Events
Travel & Vacation: Family Fun at Milford Lake
Having a blast with Nicko’s new bubble toy!
We started and ended our days at Milford Lake in our cabin at Acorn Resorts. All of my immediate family stayed in one cabin and several other family members were in cabins around us. We didn’t always see everyone in the morning, but everyone met back at our cabin for dinner together every night. During the day you would see a lot of family members swimming, on the boats, and doing various activities. We celebrated my nephews birthday the night before, but we saved the gifts to open in the morning. He was very excited!
Nicko opening his birthday gifts!
Very happy with his new shirt!
We moved the bubble fun outside!
Bubbles can be quite entertaining and fun!
Trying to catch and pop the bubbles!
Nicko’s LED Lighted Birthday balloons!!! The LED balloons are always a hit with the kids. We have had great luck with the illooms brand of LED Balloons lasting much longer than the package states. You can find a variety of styles at Walmart or online!
The girls made some cool glow stick designs to hang over their beds at night!
Travel & Vacation: Family Reunion at Acorn Resorts on Milford Lake
A lively round of golf (the card game) with the kids!
Our weekend with family in the the Acorn Resorts on Milford Lake was a lot of fun. We had a blast playing games and splashing around in the lake. We even were able to celebrate some birthdays during our weekend together! Thankful for a great weekend with our family!
Karlie enjoying her time at the lake!
Who wants to play “chicken”?! Brina and Nathan are ready! Thankful that the girls had a chance to hang out with their cousins and for the memories they have created!
Karlie jumping off the tube!
Another serious lake competition!? 🙂 No, just having fun! Look out for Amber and Sierra!
Ouch! That one looked painful!
Sierra’s very proud of her talent! Hilarious!
Brina springing off the tube!
Nicko having a grand time swimming around the lake!
Oh no, here she goes again. Look out below!
This cool contraption was flying over head as we were swimming around in the lake. Looks like fun too!
Karlie was always ready to go FASTER!
Brina, Brandon, and Karlie on the tube!
Nate, Meg, and Sierra got some air on this one!
Whoa! Hang on!
They are having a blast!
Karlie and Brandon going for another spin!
Candice and her friends sailing across the lake on the tube!
They even let me go a couple times! Loads of fun on the lake!
We had a grand time zipping along on the tube!
The kids are all showered after a fun day at the lake. Passing the time watching TV while the adults get dinner ready!
Happy Birthday Nicko! He had a super cool cake! The trucks on top were a huge hit too!
Time to celebrate and eat some delicious cake!
Travel & Vacation: Tubing, Knee Boarding, and Water Skiing at Milford Lake!
Waving as she passes family!
We spent the weekend at Lake Milford playing in the water! It was fun to watch everyone go tubing, fishing, knee boarding (or boogy boarding as we grew up calling it), skiing and more. Thankful for some time together creating memories with our extended family!
Grandma and Zachie hanging out on the boat!
They are having way too much fun back there on the tube!
Karlie tubing with Aunt Megan and Uncle Josh
Karlie got up on the knee board again this year! We knew she could do it!
Working on getting the rope unlatched so she can hold it on her own!
She’s doing it on her own! Way to go Karlie!
Karlie’s first time knee boarding with someone else! She was so excited to be knee boarding at the same time her Daddy was knee boarding! A big thanks to my brother for taking these pictures for us of Karlie and Jake because I was on another boat with Brina!
Karlie knee boarding with Jake! She could live in the water she loves everything about it! So proud of her for doing the knee board by herself. She said it was a lot of fun, but her arms when her arms got sore she didn’t want to stop she was having so much fun!
Megan and Josh on the knee boards!
Lee making it look easy!
Waving to Nicko and Zachie on the boat!
Swinging his way out!
Skiing until the sun started to set! The lake was smooth and beautiful at this time of day!
Travel & Vacation: Family Reunion at Lake Milford – Boating, Swimming, and Tube Bouncing!
Boating with family on Lake Milford!
We met family at Lake Milford for a fun weekend together. The weekend was full of boating, swimming, good food, and great memories. Thankful for time to catch up, play, and have fun! My parents, siblings, nephews, and more extended family were present that weekend!
Brandon springing off the tube!
Having fun playing on the tube!
Nathan pulling off a cool move!
Sierra showing off her gymnastics moves!
Brandon in mid flight!
Playing in the lake!
Zachie having fun!
Sierra has some spring!
Karlie jumping off the tube.
Taking turns jumping off the tube!
Fun times at the lake!
Brina flying through the air!
Brina enjoys being tossed in the air!
Love the expression on Karlie’s face!
The kids trying to hold onto tube while the adults flip it.
Who know that a tube just sitting in the water could provide so much entertainment!
Having fun on the tube!
Nicko floating around!
A boat full of fun!
Grandpa Veryln and Grandma Doris relaxing after dinner with the entire group at Lake Milford.
Travel & Vacation: Traveling to Kansas, Jesse James Bank Museum, and Milford Lake
On board and ready for take off!
One of the reasons our family travels is because our extended family is so spread out. This summer we headed out to Kansas to spend time with my family. We got on the plane early Thursday morning in Greenville, SC and by mid-morning we were in Kansas City ready to go.
We had a layover in Chicago! The kids found it very entertaining to go on the walking sidewalks in the airport. We didn’t get a chance to visit the actually city of Chicago, but it was good to get out and stretch our legs in the airport for a little bit between flights. The advantage to the really early flights is the airport is not as crowded!
Karlie found a great way to pass the time during our layover….reading! She was so excited to found out that I had added a bunch of free kids books onto my Kindle! She is frequently found around the house with her nose in a good book too so this did not come as a surprise.
Brina found a good amazing animal website to check out too.
After landing in Kansas City and getting our rental car we were off to explore the area. Our first stop was Wendy’s for an early lunch (we had been up since 4 am). The second stop was the Jesse James Bank Museum in Liberty, Missouri. Not far from the Kansas City MCI airport.
Karlie was surprised at the weight of the bank bag! Wow!
Learning about the Jesse James bank robbery. Banks are very different now!
Walking around the historical district of downtown Liberty!
Brina walking along the edge of the water fountain!
Riding with their cousin Nicko on the tube!
Their faces crack me up!
Having a blast tubing on Lake Milford with family!
So much fun!
Go faster Grandpa!
They even let me go on the tube with them! Fun times with family in Kansas!
Summer Reading Goal
A wall full of fish
It has been awhile since I updated everyone about our summer reading goals. The girls came up with their summer reading goal of reading 2,000 minutes. Our theme were called “Swim Into Reading”! Every time they read a book they would write the book title and author on a fish than hang it up on the wall. They could choose from a variety of colors of fish or pick a white one to color.
While we were traveling over the summer we kept track of the minutes, but didn’t make them write down all the books so the picture below shows all the books they read at home. They covered a lot of reading and were able to hit their goal early! Way to go GIRLS!!!
We DID IT!
Birthday Celebration with a KitKat & Starburst Jellybean Cake!
Jake’s Birthday Cake decorated with chocolate frosting, KitKats, and Starburst Jellybeans
We celebrated Jake’s birthday a week early this summer due to upcoming family travel. The girls helped make the cake and created a fun topping for him. They used two of his favorite candies KitKats and Starburst Jellybeans to decorate the cake. It was cute hearing giggle as they decorated the cake (and ate some jellybeans I am sure). We had a great day celebrating my Handsome Man’s birthday! Thankful for time together to relax, have fun, and enjoy a celebration.
The backside of his KitKat and Starburst Jellybean Birthday Cake!
A slice of sugary goodness! I highly recommend you offset the sweetness with a glass of milk, but hey it’s nice to have something sweet every once in awhile to celebrate birthdays!
Jake reading the birthday cards the girls picked out and wrote notes in for him!
Pavilion Recreation Complex – Ice Skating, Bouncy Castles, George the Train, Playground Fun, Picnic, and More!
Karlie enjoying her time on the ice!
The girls had a blast hanging out with their cousins and friends at the Greenville Pavilion Recreation Complex this summer. Every Friday this summer the kids could get in to ice skate, play on the bouncy castles, ride on George the Train, play at the park, and get a snack for $10 each. The parents would get in for free (although we didn’t get the snack)! 🙂 The ice skating was only for 2 hours, but the rest of the activities you could do all day.
Karlie and Nicko having fun on the pile of snow they left in the ice skating rink!
Look out! Here comes Brina!
Karlie having fun!
Our friends Ashley from Reflecting on the Simpler Things in Life and Bradley having a blast too!
Goofy girl!
Zachie hung out with me the first time we went on the ice. He didn’t really like the ice skates too much, but had fun playing in the snow pile!
Brina waiting for Zachie to go down the slide with her!
Snack time – Oreos and Juice Bags!
Ready….Set…..Go!!!
Karlie going down the slide with Nicko!
I am getting beamed with snowballs from my nephews!
Karlie chasing Nicko! The second time we went out on the ice we had the kids keep their shoes on. We were the only ones on the ice the second time and all the kids had a blast with just their shoes on the ice. The ice skates were a good idea, but at least for the younger kids the regular shoes were a bigger hit in the ice skating rink.
Brina flying on by me!
Watching the Zamboni clean the ice skating rink. This was fascinating for the kids!
Riding on George the Train. At the end the conductor let all the kids push the button and honk the horn. So exciting!
Whose ready for a picnic!?
Grabbing a bite to eat so they can go play again!
Easily entertained….
Brina on the four wheeler!
Travel & Vacation: Our Weekend at Sadlers Creek State Park
Thankful for a wonderful, relaxing, and fun weekend away with the family.
We had a great day swimming, biking, and playing at Sadlers Creek State Park near Anderson, SC. Our tent was surrounded by trees but we could still see Lake Hartwell. The first night we played card games until late at night and crashed. The second night we experimented by toasting smores, starbursts, twillers, and fruit chews over the camp fire. They were a fun camping treat! We wrapped up the second night at the campsite relaxing and sharing some of our favorite summer memories. We are blessed and so much to be grateful for in our lives.
Silly girls enjoying their time camping at the lake.
Brina’s favorite were the toasted twizzler bites!
Karlie’s toasted marshmallow!
The Toasted Starbursts were goey, crispy, and delicious! My favorite of the toasting “experiments”.
The Toasted Fruit Chews were a little harder to do because if you waited too long they would drop off your stick. The ones that survived the heat of the fire got great reviews from the kids!
The best way to eat a Marshmallow – completely crispy and toasted over a flaming fire! Yum!
A full day of family fun in the sun results in two sleepy kids!
Brina swimming in the lake!
Karlie’s got a collection of sticks, wonder what she’s up to now!
Brina splashing around in Lake Hartwell.
Karlie all smiles as she gathers her sticks for some fun!
Our weekend camping went by quickly. We had fun, relaxed, and spent time together. We biked, swam, played games, ate great camp food, laughed, and had a grand time creating memories. The girls decided after this weekend that we need to make camping a more regular activity because they enjoyed it so much. Thankful for opportunities to spend time together and create these precious memories.
Travel & Vacation: Camping at Sadlers Creek State Park
Ready to unload the van and start camping!
Our family had a blast going camping at Sadlers Creek State Park this summer! It was the first out of the yard tent camping with just our family. The girls have been asking to go camping so we decided to do it! The Sadlers Creek tent camping area is near Anderson, South Carolina and almost all the tent sites overlook Lake Hartwell. It was beautiful, peaceful, and a lot of fun spending the weekend together. There was enough trees between the campsites you had some privacy. We ran into our friends from church the first night too! We biked everywhere and had fun swimming in the lake. There were two restroom facilities near us both with showers which was nice especially with the kids!
Once we arrived we biked everywhere. It was a great way to get around, explore some neat areas, and get some exercise! We biked to several different places that had sandy beaches, many of them were quiet with no other people around. After setting up the tent and camp area we picked out a couple of beaches we wanted to come back to the next day.
Karlie enjoying some time playing at a playground nearby!
Enjoying a walk and watching the beautiful sunset the first night we arrived.
The girls were thrilled with our morning guests! The geese were not scared of the kids and hung around for about 30 minutes.
Time for breakfast in our camp – ham, hashbrowns, eggs, and coffee!
Brina giggling at something!
Ready to go for a swim at one of the beaches we discovered!
Jake found a great place to jump off into the water!
Brina jumping off the “diving board”!
Karlie’s turn!
Swimming at the lake.
Trying to figure out how to do a belly buster.
Brina splashing around at Lake Hartwell.
Karlie probably could live in the water. She loves swimming around!
Brina enjoyed cruising around on her bike!
Exploring the area!
