a road trip with aluminum foil

Last weekend, my family (and my sweet friend Cortney!) went to Atlanta to be a part of this...

It was definitely worth the drive to see Matt Chandler and Shane & Shane! My parents drove up to join us, so it's always worth a trip to spend time with them. We took home our own {signed!} copy of The Explicit Gospel and I'm adding it to my stack of books to read! On the drive down to Atlanta, I was a little apprehensive about how the kiddos would do.  My kids are seasoned travelers and usually do great on road trips.  But...I have no shame in admitting that on long drives, we let them watch movies one after another! No judging - any parent that has driven more than 6 hours with little ones understands that there is a point when you switch from "logical parent mode" to "survival mode."  It usually happens somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd hour and that's when you start dishing out candy and bottles of glitter and glue to help them find contentment! {Maybe not glitter - that stuff is just evil!}

This trip was a little different because we were embarking on our 6 hour drive with no DVD player!! 

They actually did great and here's a glimpse at a few of the things from my bag of tricks that kept them entertained...

We played several games of "Car Bingo."  I printed off different cards from a few websites and put them in gallon size zip lock bags.  They used dry-erase markers on the outside of the bags to mark the cards so they could keep reusing the cards.    

This is a picture of one of the "Felt Button Snakes" I made for them.  These are apparently good for younger children {like Sam's age} to help with their fine motor skills.  You give them a ribbon that has a button sewn on the top and then a whole bag of felt squares that have button holes cut out in them.  The kiddos work to string the squares onto the ribbon.  {The very bottom piece of felt is sewn in place to keep the others from slipping off.}  Although they're for younger kids, I had the girls race to see who could make their snake the quickest.  They also made different patterns with the squares.

Each girl got a bag with silly putty and several different "textured" things in it.  They had fun making impressions with the silly putty using all the items.  They really liked seeing how newspaper print is copied on silly putty!

Surprisingly, this is what kept them occupied the longest - aluminum foil!!  Each girl got their own roll that I had cut into sheets.  I gave them a few ideas to get their wheels turing (a bracelet, a crown) and they turned into little creators in the back seat!  If you're needing something to occupy kiddos on a road trip - I highly recommend aluminum foil!  Added bonus - easy to clean up!!

And just in case you were wondering what Sam was doing while the girls were playing and crafting...

He seemed content with a bucket! :)

She's been talking about it for months...

She's been wiggling teeth that were not even loose...

She's been convinced that she would be the last kindergartener in her class to loose a tooth...

and it finally happened...ellee lost her 1st tooth

{april 14, 2012}

If you'll notice, her big brown eyes are filled with tears. As soon as she pulled it out, she started crying! I think she scared herself because she only intended to wiggle it and then it popped right out.

In true Ellee style though, she recovered quickly and began making up an elaborate story about the tooth fairy! :)

Couldn't help but think of when Addie lost her first tooth...

{october 2009}

SPRING

"Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime."

Martin Luther

Last week, our family celebrated the refreshing arrival of Spring with Spring Break and the wonder and awe of the resurrection with Easter!

*We enjoyed a relaxing trip to Georgia where the kiddos had a blast playing outside in the rain and making mud pies one afternoon at Grandpa and Mimi's house...

*Relaxing by the pool...

*Although we were embarrassingly lazy all week, we did put Grandpa to work in his workshop! He's building some custom shelves for me. Thank you Dad...

*It's a little pathetic that I don't have more pictures than this, but the truth is that we didn't do much of anything that was photo worthy...and that was intentional!! Our lives and schedules tend to work on over-drive, so we purposed to have a Spring Break that was relaxing and laid back. Our mission was definitely accomplished and we had a wonderful time with my family!

"Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!"

Charles Wesley

*Easter Morning*

*We enjoyed spending Easter afternoon with {some of} Lee's family. We had a super delicious meal and the kiddos enjoyed an egg hunt...

*One last picture that I have to share! This is Sam in church on Easter morning. I suppose he hasn't learned to appreciate the celebratory music of Resurrection Sunday!