Fun at the Park with Friends
Climbing on rocks at Herdklotz Park with friends
We met some sweet friends at the park for a picnic and to play! The only time that I could get all four kids to sit still long enough for a picture was after they climbed up on this rock. It was the big rock, but they all managed to get up onto it. Thankful for a great time with friends.
Derby decided to join me on the dash in front on the way to and from the park today. He was on the lookout for a fun adventure! It’s not everyday a horse rides on my dash. The girls thought it was hilarious having him help in the van!
Lego Mania at Roper Mountain Science Center Robotics Camp
Lego Mania Event
The girls attended Advanced Lego Robotics Camp at Roper Mountain Science Center this summer! They always love the events at Roper Mountain. The camp was packed full of learning and fun. They got to make a variety of robotic items throughout the week. Halfway through the week the kids put on a Lego Mania activity for the parents. They created a carnival with moving rides, water parks, and more fun creations!
Karlie created the only dual robotic Ferris Wheels.
Pausing for a brief moment by Brina’s Ferris Wheel – hers went faster!
Karlie made an interactive Time Machine Restaurant! That would be neat!
Brina’s Water Fun adventure, complete with a seesaw on the water!
Karlie made an “Oh No!” Waterpark – complete with slides, tubes, and more fun!
Launching Rockets at Legacy Park
Setting up the rocket! 3….2….1…. Blast Off!
We met Jake at Legacy Park over his lunch hour to shoot off rockets. The girls had a blast setting up, shooting it off, and chasing it down. We shot off the rocket several times, on the last shooting it got stuck in the tree! We had a grand time even though the rocket didn’t make it back home again!
She found it!
Karlie turning to look at the cheering squad. There was a daycare at the park while we were shooting off the rocket! A whole group of kids were sitting on the steps cheering every time we shot off the rocket. I think the had as much fun as we did. Jake is trying to untangle the parachute so we can do the next round.
The girls are helping Daddy set it up for another round.
Ready for blast off!
Putting the rocket and parachute back together for another launch!
Setting it back up!
Karlie on the run for it! If you look closely in the upper right corner of the picture (in the blue sky) you can see the parachute and rocket coming down.
Brina helping prep for one more launch.
Brina ready to push the button for launch!
Ready for take off….just need to push the button!
Opps! The rocket got caught in the tree! You can see the yellow in the upper middle of the picture. The little “Fat Jak” rocket provided entertainment for quite awhile! Thanks Daddy for meeting us at the park on your lunch break!
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!
Greenville Drive Baseball Game & Fireworks
Greenville Drive Game
Jake’s company hosted an event at the Greenville Drive. We ate delicious BBQ and enjoyed one of the best Greenville Drive Games we have been to in our area. The girls had a blast watching the game! Since it was a Friday night they had fireworks after the game as well which are always a big hit with everyone! Greenville won with a 13 point spread.
Daddy and Brina watching the baseball game!
Karlie is very excited!
Awesome fireworks!
Great way to end the night at the baseball field
A few fireworks even hit the stadium lights!
Beauitful!
Thankful for our fun evening together!
Civil War Activity – Museum & Library of Confederate History
A picnic at the park with my girls before going to the museum!
Recently I took the girls to the Museum and Library of Confederate History in a nearby town. They have been studying in school various aspects of the Civil War and I thought it would be a good field trip to help them learn a little more regarding the history they are studying in school. They had a grand time looking at all the cool items in the museum. One of the workers took the time to go from room to room with the girls and explain in more detail many of the items on display.
Brina and Karlie at the Museum & Library of Confederate History
Touring the Museum & Library of Confederate History
Checking out the cool Civil War items
This toy cannon is similar to the one Thomas Jefferson’s son had as a child. It was said that he attacked his toy soldiers with the cannon and occasionally a stray chicken.
Enjoying the museum
Karlie soaking it all in…
Brina enjoying her time at the museum exploring.
Karlie and Brina had fun learning more about the Civil War!
Seeing Astronaut Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin with a picture of his team in the background – Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. The amazing team that first walked on the moon!
Earlier this month we got the privilege of hearing astronaut Buzz Aldrin speak at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina!!! The girls were thrilled. Karlie especially was quite literally – “Over the moon excited” to be able to see and hear one of her astronaut heroes in person! It was really neat to hear him speak and listen to some of his amazing stories. He had a good sense of humor and held the audiences attention well. It was an awesome time and I am thankfully for my friend Jennifer who shared the information about this special event with us so we could go. We got there an hour early and they opened the doors early. Within the first 10 minutes of opening the doors the auditorium was full and people were sitting in classrooms around campus. After hearing Buzz Aldrin speak that night Karlie was even more excited and now she wants to be one of the astronauts that go to Mars! You never really know what the future holds……
We arrived early and while the girls were very excited they also were very patient waiting for the event to start. This was after an hour of waiting, they still have smiles! So thankful we got to go to this event! They loved it!!!
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin speaking! The picture is of a flight he took with his Dad.
Buzz Aldrin speaking at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. Thankful for an opportunity to hear him speak. He had great stories and a fun sense of humor too!
Such a cool picture! Great stories too about his mission with Neil Armstrong and Mike Collins!
A picture of the plaque that was welded to the lunar module and left on the moon! “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon.” July 1969 “We came in peace for all mankind” with the signatures of President Richard Nixon, Mike Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin
Greenville Gemstone Birthday Celebration
Karlie very carefully picking out the perfect rock bucket to mine today!
I picked the girls up a few minutes early from school on their birthday and took them on an adventure to downtown Greenville. Our first stop was the Greenville Gemstone store. A couple months ago the girls studied about various types of rocks for their Science unit so we thought this would be a fun and educational experience for them. They LOVED mining the gemstones and finding all the cool treasures. It was a great activity. They had a blast identifying the various gemstones they found too.
Getting started on mining their rocks. They were quite excited whenever they found a treasure!
Brina found a huge one and the bonus is it was amethyst which is their birthstone! Cool find on her birthday!
Karlie was so excited and trying to do her mining task it was impossible to get her to look up for the camera. She was having a blast finding all the neat stones!
Brina on the other hand stopped every time she found a treasure to show me. This one was a beautiful green! “Look Mom your favorite color!”
It was hilarious watching both of them! Seeing their expressions and hearing them giggle. Once they found a gemstone they would compare it to the charts that they were given to try and figure out what type of rock it was, there were moments of discussion if they couldn’t figure out which category it fell into.
Karlie pauses for a brief moment to show me some of her latest gemstone finds!
Brina carefully putting each rock into her bag so she doesn’t break any of them.
Karlie still hunting for treasures!
We were thrilled that they enjoyed this fun adventure.
The beautiful gemstones Karlie found during her mining experience!
All the neat gemstones Brina found while mining!
Proud of their cool gemstones. They couldn’t wait to show Daddy their treasures while mining today!
After we finished mining their gemstones we headed for a relaxing walk through downtown Greenville. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect birthday weather! We made a brief stop in OP Taylor’s Toy Store to check out all their neat toys. Talked with Grandma few a minutes on the phone then went to Mast General Store to pick out 5 pieces of candy out of the barrels. They each picked out different candies and were very good about sharing them so everyone could taste the different candies they found like cow tails and cherry mash just to name a couple!
Native American & Hagood Mill History Experience
One sweet Native American that took several minutes with the girls explaining all the details of her outfit from the otters, knots on her blanket, family crest, leather, beads and so much more. Very fascinating!
The girls have been learning about the Native American Indians in their Social Studies class at school. It has been a lot of fun discovering neat details specifically about the Native Americans located in South Carolina. They have even done extra credit activities such as building a Wattle & Daub and Longhouse which were used by the Native Americans in SC as well.
Hagood Mill
While I was online I discovered that Hagood Mill in Pickens, South Carolina was doing a Native American celebration. We decided it would be a great opportunity for the girls to learn more and experience first hand a little piece of the Native American culture as well as the mill history in SC. The only problem is we already had multiple events already on the schedule for that Saturday! Thankfully, the event was only a few miles away and we were still able to squeeze in most of the events.
Cherokee “Duck & Dive” War Dance from their war in SC. The “Duck & Dive” was named after the way they fought with the the English ducking and diving as the muskets would be fired then re-loaded.
Karlie and Brina standing on one of the mill stone that used to be used in South Carolina’s old mills
The girls have been working very hard in their school activities, but it is always a lot of fun when we find extra ways to help them have a more interactive experience because it helps the information come alive for them (and makes it stick). This was a great event and will be very valuable as they continue to study the Native Americans at school. We talked to a lot of different people, watched demonstrations, Native American dances, items they used, and a lot more.
Putting their hand prints on the white horse, they loved this activity
Rainbow hand print horse, very colorful. The horse was a good sport! 🙂
Native American meal cooked over a fire, complete with mushroom soup, fish, venison, chicken, potatoes, and corn. It looked smelled delicious!
Native American Homes – Extra Credit School Project
Now that the girls are in third grade is seems like they have more “hands-on” projects coming up these past few weeks. They had the opportunity to earn extra credit for Social Studies by building a replica of a South Carolina Native American home. They spent a lot of time building their houses, writing out their facts, and presenting their project to the class. Thank goodness for a yard full of saplings, vines, monkey grass, and for Jake who is creative and patient when helping the girls.
The girls really LOVED the arrow heads (even though they did not come from SC). The arrow heads are actually ones that Jake and his Grandpa Hayes collected when he was a boy. Both girls did well and got a 100% on their extra credit projects. Even though they worked hours on this project they told us it was one of the most fun homework projects they had ever done and would love to do more! Glad they enjoyed it because it was a great way to learn even more about the Native Americans from South Carolina.
Brina building the structure out of saplings for her Longhouse
Brina’s House:
- Longhouse
- Cherokee Native American’s lived in Longhouses in the summer months
- The Cherokee’s live in the Blue Ridge Mountain Region of South Carolina
Karlie weaving vines to make the structure for her Wattle & Daub
Karlie’s House:
- Wattle & Daub House
- Cherokee’s from the Blue Ridge Mountain Region lived in a Wattle & Daub house during the winter
- Yemassee’s from the Coastal Zone Region also lived in a Wattle & Daub house during the winter
