Pavilion Recreation Complex – Ice Skating, Bouncy Castles, George the Train, Playground Fun, Picnic, and More!
Karlie enjoying her time on the ice!
The girls had a blast hanging out with their cousins and friends at the Greenville Pavilion Recreation Complex this summer. Every Friday this summer the kids could get in to ice skate, play on the bouncy castles, ride on George the Train, play at the park, and get a snack for $10 each. The parents would get in for free (although we didn’t get the snack)! 🙂 The ice skating was only for 2 hours, but the rest of the activities you could do all day.
Karlie and Nicko having fun on the pile of snow they left in the ice skating rink!
Look out! Here comes Brina!
Karlie having fun!
Our friends Ashley from Reflecting on the Simpler Things in Life and Bradley having a blast too!
Goofy girl!
Zachie hung out with me the first time we went on the ice. He didn’t really like the ice skates too much, but had fun playing in the snow pile!
Brina waiting for Zachie to go down the slide with her!
Snack time – Oreos and Juice Bags!
Ready….Set…..Go!!!
Karlie going down the slide with Nicko!
I am getting beamed with snowballs from my nephews!
Karlie chasing Nicko! The second time we went out on the ice we had the kids keep their shoes on. We were the only ones on the ice the second time and all the kids had a blast with just their shoes on the ice. The ice skates were a good idea, but at least for the younger kids the regular shoes were a bigger hit in the ice skating rink.
Brina flying on by me!
Watching the Zamboni clean the ice skating rink. This was fascinating for the kids!
Riding on George the Train. At the end the conductor let all the kids push the button and honk the horn. So exciting!
Whose ready for a picnic!?
Grabbing a bite to eat so they can go play again!
Easily entertained….
Brina on the four wheeler!
Hop, Skip, Jump, Play, Swing, and Braid
All the kids had various ways to go up and down the road before they could open their treasure box – including running, skipping, hopping on one foot, hopping on two feet, etc….
After breakfast every morning while the cousins were here the five kids got to open up an envelope with clues leading to that days treasure chest. Before opening the treasure chest for the day they were required to complete the tasks or solve the puzzles before locating the treasure chest. It was something fun that they looked forward to doing every morning. All the kids participating and had a blast completing the tasks assigned each morning. Every morning it was something different (sometimes it was a puzzle, scavenger hunt, physical activity, or something else).
They are almost to the finish line! Keep going! They all made it and received their goodies for the day.
Sweet girls drying off and doing some chalk drawings after a swim in the pool
Noah and Skipper! Skipper loved having all the kids running around and playing outside all week!
Aunt Mirm showing the girls a neat game!
Brina loves little kids! She was so sweet pushing her two little cousins in the swings. Too cute!
Aunt Mirm wanted to try a new type of hairdo and Karlie was her test subject…..needless to say Karlie was patient, but not overly impressed with the styling. She was a good sport about it though!
Brina undid her braids that Aunt Mirm had done. She loved having her snazzy crinkled hair that day!
Brina wanted me to take a picture of the back of her hair too!
Family Fun at Welcome Ranch!
Brina and Aunt Mirm swinging at Welcome Ranch
We had the opportunity to spend an entire day with Jake’s sister Miriam and her family. It was a fun day full of games, fun, good food, and we ended with a trip out to Welcome Ranch. At Welcome Ranch we got to see a variety of farm animals, ride horses, go on a huge Radio Flyer Red Wagon, and have a pizza picnic at the ranch. After all the fun at the ranch we wrapped it up with delicious ice cream at Bruster’s. Thankful for some fun with extended family over the summer vacation.
They had a baby goat names Eloise who was quite entertaining to watch.
All the girls are ready to ride!
Noah taking a turn on the horse.
Karlie loving it!
Uncle Paul was hilarious!
Sweet Nadia had a blast and wasn’t even scared riding the big horse!
Jake having fun!
Noelle’s turn for a ride!
Aunt Mirm all smiles!
The kids in front of the giant red Radio Flyer wagon! Awesome!
Our families at Welcome Ranch! Grateful for some fun time together this summer!
Outdoor Summer Activities – Pool, Games, and More!
We spent a good bit of our summer time in the pool when we were home. Last year I got a blow up seesaw for the pool. It was a big hit with the kids! The hardest part was staying on when you were all wet!
Having fun in the pool!
We put crepe paper across the two doors with kids sleeping in them. They thought it was hilarious when they woke up and were barricaded in the room. They had a blast running through it that morning!
Karlie reading the “clues” for the treasure hunt that morning.
Looking for another clue!
The girls came up with a bunch of outdoor games for the whole family to play. One of them was a relay race in the side yard. The Dad’s even participated!
Another game required the teammates to hit the baseball.
Now were ready for the bike and scooter races!
Hula Hoop contest!
Noah thought he was pretty smart doing it on his arm instead of around the waist!
The youngest had the best hula hooping skills! She won hands down as the best hula hooper in both families!
Aunt Mirm braiding the girls hair. The thought that was pretty cool having all the fancy braids!
A lot of girly chitchat, giggles, and silliness going on in the back of the van.
Window Easels
Noelle’s window art
One of our fun summer crafty activities that ended up a big hit with all the kids was Window Easels! Each kid (ages 4 to 12) got to pick their own window as their easel and could draw whatever they wanted on it. I had a stack of window paint (like the ones you put on car windows) and each kid could come grab what colors they needed for their particular artwork. They had a blast doing it. I didn’t get a huge amount of pictures during the activity because I was helping distribute the paint and wiping up any drips as they happened. It has a big hit! I left the painted easels up for the rest of their stay so everyone could enjoy their artwork for several days. You could see the artwork both inside and outside of the house which was pretty neat! Some of the kids choose to paint both the top and bottom windows (while standing on a chair) while others just wanted to do one window.
Brina did both of her windows
Noah’s creatively decorated windows!
Nadia, the youngest one of the group, had a lot of fun doing her window – “All by herself!”
Karlie packed a lot onto her window – Art, Names, Signs, Shapes, Math, and more fun stuff!
Not only was it a lot of fun it gave me a good excuse to scrub down the windows this summer too! It was the perfect summer craft. It kept the kids entertained for quite awhile and there were very little clean up. Plus no one had to wait for turns at the easel because everyone had their own and they all painted at the same time. It was fun watching them paint and hearing them chitchat at the same time.
Fun at the Zoo!
Watching “Joy” the elephant play
We were able to squeeze in a fun trip to the Greenville Zoo with our cousins during summer vacation! A big thanks to our sweet cousin who shared zoo passes with us! Joy the elephant was playing with her tire while we were there. It was the last week Joy was at Greenville Zoo. A couple days later they were transporting her to a new zoo in Colorado.
Sweet girls!
Hanging out in the shade at the Giraffe exhibit. There were 3 giraffes in the pen and the Momma is expecting another one any day now! Great times with the cousins!
The turtles were very fascinating to watch!
A quick picture of the girls on the bear as we worked our way through the zoo!
We spent the morning at the zoo then headed to Cleveland Park to eat a picnic lunch and play on the playgrounds. It is always fun going on special trips with cousins. Thankful for a fun time together with family!
Welcome Family!
We painted “Welcome” on our driveway as we waited for extended family to arrive!
We have had a great summer break with our kids home from school!!! We packed in great adventures, time with our extended families, camps, Vacation Bible School, lots of memories, fun, history, road trips, flights, and much more! So thankful for a wonderful time with our family. Thanks for being patient with me as I enjoyed extra time with my family. It is my intention of getting back on schedule here soon. I will be posting some pictures of our summer fun soon!
Our first big summer adventure was having Jake’s sister and her family come stay with us for a week. They arrived on the same day the girls got out of school. We had a blast! As an added bonus of fun we also got to see Jake’s cousins who live in the area several times throughout the week as well. Thankful for family and fun times together!
The girls enjoying popsicles and ice cream bars!
The guys enjoying their game!
A pool full of fun!
The kids breaking open the pinata!
Playing the Jelly Belly game “Bean Boozled” with extended family! Everyone is waiting with anticipation to see if Aunt Cindy got a good flavor!
Snow cones were a hit with the kids one hot afternoon!
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.
Family Fun: Adventures With Our Cousins
Cousins hanging out at the park together!
We had an opportunity a few months ago to spend some time with Jake’s sister and her family. The girls were in school during their stay with us but we still found plenty of time to have fun. It was great having an opportunity to hang out with them and create new memories, especially since it will be quite awhile before we can get together again.
Oh MY…..your lips look different today…..Silly girls with silly mouths!
My cute little kitchen helper!
Noah helping with the “science” experiment! Loading up the ingredients into a Ziploc bag.
It’s going to blow!!!! We did an experiment with baking soda, water, and vinegar inside Ziploc bags. When we sealed the bags they bubbled up and they popped! The kids really enjoyed doing this one.
Cousins Night Out!
We ended our fun adventures in town that evening with a special treat! Ice cream cones!!!! This is the only picture of the 5 of them, everyone was having so much fun playing I didn’t want to make them stop to pose for a picture! 🙂
Paul and Mirm were able to get away one night to meet friends and spend some quiet time together so we kept the kids. Since Jake was working when Paul & Mirm left I took the crew to Par Tee Time which has bounce houses, batting cages, and miniature golf for the kids. After Par Tee Time we picked up some pizza, had a picnic in the park and played. We ended our night out with the cousins at Bruster’s for ice cream cones than headed home to get everyone showered and ready for bed.
Whose up for a game of miniature golf?
Sweet girl having a blast on the bouncy castle!
The three older chickies having a blast giggling and playing
Come on NOAH! We know you can dunk that ball!
Even my sweet little niece joined the big kids in a game of miniature golf!
Concentrating hard on getting the ball into the hole!
Practicing his swing in the batting cage
Next one up to bat
Karlie taking a whack at it
Got those frogs…..Brina having a blast playing with her little cousin!
Getting some extra air on that jump!
Look out here she comes!
Snapped a quick picture of Brina as she zoomed to the bottom of the slide!
Karlie Cool Cat having a blast
Did you just see me dunk that ball!
Goofy girl, she makes me laugh!
Eating pizza at the park
Playing at the park
I had a blast with the kids. They did really well bouncing around and playing together. Thankful for some extra time with my nieces and nephew. The girls always enjoy their time with their cousins. A lot of great memories of their time with us!
