Fire Museum

    We've had a whirlwind start to our summer this year.  We took off immediately to visit family down south and had a great, albeit hot, few weeks in South Carolina and Georgia.  I wasn't going to let those first weeks go by without trying to accomplish something off of our Summer Fun List, so when my mom suggested the Fire Museum one rainy day, I jumped at the chance to get the kids out of the house and cross Museum off our list.

North Charleston and American LaFrance Fire Museum

The museum had a surprisingly large variety of fire engines on display from years past, as well as helmets, equipment and other fire memorabilia.

     There was also a play structure for the kids to play on with a slide, fireman's pole, and fire truck ladder to climb.

     Interactive displays like this one where Peanut is trying to lift the weight of a firman's uniform and gear, made the museum a lot of fun for the kids.

I wasn't sure at first if this kind of thing would really entertain my kids, but it turned out to be a lot of fun!  The best part was, the kid's admission was FREE, and my mom and I only had to pay $7.00 each to get in. I'd definitely call this summer fun activity a winner for us.  Be sure to check it out if your ever in the Charleston, SC area.

Summer Fun!

Yay! School's out!! I'm pretty sure I'm more excited than the kids this year.  This has been one tough year for us and we could all use a fun, relaxing summer.  Last year we made our first Summer Fun List and had a great time doing as many things on the list as we could get to.  I've been collecting tons of fun ideas on Pinterest to add to this years list and we are really looking forward to getting started.  This is what we've come up with:

Camping
Feed Some Ducks
Make Funnel Cakes
Huge Indoor Fort
Living Room Sleepover
Play in the Rain
Paint T-Shirts
Go Bowling
Play Tennis
Make S'Mores Cones
Make Slime (recipes here or here)
Sponge Bomb Water Fight
Giant Squishy Water Bag
Make Popsicles
Ice Cream Sundae Party
Donation Day
Go to a Movie
Make Gigantic Bubbles
Take a Hike
Watch Movies all Day (on a rainy day)
Putt-Putt
Discover a New Park
Make and Send Postcards
Bake Cookies for Someone
Family Talent Show
Spend a Rainy Day in PJ's
Make Kool-aid Slurpees and Cherry Limeades
Go to a Museum

With a list this ambitions, I'd better go get started!  Do you make a summer fun list, or do you just "wing it?" Leave me a comment letting me know and stay tuned for updates on our progress.

St. Patricks Day Decor

I finally got around to decorating for St. Patrick's Day, so I thought I'd share it. Most all of my decorations are ideas I found on Pinterest and made my own. (Have I mentioned yet that I LOVE Pinterest?!) First I started with the rainbow background. The professor cut down a 1x4 for me and I painted them to look like a rainbow. I wanted to put a pot of gold underneath it, but I couldn't find one I liked, and honestly I think it would have been too much. I got the idea for the rainbow HERE.

The candles are made from two different types of candle holders I found at the dollar store and glued together. Then I just stuck a candle in it, and filled it with split peas. Once again, found this idea via Pinterest from THIS SITE.

The pictures in the frames were free printables from HERE. The shamrocks I just cut from different patterned papers, glued them to dowels, and stuck them in a canning jar with more split peas in them. I got the inspiration from HERE, but tweaked the idea a bit.

This is the whole thing all pulled together. I added a few decorations from my local craft store to complete the look. I wonder if my pot on the right will be filled with gold once the Leprechauns visit us on St. Patrick's day?

Check out these and many other St. Patrick's Day ideas on my Pinterest Board.

Snow Days

I am from the south, born and raised. My kiddos on the other hand have all been born in the north. This is evident in the fact that they all feel right at home in the snow whereas their mama CAN. NOT. STAND. IT.!! Thankfully, we have had a really mild winter this year, and have seen very little of the white stuff. As soon as those flakes start falling from the sky though, my kids are begging me to let them go out in it and play. Here are a few pictures of the kids playing the last time it snowed. As you may be able to tell from the picture, we have a really great hill for sliding down. (Not that I would know from experience, but the video is proof enough for me.)

Peanut eating snow.

Patty sliding like a penguin.

Penny wishing she could be outside with the older kids.

Videos of Petie sledding down the hill.

Science Fair

This past Thursday night, both Petie and Patty were able to participate in the local homeschool science fair. Last year Patty was able to participate, but this was the first time for Petie. They both had a lot of fun choosing and doing their individual projects.

Petie's project was called "Bed of Nails". Sounds nice and dangerous doesn't it? Perfect project for a kindergarten boy :)

Patty started out doing an experiment called "Bad Cow", but after days of testing we realized the experiment wasn't working due to equipment malfunction. So, of course, three days before the science fair we had to start all over with a new project. Her new project was called "Oil Spill Cleanup: Does the type of water make a difference?" Her project was all about the speed at which oil separates out of salt water versus fresh water.

And...They both won "Most Creative Project" for their age group!! I was so proud and they were both really excited :)

Happy New Year!

Since I've been criticized (playfully of course) by my family for taking down my Christmas decorations before New Years I thought I would post pictures to justify why. It's because this year I decided to do a little New Year's decorating :) New Year's is actually a pretty low key holiday for us. We don't do big parties and we may or may not even stay up to watch the ball drop. For some reason though this year I wanted to decorate for it. (Maybe I just needed a creative outlet?) Who knows, but whatever the reason, I'm really happy with the results.

I would like to have done much more, but it's a start and I plan to add to it each year. I may even stay up to welcome in the new year this time. I personally am ready to bid this past year goodbye and am looking forward to 2012 and fresh start ahead.

Christmas Stockings

I LOVE Christmas! The moment we start pulling out the boxes of decorations and put on the music, I just get downright giddy :) I love the baking and the wrapping, planning our picture for the cards, shopping, etc, etc, etc.... I LOVE IT ALL! One thing I didn't love so much were our cheap fuzzy red and white stockings. How's a kid supposed to know on Christmas morning which stocking is theirs if they all look alike? Every year I vowed to make them stockings that were distinctly theirs, and this year I finally did it. And.... Here they are!

I followed this super easy tutorial I found on Pinterest, and I think they turned out so cute!! I made one for each of the kids and then decided that The Professor and I each needed one that coordinated with theirs. I love that mine is made from all of the different fabrics.

I can finally add stockings to the list of things that I LOVE at Christmas :) Now to make something super cute to hang them on since we don't have a mantle.