• Flashback Friday: Silly Girls, Dargo, and a Fall Festival

    Flashback Friday - Brina and Karlie watching Daddy, he just brought out the trainc

    Watching Daddy bring in a train toy!  What is it!?  Looks like fun!

    Today’s Flashback Friday goes back to when the girls were 8 months old.  They would get so excited to play with various toys.  If you pulled out a new toy that they haven’t seen before they would eagerly check it out.  The hard part was when both wanted to play with it at the same time.  They were pretty good at sharing back and forth with only a few exceptions at this point.  If one would take a toy away the other one would just play with another one, no big deal.

    Choo, choo, here comes the train - Brina and Karliec

    Fascinated by the moving and musical Mickey Mouse train – Karlie and Brina.

    Isn't life just GRAND - Brina and Karliec

    Goofy girls – Brina and Karlie

    Flashback Friday - Karlie being silly with her shirtc

    Karlie loved to “talk” with you as you changed her clothes.  Her little babbling and smiles were so cute.

    They could play no more, but they are still clutching the toys they were playing with - Karlie and Brinac

    We have one thumb sucker (Karlie) and one two finger sucker (Brina)….oh boy.  At first we thought it was “cute” until it was time to break them of it.  You can take away a pacifier, but it is a little more difficult with fingers…

    Flashback Friday - Brina - oh my Dargo what big teeth you havec

    “Dargo what big nose and teeth you have!” – Brina

    Dargo and Brina face off as Karlie provides a head rest for Dargoc

    Dargo thought Karlie’s belly was the perfect chin rest.  He was so gentle with the girls.  They could do anything to him and he would just lay there enjoying the attention.  He was a big black lab, but was so sweet with the girls.

    Karlie gets sleepy as Brina and Dargo continue to playc

    Karlie more interested in relaxing, but Brina wants to talk and play with Dargo

    Karlie proud of her stashc

    Where are my Oreos?!  Sneaky Karlie….  She had no idea it was food and was more interested in the crinkling of the container.

    Flashback Friday - Brina looking prettyc

    I wonder who has been watching Brina…..  Daddy put the stickers on her face and it didn’t bother her at all.

    Karlie and Brina with address label stickersc

    My sweet babies, Brina and Karlie, playing away and totally ok with the stickers on their faces.  Don’t worry we didn’t leave them on long.  They weren’t easily upset by that type of stuff.

    Happy Karliec

    Happy Karlie Kool Kat

    Karlie enjoying her toy and Brina smiling at herc

    They loved any toys that made noise.  It was hilarious when they discovered it made noise for the first time.  They both stop and stare at it confused by the noise. Karlie proud of her noise making skills and Brina watching.

    Flashback Friday - Brina waiting for her fishing teasure at the George's Creek Fall Festivalc

    Their 1st local Fall Festival.  They were fascinating just watching all the activities around them.  Karlie got a flower and Brina got a butterfly painted on their face.  They did much better with this face painting session.

    Karlie won a pumpkin door prize and Brina instantly stole it from hercc

    Karlie won a stuffed pumpkin door prize.  As soon as they handed it to her Brina immediately swiped it to investigate it further.  Karlie didn’t care she was having fun.

    Pretty smiling Karliec

    Karlie giving us a winning smile.

    Brina and Karlie loving the adventurec

    Brina and Karlie shrieking and laughing as Daddy lifted them up in the air.  They thought it was so much fun playing with Daddy!

    Brina and Karlie playing nicely nowc

    They spent most of their time at home when they were eating or sleeping playing – Brina and Karlie

    Thieves - someone always wants what the other one has - Brina and Karliec

    Brina wants the cool toy Karlie is currently playing with.   Thankful that the were pretty good about sharing.

  • 30th Annual Georgia Renaissance Festival

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    Last weekend we made a trip to Georgia to attend the 30th Annual Georgia Renaissance Festival.  We’ve never gone to the festival before so the kids were very excited when we told them what we were doing.  We arrived just a few minutes after they opened and were surprised to see the amount of people that were at the festival.  The only traffic we ran into was the last two miles before the festival because traffic was backed up a little as everyone was trying to get in and park.  They had plenty of parking and attendants helping get the cars in as efficiently as possible.  It had rained the day before so it was a little muddy in a few places, but it wasn’t bad.

    We had a great time watching all the neat shows and going through the various shops.  The kids thought it was fascinating and were even chosen to participate in one of the shows which was fun.  The people performing were very interactive with the audiences.  There were a few “adult humor” jokes in some of the performances, but nothing that the kids picked up on.  It was Roman and bring your pet weekend so there were lots of dogs which the girls loved.  We only saw one cat though!

    They had a lot of different food options as well from giant turkey legs, key lime pie on a stick, funnel cakes, and more.  The kids thought the funnel cake was delicious!  There was alcohol available for purchase, however, with it being a day event most people were drinking casually so that wasn’t a problem.  They do allow smoking so occasionally you would have to walk around a group of people who were smoking usually around the picnic areas.  Overall it was a great experience, entertaining, fun, and a good family activity.

    We got to see almost all the performances throughout the day.  Usually each show performs several times during the day so if you don’t catch one time you get another one.  We were there close to 6 hours and were able to watch at least part of every show that was performing that weekend.  It was neat to see a lot of tricks and talent.

    Here are some of the pictures from the shows we attended and really enjoyed:

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    King announcing the jousting tournament!

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    The warrior princess to be won in the knights competition

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    One of the warriors

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    Karlie and Brina on stage being lassoed by Cirque du Todd on Fools’s Knoll stage

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    He got a bunch of kids inside the lasso

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    Having fun in the performance!

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    Juggling a large knife, garden spike, and jalapeno spam

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    Cirque du Todd balancing on a board while juggling fire sticks and fire spinning around his head and feet.

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    Sirena Dog Show at the Garden Cottage Stage

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     She had a lot of different dogs doing various tricks

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    Huge poodle that could jump high!

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    Birds of Prey show, this guy flew over our heads!

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    The owl is ready!

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    We had an empty seat next to us and one of the workers would call the birds so they would land right next to us.

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    He’s got his little helmet on to keep him calm during the performance.

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    Petting the animals

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    Wheel of Death act at the Marrakech Mews area

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    He was walking and doing the jump rope while this huge wheel was spinning way up in the air.  Amazing!

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    Barely Balanced was entertaining on the Halfwit Harbour Stage

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    Juggling knives over his friend

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    Now that’s a way to stretch.

    Georgia Renaissance Festival

    He is balancing on a board while she’s on his shoulders juggling the knives.  Barely Balance is a husband, wife, and friend who perform together.

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    She is standing on a large ball while they are juggling the knives around her.

    Georgia Renaissance Festival

    It started the weekend of April 18th and goes through June 7, 2015.   There were many more performances we saw while at the festival.  Hope this gives you a taste of what you will see while you are there!

    If you are looking to go to the Georgia Renaissance Festival you can use this promo code for another few days!  Also, next weekend, the first weekend in May kids under 12 years old get in free!

    Georgia Renaissance Festival Promo Code Discount:

    • Get $4 off Adult and $3 off Child (6-12) tickets!  Use  Promo Code: “castle” when purchasing discount tickets on our secure website at www.garenfest.com. Tickets are good any day of the 2015 Season (Weekends and Memorial Day Apr 18-June 7). Online discount only. Not good with any other offers.

    A special thanks to U.S. Family Guide and Georgia Renaissance Festival for offering a special discount to our readers.  Any specific product information was provided by Georgia Renaissance Festival and U.S. Family Guide, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own.  We did receive tickets so our family could visit the festival and share our experience.

  • Travel & Vacaation: Disney Epcot’s Butterflies on the Go Flower Garden (Orlando, FL)

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    Beautiful flowers at Epcot

    The kids had a blast going into Disney Epcot’s Butterflies on the Go Flower Garden during their International Flower and Garden Festival.  The flowers were absolutely beautiful and butterflies were fluttering all around us.  You could even see butterflies emerging from their chrysalis!  It was pretty neat seeing these winged creatures buzzing all around and a house containing rows of chrysalis.  Not to mention educational for the kids too!

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    Resting on a leaf

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     Rows of chrysalis in various stages

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      You could actually see some coming out and stretching their wings for the first time which was really neat

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    2 butterflies hanging out in the flowers.

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    Loved the flowers as much as the butterflies.  Epcot’s gardens were amazing!

  • 30th Annual Georgia Renaissance Festival Promo Code

    The weather is warming up and there are a lot of fun activities happening all around.  If you will be in the Georgia area any time between April 18th to June 7, 2015 you may want to check out the 30th Annual Georgia Renaissance Festival.  I have also included a promotional code for you to use for additional savings!

    30th Annual Georgia Renaissance Festival Details:

    Every weekend and Memorial Day, starting April 18 thru June 7, 2015 The 30th Annual Georgia Renaissance Festival is a family-friendly event, and a different kind of theme park. Inside this 32-acre recreation of a 16th Century English Village you’ll find hundreds of costumed characters, the Queen and her Court, endless circus-style entertainment on 10 stages, shopping in over 130 artisan shoppes, food fit for Royalty, games and rides for kids of all ages, and the spectacular Jousting Knights on horseback. Patrons are invited to wear costumes and join in the fun too. It’s a whole lotta’ fun, and a little bit of History, every weekend and Memorial Day, April 18 thru June 7, 2015.

    Georgia Renaissance Festival Promo Code Discount:

    • Get $4 off Adult and $3 off Child (6-12) tickets!  Use  Promo Code: “castle” when purchasing discount tickets on our secure website at www.garenfest.com. Tickets are good any day of the 2015 Season (Weekends and Memorial Day Apr 18-June 7). Online discount only. Not good with any other offers.