Travel & Vacation: SeaWorld (Orlando, FL)
We made it to SeaWorld! 🙂
A few months ago our family was able to go to Florida and visit some great friends that lived there. One of the days we were in Florida we spent at SeaWorld. The girls LOVED it! It was so much fun exploring SeaWorld with friends.
Got their maps out and a mission to have fun!
Our troop at Sea World, we had a great time!
Girlies trying to see who can lean up against the ice cap the longest!
The polar bear was swimming
Fun at Sea World with friends
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
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: 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: 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
Travel & Vacation: Sledding in Vermont (part 2)
Karlie sledding right past me, giggling the whole time
The girls had a BLAST sledding in Vermont. They tried out several spots for sledding. The snow was beautiful and the weather was perfect. They didn’t even complain about carrying their sleds back up the hills.
Brina zooming past me on the steep slope
Daddy’s coming down now!
Mommy is having a blast sledding too!
Brina all bundled up and sledding down the hill again
Karlie came to an abrubt stop when she hit a tree. Somehow she was the only one all weekend that hit a tree and she managed to get snagged on more than one!
There goes Brina Bee again!
Travel & Vacation: Sledding in Vermont
Brina got some air on that ride down!
The girls were excited to make up a trip North to Vermont this winter. They have been waiting to go sledding all winter and with us being in South Carolina we haven’t had any good sledding weather. The girls spent hours outside over the long weekend playing in the snow and sledding. We found some great places to go sledding!
Karlie kicking up some extra snow on her trip down the hill
Brina is ready for sledding
Karlie had some interesting stops on the sled
Going for a sled ride, the girls are really excited! Oh my, I think Karlie is getting ready to throw a snow ball right at me.
Here comes Brina! Look Out!
Here comes Karlie!
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!
