School: STEM Club & First Lego League (FLL)
An awesome and delicious brownie cookie made by one of the Mom’s!
As the school year comes to an end I want to share with you a few highlights over the last couple of months. I was going through my pictures recently and realized I hadn’t posted on some of the kids big activities for the school year. We have been so busy trying to wrap up everything that needs to be done with the end of school some things just got away from me.
It is hard to believe that my babies will be finishing up 4th grade in just a couple of days. Although they put in a lot of work, time, and energy this school year we managed to learn a lot and have some fun along the way too. I am thankful for the teachers and administration who helped our girls throughout the school year.
The girls had a blast in STEM Club this year! It was a great year of learning, working together with other students, competing, and many other wonderful activities. It was a big time investment especially at the beginning of the year when they were meeting twice a week after school, but it paid off and they won a trophy and the golden ticket to state competition (a picture below)! Very proud of their hard work!
First Lego League: Robotics STEM Competition – Solar SySTEM!
Party celebrating their achievements at district level!
They went on to compete at State and did very well. This was their first time at state (the club started last year). They competed not against a lot of other elementary schools, but also against middle schools as well. It was neat seeing all the kids work so well together. The coaches did an amazing job encouraging the kids. Grateful for this opportunity to our kids to learn and compete!
They won the judges award at State Competition! First Lego League (FLL): State STEM Lego Robotics Competition
Cute treat made by one of their coaches for their Congratulations Celebration! STEM Club & Lego Robotics
Thankful that the girls had the opportunity to participate in STEM Club and First Lego League competitions this year. It was a lot of fun yet big learning experience. They couldn’t have done it without the assistance of all their coaches who invested a lot of time into the kids. It has sparked the girls interest in robotics and technology as well as developed more team building, life skills, and so much more!
Family Activities: Fall Pumpkin Carving Fun
The girls carved pumpkins glowing on the front porch! Can you guess who designed which one?
It has been a tradition for our family to carve pumpkins around Halloween. A lot of times we carve the pumpkins the weekend before Halloween, but with everything going on this year it was a little later this year. On Halloween afternoon our family went out to search for the perfect carving pumpkins. After stopping at three stores we started to wonder if we were even going to find any pumpkins to carve. Finally, we ended up at Publix and thankfully they still had a lot of pumpkins including some huge ones. All the pumpkins, not matter what size were $5! Of course the kids picked the biggest ones they could find. We came home with one 25 pound and one 26 pound pumpkin!
This year instead of dressing up and running around doing trick and treating the kids decided they would rather spend the evening as a family celebrating Halloween. So thankful that the girls wanted to hang out and spend a relaxing evening with us. We let each kid pick out their favorite bag of candy, a pumpkin to carve, some fun games, and family activities to do Halloween evening. For Halloween dinner we picked up Chinese take out as a special treat.
My brother and sister-in-law brought my nephews came by dressed up as the cutest little lion and minion! It was the first year we had trick or treaters because usually we are never home for Halloween! It was great getting to see them and spend some time hanging out with them on Halloween!
The pumpkin is fresh, washed, and ready to be carved!
Cleaning out their pumpkins! They did the majority of the cleaning, designing, and cutting on their own!
Brina saw a cat designed she liked online and used that as an example to draw one on her pumpkin! We used wet erase marker to draw on the pumpkin before carving it out.
Karlie couldn’t find a design she liked online so she drew a rough draft of what she wanted on a piece of paper than drew it again on the pumpkin! She really wanted a rocket, Saturn, and a star on her pumpkin so this is what she created!
Brina carving her cat pumpkin out!
Karlie carving her space pumpkin out!
We have a space and cat pumpkin glowing on our front porch!
The girls chose more non-traditional pumpkin designs. Brina got her cat idea from another pumpkin she saw. Karlie designed her rocket, Saturn, star, and space one completely on her own (and fit her personality and interests perfectly)!
The pumpkins! I am pleased with how well the girls pumpkins turned out and they really did most of the work on them!
Travel & Vacation: Family Reunion at Acorn Resorts on Milford Lake
A lively round of golf (the card game) with the kids!
Our weekend with family in the the Acorn Resorts on Milford Lake was a lot of fun. We had a blast playing games and splashing around in the lake. We even were able to celebrate some birthdays during our weekend together! Thankful for a great weekend with our family!
Karlie enjoying her time at the lake!
Who wants to play “chicken”?! Brina and Nathan are ready! Thankful that the girls had a chance to hang out with their cousins and for the memories they have created!
Karlie jumping off the tube!
Another serious lake competition!? 🙂 No, just having fun! Look out for Amber and Sierra!
Ouch! That one looked painful!
Sierra’s very proud of her talent! Hilarious!
Brina springing off the tube!
Nicko having a grand time swimming around the lake!
Oh no, here she goes again. Look out below!
This cool contraption was flying over head as we were swimming around in the lake. Looks like fun too!
Karlie was always ready to go FASTER!
Brina, Brandon, and Karlie on the tube!
Nate, Meg, and Sierra got some air on this one!
Whoa! Hang on!
They are having a blast!
Karlie and Brandon going for another spin!
Candice and her friends sailing across the lake on the tube!
They even let me go a couple times! Loads of fun on the lake!
We had a grand time zipping along on the tube!
The kids are all showered after a fun day at the lake. Passing the time watching TV while the adults get dinner ready!
Happy Birthday Nicko! He had a super cool cake! The trucks on top were a huge hit too!
Time to celebrate and eat some delicious cake!
Water Bottle Treats
The girls love it when I put something special in their lunches! One of their favorite surprises in their lunch box is when I make a water bottle container full goodies. The one pictured above was done on their last day of school last year as a way to celebrate the special day with them. Since they were in the same class last year I just sent one to share. This one is full of chocolate and vanilla oreos, but you could put anything in the water bottle container (fruit, veggies, crackers, etc…). I was super excited to hear they ended up sharing the cookies with their friends sitting next to them at lunch! 🙂
It is super easy to do and the kids will love it! Take two empty water bottles and cut the bottles in half (I pinched the bottle together and used scissors to cut the bottle in half). Wash out the bottles and make sure they are dry before filling with the treat. After putting the food into both halves of the bottle, push the two bottles together, and place a piece of decorative tape around the middle to hold the two bottles together. Write a note to your little one, put a hole punch in the middle, and tie it on with a ribbon. Stick it in their lunch box and wait to hear how excited they were when they opened up their lunch box!
Decorating the Christmas Tree
A picture of our spinning Christmas tree all decorated at night!
The girls LOVE helping us decorate the tree for Christmas and can barely wait for us to get all the stuff out of the attic. Over the years they really have become a huge help when it comes to decorating, not to mention that their excitement is contagious!
When we decorate the Christmas tree we like to turn on the Christmas music and have fun. While our tree will not win any award for the “most professionally decorated” or “color coordinated”, it is packed full of memories. Christmas ornaments I had as a baby, items the girls have made for us, and many other fun family treasures. In all fairness it is the perfect tree for our family because we did it together.
Karlie all smiles as she wears the “tree skirt”!
My little Brina helper! All smiles as she listens to music and helps put up the Christmas decorations.
Taking a break from tree decorating to drink some Eggnog!
Our Christmas tree, decorated by the whole family!
Throughout the Christmas Season you can often find our family reading a book together near the tree, sitting on the couch next to it talking about our days, or even enjoying a cup of hot chocolate while looking into the tinkling lights. I am thankful for my family and the opportunity to celebrate yet another wonderful season together.
A Spooktacular Halloween
Monster bags, note, and goodies on their bar stools at breakfast. They were excited to see a little treat waiting for them at breakfast. These bags were too cute, the package came with a variety of eyes and mouths that you could put together in any combination.
Here is a picture of one of the pancake, sausage and bacon Halloween monsters the girls ate for breakfast.
Jake even got festive Halloween sprinkles on his toast!
Karlie’s goody bags to share with her class are all packed and ready to distribute!
Brina’s Halloween class goodies are packed and ready to go!
Teacher Halloween Gifts
A monster and note waiting on Karlie’s seat when I picked her up from school.
Brina had an orange monster and note waiting on her seat in the van when I picked her up from school.
Our little Dancer and Superwoman!
The girls were super excited to have the opportunity to meet up with their cousins (we were able to capture a picture of the adorable blue crayon….there was also a cute little monkey that joined us that evening)!
Every day for the month of October the girls got a little treat in their pumpkins (if they did well at school, after school activities, and at home). On Halloween Day they got their last little goodies. Some of the items they received were Halloween socks, Halloween Underwear, books, glow sticks, crafts, and more!
Family Activities: 3 Big Pumpkins with 6 Different Faces!
One side of the pumpkins had a Mr. Potato Head type face on it! Karlie’s “serious” pumpkin, Grandma Penny & Great Grandma Willa’s “silly” pumpkin, and Brina’s “puppy dog” pumpkin! This side of the pumpkin took a lot less time to do. It was super easy and if you don’t want to mess with carving or cleaning out a pumpkin this is a great alternative. The girls loved picking out the pieces for their pumpkins and designing a face.We were super excited to have Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa come visit us for a few days in October. During their visit we were able to squeeze in a lot of fun activities. One of the activities was carving pumpkins! The girls had a blast hanging out with both Grandmas and have a lot of great memories of their time with us. Thankful that they were able to come visit us. 🙂
The other side of the pumpkins had the carved version on it which was perfect for the evening. Karlie’s “scary” pumpkin, Grandma Penny & Great Grandma Willa’s “cat” pumpkin, and Brina’s “happy” pumpkin sitting on the front porch.
The PROCESS……
Scooping out the pumpkin seeds
Gross……slimy pumpkin hands!
Karlie designed her own “scary” pumpkin face complete with eyelashes! She drew her face on a piece of paper and Jake helped her transfer it to her pumpkin. So proud of her scary pumpkin!
Brina wanted a “happy” pumpkin!
Trying to get Skip-A-Doo to pose with them in front of the pumpkins…..ha! Skipper wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but I have to give them credit for trying to get her to cooperate for the picture!
The girls had a lot of fun doing the pumpkins with Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa. They thought it was neat having a “2 sided” pumpkin with different faces on each side. The jack-o-lantern that they carved was their night pumpkin and the silly faces were their day pumpkins. We used the pumpkins seeds to make 3 Seasoned Pumpkin Seed recipes. Did you carve or decorate pumpkins? I would love to see your pumpkins, feel free to post a link to your pictures in the comment section below!
Candy Cane Smile Pancakes!
Now that our Christmas festivities are done with family and friends I am trying to come up ways to use some of the extra goodies. Somehow throughout the various Holiday celebrations we accumulated a stack of candy canes and as we begin the first quarter of 2011 we are having fun finding ways to use up the remaining ones. Instead of sprinkles on the girls pancakes we decided to have candy cane smiles. They loved having minty pancakes for breakfast and the smiles added extra cheer for everyone, smiles really do spread cheer! Do you have a creative recipe or way of finishing up the last few candy canes around your house?Christmas Song: “Joseph’s Lullaby” by MercyMe
Merry Christmas! Wishing you a wonderful day celebrating the birth of our Savior. I am thankful for a day set aside to remember and rejoice. Enjoy your day with family and friends!
Recipe: Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, & Snowflakes
We were getting tired by the time we got to making the Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, and Snowflakes on our Christmas Baking Day. Despite being tired these turned out pretty well. Brina was determined to “help” us make them which slowed down the process but we got enough to share with our neighbors. The purple didn’t set right and the blue got a drop of water in it so it was done within a matter of minutes but we had plenty of the red, yellow, white and brown colors to make it look festival. We added crushed candy canes for a minty flavor and a Holiday flair. The neat part about these is the kids can pitch in and help. They enjoy making special candies for others as well, however, I do not recommend starting around 9:30 in the evening after baking for several hours.Chocolate Pretzels, Snowmen, and Snowflakes
- White Chocolate
- Milk Chocolate
- Mix of Colored Chocolates
- Candy Molds – we had Flower Pretzel Sticks, Snowmen, and Snowflakes
Melt the chocolates over a double boiler or slowly in the microwave (microwave for 15 seconds, stir, microwave for 15 seconds, stir) because they can burn easily. Use the molds you have chosen to place the chocolates into. You can paint the chocolate into the mold using a toothpick then fill in the reminding amount with a solid color. When doing the pretzel molds paint the flowers, fill with solid color, then roll the pretzel stick to coat. We stick the chocolates into a pan of warm water on a griddle to keep the chocolates melted while decorating, just make sure to not get any water in the chocolates at it will ruin the entire bowl. Once the tray is complete freeze for about 10 minutes, turn the mold over and the items should pop out quickly. Repeat the steps as many times as you like or until you run out of chocolates.
