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: Snow Days
Jake walking through the woods with his girls. This area had changed a lot since we had been there last (besides the snow) there was a clearing were the loggers had been.
The girls had a grand time exploring the area. We took several walks that let to the river or other places nearby. A couple times we stopped to take a break or they got pulled on the sled but for the most part they kept up. We even built a snowman this year which was a lot of fun. Little pieces of the snowman (mouth, nose, etc…) started falling off throughout the weekend but he remained standing even as we were getting ready to leave.
Grandma Kay and Irish leading the way
The river looks a little chilly! The last time we were in Vermont we were swimming and splashing around in it.
Daddy and Karlie chatting
Daddy and Karlie working on a snowman
Brina decided she was too cold so she went inside with Grandma and watched from the window
Karlie being silly!
Daddy and Karlie by the snowman
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!
Fresh Christmas Wreath
I DID IT!!!!! I made my first ever fresh Christmas Wreath and it actually looks……like a wreath! A friend hosted a Christmas Wreath get together recently and a bunch of us put together wreaths. At first I was not entirely sure why I was there….it seemed like all the women in attendance were crafty and have excellent decorating tastes and then me (the person who has been in the same house for 10 years and still doesn’t have curtains up, gulp).
I am thankful that Dee took the time to show me how to get started because without her guidance it would have been interesting I am sure. It was nice catching up with friends (some who I hadn’t seen in months) while I put together my wreath. It only took me a few minutes to get the base completed but as I was talking I continued stuffing more greens into the wreath and by the end this is what it looked like.
I am not really sure how or what I did but I was pleased that it at least turned out well enough to hang on the front door especially for a “not-so-crafty” person! Don’t get me wrong, I love crafts, its just mine rarely turn out looking like the picture or something I would want to hang on the front door!
It was a fun night of food, fellowship, and wreaths. I was shocked when I looked a my watch and several hours had gone by! Guess, its true “time flies when your having fun” or in this case catching up with friends and making wreaths. I am thankful for an opportunity to get together with some amazing women and for all the greenery people brought to share. There were piles of greens in the garage, kitchen, dining, etc…. I am not sure exactly where all my greens came from but they are beautiful and smell awesome. The only thing not fresh on the wreath is the berries. They did have fresh berries at the party, however, I was told they dry up and will drop on the floor so I decided to use the fake berries because they would not get tracked across the carpet.
Thanks Dee for hosting and for giving me a gentle shove out of my comfort zone to try something new. You’re a great teacher! I love having the fresh wreath on our front door! While I won’t be teaching professional wreath making classes any time soon I would be more comfortable putting together another one in the future after this experience.
Brina and Karlie were super excited to check out my wreath the next morning. When I opened the door and they saw it this was their first responses:
Karlie -“Wow, Mom that is beautiful!”
Brina – “The goats would LOVE to eat it!”
Love my girls, they know how to make my day so much brighter!
My first fresh Christmas Wreath hanging on the front door!
Snowman Pizza
Snowman Pizza
Cool days, Christmas approaching quickly, and pizza just seem to go together really well. During the Holidays the girls always hope for snow. I can only remember one Christmas since my time in South Carolina where it actually snowed on Christmas day so that’s a rare treat!
The nice part about snowman pizza is you don’t actually need snow to make it! We made homemade pizza and decorated it. The girls chose black olives for his mouth, a cheese wedge for his nose, pepperoni (with black olives) for the eyes, and two slices of ham for the eyebrows.
You can use your favorite pizza recipe and make any snowman variation you want. If you are looking for a pizza recipe here is one of our favorites from Money Saving Mom. You can get really creative and make three separate pizzas and put them together to make a whole snowman (instead of just the head). 🙂
Freezer-Friendly Homemade Pizza Dough
- 2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)
- 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 Tablespoons oil (vegetable, Canola, or olive oil)
- 5 cups flour (can use all whole-wheat, half white/half whole-wheat, or all white)
Pour the warm water into a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir to dissolve.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix.
Dump onto a floured surface and knead dough for two to five minutes until smooth and no longer sticky.
To freeze: Cut lump of dough in half and place each half in an airtight freezer bag. Freeze for up to 4-6 weeks.
To bake: Place frozen dough in a greased bowl and thaw at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours. Roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan.
Add pizza toppings of your choice. Bake at 500 degrees for around 10 minutes (until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned).
If you don’t want to mess with freezing the dough, take the kneaded dough and roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan. Add pizza toppings and bake as directed above.
Snowmen Mini Donuts
The girls were so excited to make and eat these cute snowmen. After you finish making your snowmen, grab a cup of hot chocolate, your family, and curl up on the couch next to the Christmas tree or fireplace and enjoy.
Snowmen Mini Donuts
- 1 bag Mini Powdered Donuts
- Candy Corn
- 1 box Cake Mate Writing Icing
Our Blue Eyed and Green Mouth Snowman
The girls love these little powdered donut snowmen!
Our pretty girlie snowman
Easy Snowflake Marshmallows
The girls loved having these marshmallows in their hot chocolate!
Yes, I know you can make fabulous homemade marshmallows, but if you are limited on time and resources this is a quick, easy, and fun food craft you can do with your kids. You only need 2 items to do these cute snowflake marshmallows (and you probably have these items in your kitchen already). The kids will LOVE these marshmallows in their next cup of hot chocolate!
Easy Snowflake Marshmallows
- 1 bag Large White Marshmallows
- 1 pair clean Kitchen Scissors
- Optional – Small Cookie Cutters
Take one large marshmallow and flatten it with a rolling pin (it doesn’t need to be completely flat just enough so you can cut it easily). Use your scissors to cut snowflake or other shape for your marshmallow. If you have small cookie cutters you can use those to cut out the shapes. You can do as many or few marshmallows as you like. Place the marshmallows on a serving platter and enjoy with your next cup of hot chocolate.
I did a mix of scissor and cookie cutter snowflakes. You can do snowflakes, stars, trees, or whatever shapes you want. The girls wanted to help, they did more of the cookie cutter ones but enjoyed experimenting with cutting the snowflakes with scissors. These are cute for a fun evening with the family or a get together with a larger group.
One of the super easy cookie cutter marshmallow treats the girls made! They ended up eating some of the snowflake outlines and the rest they used in their hot chocolates.
Snowflake melting in a mug of hot chocolate
Another cool “experiment” the kids can do with their snowflakes…..have them check out how much the snowflakes grow (expand) while in the hot chocolate! Take a tooth pick and carefully pull the marshmallow out of the hot chocolate after it has been in only 30 seconds or so (depending on temperature of your hot chocolate) and see how plump your snowflake looks now. The kids will LOVE it! 🙂
Recipe: Veggie Beef Soup
We made this soup recently when friends came over. I was trying to use up some fresh vegetables that we had in our refrigerator and came up with this recipe. It was super easy and tasted delicious. We have been trying out a variety of different soup recipes during the cooler winter months. All of us have enjoyed the leftovers too! The items that we put in the Veggie Beef Soup were ones we had on hand. Feel free to add more or substitute with the veggies that you have in your refrigerator. Today is a snowy day in SC so we are loving the warm meals. The kids have been in and out playing in the snow today.Veggie Beef Soup
- 1 pound Beef Stew Meat
- 1 cup potatoes (cut into 1/2 inch)
- 1 cup carrots (cut into 1/4 inch pieces)
- 1 can stewed Tomatoes
- 1 can Beef Broth
- 1 cup frozen Green Beans
- 1/2 cup Snap Peas
- 1/2 cup Onion (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon of McCormick Grill Mates 25% Less Sodium Montreal Steak
Put all ingredients in the crock pot turn it on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours. If you want a slightly thicker soup you can add a tablespoon of sifted flour.
Recipe: Snow Ball Ice Cream
Vanilla Snow Ball Ice Cream! The girls woke us up at 6:30 this morning and announced that it had snowed outside. We knew they would not be going to school because we received the phone call the night before letting us know that the school was closed. It is bright and beautiful outside today. I dug up another great Snow Ice Cream recipe that I enjoy. This recipe uses milk instead of sweeten condensed milk like our Snow Ice Cream recipe. We do not get a lot of snow in South Carolina so when it happens we have extra special treats. We had over 6 inches already today and we have been having a blast playing in the snow. I am not sure if the kids or the dog are more excited by the snow adventures!
Snow Ball Ice Cream
- 12 to 14 cups of Clean Snow
- 1 package instant pudding (we usually do Vanilla or Chocolate depending on what’s in the pantry)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla
- 2 cups cold Milk
- 1 cup Sugar
Mix the pudding, sugar, and vanilla together. Add the 12 to 14 cups of snow. Stir until evenly mixed. Top with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, or whatever your family enjoys.
Today we did vanilla pudding because it is what we had in the pantry. A couple added chocolate to their ice cream and of course everyone had to have sprinkles!
*The picture above is prior to us adding sprinkles to the ice cream!
