Everything Beautifully Covered in Icicles
All the trees coated in ice!
The past couple of weeks have been busy with changes in schedules due to the weather. Our first big storm started as sleet went to snow and ended in more sleet. The result was everything covered in a sheet of ice.
The kids that it was great they got out of school. They didn’t care that it was cold or slick they loved playing outside in it! It was nice having some extra fun time with the kids. With all the fun we have been having it has taken me awhile to catch up on the things around the house and get the blog pictures posted. Hopefully, I will have you all updated on our snow and ice activities within the next couple of days! 🙂
Brina volunteering to take out our mail. So happy to have a “snow / ice” day from school!
Skipper loves snow days as much as the kids. She loves playing outside with them!
Brina sledding. The ice on top of the snow actually made the sledding a lot of fun for the kids.
Karlie getting ready to go down too!
Karlie sledding. It’s amazing how well the sled worked even going through the leaves!
Icicles on the back porch.
Icicles on the jungle gym.
My old planter is covered with ice!
Our poor trees….they looked so sad! They were not as happy about having the weight of ice on them.
Icy branches!
Loud Explosion Followed By A Big Mess!
The top of the tree exploded when it was hit by lightening!
We were awaken in the middle of the night with a very loud boom that shook the whole house! It was a rainy night. After looking around the house and yard we noticed the jungle gym looked like it was covered by a tree. We soon found out the tree was struck by lightening and the top exploded sending branches, sticks, leaves, and tree pieces in all directions. We found pieces over a hundred feet away from the actual tree. Thankfully the tree and debris did not hit the house. It did break a section of our fence, took out the kids slide, punched a hole in the jungle gym roof, fried our printer inside, and the fence for the animals.
Jungle gym covered with branches!
Leaves, branches, and debris all over the yard!
The slide did not make it!
What a mess! Well guess we know what we’ll be doing today! Thankfully it didn’t hit the house! The kids were a HUGE help and we got most of it cleaned up in one day!
Fresh & Healthy: Simple Creative Summer Snacks
Our girls love to eat a snack outside on the front porch, at the picnic table, jungle gym or really anywhere outside especially during the summer months. They always love it when I bring out something special and creative for them to eat. It is so sweet hearing their comments as they are munching on their goodies. I don’t do anything too elaborate or time consuming so it doesn’t take any extra time but the kids get so excited about their “super cool” snacks you would think I spent hours putting it together. The key is to use food items you already have in the cupboard or refrigerator and lay them out on a plate so they look appealing. Here’s the items included in this snack:
- 1 Decorated Star Shaped Ginger Snap Cookie
- 5 Strawberry Malt Balls
- Black Olives
- Puffed Cheese Balls
Curious Kids: Swing Experiment!
Notice anything odd about the jungle gym? The girls are always asking questions and trying new things. As parents we get the privilege to answer these questions and teach them more about how things work. Occasionally, they come up with some interesting ideas on their own. I love how they use their creativity and are able to pull together some fun experiments. Not every creative moment ends up perfect but glad to see them thinking outside the box.
We were outside playing one sunny winter afternoon when I looked over at the girls playing on the swing set and noticed something a little odd. They had taken their cherry red lawn chairs from the front porch and put them on top of the swings on the jungle gym. It was hilarious watching them swing on the lawn chairs. A piece of me was thrilled that they figured out how to “invent” something silly yet not dangerous. They had a blast swinging on their “redneck” swings. It was great hearing their bursts of giggles as they watched each other swing.
They came up with this creative Redneck "swing" all on their own! 
They did pretty well swinging on their little red lawn chairs! 
Karlie and Brina Swinging on their silly swings! 
So proud of their little experiment! It was pretty funny watching them swing on those little red lawn chairs. They were so excited their experiment worked out so well. As Jake and I moved around in the yard the girls would just rotate their chair swings to face us. They make me laugh with some of the things they come up with but I am glad to see their imaginations running full throttle!
What started out as mere curiosity ended up being a fun new way to enjoy time swinging on the jungle gym. Encourage your kids to be creative and curious, you never know what you’ll see when you come around the corner!
Curious Kids is a series of posts on various questions kids ask as well as creative things they come up with on their own. If you have ever been around a toddler you know they will have a season when they start asking all the “Why” questions. Then as your toddler gets older you begin to see them start experimenting with objects, becoming even more creative, and trying to figure out new ways to make things work. As a parent of Twins my girls hit those stages at the same time! I was (and am) determined to not answer….”Because I said so” to their questions and allow them the freedom to be creative (as long as it isn’t dangerous) but there there are days when it is difficult coming up with all the answers to their questions and the mess behind their “creative” experiments sometimes gets a little too crazy for even Mom. Most days I love having the opportunity to teach my girls and encourage them to use their curiosity to be creative when they play!
