Love It
Travel & Vacation: Welcome to Disney’s Animal Kingdom (Orlando, FL)
A day at Animal Kingdom with these two chickies!
The girls and I went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, FL recently while Jake was at a conference! They were very excited to check out all the animals in the park. We packed in a full day at Animal Kingdom. We arrived early and were one of the last few to leave at closing. The crazy thing is we still didn’t get to everything we wanted to do, but we definitely did a lot. It was a great day with my girls. Both girls LOVED it, but Animal Kingdom was probably Brina’s favorite place to visit (which isn’t a big surprise for those who know her).
Pretty bird….was the first comment I heard from the girls as we entered the park.
A pair of beautiful birds perched on the branch.
Having a blast!
A Wallaby eating its morning treat. At first we thought it was a kangaroo until further investigation. Must be in the same family though because there are similarities.
Karlie and Brina in front of a gorgeous waterfall in Animal Kingdom.
Starting to get more crowded. The tree in back is the “Tree of Life” and has over 300 animal figured carved into it. Very fascinating to see up close.
Hanging out in line. They were troopers even in the longer lines. We took the time to get something to eat and drink whenever we spent a decent amount of time standing in lines. Thankfully, it wasn’t the busiest season so at Animal Kingdom the longest line we waited in was the Kilimanjaro Safari for an hour in the Africa section which was well worth the wait (I will be sharing more about that safari in a later post).
Big black fish swimming right beside us.
Going through the waterfall as we head into the Tree of Life for the “It’s Tough Being a Bug” Show!
Bug Eyes!!! They are ready for the show! Such a great show and one of their favorites for the day. Wish we had time to do it again!
Africa was one of their favorite places to visit while in Animal Kingdom. It had great music, the Kilimanjaro Safari tour, Lion King, and more fun activities to do.
Musical entertainment shortly after entering the gates into the Africa section. They had people playing on and off all day. Fun upbeat music.
Karlie trying out her musical talent!
Brina going all out!
Swinging around on their jungle gym!
Another one taking a rest!
Rodrigues Fruit Bats hanging around at Animal Kingdom. Wonder what they eat….if you guessed fruit you are correct. All the ones in the section we visited were male. Did you know that their bat wings are made out of similar material that our eyelids are made out of? They were fascinating to watch!
Beautiful tiger lounging peaceful and keeping a watchful eye on the visitors.
This tiger was literally on the other side of the glass from us. It’s fur looked so soft, not sure it would have been a good idea to pet the big cat though!
Deer enjoying a rest in the shade.
Love the colors on this feathered friend.
Mesmerized by all the activity above them!
So much fun. They were on the go and soaking all the cool animal sights in throughout the day.
Mount Everest at Animal Kingdom. The mountain is the host for the Expedition Everest roller coaster. We all agreed that it was probably a little more than we wanted to do, but it was super cool to watch!
They had a blast! Waiting for the bus to take us back to the resort. Thankful for an chance to spend the day with the kids at Animal Kingdom and all the fun memories as well as activities we did that day!
Beautiful Plants & Basket from My Thoughtful Husband
Love it when he surprises me with something special!
My husband brought home these plants as a surprise for me a couple weeks ago. He is sweet and I love it when he does the random thoughtful gifts. My only regret is that it was such a busy weekend I did not take a picture of the beautiful basket with both plants green and blooming.
At this time only one plant is still alive. Yes, I have already killed the miniature rose bush. I love the mini roses, but have a horrible time keeping them alive for very long. You can see pieces of my sorry looking rose plant beside the one that is pretty and still green.
I love plants and flowers, however, I am not the best person to grow them. Usually I either over or under water them. I like the ones that are easy to maintain and can handle wet or dry soil and withstand lots of sun or no sun. In other words a very strong and durable plant that handles extremes well. Grateful for a thoughtful and caring husband. Love my plants and basket!!!
I love the basket the flowers came in and have already used it a couple of times since he gave it to me!
It has been fun using this basket for surprises and goodies! Thankful for my husband and everything he does for me.
Love It – Magformers Set
Brina loves creating things with the Magformers!
The girls got a Magformers Set for their birthday. Since then they have played with the set for hours. A bunch of time was spent playing with them during their recent snow days when they did not have school. I love it when they get a toy that promotes creativity.
Magformers are bright colorful magnetic toys that you can use to build all kinds of items with. The set we got contained squares, triangles, and pentagons. They are easy to use and the magnets are enclosed so they cannot be swallowed by younger kids. The pieces always attract, never repel, making it easy for anyone to stick two pieces together to build. The magformers stimulate creativity, engineering, spatial awareness, coordination, and mathematics. You can build pretty much anything you can image from balls, houses, pyramids, turtles, towers, and so much more. This toy has sparked our kids imaginations over the past month and they are still pulling it out to play with it regularly.
Big ball out of Magformers
Of course knocking it down is always a fun task to do too
Brina built all the items in the book first than started creating her own inventions. Love watching her read the directions and put things together. She was pretty quick at it!
Magformers creation
She has spent hours putting together different combinations and items with this set.
Proud of her creation
Making some little items
So much fun
House
Karlie loves playing with them too. She split her time between the magformers and reading some chapter books.
Myrtle the Turtle
Time to take this one apart and start on a new project
Having a blast
Neat creation
Fun toy
There are many different Magformers Sets that you can get. Amazon is a great place to look for them and you can read all the great reviews as well.
“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!
Love It – Butterflies and Flowers Connectagons by HearthSong
Butterfly and Flower Connectagon Fun!
One of our kids got a Butterflies and Flowers Connectagons by HearthSong toy as a gift. It has been neat seeing the various configurations she has created with this fun toy. The butterflies are beautiful bright colors and the flowers are all snowy white. The pieces are wooden and they can be interlinked in several spots on each piece. There are many combinations that can captivate their attention for quite some time.
The HearthSong Connectagons is a building set that stimulates creativity. Our set includes 50 butterflies and 12 white flowers. The slotted sides allow the kids to connect the butterflies and flowers together. It helps with hand-eye coordination and teaches kids how to experiment building many different sculptures with these beautiful pieces. Some of the configurations make it look like the butterflies are flying to or from the flowers.
Showing off another butterfly configuration she made!
To learn more about Connectagons or to read reviews you can go to HearthSong’s website or Amazon. If you are not interested in the butterfly and flower Connectagons you may enjoy one of the other sets they carry:
HearthSong Connectagons® Glow-in-the-Dark Celestial
- 157 glow-in-the-dark pieces with slotted sides
- Full moon, moon phases, constellations, and galaxies
Hearth Song Connectgons Original Building Set
- Connectagons Creative Building Set
- Set includes 240 Wooden circles
- Build freeform sculptures in any direction using wooden pieces with slotted sides that connect
- Encourages open-ended play
- For Ages 4 and Up.
“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!
Love It – EcoSphere Closed Aquatic Ecosystem Aquarium
Jake and the girls got me an EcoSphere Aquarium for my birthday! I knew when the package arrived that it was some type of live plant or animal based on a text I received from Jake while I was out running errands – “There was a package dropped off this morning and it is susceptible to cold, can you make sure to bring it inside?” Oh Boy! As soon as Jake was home that night the girls were begging to check out the box. There was a lot of giggling, whispering, and checking out the special package that hung out in Jake’s closet with the lights on for several days before my birthday. Hmmm….interesting.
I knew if it was susceptible to cold and required extra light and/or warmth there was a good chance it was some living item. I didn’t hear any scratching, whining, or other funky noises or smells coming from Jake’s closet so that was a good sign. I was a little perplexed at what it could be though.
I was very surprised when I opened up my special birthday present to find an EcoShpere Aquarium inside it. I had never seen an EcoSphere up close before it was very neat! They got me an aquarium with four shrimp in it.
The best part about the aquarium is that it is super easy to maintain! My kind of pet! You don’t need to feed the shrimp, clean the tank, change the water, or anything else! Oh YES, that’s awesome! You just get to enjoy watching them swim around. It is a pretty cool system and the best kind of stress free pet to have around the house! If you are wanting to get a simple and easy small aquarium this is a great one to have around!
There are several places where you can get the EcoSphere Aquarium – on the EcoSphere website, at Amazon, on Target’s website, or another retailer that sales the EcoSphere products! If you have any Amazon or Target Gift Cards that you have earned from Swagbucks you could use them to purchase your EcoSphere Aquarium too! I hope you enjoy your EcoSphere Aquarium as much as I have! This is a great Christmas, Birthday, Anniversary, or Special Event gift for someone special in your life!
“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!
3D Printed: Heart Puzzle
Super cool heart puzzle my husband made for me with his 3D printer.
While I was away Jake made me a 3D printed heart puzzle, love my man! It was a sweet surprise when I came home! He is so thoughtful! The “flowers” or gears on the heart rotates around and when all of them are aligned it looks like the heart in the pictures. Super cool! The girls thought it was fascinating too!
The pieces had to be printed in several settings and then he clipped them together to form the puzzle. So thankful for my man. He is always doing things to brighten my day! Love him!
Love It – Orion 10 x 42 Waterproof Monocular
We got the girls an Orion 10×42 Waterproof Monoculars last year for Christmas. The monculars have been amazing! If you travel with your kids this is a great way for them to see a lot of neat things and are they light, waterproof, easy to carry, and simple to use too. We used some of our Swagbucks when buying these on Amazon!
Travel & Vacation: Leaving on a Jet Plane
Leaving on a Jet Plane! Jake took this picture of an airplane flying over the ship earlier that day
We spent most of Saturday morning on the boat enjoying breakfast, walking around, and reminiscing before heading to the Fort Lauderdale airport. Our flights didn’t leave until later that afternoon so we had plenty of time to get to the airport, relax, and have some fun before parting ways and getting onto the planes. Half of us were heading back to South Carolina and the other half were going to Kansas. We ate snacks, read books, played games, slept, and were entertained by the wildlife that came to eat the crumbs the kids dropped on the floor. Probably the most entertaining game we played was Bean Boozled, we had some good laughs with that one (a couple times we even had the couple sitting next to us laughing).
Nicko enjoying his candy bracelet from Brina Bee!
Nicko enjoying his candy bracelet from Brina Bee!
Zach could sleep anywhere….here he is sleeping soundly on Grandma Penny’s lap at the airport
Reading books in the airport
Another form of airport entertainment in Fort Lauderdale, watching the pigeons come in and pick up the crumbs that the kids dropped on the floor. This one was right next to my foot! The birds came several times within inches from us. The kids would eventually get so excited watching them that they would scare the birds away but in a few minutes they would come back again. Although it was kind of gross the kids were entertained and fascinated by the birds (they kept wanting to feed the birds more).
This guy was right next to Amber’s boot and backpack. He wasn’t very scared of us, he was more interested in getting the crumbs off the floor.
Travel & Vacation: One Last Trip Around the Ship (Part 2)
One last walk on the track around the ship – Daddy and Brina
Since we had a little extra time after breakfast we decided to go for a walk around the ship one more time to soak in all the memories and the girls wanted to take a few extra pictures. We were one of the last few people off the boat (we weren’t in a rush anyway because our flights didn’t leave until the afternoon) so we didn’t see a lot of people mostly just workers cleaning and prepping for the next crowd to come aboard later that day.
Another view of the kids pool area. This one has a better picture of the “circle” pool that the kids enjoyed. It looks like its currently being cleaned.
Brina walking on the track of the open deck
Brina soaking it all in one last time!
Karlie loved cruising!
Love It – Village Naturals Foaming Bath
Jake and the girls gave me Village Naturals Therapy Foaming Bath Oil & Body Wash, Aches & Pains Relief with Eucalyptus, Rosehips, and Chamomile earlier this year for Mother’s Day. I love it! 🙂 I never thought I would get so excited over bath items, ha! It wasn’t long before the girls were begging to try it out.
Village Naturals Therapy Foaming Bath Oil & Body Wash gives you a lot of great long lasting bubbles. The girls are always asking to use this whenever they have a “long” bath because they love all the bubbles. One time they stayed in the bathtub for over an hour splashing around.
Our family has had a round or two of sickness since I received it. The Village Naturals Therapy Foaming Bath Oil & Body Wash works really well for when you have a cold and are congested. You can find it in a lot of stores, including Walmart, or online. The best part it is only a few dollars and it lasts a long time. You only need a couple drops to get a bath full of bubbles.
Even though the girls and I have used this many times we are still on our original bottle. If your looking for a great bubble bath or body wash that will be a big hit with the lady (or kids) in your life you should check this out. It is a great way to relax after a busy day!
“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!
