Summer Activities

  • 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?

  • Summer Activities: Swimming with Friends

    Brina carrying the Noodles!

    Our family is blessed with amazing extended family and friends in our lives.  Many of our long time friends have become like family to us. One of the activities I enjoy during the summer is a chance to catch up with family and friends.  The girls and I had an opportunity to hang out with some friends and go swimming not too long ago.  It was a fun day full of swimming, giggling, and a picnic lunch.

    Karlie had a blast swimming and playing!

    The pool was huge and very few people who were using it while we were there so we had most of it to ourselves.  The girls had fun splashing and playing while the Moms enjoyed the cool water and catching up.  I am thankful for great times to spend with friends.  Both of my girls crashed on the way home after swimming and having a picnic lunch.  If you are looking for a new subdivision with a really nice pool I have one I can recommend.  Thanks Christina for a great day!

  • Walgreens: 30 Books for $2

    Walgreens Deals (books on clearance)

    I went to Walgreens to stock up on some of their deals this week.  The best deal I got was in their clearance aisle where they had a bunch of their books, coloring books, and activities books on clearance.   Since I went a little later in the week not all the advertised products were available and I had several Register Rewards that were expiring this week so it worked out well.   I spent $2.27 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 books will be great for upcoming road trips and other fun activities with the family.

    • 10 – Disney Books (on clearance for $0.49 each)
    • 10 – Disney Activity Books (on clearance for $0.29 each)
    • 10 – Disney Coloring Books (on clearance for $0.29 each)

    The total was over $11 with tax before using discounts & coupons.  Here are the coupons I used on the thirty items.

    • Used $9 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: “A Dog’s Life: Autobiography of a Stray” by Ann Martin

    Since we have been traveling a good bit this summer we have been able to check out a few audiobooks for the family to listen to on the road trips.  One of the recent audio books we listened to was “A Dog’s Life: Autobiography of a Stray” by Ann Martin.  The book follows a young dog named, by her mother in the traditional way of naming a pup, after the most important things in her life.  Her name is “Squirrel” and her brother’s name is “Bone”.  It is full of touching stories as well as the adventures and perils of being a stray.  The book is simple enough for children to follow yet engaging for the adults to enjoy as well.

  • Family Recipe: Grandma’s Six in One Oatmeal Cookies

    Grandma Willa makes a delicious oatmeal cookie.  She calls it her Six in One Oatmeal Cookies because they are loaded with amazing ingredients and you can make 6 different types of cookies (or more) with the base cookie mix.   It has been nice having cookies to take with us on our various road trips.  The girls have enjoyed the sweet snack and it has been neat sharing the recipes with others along the way (although not all of the cookies made it to each destination).

    Six in One Oatmeal Cookie Recipe:

    • 1 cup Shortening
    • 1 cup Brown Sugar
    • 1 cup Granulated Sugar
    • 2 Eggs
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
    • 1 1/2 cup sifted Flour
    • 3 cups Quick Cooking Oats

    Add in 1 or more of the Following Ingredient Options to the Cookies

    • 1/2 cup chopped Nuts
    • 1 package Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
    • 2 tablespoons grated Orange Peel
    • 1 cup Raisins
    • 1 cup cut up Gum Drops
    • 1 cup cut up Dates

    Cream shortening and sugar thoroughly, add eggs and vanilla, beat well.  Sift together flour salt and soda.  Add to creamed mixture and blend well.  Add oats and one or two of the choices above.  If desired divide dough into several portions adding something different to each one.  Form dough into small and drop from teaspoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 35o for 15 minutes or until lightly brown.  Remove from cookie sheet and place on wire rack to cool.  For a special treat, try adding both nuts and chocolate pieces.  Or combine dates and orange peel.  For a crackly glaze dip balls of dough first into milk then in sugar prior to baking on cookie sheet, bake sugar side up.

    More Ingredient Options you can add to the Cookies (these are variations we have tried in our family):

    • 1 cup M&M’s
    • 1 cup Cranberries
    • 1 cup Butterscotch Chips
    • 1 cup White Chocolate Chips
    • Add another one of your favorite cookie ingredients!

    Makes 6 dozen.

    Photo by Lara604

  • Teaching Our Children: Encouraging the Kids to Read During Summer Vacation

    Our reading tree!

    I was trying to come up with a visual prompt in our home that encourages our children to read this summer.  The girls LOVE it when they are read to and could do it for hours but since they are starting to read on their own I wanted to find something that would help motivate them to read a little more.  I came up with the idea “Spring into Reading” since we technically started it in the Spring and I wanted to boost the girls reading skills.

    My Mom graciously made the tree for me and my Sister in Law Becky helped cut out a bunch of the leaves.  The purpose of the tree is simple find a visual way for the girls to see their reading progress.  Each member of our family gets a different color of leaf.  When that member reads a book to the girls or they read a book on their own they get to put up their leaf.

    We have started to fill out our tree with leaves and hope to get an after summer break picture up for you to see what we accomplished.  If all goes well I hope to see more and more of the girls leaves going up throughout the summer as their reading skills increase.

  • Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Zucchini, Green Beans, Squash, Lettuce, Cucumber, Strawberries, Purple Beans, and Tomatoes!

    We are loving the fresh vegetables from our garden!  This week I only took one picture from the garden because we were traveling.  The good news is we were able to take some of our goodies from the garden to share with family along the way.  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 Produce!

    We were able to pick this all in one day fresh from the garden.  Fresh Zucchini, Green Beans, Summer Squash, Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Whole Size Tomatoes, Fresh Leafy Green Lettuce, Purple Beans, a handful of Strawberries that made it in the picture and a Banana Pepper (not pictured because it was ate by the kiddos).  Some of these items we delivered to a good friend since we were traveling and we wanted to make sure they were eaten while they were still fresh.

    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?