Winter Activities
Everything Beautifully Covered in Icicles
All the trees coated in ice!
The past couple of weeks have been busy with changes in schedules due to the weather. Our first big storm started as sleet went to snow and ended in more sleet. The result was everything covered in a sheet of ice.
The kids that it was great they got out of school. They didn’t care that it was cold or slick they loved playing outside in it! It was nice having some extra fun time with the kids. With all the fun we have been having it has taken me awhile to catch up on the things around the house and get the blog pictures posted. Hopefully, I will have you all updated on our snow and ice activities within the next couple of days! 🙂
Brina volunteering to take out our mail. So happy to have a “snow / ice” day from school!
Skipper loves snow days as much as the kids. She loves playing outside with them!
Brina sledding. The ice on top of the snow actually made the sledding a lot of fun for the kids.
Karlie getting ready to go down too!
Karlie sledding. It’s amazing how well the sled worked even going through the leaves!
Icicles on the back porch.
Icicles on the jungle gym.
My old planter is covered with ice!
Our poor trees….they looked so sad! They were not as happy about having the weight of ice on them.
Icy branches!
Spending Time with Grandpa & Grandma
Brina and Karlie with my parents!
My parents stayed at our house the second half of their trip to SC. The girls were excited that Grandpa and Grandma were going to church with them on Sunday. In our rush to get out the door we did manage to snap a quick photo before heading off to church though.
After church we headed over to my brothers house for lunch and some time to play before Dad and Mom had to head out for the airport. It was a super fun weekend. We are thankful for some time to spend with my parents. The girls have wonderful memories with their grandparents. The weekend went by too quickly, but grateful for the time together.
Uncle Lee, Grandpa Russell and the four kids setting up the Thomas train track. They had a lot of help, but it was super neat to watch once they were done!
Grandma Penny building legos and playing with the kids.
Trip to the Joe’s Place Book Store and Falls Park
My parents on the bridge over Reedy River at Falls Park
While my parents were in town we made a trip to downtown Greenville. We stopped first at Joe’s Place Book Store where my sister-in-law works. The book store is only a couple of blocks away from Falls Park so we decided to go through it on our way back to our cars.
I was so busy looking at books in the book store I didn’t even take a picture! Oops! We did have fun and got some good books. Guess we’ll have to go back again to snap a few shots at our next visit. I didn’t realize it was the first time my parents had seen the big suspension walking bridge over Reedy River. We went through the park and on a few scenic hiking trails before heading back to the vehicles.
It was a good walk, a beautiful day, and the kids were able to vent a little extra energy. Thankful for time with family.
Brina speed hiking through the side trail.
The kids loved these little side trails!
Nicko and Karlie heading up the trail.
Brina & Karlie’s Birthday Party
Silly kids! They wanted a goofy picture with the banner.
We did a small birthday party celebration this year for the girls 10th birthday. My parents were in town and my brothers family came over to celebrate with us. The kids had fun eating cake, opening gifts, and playing with family. We got to try out some of their neat gifts too which was fun! They are officially 10 years old (still cannot believe it).
It has been a wild couple of weeks with all the snow days from school. I have been spending more time playing outside with the kids since they have been home more the past two weeks. The disadvantage to all the fun is that I am behind on my blogging. It has been fun, but I promised to get caught up soon. A lot of fun stuff has been going on around our house lately!
Happy 10th Birthday Girls!
Ready for some strawberry cupcakes and blue velvet cake!?
Lots of flames! Happy Birthday Brina and Karlie!
Brina relaxing!
My nephews helped the girls open their gifts.
Checking it out!
Skipper Being a Good Sport
Skipper claiming a new bed on the back porch!
Earlier in the day the girls were out on the back porch coloring and drawing in a couple big boxes we gave them to play with. The girls get so excited about getting large boxes to play with around the house. Every time we get a box or a group of boxes of any size they usually ask for permission to use them for their play time. Jake and I try to give them as many opportunities to explore creative play, but sometimes the boxes hang around for longer than intended or can get in the way or make a mess with all the “decorating” paraphernalia scattered around.
Sometimes when the boxes are big, taking over the house, and it is going to be a sunny day we will send the kids with their goodies outside. They have been know to play with boxes building various forts and structures for hours. Skipper loves it any time the kids are outside playing. She usually hops right in the middle of everything and at times is in the way, but the kids and the dog love it!
Skipper snacking on a treat from the kids.
Even after the girls came inside Skipper decided to hang out in their box.
Waking up from a nap in the box. She slept in the boxes for several hours in the sun that day. I am not sure who enjoyed it most the kids or Skipper.
Hiking Through the Woods
The girls love going for hikes in the woods!
Recently the girls and spent a couple hours outside having a picnic, hiking through the woods, climbing on trees, raking our campsite, playing with the animals, and more fun. Thankful for some quiet and relaxing time with them out in nature. They love spending time outside. Hiking through the woods is always an adventure with them!
Skipper is always willing to join us!
Karlie hanging out by the big tree!
Waiting patiently for us as the girls play around and climb a couple trees.
Enjoying our time outside!
Hiking deeper into the woods!
Raking and trimming the thorny bushes at our old campsite. The girls are ready to go camping again!
Brina having a blast!
Birthday Celebration
Happy Birthday breakfast
The girls got two of their birthday wishes on their birthday – one was that they would have snow on their birthday and the second was that they would not have to go to school because of a snow day. They got both wishes and were very excited. It’s not every day you get out of school on a Wednesday for snow in South Carolina. Thankful for these two girls and look forward to many more amazing memories this year with them. They each got to pick out what they wanted to eat for their birthday breakfast. For their special birthday dinner they wanted a Seafood Meal at home.
Karlie had eggs with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, and cheese in them.
Brina had a slice of cinnamon swirl breakfast cake.
My sister-in-law Becky shared a chocolate cake recipe with me that was both egg and dairy free so I decided to try it for their birthday. It turned out really well. They loved it. You couldn’t even tell that it was egg and dairy free. The flavor reminded me of my Grandma Doris Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake she used to make from scratch.
The girls wrote out a list of inside and outside activities they wanted to do on their birthday since they were home from school due to the snow. Even though they didn’t get to do all the items on the list I would say they did the majority of them. We packed a lot of fun activities into the day.
For their family birthday dinner they requested a seafood meal and specifically asked for King Crab. They love seafood and the King Crab was a hit and they are getting better at digging out the meat without assistance.
Jake and I picked up Mai-Mahi steak burgers to try as well for their seafood birthday meal. The Mai-Mahi steak with the fresh bakery bun, lettuce, and tomatoes were a tasty hit too! Thankful for our girls and that we can celebrate another birthday with them!
Beautiful SC Sunrise
Gorgeous Sunrise!
The kids and I enjoyed this beautiful sunrise earlier this week. It’s not every day we see these great sunrises in South Carolina. Our drive to school was perfectly timed with the sunrise on this special morning.
Thankful for a chance to share this with my kids. All of us were glad that we got stopped at the stoplight that morning so we could soak in the beauty around us. It’s the little treasures throughout each day such as a beautiful sunrise that remind us of the many blessings in our lives.
What a great way to start a new day!
Happy 10th Birthday Brina & Karlie! We Love You!
Happy Birthday Brina & Karlie!
Wishing our two beautiful daughters a very special 10th birthday! Today is a bitter sweet day. They now in the double digits which feels like such a big step in them growing up. We are so excited to be celebrating our twin daughters 10th birthday, but at the same time we are in shock that they could be turning 10 already. The time has gone by way too fast and our babies are growing up!
Thankful for these two amazing blessings in our life. There is not a day that goes by that we do not thank God for giving us these two precious gifts. God has richly blessed our lives with these sweethearts.
Brina and Karlie both fill our home with excitement, laughter, and a lot of fun activity. While they were born on the same day they could not be more different. Thankful for the gifts and talents God has given each one. Brina has a big heart for animals and Karlie has dreams of one day blasting off into space! We are proud of them and look forward to watching them grow up into beautiful young ladies.
Praying that God will continue to work in their hearts and lives this year as well as give us wisdom as parents in raising them. Wishing them a year packed for awesome memories, growth, good health, and so much more! Happy 1oth Birthday Brina and Karlie! We LOVE you more than you can imagine!!! Hope your birthday is truly OUT OF THIS WORLD!
We LOVE you!!!
Creative Play – Karlie’s Fun Shop
Karlie’s Fun Shop!
I love it when my kids get creative during their play time! When they use their imagination it also stimulates creative thinking, analyzing, organization, math skills, and uses a variety of other great educational skills. One of the activities they enjoy doing is creating a store complete with products, cash register, hours, and more.
Setting up a store takes time and planning. They really have fun pretending to sell us various goodies. The store names change and products change from time to time, however, I have noticed that they are becoming more efficient and organized at setting up and running a store.
These activities allow them to practice some wonderful entrepreneurial skills which will be beneficial for them later in life! Sometimes only one of the kids runs the store and other times it is a joint adventure. On this particular day Karlie was the one who decided to “set up shop”! She took time in selecting her merchandise, setting it up, creating a name, advertising her products and hours, and selling her inventory to her customers (aka family members).
Some items displayed in Karlie’s Fun Shop that will appeal to a variety of people!
She has all her products neatly displayed for her customers to see and purchase (looks like she has some great educational items for sale)!
