Showing posts with label Ryan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryan. Show all posts
Monday, August 17, 2015
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
We Went Geocaching
We have been going Geocaching with our children for quite a few years now. Not only is a fun activity for us to do as a family, it's totally free! I wrote about one of our first Geocaching adventures back in 2010, and we have been doing it off and on since, usually during the warmer months. And, since it was an unusually nice and warm weekend, we decided to go out and hunt for a few of them.
If you have never been Geocaching, I seriously recommend checking out the website, downloading the app, and getting yourself out there with your family and getting involved. Being a big family, we can't always afford the most lavish things in life, but thankfully, I am such a minimalist when it comes to having "stuff" and believe the best things in life can't be bought. Some of the best times we have had as a family have been doing things that cost us absolutely nothing, except maybe the gas to get us there.
What are some free or inexpensive things that you enjoy doing with your family?
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
5 things we learned from our trip to the zoo
a few weeks ago we took a day trip to the beach and went to one of the NC aquariums while we were there. as we were purchasing our tickets to get in, the sales woman suggested we buy the one year family passes. at first, i just kind of thought to myself, "yeah, yeah, whatever. who's going to spend that much money, and who goes to the aquarium that many times in one year? but, then she informed us it would only cost us an additional $6 to purchase the one year pass as opposed to a one day pass. so i figured, what the heck, maybe we will come at least one more time. but then, she continued to inform us that in addition to being able to get into the aquarium, we would have access to dozens of other aquariums and zoos across the country at no additional charge. hot dog, sign us up! grand total: $60 for 2 adults and 6 children for one full year.
moral of the story... always check the membership fees because it could be the better deal!
and that's how we ended up planning a trip to the zoo.
labor day weekend, we headed to asheboro, NC where our largest state zoo is. the last time we took a trip to the zoo, i was pregnant with elijah, so this was his first trip. with six kids, you can't please everyone, someone is going to be hungry, someone is going to be thirsty, and someone is going to get tired. here are a few things we learned from our trip to the zoo that we will most certainly keep in mind for our next trip.
1. take the tram all the way to the end, first thing, and then walk back.
the NC zoo is not designed in a complete circle, therefor, you have to walk all the way to the end and back, or take the tram. next time, we will most definitely hop on the tram first thing, while we are still fresh, excited, and full of energy. by the time we were at the end, our kids were ready to go! they most definitely didn't want to walk back and even standing to wait for the tram was traumatic for them. in their defense, it was a hot day, and i was pretty ready to go too.
2. don't go on a really hot day.
you will sweat and you may even be miserable. not, to mention, many of the animals will be too hot to move and will more than likely be hiding somewhere to keep cool. although we got lucky with the elephants, the polar bears, and the grizzly bear, many of the animals like the gorillas and chimps, were no where to be found.
3. bring a backpack filled with supplies
this one we actually did! I filled a backpack with water bottles, a few snacks, and not much else to carry along the way. having a backpack frees up your hands to take pictures with a camera or grab unruly kids.
4. wear tennis shoes
this is kind of a no brainer, but you wouldn't believe how many people i saw wearing flip flops. you will be doing a lot of walking if you want the best views of the animals.
5. take a look at the zoo map and mark which animals you want to see most
by the time we left the zoo, we had some kids screaming they were ready to go and some that were screaming they wanted to see other animals. a good idea is to take a look at the park map by either pulling it up at home before you go or when you arrive. if this is a once in a lifetime trip, then of course you are probably going to want to see everything. however, since we have passes, a good idea would have been to let each child pick the one animal they absolutely did not want to miss and then decide as a family what else you want to see. if you know you will have the opportunity to come back, then trying to make your way through every single animal is not a must.
we had a great time at the zoo, but one thing that was a bit overwhelming for us was elijah's incredibly short attention span. some of the animals didn't phase him one bit and almost seemed to entertain him as much as a photograph of that animal would have. at one point, i remember picking him up to show him one of the animals, his eyes locked on it, he said "wow" in his most unenthusiastic voice, and then screamed for me to put him down... where he promptly ran over to play with a stick. seriously? we did a lot of chasing after him all day and jason and I pretty much gave up really trying to look at the animals ourselves, or really enjoying the experience with the rest of the children, just to make sure we didn't loose sight of elijah.
how would you suggest handling this situation? at one point we thought a baby leash was a good idea. i have always kind of despised those things and never had to use one on any of my other children. how do you feel about them?
moral of the story... always check the membership fees because it could be the better deal!
and that's how we ended up planning a trip to the zoo.
labor day weekend, we headed to asheboro, NC where our largest state zoo is. the last time we took a trip to the zoo, i was pregnant with elijah, so this was his first trip. with six kids, you can't please everyone, someone is going to be hungry, someone is going to be thirsty, and someone is going to get tired. here are a few things we learned from our trip to the zoo that we will most certainly keep in mind for our next trip.
1. take the tram all the way to the end, first thing, and then walk back.
the NC zoo is not designed in a complete circle, therefor, you have to walk all the way to the end and back, or take the tram. next time, we will most definitely hop on the tram first thing, while we are still fresh, excited, and full of energy. by the time we were at the end, our kids were ready to go! they most definitely didn't want to walk back and even standing to wait for the tram was traumatic for them. in their defense, it was a hot day, and i was pretty ready to go too.
2. don't go on a really hot day.
you will sweat and you may even be miserable. not, to mention, many of the animals will be too hot to move and will more than likely be hiding somewhere to keep cool. although we got lucky with the elephants, the polar bears, and the grizzly bear, many of the animals like the gorillas and chimps, were no where to be found.
3. bring a backpack filled with supplies
this one we actually did! I filled a backpack with water bottles, a few snacks, and not much else to carry along the way. having a backpack frees up your hands to take pictures with a camera or grab unruly kids.
4. wear tennis shoes
this is kind of a no brainer, but you wouldn't believe how many people i saw wearing flip flops. you will be doing a lot of walking if you want the best views of the animals.
5. take a look at the zoo map and mark which animals you want to see most
by the time we left the zoo, we had some kids screaming they were ready to go and some that were screaming they wanted to see other animals. a good idea is to take a look at the park map by either pulling it up at home before you go or when you arrive. if this is a once in a lifetime trip, then of course you are probably going to want to see everything. however, since we have passes, a good idea would have been to let each child pick the one animal they absolutely did not want to miss and then decide as a family what else you want to see. if you know you will have the opportunity to come back, then trying to make your way through every single animal is not a must.
we had a great time at the zoo, but one thing that was a bit overwhelming for us was elijah's incredibly short attention span. some of the animals didn't phase him one bit and almost seemed to entertain him as much as a photograph of that animal would have. at one point, i remember picking him up to show him one of the animals, his eyes locked on it, he said "wow" in his most unenthusiastic voice, and then screamed for me to put him down... where he promptly ran over to play with a stick. seriously? we did a lot of chasing after him all day and jason and I pretty much gave up really trying to look at the animals ourselves, or really enjoying the experience with the rest of the children, just to make sure we didn't loose sight of elijah.
how would you suggest handling this situation? at one point we thought a baby leash was a good idea. i have always kind of despised those things and never had to use one on any of my other children. how do you feel about them?
Sunday, November 25, 2012
family is more than blood
these two are like peas in a pod. they might not be blood, but they are definitely family. until i met jason, mackenzie's closest sibling in age was phoenix who is 7 years younger than her. although mackenzie loves phoenix and tyler, i know she has enjoyed having siblings closer to her age like she has with ryan and jacob.
recently, a family incident occurred (that i will continue to be vague about) that caused mackenzie to turn to ugly words to show her anger toward ryan about the incident. but, even when they "say" they are mad at each other, i know they can't wait for it all to be over so they can get back to their silly ways as brother and sister. we are a family with strong family values, so i know it is killing mackenzie to see her brother make bad life choices and represent himself in such a disrespectful way. she only wants the best for him.
don't worry, ryan is fine, he is just being a typical teenager! jason and i have a much easier time understanding what he is going through than mackenzie does. i promise this whole situation is nothing more than a case of teenage selfishness. and mackenzie is certainly not innocent of that either!
i love this photo because it was taken on a day that they were really getting along, and being cooperative for photos. that never happens with these two anymore. and, it reminds us all that family is more than blood. it is an unconditional love, as well as the bond you hold with them in your heart.
linking up with the paper mama photo challenge. this month's theme is family.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
the paper mama's holiday photo challenge starts tomorrow
tomorrow starts the annual holiday photo challenge over at the paper mama, and i am pretty excited! this will be her third year doing it and it is one if my favorite things to link up with every year. i love seeing everyone's creativity put to work for this! i assume most people use their creations as their yearly holiday card... i know i do, so if you are already planning to do one, you might as well link up! today I thought I'd share our photo/card from last year in case you weren't around then to check it out.
have you ever participated in chelsea's holiday photo challenge? are you going to participate this year? you totally should! not only is it tons of fun, there are prizes up for grabs! be sure to check it out tomorrow, and i hope to see your photo linked up with the rest of us.
need some ideas? check out these photos from 2010 and these photos from 2011.
have you ever participated in chelsea's holiday photo challenge? are you going to participate this year? you totally should! not only is it tons of fun, there are prizes up for grabs! be sure to check it out tomorrow, and i hope to see your photo linked up with the rest of us.
need some ideas? check out these photos from 2010 and these photos from 2011.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
two teenagers, a step-sister and a step-brother
linking up with the paper mama, angry julie monday, and sarah halstead for wordless wednesday.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
things i just don't worry about as a mom
since i started blogging back in 2008, i have realized that we are not the only big family on the planet. come on, i knew that, but it seemed like everywhere we went people were shocked to see us with six kids in tow. i have gotten to know so many wonderful big families since i started blogging, but i still hear that people these days just don't have big families like they use to. perhaps that's true, i haven't researched the stats, but there are definitely more than others realize. people are still having big families. in fact, my sister has six kids too, and my parent's love to say "we have two daughters and 12 grandchildren". you should see the looks they get.
one of the biggest questions that arise when we are spotted with our little tribe, is "how do you do it"? most of the time i say this..."tight budget, strict schedule, and lots of patience"... but honestly, you just can't let your panties get in a bunch and make a big deal about things. you just can't! i have learned to pick my battles and although i still feel like i am a pretty strict mama, every day i am learning more about what really matters. and every day i remind myself that the most important thing is to live by my values.
here are just a few things that i just don't worry about as a mom:
what my kids wear. they pick their own clothes out every day and if it's a total fashion fail, i absolutely do not care. tennis shoes with that dress? whatever! my only rule...nothing revealing.
eating off the floor. of course, i don't serve food on the floor, but if it falls, so what...5 second rule. hell, 5 minute rule, so what! if your ice cream falls in a pile of cat hair and you feel comfortable eating it, well go right ahead...and then tell me where that cat hair came from because we don't have a cat.
cleaning your plate. not everyone likes the exact same foods, and with 8 people in our family, meal time is never going to exactly what each of us wants. however, we have a "no thank you" bite rule that encourages our children to try their food. one bite to taste it, and if you decide you don't like it, your "no thank you" bite tells me that you are kindly refusing any more. we never force our children to eat anything they don't like, but you have to try it to know that you don't like it.
what my kids watch on tv. during the school week, we pretty much don't allow our children to watch tv at all. weekends...whatever. and we don't put on pornos and sit our kids down for family movie night, but rated R with the occasional boob or killing is not off limits. we talk to our children about this stuff and i feel like if i am doing my part as a parent to talk to them, then i don't have to put limits on it.
gender stereotypes. if our boys want to play with barbies and our girls want to climb trees or play football, we are fine with that.
sexuality. our kids will grow up to be who they feel most comfortable being. regardless of whether that means they are gay, straight, marry outside of their race, or stay single forever, we will love them because they are our children.
stuff. we are a family about doing, not having. i would much rather have the memory of our time together than a pile of junk to be sorted through. we give our kids the things that they want, but always remind them that life is so much more than that.
what other people think. my kids are my kids, i am their mother, and who cares if you don't like the decisions i make. that is not just something i say, it's something i mean. ask anyone who knows me.
what are some things that you just don't worry about as a parent?
one of the biggest questions that arise when we are spotted with our little tribe, is "how do you do it"? most of the time i say this..."tight budget, strict schedule, and lots of patience"... but honestly, you just can't let your panties get in a bunch and make a big deal about things. you just can't! i have learned to pick my battles and although i still feel like i am a pretty strict mama, every day i am learning more about what really matters. and every day i remind myself that the most important thing is to live by my values.
here are just a few things that i just don't worry about as a mom:
what my kids wear. they pick their own clothes out every day and if it's a total fashion fail, i absolutely do not care. tennis shoes with that dress? whatever! my only rule...nothing revealing.
my kids love these nerd glasses. tyler wore the outfit on the right to school one day. she's wearing two skirts at once. oh well.
eating off the floor. of course, i don't serve food on the floor, but if it falls, so what...5 second rule. hell, 5 minute rule, so what! if your ice cream falls in a pile of cat hair and you feel comfortable eating it, well go right ahead...and then tell me where that cat hair came from because we don't have a cat.
elijah's food that he was eating...in the bathroom. he later went back
and finished it. and just eating some food he stole.
cleaning your plate. not everyone likes the exact same foods, and with 8 people in our family, meal time is never going to exactly what each of us wants. however, we have a "no thank you" bite rule that encourages our children to try their food. one bite to taste it, and if you decide you don't like it, your "no thank you" bite tells me that you are kindly refusing any more. we never force our children to eat anything they don't like, but you have to try it to know that you don't like it.
what my kids watch on tv. during the school week, we pretty much don't allow our children to watch tv at all. weekends...whatever. and we don't put on pornos and sit our kids down for family movie night, but rated R with the occasional boob or killing is not off limits. we talk to our children about this stuff and i feel like if i am doing my part as a parent to talk to them, then i don't have to put limits on it.
gender stereotypes. if our boys want to play with barbies and our girls want to climb trees or play football, we are fine with that.
stuff. we are a family about doing, not having. i would much rather have the memory of our time together than a pile of junk to be sorted through. we give our kids the things that they want, but always remind them that life is so much more than that.
what other people think. my kids are my kids, i am their mother, and who cares if you don't like the decisions i make. that is not just something i say, it's something i mean. ask anyone who knows me.
what are some things that you just don't worry about as a parent?
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