Travel & Vacation
Welcoming the Kids Home from Camp
Brina and Karlie are back from a weekend at church camp!
We were excited that the girls had the opportunity to go to church camp. They had a blast and learned a lot during their weekend away! Thankful for a great learning experience with friends from church. Unfortunately, we don’t have any pictures from their actual time at camp even though they took cameras. They said they were too busy having fun and going to all the activities to remember taking pictures. So the pictures of their camp experience consistent of these “welcome home” pictures. We surprised them with walking balloon animals. When we asked them what one activity they wanted to do together as a family they picked go swimming in the pool! It was great having them back home again!
We had a little surprise for the girls when they arrived back in the van!
Brina was so excited about her walking ladybug surprise.
The girls one request for a special activity the day they got back was for all of us to swim in the pool. Brina loves lounging on the seesaw.
Playing on the water seesaw!
Brina Bee having fun in the pool!
Splashing around in the pool.
Karlie walking her dog balloon!
Fun at the Park with Friends
Climbing on rocks at Herdklotz Park with friends
We met some sweet friends at the park for a picnic and to play! The only time that I could get all four kids to sit still long enough for a picture was after they climbed up on this rock. It was the big rock, but they all managed to get up onto it. Thankful for a great time with friends.
Derby decided to join me on the dash in front on the way to and from the park today. He was on the lookout for a fun adventure! It’s not everyday a horse rides on my dash. The girls thought it was hilarious having him help in the van!
Lego Mania at Roper Mountain Science Center Robotics Camp
Lego Mania Event
The girls attended Advanced Lego Robotics Camp at Roper Mountain Science Center this summer! They always love the events at Roper Mountain. The camp was packed full of learning and fun. They got to make a variety of robotic items throughout the week. Halfway through the week the kids put on a Lego Mania activity for the parents. They created a carnival with moving rides, water parks, and more fun creations!
Karlie created the only dual robotic Ferris Wheels.
Pausing for a brief moment by Brina’s Ferris Wheel – hers went faster!
Karlie made an interactive Time Machine Restaurant! That would be neat!
Brina’s Water Fun adventure, complete with a seesaw on the water!
Karlie made an “Oh No!” Waterpark – complete with slides, tubes, and more fun!
Pottery Creations at Hearts of Clay
Karlie and Brina having fun at Hearts of Clay
For the girls birthday they received a Hearts of Clay gift certificate so we did a “Girls Night Out” this summer. We had a blast figuring out what they wanted to create, making the moldings, painting, chitchat, and having fun together. It was neat watching them come up with and create their treasures. One of the best parts was when the store worker told them that at the end of the session they can dump any of their remaining paint from their pallets onto the floor, they girls thought that was awesome! They asked the worker several times to make sure she wasn’t just kidding….how often do kids get permission to spill paint onto the floor.
They both made plates – Brina made the flower one and Karlie the square one
Karlie made a miniature goat and named it Oreo!
Painting their pottery creations!
Brina having a grand time!
All smiles!
Karlie’s rocket, planet, and space plate!
Brina’s flower plate
With the extra clay leftover from their plates they made a black lab, Oreo the goat, a heart, cat, giraffe, and an egg!
At the end of their session they let the girls dump their remaining paint onto the carpeted floor! They thought that was awesome!!! Karlie’s ready to dump hers now!
Karlie emptying her pallet of paint onto the floor!
Brina putting her paint onto the floor! So exciting!
Need to get all the paint onto the floor…..can’t forget to clean the brush off onto the floor too!
It was a great evening out at Hearts of Clay! Thankful for a nice evening with the girls.
Launching Rockets at Legacy Park
Setting up the rocket! 3….2….1…. Blast Off!
We met Jake at Legacy Park over his lunch hour to shoot off rockets. The girls had a blast setting up, shooting it off, and chasing it down. We shot off the rocket several times, on the last shooting it got stuck in the tree! We had a grand time even though the rocket didn’t make it back home again!
She found it!
Karlie turning to look at the cheering squad. There was a daycare at the park while we were shooting off the rocket! A whole group of kids were sitting on the steps cheering every time we shot off the rocket. I think the had as much fun as we did. Jake is trying to untangle the parachute so we can do the next round.
The girls are helping Daddy set it up for another round.
Ready for blast off!
Putting the rocket and parachute back together for another launch!
Setting it back up!
Karlie on the run for it! If you look closely in the upper right corner of the picture (in the blue sky) you can see the parachute and rocket coming down.
Brina helping prep for one more launch.
Brina ready to push the button for launch!
Ready for take off….just need to push the button!
Opps! The rocket got caught in the tree! You can see the yellow in the upper middle of the picture. The little “Fat Jak” rocket provided entertainment for quite awhile! Thanks Daddy for meeting us at the park on your lunch break!
Hop, Skip, Jump, Play, Swing, and Braid
All the kids had various ways to go up and down the road before they could open their treasure box – including running, skipping, hopping on one foot, hopping on two feet, etc….
After breakfast every morning while the cousins were here the five kids got to open up an envelope with clues leading to that days treasure chest. Before opening the treasure chest for the day they were required to complete the tasks or solve the puzzles before locating the treasure chest. It was something fun that they looked forward to doing every morning. All the kids participating and had a blast completing the tasks assigned each morning. Every morning it was something different (sometimes it was a puzzle, scavenger hunt, physical activity, or something else).
They are almost to the finish line! Keep going! They all made it and received their goodies for the day.
Sweet girls drying off and doing some chalk drawings after a swim in the pool
Noah and Skipper! Skipper loved having all the kids running around and playing outside all week!
Aunt Mirm showing the girls a neat game!
Brina loves little kids! She was so sweet pushing her two little cousins in the swings. Too cute!
Aunt Mirm wanted to try a new type of hairdo and Karlie was her test subject…..needless to say Karlie was patient, but not overly impressed with the styling. She was a good sport about it though!
Brina undid her braids that Aunt Mirm had done. She loved having her snazzy crinkled hair that day!
Brina wanted me to take a picture of the back of her hair too!
Family Fun at Welcome Ranch!
Brina and Aunt Mirm swinging at Welcome Ranch
We had the opportunity to spend an entire day with Jake’s sister Miriam and her family. It was a fun day full of games, fun, good food, and we ended with a trip out to Welcome Ranch. At Welcome Ranch we got to see a variety of farm animals, ride horses, go on a huge Radio Flyer Red Wagon, and have a pizza picnic at the ranch. After all the fun at the ranch we wrapped it up with delicious ice cream at Bruster’s. Thankful for some fun with extended family over the summer vacation.
They had a baby goat names Eloise who was quite entertaining to watch.
All the girls are ready to ride!
Noah taking a turn on the horse.
Karlie loving it!
Uncle Paul was hilarious!
Sweet Nadia had a blast and wasn’t even scared riding the big horse!
Jake having fun!
Noelle’s turn for a ride!
Aunt Mirm all smiles!
The kids in front of the giant red Radio Flyer wagon! Awesome!
Our families at Welcome Ranch! Grateful for some fun time together this summer!
Outdoor Summer Activities – Pool, Games, and More!
We spent a good bit of our summer time in the pool when we were home. Last year I got a blow up seesaw for the pool. It was a big hit with the kids! The hardest part was staying on when you were all wet!
Having fun in the pool!
We put crepe paper across the two doors with kids sleeping in them. They thought it was hilarious when they woke up and were barricaded in the room. They had a blast running through it that morning!
Karlie reading the “clues” for the treasure hunt that morning.
Looking for another clue!
The girls came up with a bunch of outdoor games for the whole family to play. One of them was a relay race in the side yard. The Dad’s even participated!
Another game required the teammates to hit the baseball.
Now were ready for the bike and scooter races!
Hula Hoop contest!
Noah thought he was pretty smart doing it on his arm instead of around the waist!
The youngest had the best hula hooping skills! She won hands down as the best hula hooper in both families!
Aunt Mirm braiding the girls hair. The thought that was pretty cool having all the fancy braids!
A lot of girly chitchat, giggles, and silliness going on in the back of the van.
Fun at the Zoo!
Watching “Joy” the elephant play
We were able to squeeze in a fun trip to the Greenville Zoo with our cousins during summer vacation! A big thanks to our sweet cousin who shared zoo passes with us! Joy the elephant was playing with her tire while we were there. It was the last week Joy was at Greenville Zoo. A couple days later they were transporting her to a new zoo in Colorado.
Sweet girls!
Hanging out in the shade at the Giraffe exhibit. There were 3 giraffes in the pen and the Momma is expecting another one any day now! Great times with the cousins!
The turtles were very fascinating to watch!
A quick picture of the girls on the bear as we worked our way through the zoo!
We spent the morning at the zoo then headed to Cleveland Park to eat a picnic lunch and play on the playgrounds. It is always fun going on special trips with cousins. Thankful for a fun time together with family!
Welcome Family!
We painted “Welcome” on our driveway as we waited for extended family to arrive!
We have had a great summer break with our kids home from school!!! We packed in great adventures, time with our extended families, camps, Vacation Bible School, lots of memories, fun, history, road trips, flights, and much more! So thankful for a wonderful time with our family. Thanks for being patient with me as I enjoyed extra time with my family. It is my intention of getting back on schedule here soon. I will be posting some pictures of our summer fun soon!
Our first big summer adventure was having Jake’s sister and her family come stay with us for a week. They arrived on the same day the girls got out of school. We had a blast! As an added bonus of fun we also got to see Jake’s cousins who live in the area several times throughout the week as well. Thankful for family and fun times together!
The girls enjoying popsicles and ice cream bars!
The guys enjoying their game!
A pool full of fun!
The kids breaking open the pinata!
Playing the Jelly Belly game “Bean Boozled” with extended family! Everyone is waiting with anticipation to see if Aunt Cindy got a good flavor!
Snow cones were a hit with the kids one hot afternoon!
