Mini Vacay

Last week we took a mini vacay to Myrtle Beach. It was so nice to have a few days away to recharge and relax (as much as you can with three kiddos in tow!). We ate at Crab Catchers, our favorite place in Little River, spent a lot of time in the pool, took sunrise and evening trips to the beach (yes, no daytime beach for us...have you seen the fair skin our family rocks!), and took the babes to play in the arcade and have icecream. It was delightful!

Little Diggers

First time with toes in the water!

Preparing to jump waves

That's right people...it's a cat on a leash.

Sam loving the ocean breeze

Two of my sweet boys

Little Mermaid

She had sand in places sand isn't supposed to be!

More wave jumping

Pool time!

A little unsure about this...but he ended up loving it! I wish his skin loved it more. (Boo eczema!)

All smiles

Silly girl

Little Water Bug

Here comes a belly buster!

The higher, the better

Sacked out after a golfcart ride.

Playing Catch Up

So...the summer list is a wee bit harder to accomplish when you have an infant. Don't get me wrong, we've been plenty busy and have had a lot of fun, but some of the things I put on the list aren't "baby friendly". 

One place we did visit that was fun for the whole crew was the Greensboro Children's Museum. Nick won a family membership at a golf tournament and we made our first trip several weeks ago. The kids were entertained for hours, and they can't wait to go back.

Here's a few pictures of the fun!

Wrapping Up the Summer List

We've been steadily checking off items on our Summer List for about two months now. We still have a few things left to do, but I think they'll keep through fall and give us some fun weekend activities to do.

Most recently, we've been blowing bubbles, working on our art project for the baby's room, and making homemade playdoh. I decided to try a recipe I found on Pinterest. It used Jello, which I thought would be more fun and sweet smelling than the regular old stuff.

Here's the recipe:
1 cup plain four
2 Tblsp salt
2 Tblsp cream of tarter
2 Tblsp cooking oil
1 cup of warm water
1 3oz package of Jello (choose your flavor!)

1. Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl and stir until it has an even consistency.

2. Pour mixture into a large nonstick pan and "cook" over medium low heat for 5-7 minutes. (I stirred pretty frequently, but once it started to thicken, I would pause and then turn it over on itself...think omlette style.) You will know it is done when it pulls together on itself to form a ball/blob.

3. Turn it out onto wax paper to cool for about 30 minutes.

4. Slowly add flour and knead into dough until the "sticky" is gone and it has playdoh consistency. (My kids were not very patient, so I only cooled it for about 10-15 min. and it took about 1/4 cup flour kneaded in to make it feel right.)

5. Have fun with it!

Overall, I really like this recipe. A little extra work, but you can't beat the sweet scent and it hasn't dried out yet.

 

Quick Pickles: A (Preggo) Girl's Best Friend

Truth: There are always 5-6 jars of different types of pickles in my fridge at any time. This seems to bother the RedHead, but I think it's perfectly normal. There's too many kinds to pick just one...spears, chips, minis, sweet, dill, or bread and butter.

But my favorite kind are homemade pickles. These aren't the kind that you make with a mix and "can" (botulism scares me) so I guess you'd call them semi-homemade.

I've bought cucumbers at the Farmer's Market pretty much every week so I can keep these in the fridge. Make some and enjoy before summer's over!

Quick Pickles 

2-3 sliced cucumbers
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 to 1 tsp celery seeds
pepper to taste
**1/2 cup water

Slice and layer cucumber in glass jar.
Heat all ingredients (except water) in saucepan, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves.
Add water.
Pour over cucumbers and refrigerate.

Variations: Add in a sliced onion if you like them. 
Add in dill for a nice twist.

Note: The cucumbers in this recipe are fairly sweet. Decrease sugar to 1/3 cup if you prefer them less sweet.

  

  
 

Check, Check, and Check

We've been checking a few more things off of our Summer List lately. Sidewalk Chalk Paint, a day trip to Boone, and playing in the rain!

The sidewalk chalk paint was really fun and easy (thanks Pinterest). Just mix cornstarch, water, and food coloring and you're done.

Before we began

Slinging Paint

And taking a break to look at the sales paper.

My smiley face, Lilly-Belle's lines, and Colson said his was Jesus on the cross.

Last weekend we took a trip to Boone, NC so we could show the children the home of their future college, Appalachian State University! :)

We ate a delicious lunch at Our Daily Bread.

Then visited campus for a photo-op at The Rock.

Did a bit of shopping at the Tanger Outlets and played in the park in Blowing Rock while we ate icecream from Kilwins.

It was a great day trip.

Then yesterday we took advantage of the rain showers and did a bit of playing in the rain. Well, the kids played and I sat on the steps and sipped coffee.

Our list is getting shorter and shorter, but then so is our summer. About a month left, then it's back to school!