Flashback Friday: First Father’s Day Celebration
Brina and Karlie laying in their on a sheet in the shape of a heart. Happy Father’s Day Dad!
Today we are flashing back to about 10 years ago for Jake’s first Father’s Day with the girls. It was wonderful to celebrate this special day with Jake and the girls. He is an awesome Dad to the girls. They love their Daddy very much. He took great care of me throughout the rough pregnancy,12 weeks of bedrest, followed by NICU, and sleepless nights helping with the kids.
Thankful for this amazing man to live life and raise our kids with. He is loving, kind, patient, generous, and so much more. Jake has always taken good care of us. He knows how to keep life exciting. Jake is always ready to give a hug, encouragement, or smile.
Brina gift. She wasn’t sure about the blue tissue paper stuffed into her pjs.
Brina in a gift bag with tissue paper. One of Daddy’s greatest gifts!
Karlie is a little concerned about being in a bag with tissue paper. Another one of Daddy’s sweet gifts!
Jake playing and talking with Brina.
Happy Father’s Day Daddy! We LOVE YOU!!!
Such a fun day everyone needed a little nap! Jake and his sweet little girls!
Flashback Friday: 4 Months Old
Brina and Karlie at 4 months old
Today were are flashing back to when the girls were only 4 months old. They were starting to move a lot more and explore at this age. It was amazing how much they changed from month to month. Looking back it is neat to see that their individual personalities were starting to come through even at four months old! Although, they have changed a little since this stage!
Travel & Vacation: Homewood Suites & Paddington Movie (Atlanta, GA)
Swimming at the pool
On a recent trip to Atlanta, Georgia we stayed at the Homewood Suites. The girls were begging to go swimming so on the first day we were there we wrapped up early and headed back to the hotel so they could swim. It was in the high 70’s that day, however, they had just filled the pool a couple days before we arrived so the water was freezing cold. Both kids got into the pool, but Brina was done after a few minutes. Karlie stayed in a little longer, although it wasn’t much fun swimming by herself. The entire time we were at the hotel we didn’t see one other person in the pool….I wonder why?!
Since we scrapped our pool time activity we decided to look for some other activities that we could do together that night. We headed back to the room to re-group and figure out what we wanted to do that evening. While the girls got dressed Jake and I made dinner in the hotel room. It was nice having one with a fridge, sink, dishwasher, microwave, and oven so we could eat at the hotel!
Jake found a movie theater nearby where you can get movie tickets for $3 each and they were showing some good kids movies so we decided to check it out. It was only a few miles away inside a open shopping mall and market. We chose to watch the movie Paddington with the girls at the Venture Theater.
It was a cute movie. I seriously cannot remember the last time our family went to the movie theater so this was a special treat for the kids. Usually it is so expensive just to go to the movies so we usually wait until it comes out on video. It was a nice activity for the four of us and only cost $12! The kids enjoyed the movie. Jake and I had a couple good laughs too. Thankful for a fun evening with the family. Sometimes even the best of plans don’t go as expected so it’s always a good idea to have a Plan B.
Ready for the movie to start
Karlie is focused
Our kids typically don’t sleep in very late so one morning after breakfast we spent some time playing games until the place we were going to that day opened. During the evenings after dinner if we had time and everyone wasn’t too tired we would play some card games too. It’s always a good idea to bring card games because you never know when you’ll have a few minutes of down time to relax and have fun.
Karlie relaxing on the couch at the hotel.
Brina setting up the game
It didn’t take them long to crash after a fun filled day in Atlanta!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Flashback Friday: Celebrating at My Youngest Brother’s Graduation
My youngest brother Josh and my parents
Today’s Flashback Friday goes back to my brother Josh’s High School graduation in May 2005. It was also the girls first trip to Kansas. It was a lot of fun being able to celebrate with my brother on his special day. A lot has happened in the past ten years, but it is neat to look back on this fun day.
Thankful for a chance to spend a long weekend in Kansas with my family. It was an adventure and exhausting with two little ones in tow, but we had a great time. It’s not every year your little brother graduates from High School.
Josh with Grandma Doris and Grandpa Verlyn!
Josh with Grandma Willa and Grandpa CE
Grandpa Russell and Jake handing the girls for Josh to hold.
My oldest brother Jeremy and his wife Amber (who was pregnant with Brandon at the time) with my youngest brother Josh.
Jake, and I with my two younger brothers Josh and Lee.
Jake, Josh, Karlie, Brina, and I at Josh’s High School Graduation celebration
Congratulations Josh!
As you can see Karlie and Brina were SUPER thrilled to be celebrating with Uncle Josh!
Cousins – Lee, Alecia, Josh, myself, Jordan, and Rachel
Siblings – Lee, Josh, Me, Jeremy
Josh with Uncle Sam and Uncle Paul Uncle Sam recently passed away (about a month ago). Thankful for the memories and times together. Cherish the time you have with your family while you can.
Travel & Vacation: Exploring the Fernbank Museum of Natural History (Atlanta, GA)
We’re having fun at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History!
We had a blast working our way through the various sections at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. They had one section that was very interactive, a lot of science, experiments, brain teasers, heritage, and more. We ended our visit at what I call the “fun zone”. It was like a giant indoor jungle gym with lots of things to do, see, and learn about. They did are really great job with this museum. Our kids really enjoyed it. We made it through the entire museum, we were there when they opened and left as they were closing. It was a full day of fun and learning.
Brina making a huge bubble
Jake made an hour glass shape bubble, neat!
Whoa Dad! That’s so cool! They loved this bubble activity!
Karlie giving it a whirl!
Brina stretching it out a long ways.
Opps that one popped before she got too far
Wow, Karlie!
Awesome bubble Brina!
Brina flipped the bubble ring over her head and she was standing inside the giant bubble
Karlie had to try being inside a bubble. Pretty neat.
Karlie having fun with the bubbles
Brina and Daddy trying out the next activity
Jake helping Brina do this one!
This one was pretty cool because I could stand on the other side and watch her do the whole activity. Karlie trying to figure it out.
Karlie doing the activity while Brina watches.
Brina doing the “Mirrorly A Window” activity
Karlie sitting across the room chatting with Brina – super cool!
Brina talking with Karlie from across the room. Even though it was noisy with others doing various activities and they were across the room from each other they could hear perfectly fine speaking in their normal voices because the acoustics were set up to carry the sound perfectly.
Weather station. Brina watching the tornado
Brina and Karlie checking things out
Brina wanted me to go up with her into the huge tree house so she could show me some of the neat stuff they had. It was really nice play area for the kids.
Brina jumping onto the swinging bridge just as I was about to cross….crazy girl! She makes me laugh. At least her dramatic jump give me a little bit of a warning.
Brina found this book in the tree house library, she thought it was so hilarious she had to show it to me.
As I was talking with Karlie and looking around for a few minutes I went to find Brina. This is where I found her back at the library reading another book. It makes my heart happy when I see my kids reading voluntarily. Love catching Brina enjoying a good book on her own.
Karlie and Brina exploring the ocean section of the play area.
Baby turtle coming over to say “Hi”
Karlie on the look out
Brina and Karlie had a great time at the museum. The time went by quickly, but we squeezed a lot of fun into the day together.
Karlie thought it was so cool she could sit in a dug-out canoe like the Native Americans used to do so many years ago.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Fernbank Museum of Natural History (Atlanta, GA)
We’re ready to explore the Fernbank Museum of Natural History
On one of our recent trips to Atlanta, Georgia we visited the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. We had never been to the Museum, but were looking for fun and educational activities to do with the kids before heading home. Since it appeared to have some great items we decided to give it a try.
The girls were very excited to check out this museum. They have a variety of activities and events that you can do as well. If you get hungry during your visit there is a cafe where you can grab a bite to eat. We had packed our sandwiches before leaving the hotel so when we got hungry we headed out to the van for a picnic lunch then went back inside to finish exploring the museum. We had a lot of fun and spent a lot more time going through it than we initially planned. The kids probably could have stayed longer, but they were closing for the day and we had to get back home.
For more information, directions, and other details about the museum you can visit their visit at Fernbank Museum of Natural History. If you happen to be in Atlanta and it’s a rainy day this would be a great place to take your family. Plus you might see and learn some new stuff along the way too.
They had this massive dinosaur in the lobby of the museum. Pretty neat!
Hey who let the turkey inside!?
Checking out the different regions of the area.
Brina and Karlie having fun.
Cute fox, made you want to pet it!
Oh dear Brina, there’s a deer behind you!
That’s one big dinosaur footprint. Brina was impressed.
Brina checking out the dinosaur. Not sure I would want it running at me though.
Jake and the girls checking out the different dinosaurs.
Always something interesting to read and learn about
Brina looks small next to this one
Relaxing and having fun
Looks like a cute kid on the tail of that dinosaur. Silly Brina!
Hammerhead shark
Our crew at the museum
Sweet Karlie loving her time at the museum (if you look closely there is a racoon right behind her too).
That’s some strange looking dinosaurs.
They had a section on “Poison” and a presentation that we went to while we were there. It was very interesting!
Our family learning about different types of poisons and how they are used
Jake and Brina checking it out
Daddy reminding Karlie of the saying….What was it again “Red and yellow kill a fellow….”
This was a really neat book / display. As you turned the pages different items would show up and it was interactive too. Pretty fascinating! Brina especially liked the information on goats!
Brina, Karlie, and Jake playing a game to see if they can figure out what poison the dog ate and save it! They all 3 won! Must have learned something today!
The Astronomy Picture of the Day was on Saturn. Karlie’s favorite planet.
Went to an animal show and demonstration (love their huge frog on the wall, neat and colorful).
Brina always wants to interact and learn more about any living creature.
Karlie saying “Hi”
We finished a level. Where are we off to now Brina?!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Flashback Friday: Meeting Extended Family Members on 1st Trip to Kansas
Great Grandma Doris holding Brina.
Today’s Flashback Friday goes back to when the girls were just over 3 months old. It was also their first airplane ride and visit to our Kansas family. I have a lot of extended family members in the Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado area. It was an adventure flying with two little ones on heart apnea monitors. Thankfully my brother Lee flew with us and was a big help getting all the kids and their stuff into the airport.
The biggest disadvantage to flying with twins is that you cannot sit together. There is only one extra air mask per row on the airplanes so you cannot sit in the same row, you have to sit either behind or in front of each other if you have a “babe in arms“. Something we were not aware of until flying with the girls the first time.
We also realize that a lot of airport workers are not used to seeing babies on heart apnea monitors. At one point they delayed the plane from leaving and brought the monitors up from the storage area to put them on. Per the Doctors if we are holding them they didn’t need to be on any monitors, however, the workers insisted that they have them on. It made one of the security guards at one airport so nervous when we took the monitors off the kids that he pushed all our stuff through without stopping to thoroughly inspect everything and immediately said “please put those monitors back on!” I guess having tiny ones on monitors makes some people nervous. To Jake and I it was pretty normal, we had to deal with them from day one.
We had several family celebrations and gatherings during our long weekend in Kansas. The girls got to meet a lot of Great Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins for the first time during this adventure. They met many new faces on both the Hendrich and St. Clair sides of the family. Thankful for kids that travel well, safety, and for time with family.
Thankful for these precious pictures. The girls are blessed to have so some many wonderful memories with their Grandparents, Great Grandparents, and many more extended family members.
Great Grandma Willa talking with Karlie
Renelle, Karlie, and Grandpa Veryln being silly!
Aunt Tracy with Karlie.
Aunt Vick and Alecia with Karlie and Emily with Brina
Snoozing on the bed at Grandpa Russell’s and Grandma Penny’s house!
My fun and cute nephew Nathan! He is the girls oldest cousin on that side of the family.
Jake relaxing for a few minutes with Brina! Thankful for all his help and willingness to travel all the way out to KS with the little ones to visit my family. Love him so much and he is an amazing Dad to our girls.
We got to go to my cousin Jordan’s High School Graduation while we were in KS. Jordan’s pictured above with my brother Lee.
Aunt Renelle holding a sleepy Brina. Renelle is super good with kids. She was my “partner-in-crime” while growing up and probably the closest thing to a “sister” I had while growing up in a house with 3 brothers!
My cousin Whitney and her niece Claire!
Organized Chaos: Keeping Track of Water Bottles
Labeled Water Bottles
Since we have two kids the same age and gender they have several items that are identical. A common identical item that both kids have are their water bottles. Like the blue water bottles with the owls on the outside pictured above. A few months ago we had some issues with everybody using whatever water bottle they wanted (even if it was their sister’s), however, during the course of the school day their sister’s water bottle would get dropped, dented, scratched, broken, or misplaced. The next time that sister wanted to use her water bottle it was gone or had additional marks on it.
I know it seems crazy, but there have been some serious discussions between the two kids in our house over damaged or lost special water bottles. I am pretty sure no other household has these types of discussions in their home, but there were a few times I had to intervene in these conversations. Although, items will get dropped or damaged the more they are used I had to find a solution so that these discussions would not be happening on a regular basis in our house. Prior to this year neither child cared which water bottle they took, but the older they get the more they want their items to look good and last longer. I am happy they they want to take good care of their items we just had to find a method to track which water bottle belonged to who.
My initial solution to the problem super easy, took only a couple seconds, and was very inexpensive. I wrote their names on the special water bottles with a permanent black sharpie. The names were written on the bottoms and / or sides of the water bottles so that each kid could easily see if it was theirs before taking it out of the drawer. It was amazing how quickly the issue was resolved, however, after a several washings the permanent marker would wear off making it harder to tell whose water bottle it was again. Now I use several different methods to identify or keep track of the special water bottles:
- Write the Names on the Water Bottles with Black Permanent Marker (easy and inexpensive, but washes off over time)
- Use a washable Label with their Individual Names Printer on it – My personal favorite are the thin Lovable Labels ones because they stay on through MANY washes (anywhere from a few months to years as long as your kids don’t try peeling them off)
- Purchase water bottles with their Names printed or engraved on them (usually more expensive, but works really well). My favorite place to get printed or engraved names on water bottles is Oriental Trading.
There are several generic water bottles that anybody can use at any time in the drawer, however, the special ones have each child’s name on them. The special water bottles usually have the child’s name written in permanent sharpie on the bottom and a label (or name printed / engraved) on the side of the water bottle. Occasionally someone accidentally picks up the wrong water bottle, but for the most part everyone uses their own or a generic one.
Now if they lose or damage their water bottle then they are the only ones inconvenienced by their actions. One of our kids tends to be a little rougher on water bottles (clipping or tying them to her book bag which is bumped against everything in its path, dropping, or just forgetting it). She has gotten a lot better as she is getting older, but I have to smile when she brings home just the water bottle top because I know that means the water bottle itself did not survive it’s nose dive to the concrete floor at school.
Flashback Friday: Playing Around the House
Karlie talking to Daddy!
This Flashback Friday took place about 10 years ago. The girls loved having fun around the house (well at least we did). It was nice when we had time to relax as a family. Jake is always great with the kids. The girls were still little, but were starting to move around more on their own.
Hanging out on Tigger!
Karlie is unsure about this Tigger animal.
Karlie on the move while Brina rests peacefully on the floor.
Travel & Vacation: Cute Panda Bears and Wildlife Show at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA)
Panda Bear content to relax and eat bamboo
The panda bears were one of the girls favorite animals to visit at the Atlanta Zoo. I think the big fascination was watching the twin panda cubs. It was a little harder to get a picture of both of them at the same time, but the kids loved watching them eat and play. The Wildlife Show on birds was pretty neat too. Of course the girls went up after the show to ask more questions about the birds. The zoo worker was really great with the kids and patient in answering all the questions. On the way out the girls wanted a picture with the gorilla. It was a great day at the zoo.
You can read more about our adventure at the Atlanta Zoo on my Travel & Vacation: Visiting the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA), Travel & Vacation: Lions, Tigers, Seals, Reptiles, Bears, and more at the Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA), and Travel & Vacation: Orangutan Easter Egg Hunt at Atlanta Zoo (Atlanta, GA) blog posts.
Looking pretty cute!
Look out, showing some teeth this time. Watch out! They may look cute and adorable, but I think it would not be a good idea to pet them with teeth that size.
Someone found an Easter pinata
Loving the bamboo
Peeling the bamboo stick apart, eating some pieces, and putting the other pieces on his belly for later.
Crunchy, but delicious
Good stuff
Panada’s look so cute
Checking things out around the pen
Heading towards some more goodies
Twin panda’s in their cage. One sleeping on the log and the other one eating some bamboo
Relaxing and chewing on some bamboo
Bird Show in the Wildlife Theater at the Atlanta Zoo
Getting all their questions answered
Brina giving Willie B a hug
Karlie and Brina enjoyed the Atlanta Zoo
Karlie all smiles
