Chalk Drawings
Chalk Saturn
Our kids love playing outside! 🙂 Now that the weather is starting to get warmer they are beginning to enjoy some fun Spring time activities like riding their bikes, scooters, roller skating, chalk drawings and more. You can tell at least one of the kids still loves anything related to space from looking at her chalk pictures. Thankful for warm weather and time to have fun with the kids!
Colorful chalk sun
Everyone loves rainbows
And hearts…
Our family
Starting to Plan the Kids Summer Break
Even though we have only just hit the Spring Season and entered into the month of April we are already making plans for this summer. I was looking back through our schedule last year. It was packed full of fun, adventures, and a lot of great memories.
As I get ready to plan for this summer I am remembering all the good stuff we were able to do last year. Although, I cannot know for sure what this summer may bring I am moving forward with the planning. The picture above shows the girls brief version of our calendar for July 2012. The calendar was simple but it helped them keep track of the big events and activities that were coming up. We kept it on the fridge so they could see it whenever they wanted, typically they would cross out the days as they ended.
What we would like to do:
- Travel – last summer we visited Charleston, Florida, Kansas, and Colorado. We are not entirely sure what it will look like this summer but we are hoping to go to at least Charleston and Kansas again. Thankful that the girls travel well! 🙂
- VBS – the girls love VBS and have a great time. It also provides great opportunities for learning too. We would like to attend at least one VBS program this summer.
- Camp – last summer the girls attended Swim Camp as well as Horse Camp. We would like for them to go to at least one camp this summer. They are currently signed up for WeDo Robotics Lego Camp at Roper Mountain Science Center and Swim Camp.
- Participate in the Library Summer Reading Program – the past 3 years the girls have participated in the Summer Reading program and have enjoyed it (as a bonus they usually earn rewards & free tickets to special events which help motivate them even more). We plan to participate in the program again this summer!
- Learn & Explore – we went to several educational places over the summer like Roper Mountain Science Center, Battery Park, took a Historical Carriage ride in Charleston and more. We plan to do more educational adventures this summer, some may be the same or similar, but we are hoping to branch out and try some new activities too!
- Relax – all the activities above are important but it is also valuable to have some time built in to rest, free time, play, and relax whether that means swinging, playing in the yard, drawing with chalk, hanging out with family, friends (and pets), riding bikes, roller skating, riding scooters, etc…
It doesn’t seem like a lot of activities but if you figure in the traveling and the fact that we only had two months of summer vacation we really did pack a lot into it. We hope to make the most of our summer break this year by planning some of our adventures in advance. It will be nice to catch up with some family, spend time learning, and make some great memories. What are your summer plans?
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Recently I finished reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the girls. The Long Winter is book sixth book in the Little House series. The girls LOVE reading these books. I try to read at least a chapter to them every night and they always want me to keep on reading! Glad the girls are enjoying this series as much as I did as a little girl. This was probably one of the hardest ones to read because the Ingalls family went through a lot of tough things during this winter season (from near starvation, freezing, and more). The book teaches a lot about being creative with the resources around you, helping others, and working together to get through the rough season.
Laura Ingalls and her family continue their adventures in the town of De Smet, South Dakota. They got their homestead, but didn’t have time to winterize the little shanty before winter so they moved into the town of De Smet to live in the building that Pa had built last year. Thankfully they had a place to stay in town because blizzard after blizzard hit the little town and cut off all the supplies for several months, including anything that was suppose to be arriving on the train. Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary, Carrie, and baby Grace did their best to enjoy each day.
It was a hard winter for the family with low food supplies and the cold from the blizzards. The book introduces many new characters into the series from their interactions with people in town during the winter months. Almanzo Wilder and Cap Garland made a dangerous journey to find wheat so the families in town would not starve. Even though it was a tough season many good friendships were established during these months. The Ingalls family was creative with their cooking, heating the home, and finding ways to stay entertained while they were stuck inside during the blizzards.
Travel & Vacation: Dolphin Show at SeaWorld (Orlando, FL)
So beautiful and graceful
One of the other highlights at SeaWorld was the Dolphin Show. It was really neat watching the dolphins gliding through the water, jumping, and interacting with the people. Amazing creatures and fascinating to watch!
Another show at SeaWorld
This show is with Dolphins!
Part of the Dolphin Show, pretty neat!
The Dolphin came up for his treat
Standing up on two dolphins, that’s neat!
These dolphins are well trained
This Dolphin looks like it is having fun
Awesome!
Beautiful animals
Travel & Vacation: SeaWorld (Orlando, FL – Part 2)
Yes, those are sharks swimming above our heads!
We had a blast at SeaWorld! 🙂 There were so many amazing things to see and explore. The kids had a grand time and are still talking about all the neat stuff they got to do at SeaWorld. Thankful for friends and an opportunity to hang out with them for a few days.
WWatching Stingrays swimming above our heads
Giant starfish
There are four strange fish in that fish tank!
Ice cream break!
Sweet girl
A cold and delicious treat!
Going for another ride
Everyone had fun on that one!
Travel & Vacation: Shamu Killer Whale Show at SeaWorld (Orlando, FL)
Kids on the move at Sea World
The kids were super excited to go to the Shamu Killer Whale Show at SeaWorld. Of course, they all wanted to sit in the “splash zone” so that they could get sprayed by the whales. I think the adults got the most spray, but we all have a blast. It was amazing watching them glide through the water. They are so big and beautiful!
Beautiful creatures!
Amazing killer whale show at Sea World!
The girls were absolutely fascinated by the Shamu show
Shamu orca killer whale show at Sea World
Shamu the killer whale show
These killer whales were mesmerizing to watch
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
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!
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.
