Snow Days In South Carolina
Karlie could spend an entire day outside in the cold she loves it so much!
A couple weeks ago we had several days of snow in South Carolina. The girls loved it. They had a blast playing outside in the snow. It was great having a little extra time with them. Not sure they went a full week of school the last part of February or the first part of March with the snow days here and there. We’ll take the extra days together though and pack in as much fun as we can. Snow does not last long in SC so when it comes you have fun for the brief time you have with it. As you can see from the picture above the snow on the ground behind Karlie has already melted since that morning.
Back deck covered in snow.
She looks so sad now that the kids are back inside…. Skipper loves snow days because the kids come out and play more. This is the face I saw looking at us in the window shortly after the kids had come inside for lunch. Looks like she is giving them her sad puppy eyes in hopes that they will come back outside and play again soon. Don’t worry they were back out within 30 minutes or so.
Oh no she is not going to through that snowball at me….. Yes, I got beamed with snow balls quite a few times. Our storm door got it too a couple times as Karlie waiting for me to come out. Guess those were her practice throws!
Waiting patiently for me to finish getting ready so I can join her outside!
Brina pretending to plant in the snow or at least knock off the remaining snow from the planter.
Magnolia leaves loaded with snow!
You can still see our bulls eye target!
The evergreens branches were heavy with the snow!
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!
Skipper Being a Good Sport
Skipper claiming a new bed on the back porch!
Earlier in the day the girls were out on the back porch coloring and drawing in a couple big boxes we gave them to play with. The girls get so excited about getting large boxes to play with around the house. Every time we get a box or a group of boxes of any size they usually ask for permission to use them for their play time. Jake and I try to give them as many opportunities to explore creative play, but sometimes the boxes hang around for longer than intended or can get in the way or make a mess with all the “decorating” paraphernalia scattered around.
Sometimes when the boxes are big, taking over the house, and it is going to be a sunny day we will send the kids with their goodies outside. They have been know to play with boxes building various forts and structures for hours. Skipper loves it any time the kids are outside playing. She usually hops right in the middle of everything and at times is in the way, but the kids and the dog love it!
Skipper snacking on a treat from the kids.
Even after the girls came inside Skipper decided to hang out in their box.
Waking up from a nap in the box. She slept in the boxes for several hours in the sun that day. I am not sure who enjoyed it most the kids or Skipper.
Hiking Through the Woods
The girls love going for hikes in the woods!
Recently the girls and spent a couple hours outside having a picnic, hiking through the woods, climbing on trees, raking our campsite, playing with the animals, and more fun. Thankful for some quiet and relaxing time with them out in nature. They love spending time outside. Hiking through the woods is always an adventure with them!
Skipper is always willing to join us!
Karlie hanging out by the big tree!
Waiting patiently for us as the girls play around and climb a couple trees.
Enjoying our time outside!
Hiking deeper into the woods!
Raking and trimming the thorny bushes at our old campsite. The girls are ready to go camping again!
Brina having a blast!
Snow Animals!
Skipper jumping up to catch a snowball that was tossed into the air! She was having as much fun as the kids!
Our outdoor pets were not quite sure what to think about the snow at first, especially the goats since the snow covered all their delicious leaves. They did enjoy having the kids and the family outside more often this week to play! The goats and Skipper followed the kids around the yard joining in the fun as much as they could. Sometimes it was a little crazy riding a sled down the hill and having goats and dogs almost hopping into your lap, but it gave us a good laugh!
Skipper trying out the sled as Oreo watched. She wasn’t overly excited about being on the sled by herself!
Our South Carolina dog enjoying the snow!
It was amazing the amount of snow that piled up on these two! It showed up better on Oreo, but Snowball definitely had a thick layer too. They didn’t see to mind the cold from snow at all!
Snowball hanging out with the family! He was more camouflaged this week!
We always had a trial of critters following us through the woods. The goats especially liked it when we rustled up some good leaves for them!
Snowball peeking around the tree at Skipper
Skipper still guarding the front porch!
Dogs Are Kids Too
Skipper climbing into the jungle gym
Our dog is one of our “furry four legged” kids. She loves to be in the middle of the action whenever the kids are outside. I am not sure when it began, but our dog Skipper decided one day, with the encouragement of the kids to climb up the jungle gym ladder. She has gone down the slide a few times too.
Many times when you see the kids playing on or around the jungle gym you will also see Skipper up in it as well. Occasionally, she’ll even sleep up there during the day or at night even when the kids are not outside, see my Skipper’s New Dog House post. She climbs up and down the ladder by herself without assistance from anyone and rarely with any encouragement.
Skipper loves to play in the jungle gym with the kids and when there is a bunch of kids it can get a little crowded with a black lab in the mix too. If she doesn’t want to go down the slide she’ll come back down using the ladder. It is hilarious watching her go up and down, but she is pleased with herself for doing it and the kids love it! Thankful for a dog who loves playing with the kids.
Skipper hanging out with the kids in the jungle gym
Skipper Being a Good Sport
Skipper being a good sport after getting chased by the kids with the water bucket. Good thing she loves water!
Our guard dog…..although she has more bark than bite. She is great at hunting squirrels, protecting the house & yard, and playing with the kids. Skipper is always happy to see you and willing to nibble on a treat. It is nice having a dog around the yard. She has been known to chew a few papers, garden hoses, flipflops, and other random things, but otherwise she is on her best behavior.
Lounging on the driveway watching all the activity outside and ready to pounce on a squirrel in a moments notice.
Who Chewed on THAT?
Skipper’s birthday “pig” is now missing a tail!
We love our Puddle Skipper, Skipper, Skippy, Skipp-A-Doo along with a lot of other nicknames we call our Black Lab. However, Skipper has a “passion” for chewing. Occasionally she gives into temptation and chews into a flipflop, the garden house, newspaper, or some other random item she is not suppose to chew on. The majority of the time she is great but like us she has a bad day every once in awhile.
When we joke about her chewing passion we often get suggestions….one of the most common is to make sure she has plenty to chew on in the yard so she is not tempted to chew on the other items. Well, this dog has more chew toys then any other dog I have seen. It is pretty common for me to walk out and see a line of toys she has recently been throwing up into the air or chewing on. We have ropes, tennis balls, birthday pig, chew bones and sticks in every color of the rainbow (red, green, white, black, orange), antlers, and a variety of other fun dog toys.
Red Chew Bone
The chewing can be a little much on some days, like when she tried to flood our house earlier this year when she chew the garden hose off the outdoor faucet while the water was on full blast and rushing down the wall of the house into the garage, however, she has a lot of amazing positive traits that far outweigh the occasionally chewing.
- Plays well with our kids, the neighbor kids, and any other kid that happens to be over
- Protects the house and property (and is even more protective when Jake is traveling
- Less door-to-door salesman and random stops, not everyone is brave enough to walk up a sidewalk with they have to pass a big black dog in the front yard or on the porch (even though she would probably lick you before bite you).
- Protective of the other pets and livestock (aka goats) in our yard
- Helps control our squirrel population
- Great friend to have hanging out with you in the yard
- And Many Other Great Positive Traits!
Just this past week I was home for a little bit prepping for dinner when Skipper started barking. I looked out to see a man walking up and down our street, I am not sure what he was doing but Skipper did not make our yard an inviting place for a stranger to walk into especially with her sitting at the edge of the driveway watching his every move.
Yes even a corncob makes an excellent chew toy!
All the other traits far outweigh the chewing. We love our puppy and enjoy having her around. She loves running around the yard, hunting squirrels, swimming in the creek and playing with the kids. She even goes up in the jungle gym with them!
Brina hanging out with her buddy Skipper!
Yes, this sweet looking and innocent Black Lab named Skipper was the one who chewed on all the toys above. Even though we find the random flipflop or torn newspaper in the yard we are thankful to have her around. She is wonderful with the kids and does a great job protecting our home.
Our Black Lab – Skipper
Skipper – “What! Can I help you?!”
As I was thinking about summer and all the outdoor activities we have planned I decided to share a post and a few pictures about one of the girls best friends and playmates….Skipper.We are thankful for our sweet black lab puppy. Well….I guess she is really not considered a puppy anymore since she is over a year old now. We got her when she was a puppy, the first weekend we had her it rained all weekend and she had a blast splashing from puddle to puddle thus her name, Puddle Skipper Hayes. She is always ready to play and there to greet you when you come home or outside. The girls love playing outside with her and even though she is a fairly big dog she is really gentle with the kids. I know she’ll be excited to have the girls home more often when school is out for summer break.
Skipper, our sweet black lab
Skipper can be found running around the yard, chasing squirrels (or any other animal that comes into our yard), and swimming in the creek. Winter or summer….rain or snow……she will be swimming in the creek. She is willing to do almost any outdoor activity from popping bubbles that the girls blow, to walking with me down to the compost, playing fetch, or taking a nap in the jungle gym. Skipper is the only dog that we have had that will literally climb the ladder to play with the kids in the jungle gym, she’ll even sleep in the jungle gym sometimes.
On guard and watching for any squirrels or other wildlife
When she is not swimming, playing, or chasing the animals in the yard she’s chewing on something, one of her favorite chew toys is my garden hose (not sure how many patches it has in it at this point). She’s a great watch dog too (although she’d lick you before biting you) but she has deterred several “sales” people from coming into the yard! It is amazing how quickly pets, like Skipper, become such a wonderful part of the family.
Vacation: We’re HOME!!!!
Brina & Karlie riding on the airplane! Thankful to two kids who LOVE to travel, what a great adventure for them!!! The girls and I had a wonderful trip out to the Midwest to see family over Spring Break and Easter. We are thankful for the amazing memories we made during our visit. The girls learned a lot more about the farm and were able to spend time with extended family. We arrived home late last night (or should we say really early this morning). Today we have hit the ground running and are back to work, school, and a busy routine. I have a lot of catching up to do over the next few days between appointments and work. It was a super fun time in Kansas and our time away went by very quickly. It is great to be home with Daddy and Skipper again, hopefully they are ready for their 3 silly girls!
I apologize for being a little out of touch and off schedule with the posts. As soon as the dust settles I will be back to the full schedule. It was wonderful meeting and speaking with several people across the United States that read this blog. I am very blessed with amazing family, friends, and readers. If you haven’t done so already make a comment for the Giveaway at the end of this week!
