STEM Event at Roper Mountain Science Center
Jake & Brina working on her model!
Karlie’s creation is done, now it’s ready to see if it will survive the test! She’s proud of her creation and confident it will pass the testing….
Brina adding the finishing touches on her creation!
All ready for testing! Proud of her cool design.
Karlie watching carefully as they get ready to drop the big board on her creation. The goal was to make a creation out of the bag of goodies that they give you that will not change its shape once the board has been dropped on it (including none of the balloons popping). She did it!!!Brina putting her creation on the testing platform, she was concerned about her balloons popping, but it passed with flying colors! Way to go Brina!
Jake was a pro in no time at riding the Segway!
Brina riding a Segway all by herself, she did well!
Karlie learning how to ride the Segway! She’s getting the hang of it!
Karlie watching the show at the Planetarium
Snow Day!
It’s snowing!!
Since we live in South Carolina, when it snows during the winter it is a big deal, especially for the kids. The girls have been waiting all winter for the snow to come to SC. They were so very excited when we finally got a snow storm and they got a day off from school so they could play in the snow. The pets enjoyed some extra play time with the kids too. We packed in a lot of fun activities during their time off of school. We even got to try out their new sled!
Brina so excited that it is finally snowing this winter here in South Carolina!
Karlie running around in our first snow!
Brina’s first rainbow “snow” cone
Karlie loving her rainbow snow cone!
The goats are not really sure about all this white stuff.
They made a mini snowman!
Brina loves sledding down the side yard! Fun snow day adventures!
She’s laughing, but trying to avoid hitting the tree at the same time!
The goats with their thick winter coats were more concerned by the snow covering their food (leaves) on the ground then the cold!
Karlie was a little more cautious on the sled, but she zoomed down the hill several times!
Brina having a blast!
So excited to play in the snow!
“Hey Mom! Let’s go sledding!”
Very excited about having a snow day off from school!
Karlie all smiles!
Skipper loved having the girls home and playing outside for the day!
Disney On Ice: Princesses and Heroes
One of the girls big surprise Christmas gifts were tickets to “Disney on Ice Princesses and Heroes”! We made this crossword puzzle to share the surprise with them. It took them a couple minutes to make the connection, but they were very excited and couldn’t wait to go on this adventure!
Karlie doing her Disney on Ice Word Search
Brina doing her Disney on Ice Word Search
We made it to Disney on Ice! So excited! We got their a little early to find our seats (we got great seats were a perfect view)!
Tinker Bell, Mickey, and Minnie Mouse
It was beautiful watching all the characters skate.
Bell and gang on the ice!
Mickey and Minnie Mouse
Aladdin
Seven dwarfs
The fire was super cool!
Cinderella coming onto the ice in her carriage
So much fun!
Watching all the characters on the ice
The girls were literally on the edge of their seats during the show. They had a blast! It was a lot of fun and wonderful watching them get so excited too. Thankful for a fun evening with my family!
Planet & Star Gazing
Our Little Karlie Fox Checking Out Jupiter and its MoonsThe best evening the entire Christmas break to look at the stars was when it was 20 degrees outside! All of us went out on the back deck to check out the beautiful night lights in our big sky. We were able to see Jupiter and its moons! So BEAUTIFUL!!! It’s amazing that you can use a telescope to see so very far away.
Karlie was so excited to see the moon, clusters of stars as well as Jupiter and its moons. Brina looked for awhile but got chilly so went inside and wrapped in a blanket next to the fire. Thankful for a chance to gaze at the stars with the family even if it was very chilly outside.
Planet & star gazing on the back porchFamily Game – Ticket to Ride
We got a game from my parents this Christmas called Ticket to Ride. We’ve already played the game a couple of times and the kids love it! It is a great game plus it is educational. The girls have had fun learning the names of different cities across the map. We even went through the map and pointed out all the places listed that we have been too together. So cool looking at the map of the United States and laughing at all the great memories.
The board full of a rainbow of trains. Karlie got the longest train and Brina was able to block her parents yet Jake still managed to pull off a win this round. Although Brina was the champion our first round. I had a lot of fun, but unfortunately I am not an expert at strategies with this game yet. Love playing games and spending time with my family.
This is a great family game. If you are looking for a wonderful and educational family game I would recommend it. Our girls are 8 and they can play the game on their own yet it is enjoyable for us as parents too.
Jello Jigglers
The girls had a lot of fun making Jello Jigglers after school to share with their friends who were coming over after dinner. We had a great time doing this treat together while talking about memories, the girls day at school, and the fun we were anticipating having with our friends that evening.
I remember making Jello Jigglers when I was a little girl with my Great Grandma Vi so this activity brought back a lot of sweet memories of my Grandma Viola. It is wonderful being able to carry on this fun tradition with my girls too.
The girls had a wide variety of shapes and animals from birds, flowers, Mickey Mouse, hearts, bears, rabbits, and more. They had a blast choosing the cookie cutters and getting this special treat together to share with their friends. I would say it was a big hit because there were only a couple “jigglers” left by the end of the night. 🙂
Great Work Girls!
Great Work Girls!
The girls completed their extra math work this week and earned pumpkins! The pumpkins were on clearance for two dollars at Walmart so we figured it would be a fun activity to do together with the Halloween Holiday. I don’t know which was more fun for them, scooping the seeds out and dehydrating them so they could eat them or doing the jack-o-lanterns!
Super excited that they continue to go the extra math with their math learning. If you want to read more about why we are doing this activity you can see my post on Going the “Extra” Mile with Math It has been very beneficial for our family!
Going the “Extra” Mile with Math
Way to Go GIRLS!
Every week we give the girls 4 additional math worksheets to complete “on their own time”. Each sheet for Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division contain between 50 to 100 math problems (a total anywhere from 200 to 400 extra problems to compute). We give them their math sheets in a folder on the weekend and they have until that Friday at 5:00 pm to have all their math sheets finished, checked, and corrected. The worksheets are to be completed on their own time after homework, chores, and other family activities.
If they get all their extra math worksheets done then they get a special message and a surprise! We do not remind them of the worksheets or force them to do it. Every week both girls have worked earnestly after homework or while riding in the car or during free time to complete the worksheets so they can get their special message and surprise.
We have re-useable bags that we set up on the chalkboard with their treat in them. Typically, the items will be ones we find on clearance that we know they’ll enjoy. Over the last few weeks we’ve done anything from games, whistle candy, toys, bubbles, chalk, flashlight, crafts and more fun stuff. On Fridays when they get home they immediately run upstairs to get their message and surprise.
It has been interesting seeing how they have adjusted their activity patterns over the last few weeks. At the beginning they would do one sheet at the beginning of the week and save the remaining three for Thursday night, which resulted in them hurrying to finish them before Friday. They are figuring out the advantage of pacing themselves and getting some items accomplished earlier in the week so they are not rushed to get it done. One time they didn’t get it done before Friday and were disappointed when they came home and no special message or surprise were waiting for them (guess they were really testing us to see if they really had to do the work) so they both sat done immediately and finished up their worksheets before the 5 pm Friday deadline. They did it and got their reward!
It is really neat seeing how much this activity has motivated them to do extra math exercises on their own time. They are getting more efficient with their math facts too which will help them for the rest of their lives. The results have been amazing for our kids. It may take a little extra time for us to plan and execute, but if it is something that will encourage them to go the extra mile in learning it is worth it.
Travel & Vacation: Spending Time with Family in Kansas
The plane was delayed due to rain, but now we are ready to go. Two little chickies all buckled in….one snacking and the other one with her nose already in a book. Thankful that the girls travel well.
The girls and I recently flew out to Kansas to spend some time with my family. We stayed at my parents house, but thankfully we were able to catch up with quite a few people while we were out there visiting. While we were in Kansas Jake was traveling with work so he was managing to stay busy too.
The girls even got in on the last part of my parents church’s VBS, which included getting wet with water balloons. I think the highest temperature I saw during out week and half in Kansas was 113 while it was hot the wind helped make it more tolerable.
A cooler full of mammoth water balloons for VBS game time the next day!
Lots of little water balloons too! I think by the end the count was somewhere around 300 water balloons. The kids loved it!
Karlie picked a variety of flowers from Grandma Penny’s gardens and displayed the flowers in a pie dish. They actually lasted almost the entire time we were out there!
Brina made a blue cat while Brandon is working on some blueberry cookies!
Karlie is busy socializing and creating play dough goodies too! Grandma Penny made some homemade play dough for the kids. They loved it (and were asking me to make some a couple days ago)!
Beautiful purple flower along the road in Harlan, Kansas
Some of my Great Grandma Viola’s rose bushes were blooming near the Kelly’s Store and the Post Office in Harlan, Kansas where she used work. She planted the roses many years ago and yet they continue to bloom every year! Grandma Vi had an amazing green thumb (something I did not inherit, by the way)! She loved flowers and I thought it would be appropriate to stop to snap a quick picture of one of her pretty roses while I was in the area!
Brina and Brandon hanging out in their giant tent they built downstairs in Grandpa Russell and Grandma Penny’s basement!
Three silly kiddos hanging out in their fort tent while chomping on some “spicy” candy Aunt Renelle brought for them to try!
One of the girls favorite places to visit when in Kansas! A view of my parents house from the top of Windy Point.
Roper Mountain Science Center
Holding a snake
The girls always love going to Roper Mountain Science Center. They have second Saturday themed events that are fun for the whole family with a lot of educational information. The animals are always a great hit with our kids. For more information about Roper Mountain Science Center, the upcoming second Saturday events, or activities please check out Roper Mountain Science Center’s website.
What do you think she is holding? If you guessed baby mouse you are correct!
So soft! Chinchilla!
Karlie trying to play one of the games
Brina and Karlie having fun!
