Family Activities
Birthday Celebration (part 2)
Happy Birthday Brina & Karlie
We were actually traveling on the girls actual birthday (they had a great time visiting their grandparents in Vermont). After we got back from our trip we scheduled a birthday party for the friends and family in our area. It was held at the Upstate Children’s Museum. The girls had a blast playing at the Children’s Museum with their family and friends. It was a great place to have a birthday celebration!
Karlie having fun at the Children’s Museum
Brina shopping at the Children’s Museum
Karlie having fun at the Children’s Museum
Daddy and Brina building a structure
Karlie having a blast
Daddy and Brina playing the Turn the Lights Off game
Karlie made a giant “K” out of the light brights
Birthday Celebration
Our Sweet Brina
The weekend after we got back in town we took the girls to Outback for their birthday lunch. It was nice to have a quiet lunch with them, talk, and celebrate their birthday. I still cannot believe my girls are growing up so quickly. There is so much to be thankful for in our lives.
Our Karlie girl
Brina giggling…always love hearing my girls laugh!
Sweet Karlie with a big smile
Sirloin tips and fries, can’t ask for a better birthday dinner at Outback! 🙂 The girls both wanted steak for their birthday lunch.
Brina’s little gift to Karlie. Love that she wrote a cute message to Karlie – “I love you!” I took each of them out at different times to pick out a gift for their sister. Brina used her money to go to Goodwill and pick out a bunch of used “chapter” books for Karlie to read. It was so cute helping her look through the books and pick out ones Karlie would like. Karlie was very surprised Brina found so many books and been enjoying reading them.
Karlie’s “secret” birthday message to Brina. It says “K(arlie) L(oves) Y(ou) Brina!” Karlie picked up some really cute crafts for Brina. Brina has been found painting and doing a variety of crafts over the past few weeks!
Aw…Karlie got a gift from Brina
My Handsome Man! Enjoying some time with his girls!
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week was the typical hurricane of activities from work, volunteering, tutoring, car searching, and more. It was really nice to have Jake in town for the entire week, glad he didn’t have to travel. The girls are looking forward to Easter and their upcoming Spring Break!
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
Read Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls (Book 7)- Read Imagination Station: Attack at the Arena by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 2) – working on it
Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforeDaily School Activities & Homework CompletedAttend After School ActivitiesPlan one special Activity with the FamilyVolunteer One Day at Girls SchoolEaster activity & celebrationGet together with Family and/or Friends
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week – did three days!
Drink 8 glasses of water each dayContinue my YouVersion plan(s)– staying up to date- Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp – on hold briefly
- Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz (someone gave me this to read) – making headway
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the weekPay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attentionWork completed for clients
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchWrite and Send Out Community Group EmailSend out Alms & Legs Meeting Notes
Financial Goals
- Groceries $40 for 4 – didn’t keep the reciepts or take pictures during the busy week, but I was able to stock up on meat
- Payoff the Van – working on it
- Pay medical bills in full – got a few paid off, still working on the rest
Complete 2012 Taxes– YAY! (and we already got our federal refund back)!
My goals for the upcoming week
Family Goals
- Read These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls (Book 8)
- Read Imagination Station: Attack at the Arena by Marianne Hering and Paul McCusker (Book 2)
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
- Attend After School Activities
- Plan one special Activity with the Family
- Volunteer One Day at Girls School
- Easter activity & celebration
- Get together with Family and/or Friends
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Continue my YouVersion plan(s)
- Finish reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
- Finish reading Overcoming Dyslexia by M.D. Sally Shaywitz (someone gave me this to read)
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Pay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Work completed for clients
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Write and Send Out Community Group Email
Financial Goals
- Groceries $40 for 4
- Payoff the Van
- Pay medical bills in full
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results.
The Ladybug Game by Zobmondo
Our family has been trying to play at least a couple games together every week. Sometimes we do it on a week day and other times we play over the weekend. The Ladybug Game by Zobmondo is one that the girls have had for a long time. We have played this game many times over the past few years. It is a cute, colorful, and fun game that we have enjoyed. The best part is you can play it with young children.
- Colorful graphics
- Easy to play (recommended for ages 3 to 8)
- Simple directions (reading is not required to play)
- For 2 to 4 players
- Object of the game – the first ladybug to reach home wins!
- Learning Benefits – math, colors, information about Ladybugs, Praying Mantis, Aphids, and more
I thought it was really neat that this game was actually invented by a kid! Each player gets a ladybug “Ella Yellow, Rickie Red, Tommy Teal, or Olivia Orange” and moves his / her piece based on the card that is drawn. You may go forward or backward or skip ahead. You may have to get a Praying Mantis pass to go on and you want to make sure your collecting some Aphids along the way so you can get past the ants. The game is pretty short (approximately 20 minutes) so there is no need to block off a large part of your day to play.
We love games! We have found that playing games is beneficial for many reasons. It gives us quality time together as a family. The kids learn that they will not always win (which is not always an easy lesson to learn), but the game can still be fun even if you are not the victor in every game. It provides opportunities for us to talk and create memories together. Games teach and help our kids practice a variety of useful skills like following directions, reading, writing, counting, taking turns, and more.
Travel & Vacation: Cold Hollow Cider Mill Tour (Waterbury, VT)
Apple Cider Mill
On the way back to the airport we made a stop at the Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury, Vermont. We were hoping to do a tour but we didn’t time it quite right. It was really great going through the apple cider mill. The girls had a lot of fun following the apples to the cider press, seeing all the cool machines, reading about the process, and drinking the homemade apple cider.
Welcome to the Cold Hollow Cider Mill!
The girls loved watching the bees make honey
The girls thought this sign was hilarious
Apple cider press
Big container of apple cider
A bunch of flattened apples, interesting (yup)!
Apple Cider Mill
Fresh Apple Cider Doughnut
Karlie enjoying her apple cider doughnuts!
Brina eating her apple cider doughnut
Travel & Vacation: Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour (Waterbury, VT)
Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour
On our way back to the airport in Vermont we made a quick stop by the Ben & Jerry’s Factory in Waterbury, Vermont. The girls found the tour fascinating and they especially liked the ice cream sample at the end! 🙂 The factory we visited makes all the pint size ice cream for Ben & Jerry’s. They do 160,000 containers of one flavor every day. If I remember right they were making “Coffee Caramel Buzz” the day that we went through the factory. We couldn’t take pictures while we were actually in the factory but here are some of the highlights. If you are every in that area it is a pretty fun and quick tour to go on with the kids.
We parked in front of a neat “Infarmation” sign that describes the steps for making Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
Do you see what the big containers are labeled in front of Jake and Brina? From left to right – Sugar, Milk, Milk, Cream, and Cream (definitely an ice cream factory)
We all got a good laugh from this one! It is the “original Vermont fly swatter”. It is a stuffed cow tail.
Display with pint size containers of Ben & Jerry’s euphoric flavors
Karlie and Brina loved exploring and learning all the neat things about the Ben & Jerry’s factory. They especially enjoyed their “Hot Chocolate” ice cream sample! 🙂
Travel & Vacation: Visiting Our Grandparents (part 2)
The girls had a wonderful time up in Vermont with Grandma Kay and Irish. Thankful for an opportunity to spend some time with Jake’s Mom and grandparents.
Earlier this year we were able to fly up to Vermont to spend a long weekend with Jake’s Mom and grandparents. We were blessed to have a good trip, plenty of snow, safe travels, good memories, and lots of fun. The girls weren’t ready to go home when the weekend was over, but it was time to get back to school again. The day we left was the coldest day, but we ran outside for a few quick pictures before we had to head back to the airport!
Hanging out with Nana and PopPop in Vermont (aka Grams and Gramps)! Karlie and Brina had a blast. We took this picture on the front porch right next to the big snowdrift!
Last morning in Vermont, we had a great trip!
Karlie’s card that she made for Grandma Kay. Very cute, I especially like the creative “pop-out” heart!
When we came down that morning this is what we caught Karlie doing…yup, playing a game on Grandma’s Kay cell phone. Somebody got them hooked on it the night before!
And what do you think Brina was doing at the same time?! Yes, Grandma had introduced Brina to a new game and she was hooked within the first few seconds of playing! Oh boy!
Daddy, Brina, and Karlie building some cool items
Sweet Nana and PopPop
Travel & Vacation: Visiting Our Grandparents
Playing in the sun room
We recently had an opportunity to go to Vermont and spend some time with Jake’s family. The girls had a blast playing games, doing puzzles, reading books, and more! They thought it was awesome having a dog in the house too and loved leading Irish around as well as learning how to give her various commands. It was a nice relaxing weekend with Jake’s Mom and grandparents. Thankful for a chance to spend time with them and have fun.
Brina hanging out near the stove with Irish. Hmmm….seems like Irish should be the one in that bed? She thought Irish’s bed was a soft place to sit. Irish was a good sport and didn’t seem to mind sharing.
Craft time! The girls loved doing crafts and were often found at the table cutting, gluing, coloring and more!
Jake and Gramps – Wonder what they are up to now!?
We made a stop by Eatons Sugar House in South Royalton, Vermont
Glad to see the bridge is back up and working again. It was taken out with a flood over a year ago
The river looks a little icy today, don’t think anyone wants to go tubing this time
PopPop looking great
Travel & Vacation: Celebrating in Vermont
Birthday cake! Doesn’t the birthday cake look beautiful?! Grandma Kay made the cake and did the main layer of frosting and Brina added all the colorful frosting and goodies to the cake. It looked pretty and tasted delicious! 🙂
The girls had a four day birthday weekend since they didn’t have school on Friday or Monday so we made a quick trip up to Vermont to spend some time with Jake’s Mom and grandparents. We celebrated the girls birthday during our visit which was a lot of fun. The girls enjoyed spending time with their grandparents. It was a great trip packed full of a lot of good memories. Grandma Kay gave Brina some good tips on cake decorating which Brina loved (she was tickled pink that Grandma let her decorate their birthday cake).
Brina decorating her and Karlie’s birthday cake
Karlie all smiles. While Brina was decorating the birthday cake Karlie was happily picking up the toys and cleaning.
Brina loves helping in the kitchen, decorating the birthday cake was a big hit with her
Karlie discovered a cool toy in Grandma’s stash while cleaning up! She thought the helicopter was pretty amazing!
Grandma Kay showing Brina how to do another neat trick with the frosting!
Sweet girl having fun
Brina so proud of her decorated cake
Karlie having fun!
Brina had extra frosting so Grandma let her decorate some cookies. Daddy eating one of the cookies Brina just frosted.
Happy Birthday Sweet Girls!
Look whose eight! Grandma Kay found some really cool number 8 balloons that the girls loved!
Travel & Vacation: Snow Days (part 2)
Karlie hanging out in the snow fort
The girls were so happy to have time every day to play in the snow while we were in Vermont. We went sledding, on walks, built a snow fort, started a little fire, had a snowball fight, made snow angels and more! We were thankful to have some time with family up in Vermont this winter. It was a relaxing time full of great memories!
Brina getting ready to do a snow angel
Karlie working on her snow angel
Brina sliding down this hill without a sled just on her bottom
Karlie collecting sticks
