looking for treasures in the water, she is running to the shell bucket. The best find that day was 2 quarters.
After several hours in the sun at the beach we went back to the hotel and swam for another three hours. I am not sure how the girls did it but they slept well that night. It was a lot of fun to spend a day at the beach and pool with the family.
“A Vacation To Remember” series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. 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. Go with a good attitude and looking 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!
Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Green Beans, Summer Squash, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Purple Beans,Tomatoes, Zucchini, Basil and More!
We are loving the fresh vegetables from our garden! This week I only have one picture from the garden because we were traveling for part of the week. The good news is we were able to take some of our goodies from the garden to share with family along the way and we came back to some more fresh ones ready to be picked. Also, while we are gone my brother and his family get to pick any of the produce that is ready for themselves or to give away so I didn’t get pictures of the items they picked while we were out of town.
Here are some of the fresh veggies we were able to eat and share this week:
Fresh produce from the garden. Fresh Summer Squash, Green Beans, Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Whole Size Tomatoes, Fresh Leafy Green Lettuce, Purple Beans, Banana Peppers, Strawberries, and Sweet Basil.
Garden veggies Fresh Radish, Green Pepper, Green Beans, Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Whole Size Tomatoes, Fresh Leafy Green Lettuce, Purple Beans, Banana Peppers, and Zucchini.
What are you eating out of your garden this week?
Travel & Vacation: Fun in Charleston
On our family road trip to Charleston we got to discover neat places. Thanks to a friend, who gave us some information in advance, we had a blast exploring new kid playgrounds during our time away. It was a fun filled inexpensive mini vacation together.
Karlie climbing. The girls and I spent one morning at the Mt. Pleasant Palmetto Islands County Park. They loved it!
Brina on the tire swing. Brina loves spinning on this swing!
Karlie enjoying her time at the playground. It took a lot of work to climb up the jungle gym and go down this slide, Karlie is quite pleased with her accomplishment!
Brina loves this slide. Brina happy to finally go down the slide, several kids fell trying to get up the jungle gym to go down this slide.
Giggling as they look down on Mommy! Brina and Karlie loved being up high and thought it was hilarious how “tiny” Mommy was on the ground.
Brina determined to get find the diving stick. The girls swam for hours in the hotel pool. They had fun splashing, playing, relaxing and meeting new friends.
Karlie loved splashing around in the pool. We spent almost five hours in the pool that afternoon. The nice part about where the pool was located is that part of it was in the shade throughout the day so you didn’t have to be out in the intense heat all day swimming.
Daddy, Karlie and Brina ready for dinner at Red's We ate at a local seafood restaurant one night. The girls favorite part was that the kids meals were served on a frisbee so they were able to take it home with them, they thought it was so funny.
Crossing the Arthur Ravenel Bridge just after sun down to go into downtown Charleston. We gave the girls the option after dinner to go back to the hotel and swim or go to downtown Charleston and drive around. Much to our surprise they wanted to go explore downtown Charleston. They always enjoyed going over this bridge!
The girls wanted to know all the history behind the cannons. Daddy patiently answered many questions on the history behind Charleston and the surrounding area during our walk through the park and downtown.
The most bizarre thing we saw in Charleston. As we were walking through the part we saw a visible path of white feathers about 3 to 5 feet across from one tree to the next tree (about 30 to 40 feet away). The feathers had obviously been placed there for a reason, we believe there is some historical resemblance but not sure. Can anyone who has more knowledge on the history of Charleston give us an explanation? It was odd seeing a path of feathers between two huge trees and several cars as they were driving by honked as they passed that part of the park.
See the white line between the two trees? It is a wide path of white feathers. I am still a little perplexed by this one…..
Our family thoroughly enjoy Charleston the food, adventures, and time together was refreshing. I am thrilled the girls had fun exploring the town. I have a little bit more about our Charleston adventures coming up soon so stay tuned!
“A Vacation To Remember” series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. 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. Go with a good attitude and looking 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: Road Trip to Charleston
We recently went on a road family road trip to Charleston, it technically was a work and family fun trip combined. I am thankful for a wonderful time together exploring Charleston. A lot of great memories were made that week!
Brina and Karlie in Charleston! This is the pier near the Waterfront Park, you can get a good view of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge from the pier.
Brina enjoying the slide! The girls loved the Waterfront Park, thanks Janet for telling us about this great park! The park is directly under the large Arthur Ravenel Bridge. It is great having the park under the bridge because the majority of it is shaded even during the hottest parts of the day.
Karlie fun at the Waterfront Park. Karlie climbing on the jungle gym at Waterfront Park. If you look above her head you can see the cement from the bridge above us. You can hear all the traffic going along the bridge as you are playing on the playground. It’s a great park and if you go they charge $0.50 per hour to park (they take cash, coins, credit / debit). I was never able to get the credit / debit to work so I would suggest making sure you have cash or coins prior to going to the park.
Brina spinning at the park. The girls do better at spinning then I do. They thought this was so much fun standing and twisting around!
Karlie doing her workbook at the hotel. Karlie and Brina thought it was great doing a few pages of their workbooks in the hotel. They did really well! Karlie made her own desk out of an end table and used the cooler for her chair, she was so proud of her “creative” desk.
Brina on the Waterfront slide. Back at Waterfront park for more fun. The girls loved the park so much they wanted to show Daddy so we got pizza, ate a picnic at the park and let the girls play so more.
Karlie on the slide. Karlie having a blast on the slide at the park.
Brina spinning. The girls thought these were awesome. No matter how you sat in these stools you would spin. I was surprised at how long they could spin, Mommy didn’t last nearly as long!
Karlie still dazed from a big spin. These seats were hilarious. Karlie lost a shoe on this spin!
Daddy and Brina on the double swing. They had double swings under awnings along the pier. It was beautiful and cool sitting together enjoying a swing!
Mommy and Karlie swinging on the other side! We had a blast in Charleston. The first day we spent exploring a little bit and enjoying some time playing at their beautiful park. Thankful for a great time with the family creating memories!
“A Vacation To Remember” series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. 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. Go with a good attitude and looking 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!
Walgreens: 10 Gifts for $1
Walgreens Clearance Deal I went to Walgreens to stock up on some of their deals this week. Once again the best deal I got was in their clearance aisle where they had their Bandit O’s (Silly Bands) on clearance. I had a Register Rewards that was expiring soon so it worked out well. I spent $0.67 including tax at Walgreens for this transaction. I picked up a couple other items (including food which you will see in a later post this week) but this was my best deal at Walgreens this week. The silly bands will be great for upcoming birthdays, activities and maybe even stocking stuffers.
- 10 – packs of Bandit O’s (originally on sale for $0.99 each, marked down to $0.49 and on clearance for $0.25 each)
The total was $2.67 with tax before using discounts & coupons. Here are the coupons I used on the ten items.
- Used $2 Walgreens Register Rewards
Walgreen’s Register Rewards will expire two weeks from the date they are printed so you will need to make sure to use them before their expiration date. I always keep the ones that are expiring the soonest on top of the stack to make sure to use them first.
Another important fact regarding Walgreen’s Register Rewards you will need to know if you haven’t used them before is you can only use 1 coupon per item. If you use a manufacturer’s coupon for every item you are purchasing you will not be able to use any Register Reward for that transaction. If you do have a coupon for each item then check Walgreen’s weekly ad because they will have items on sale each week for pennies up to $1 that you can use as “filler” items but they won’t raise your total too much. Once you get started using coupons and rewards you may discover, like I did, how to purchase many of your health and beauty items for nothing or very little. Since using coupons and reward programs I rarely pay full price for any of our health and beauty items plus I usually have extra to share with guests visiting us or to give away.
For those of you who shop regularly at Walgreens I encourage you to share how you were able to save this week! Although the weekly ad sales are similar every family and situation is different so you may have found items better suited to your household. In your comment please feel free to share a link to your blog article showing us how you were able to save at Walgreens.
Book: “Pirate Latitudes” by Michael Crichton
On our recent 40 plus hour road trip with the family listened to the audio book “Pirate Latitudes” by Michael Crichton. It is not my normal type of book but it did keep Jake and I engaged in the story during the wee hours of the morning on our trip. There are some parts of the book I would not recommend for the kids but for the most part it was fine. We listened to it while the girls were sleeping through the night or had their headphones on for their movie. The 17th century pirate story is based in Port Royal, Jamaica. It is a story of pirates in search for a treasure and the adventures that accompanied their journey. Like many of Crichton’s stories it is based on historical fiction which I feel adds to the depth of the book.
Family Recipe: Easy Blackberry Cobbler
A good friend made a delicious cobbler earlier this week which inspired me look up my Aunt Pat’s recipe. I have made for years. The recipe calls for blackberries but you can really use any type of berries. It is a great dessert to make for the family or share with others.Easy Blackberry Cobbler:
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 cup Water
- 2 pints drained Blackberries (fresh or frozen and thawed)
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
Crust:
- 3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup self rising Flour
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Lemon Extract
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For filling put 1 cup sugar and cornstarch in a sauce pan. Whisk in water. Boil for 1 minute or until mixture is clear. Stir in blackberries and remaining filling ingredients. Pour into 1 1/2 quart greased baking dish. For crust mix all crust ingredients and pour over filling. Bake for 24 to 30 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
Photo by JeffreyW
Summer Activities: The Children’s Museum of the Upstate
A few weeks ago we purchased a local Playcation Package which included four tickets to The Children’s Museum of the Upstate. Our family spent several hours one Saturday exploring our local Children’s Museum. We had a lot of fun learning, playing, building, and spending a relaxing Saturday together. If you have not been to the Greenville Children’s Museum you should check it out. It has a lot of neat activities for kids of all ages.
Karlie and Brina taking Daddy for a ride! After putting items in the recycling truck the girls and Daddy decided to drive the truck, so much fun!
Daddy explaining how glasses work. This was a neat room filled with light waves and all kinds of fun stuff to learn!
Brina and Karlie looking through the lenses! They had a variety of lenses of various colors and distances that you could look through. Very fascinating!
Love their facial expressions, the amazement of how everything works! Karlie and Brina working the color spectrum. They were thrilled at all the colors they were able to create.
Daddy, Karlie and Brina enjoying the giant "Light Brite"! Neat idea! I think we noticed several different creations during our time in the museum. This piece captured the attention of kids and adults! Daddy did an outline of Karlie while Brina made her own creation. It was a lot of fun!
Karlie creating her own stain glass master piece! I was surprised at how long she worked on making a pretty stain glass window. She actually got quite a big section finished.
Brina carrying a large load of bricks! Brina working hard making bricks! The girls loved filling the wheel barrow with bricks and putting them back on the belt.
My three construction workers. This one was harder then it looked. The girls had Daddy help on this activity.
Built a house. The girls thought this house was so funny because it had one wall!
The seat cushions quickly become a number rainbow, simply amazing to a six year old! They were quite proud of putting this together!
Daddy helping Brina put together a memory box. They had a workshop where you could sign up and build something. Today was working on a memory box.
Daddy helping Karlie build a memory box. I was originally helping Karlie but since Daddy and Brina finished first Daddy volunteered to help out.
Karlie and Brina looking down at Mommy from the top of the jungle gym. The girls had a lot of fun on the jungle gym in the middle of the Children’s Museum.
It was a great summer activity going with the family to the Children’s Museum. Thankful for the opportunity to spend a day together exploring. Thrilled that Greenville has such a wonderful place for families to go.
Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Green Beans, Summer Squash, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Purple Beans, and a variety of Tomatoes!
We are loving the fresh vegetables from our garden! This week I only have one picture from the garden because we were traveling for part of the week. The good news is we were able to take some of our goodies from the garden to share with family along the way and we came back to some more fresh ones ready to be picked. Also, while we are gone my brother and his family get to pick any of the produce that is ready for themselves or to give away so I didn’t get pictures of the items they picked while we were out of town.
Here are some of the fresh veggies we were able to eat and share this week:
Fresh Garden Vegetables! We were able to pick this all in one day fresh from the garden. Fresh Summer Squash, Green Beans, Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Whole Size Tomatoes, Big Yellow / Orange Tomatoes, Fresh Leafy Green Lettuce, Purple Beans, Banana Peppers, Green Pepper, (some are not pictured because they were given away prior to the picture being taken). We were able to share some of the veggies this week with family and friends! Thankful for a garden that we can share!
What are you eating out of your garden this week?
