Family
Love It – Splade
Jake surprised me a couple months ago with a cool and practical gift! Love those types of gifts! A splayd!!! Before getting my gift I didn’t know what a splayd was and my first thought was that it was a spork (which is similar, but not the same).
My husband had been noticing how our silverware drawers would be empty before the dishwasher needed to be run so he came up with this great utensil that would cut back on the silverware we would need to use for each meal. Since is a combination utensil we shouldn’t need to get out both a fork and spoon for each meal.
“Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly in my household that I love! There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun. I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list. It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!
Lunch Box – Special Snack
Every once in awhile I will pack a special surprise snack in the girls lunch bags. Since they have the last lunch of the day their teachers allow them to have a snack mid-morning. I love hearing their comments after school about their surprise snack. Most of the time I am able to “sneak” the treat into their lunches so it is a surprise when they open up their bag at snack time! I picked up these goodie bags on clearance and filled them with homemade trail mix. Some of the items in the trail mix were cheerios, pretzels, dried bananas, cranberries, raisins, and nuts. They loved the beautiful bags and the delicious snack.
Hero of the Year History Project
Karlie’s Time Magazine Hero of the Year Project – Thomas Sumter
The girls did a Social Studies project at school recently about various people in the American Revolution. They made their own Time magazine “Hero of the Year” cover page and article. They each picked one person and they did more research about the life of that particular person. Karlie choose to research Thomas Sumter who was nicknames “The Fighting Gamecock”. Brina did her research on George Washington who was nicknamed “The Father of His Country”. Both men were instrumental and influential during the early years of our country specifically during the time of the American Revolution.
Brina’s Time Magazine Hero of the Year Project – George Washington
On the back of each of the girls Time Magazine cover page was the details about the hero and his life. It was a fun Social Studies project and the girls got to learn a lot of other details about the American Revolution during their time of research. It is neat to see them get excited over fun school projects. Both of them really enjoy learning about history!
Seeing Astronaut Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin with a picture of his team in the background – Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. The amazing team that first walked on the moon!
Earlier this month we got the privilege of hearing astronaut Buzz Aldrin speak at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina!!! The girls were thrilled. Karlie especially was quite literally – “Over the moon excited” to be able to see and hear one of her astronaut heroes in person! It was really neat to hear him speak and listen to some of his amazing stories. He had a good sense of humor and held the audiences attention well. It was an awesome time and I am thankfully for my friend Jennifer who shared the information about this special event with us so we could go. We got there an hour early and they opened the doors early. Within the first 10 minutes of opening the doors the auditorium was full and people were sitting in classrooms around campus. After hearing Buzz Aldrin speak that night Karlie was even more excited and now she wants to be one of the astronauts that go to Mars! You never really know what the future holds……
We arrived early and while the girls were very excited they also were very patient waiting for the event to start. This was after an hour of waiting, they still have smiles! So thankful we got to go to this event! They loved it!!!
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin speaking! The picture is of a flight he took with his Dad.
Buzz Aldrin speaking at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. Thankful for an opportunity to hear him speak. He had great stories and a fun sense of humor too!
Such a cool picture! Great stories too about his mission with Neil Armstrong and Mike Collins!
A picture of the plaque that was welded to the lunar module and left on the moon! “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon.” July 1969 “We came in peace for all mankind” with the signatures of President Richard Nixon, Mike Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin
Creativity & Honey Pot Awards
Brina’s was picked by her teacher for the Creativity award!
Brina recently earned the “creativity” character trait award at school. One of the perks of winning the award is she got to go on a trip to Fatz Cafe during the school lunch and celebrate. She was so excited!
Brina’s honey pot prize!
Every week kids will be entered into the honey pot drawing for doing great things and getting noticed by school faculty. At the end of the week they draw one name from each grade and recently Brina was the lucky winner. Each winner gets a cup full of goodies.
Brina also got a coupon for a free Kid’s Meal from Fatz for winning the “creativity” award!
What’s for Dinner: Our Weekly Menu Plan
As I was looking at our calendar this week I realized that most of the evenings this week we will be spending away from home for the evening so our dinner menu is a little off from our normal one. Jake will be traveling this week and the rest of us have a lot of fun events on the calendar. Here is our menu plan for the upcoming week:
Our Weekly Menu Plan
- Monday (Beef or Seafood Entree): Spaghetti and Meatballs, Green Beans, Garlic Bread
- Tuesday (Kid’s Night to Cook): Special Event – (Spending time with friends)
- Wednesday (Chicken or Vegetarian Entree): Special Event – Pizza, Salad, Strawberries (Dropping off a meal for my cousin who just had a little baby)
- Thursday (Pasta or Pork Entree): Special Event – Family STEM Night at school (meal included)
- Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: Leftovers, Family Preference, and Hosting
I have a general pattern I try to follow for my weekly Menu Plan (for example Monday we have a beef or seafood entree and so forth). It is my goal, at least in the beginning, to have at least the main dish and one side planned. I will put together the remaining side dishes (veggies / fruits) based on the food items that need to be used up first and compliment the main entree.
Setting a weekly menu plan helps me utilize my time better, thus freeing up extra time to spend with my family. On the days that I am working longer hours I can prep the meal in advance so it will be easier to pull together once I am home. As I go through the menu planning process I will try to share some of our favorite family recipes. If there is a specific recipe you would like please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate (some recipes are a toss together meal and I do not use any set measurements).
As a family of four our life can get busy. What’s for Dinner is our weekly menu planning series and one of the ways to help keep us organized, on schedule, and within budget. Our family typically eats 6 to 7 dinner meals at home a week. We do try to go out to eat at least once a month as a special treat. Breakfasts are eaten at home before work and school, lunches are eaten at work, school, or home, so dinner is our main meal together as a family. Dinner is our time to reconnect, share, and enjoy being together after a busy day. Our weekly menu plan covers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday only because the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) is our time to spend with family and friends. The weekends tend to be more spontaneous and my husband (who is the better cook) likes pitching in therefore we keep the menu open for variety. We use up the leftovers throughout the week for our lunches and on the nights that we are busy or can’t cook.
Photo by Liz
Having A Splashin Good Time!
Karlie going for a ride under the water! Hang on!
Brina going for a ride under the water. She didn’t relax as much because she was more concerned that Jake could hold his breath longer and wouldn’t come up for air in time. He did!
This one makes me laugh! The girls were standing in line behind us chit – chatting. I am not sure what they were talking about it, but Brina thought it was hilarious! Love it when the two of them make each other giggle. Hope they remain great friends their entire lives!
Getting up on the lily pad took some extra energy – it was slick! Towards the end of the second day Brina was getting tired and chilly so we put a life jacket on her for the last hour. She didn’t want to stop playing in the water so this was a good compromise! Resting on the lily pad for a little bit and talking about their day.
Trying to hold on as the lily pad was spinning in circles! Not sure how they still had the energy and all those giggles left in them, but they were having a grand time!
As we were getting ready to wrap up for the day Brina had to do one more run before we left Great Wolf Lodge.
Karlie trying to smile through the tears! “I just don’t want to go home Mom, I’ve had so much fun!” She wanted me to walk around and take a bunch of pictures the last 5 minutes they were open and kept asking me “Mom, are you sure you got enough pictures? I don’t ever want to forget our time here together!”
Karlie with a big smile as she finally crashed on the trip home.
It didn’t take long before Brina was asleep too.We had a wonderful time together at Great Wolf Lodge. On the way home Jake and I figured out that we spent about 20 hours actually in the water playing! Considering we were only there for a day and a half we packed a lot of fun into that time. The girls had a great time and we had fun too. All of us were exhausted! Despite Karlie’s fear of not getting enough pictures I think we have plenty to look back on and remember this wonderful trip together.
Another Day of Fun!
Breakfast anyone?!
Since we were all exhausted last night after a full day of water fun we decided to postpone the cake until breakfast. I don’t think we have every let the girls eat cake for breakfast, but your 9th birthday only comes once in a life time so we might as well celebrate and enjoy it. The girls were super excited to eat their cake and it was delicious! Thank you Tip Top Cake shop for the great cakes and thank you Jake for wrapping them very careful so we could pack them up to North Carolina!
Everyone ready for another fun day!? All smiles and ready to go!
Karlie loves being in the water and splashing around!
A quick shot of Brina as she is swimming under the water!
Here comes Karlie with a big smile on her face, I wonder what she’s up to now!
Brina having fun in the water!
A close up underwater picture of Karlie! She looks mischievous!
Karlie coming right at me, at least she’s holding her breath!
Brina Bee!
A picture under water of Brina doing her flip.
An underwater look at Karlie’s flip!
Brina wanted to do it again!
Going down the River Canyon Run again. Are you ready?!
Jake’s laughing as we start and Brina has her eyes shut tight!
Karlie having a blast on the ride!
Brina checking out what was up ahead of us! So much fun going on these rides with the family!
A Birthday Celebration at Great Wolf Lodge
Karlie and Brina’s Birthday cakes from Tip Top Cake Shop!
We didn’t do the normal traditional birthday party for the girls because we were going away for a weekend together as a family to celebrate. They didn’t know it at the time, but we still ordered small individual birthday cakes for them. The day before we left on our trip I took them by the store to pick up an item, they were a little confused when we walked into the cake shop, but thrilled once they saw their cakes. Karlie’s was white cake and she used her favorite green, blue, and black colors for accents. Karlie’s first response was “How did she know my favorite colors and that I like vanilla!” Brina’s was a dairy and egg free chocolate cake with pink, orange, and yellow accents. Brina’s first comment “It’s beautiful Mom, I LOVE it!” Even something as simple as little cakes can get them excited! The cakes tasted amazing! You would never guess that the chocolate one was egg and diary free it was delicious!
We brought with us their gifts they got each other a couple small ones from us. When Jake put the suitcases in the room he found a perfect spot to display the gifts. The girls were amazed that the hotel staff would put out all their gifts for them, until they realized it was Daddy that did it. They were having so much fun in the water park while Jake was unloading the van! Thanks Babycake for doing that for us!
Brina very excited about her gift from Karlie!
Oh boy….Brina got Karlie another nerf gun….. She’s excited! Wonder who will be a walking target for her the next few months, ha!
I love it when the girls write little notes on their gifts to each other. So sweet!
My wild and crazy man! Love you Jacob!
Brina is so very excited. She got a leash for her dog, something she had been wanting!
Jake blowing up the balloons. I found these cool balloons at Hobby Lobby that have LED lights inside that make the balloons glow in the dark. I thought they would be a neat way to wrap up the birthday celebration as they went to sleep. They were suppose to glow for 12 to 15 hours, but they are still glowing several days later and the girls have them in their rooms at home now!
Wow, glowing balloons! What a great way to end a special day!
It is hard to take a picture of it glowing! Happy Birthday Karlie!
Happy Birthday Brina! Princess Snow White will watch over your balloon as you sleep!
Two very tired and almost asleep kids. What a fun day at Great Wolf celebrating their birthday. Hopefully they will treasure this time and memory for many years.
We were so exhausted by the time we got done with the water park, gift unwrapping, and everything else that we decided to save the birthday cakes until breakfast. Everyone was ready to crash and get some sleep so we could get up and go early the next morning! We figure it’s not everyday you get to have cake for breakfast so why not!
Great Wolf Lodge – Water Fun and Story Time
Brina had to do one more round of the Big Foot Pass the first night. She zipped across really quickly too.
Karlie was entertaining to watch bouncing from log to log!
Brina all smiles!
Jake having fun!
They all three stood on the edge of the mushroom where the water was pouring down. Hilarious expressions!
Karlie loving her time at Great Wolf!
Karlie liked to fill up buckets and then convince me to stand next to her so she could dump them on me. Silly girl!
Going down the River Canyon Run one more time before we call it a night. Karlie…..”I can’t look, it’s too dark……”
Karlie’s got her eyes open now and ready for the next twist and turn down the slide.
Brina was a little concerned. They liked it a little bit better in the daylight, the tunnels were pretty dark at night.
Story time at Great Wolf!
Checking out the arcade.
Listening to the animals and trees telling a story. The girls thought this was fascinating!
We packed a lot of water fun into the first day we were at Great Wolf. The girls went on all the rides, tried out all the pools, and activities. We had a BLAST! Everyone should sleep good tonight!
