373: Medieval Times

Woo Hoo!! We won four tickets to Medieval Times!!

How do you celebrate your 44th? For me it was taking the family to dinner at an amazingly cool place!

 We all loved it!! Horses, knights, jousting, feasting with our hands it was a blast!

At the end our knight won and then he chose our Maddie as

The Queen of Love and Beauty!!

A special night for us all to remember. 

372... Lamberts Cafe

If you ever find yourself  in Foley, Alabama near Gulf Shores Beach, make sure to eat at the famous Lamberts Cafe. It is well worth the wait which will most likely be from 1-3 hours. It is similar to a Cracker Barrel but with a fun and lively atmosphere. They are known for their huge portions, and of course their delicious rolls and passarounds.  The Greeneteam absolutely loved it. 

This boy was one of the roll throwers. The kids thought catching the roll was fun!!

GIANT Rolls, warm and delicious. Jack wants to work at Lamberts one day. 

This is the giant drink that each person gets. No refills were needed. Thank goodness we did not have a spill. 

The service and food were really good.  There is no meal sharing, and they only accept cash or checks. I am so happy that we decided to wait. It is not your typical restaurant. The fun atmosphere makes it the perfect place for a family outing.  The children's meals for 10 and under were $5.99 and included the giant drink. Adult meals ranged in price from $10-$20. Super fun and so delicious. 

371... Visit to the Ocean

I finally took the kids to the Ocean!! This has been a bucket list item for the last several years. I am so happy to finally have it checked off the list. 

We had a great time.  The kids especially loved the giant waves! 

Future Surf dudes!! They walked the beach alone and came back giggling about the girls.

My pretty girl Makenna. She is excited to start writing about the ocean.

Hanging with mom!!

Bucket list item #2!! I hope this is the first of many beach trips. 

370... Poker

For the last three years we have been playing Poker with our friends the Howards. The kids love the Poker chips, and cards and have wanted us to teach them to play. Tonight was the night. We were looking for something new to do and I thought why not Poker? The kids were so excited. 

Carson was the first to get on the board with several winning hands. His nickname was Bulldog and for awhile he thought he was indestructible. 

Cosmic Crusher (Ms. Maddie), and Storm (Mr. Jack) had a few good rounds each. Jack took losing the hardest and still has a long way to go when it comes to learning how to play. 

Ember (Ms. Makenna) was on fire. She played her cards smooth, had unbelievable luck and was totally on fire. She killed both John and I tonight.  She loved being the winner and has agreed that a once a month family Poker night would be a great thing. 

I was very impressed with my girls. They both seemed to grasp the game, and made great plays and moves. The boys absolutely loved it. They loved throwing the chips, and making the deals. They just need a little more practice on how the game actually works. 

As for John and I, we loved teaching them. It was nice to play something other than the typical kids game. I think a once a month Poker night is in order. I see a 2025 VEGAS trip on our family bucket list!! 

369... Tea Time!!

Tea anyone?? Today my sister took the girls and I to tea at the Remember When Tea Room. It is such a beautiful little place located in Chesterland, Ohio. 

 The girls had fun trying to figure out the things that did not belong in the "OLD ROOM".. A visa machine, a speaker, an electric fan. It was fun to guess what did NOT belong.

  The food was very good.  We ate quiche, salad, and tea sandwiches. Can I tell you a secret???  SHHH!!! We ordered hot chocolate instead of tea as none of us our tea drinkers. Is that bad?? Probably, but I am just keeping it real.. The ladies at the tea room did not seem shocked so it must be acceptable.

 We loved getting dressed up. All of us had fun pretending to be fancy. We loved sitting at the decorative table, ordering fancy food, and holding our  pinkies in the air. I will definitely do this again with the girls. It would be a fun yearly tradition!!  Maybe next year we will take Grandma. I don't believe she has ever been to tea!!  

368... NIAGARA FALLS

Niagara Falls was a bucket list item.. You know one of those places that you think about and just think " I want to take the kids some day.". The funny thing is that it had been a bucket list item for just 3 days and we checked it off of our list. How cool is that?? 

I was driving with my mom to WVA on Friday and told my mom that I thought it would be great to take the kids there some time when I visited Ohio. On Sunday my sisters called and said guess what?? We are going to do a day trip to Niagara on Monday!! They swear that they did not talk to my mom. Go ahead play the weird music in your head.. Some times my sisters and I are on the same page. Strange!! 

Here the kids and I are at Niagara State Park. We are about to board the Maid of the Mist. It is the oldest tourist attraction in North America. We LOVED it!! So worth the money! Thanks Aunt Lisa and Aunt Dee Dee for splurging and taking us on this amazingly fun road trip!! We had a blast!

FUN, FUN, FUN!! Such a beautiful place!!

We give Niagara two thumbs way up!! Would love to go again someday!! 

367... Croquet

When I was a kid we played croquet, horse shoes, and jarts whenever we went to my Grandma's in WVA. It was a summer and family tradition.  Today while we were visiting my Grandma we got the set out. It was a little tricky for the kids at first, but then they started to get the hang of it. 

My Aunts, Uncles and Grandma enjoyed watching the Greeneteam play their first round of croquet.

My kids especially loved when Aunt Nancy became a stinger and started coming after them all. This is  still a fun family sport/game after all these years. 

366... Summer Reading Kickoff Party!!

My girls are readers. My boys aren't. I thought tonight we would kick off our summer reading with a pizza party in the parlor. Everyone brought their library books and blankets. We ate dinner and then started a new read aloud Max Quick. After only two chapters we are already hooked.  Then everyone read for an hour or so on their own. Fun, quiet, and unplugged!!  

Day 365... FUNOPOLIS FAMILY FUN CENTER!!

DAY 365!!

Our original plans today fell through. We were going to go to the top of Stone Mountain and try to watch Venus do it's transit. The weather was not cooperating so I needed to come up with a new plan for fun. I thought why not go to a place that has FUN in the title??

We started off rock wall climbing. The kids loved this and all desperately wanted to reach the top!!

Carson was the only one to reach the top and ring the bell. Way to go buddy!!

Day 364... Shaving Cream Fight

We had an "S" Day theme going at our house today. The boys headed this morning to Sports Camp. When they came home we all headed to the library to register for the Summer Reading Program. Then for fun we had a Shaving Cream Fight and played Squirt the Squirt!! 

A few months ago I saw a friends photos. Her kids had a shaving cream fight at church. I thought to myself,  now there is a fun idea!!

My kids seem to love a fight of any kind so this made for a fun night!!

Clean up was fun too.. We played Squirt the Squirt. My friend Leslie's little boy Cooper came up with this game last week. I thought it was such a cute name for spraying the kids with a hose! 

Day 363... Visit to a Historic Town..Madison

We visited the Historic town of Madison, GA  today. 

The kids loved all the old  buildings and shops. The welcome center made up a small scavenger hunt of places for them to try to find as we were walking through the town. They loved using the maps and being the tour guides.

Alea one of the workers at Scoops Ice cream told us to come and check out this old cemetery. The kids were a little freaked out about it so we didn't stay long. It was neat to see markers dating back to the Revolutionary War. I could have stayed here a lot longer. Maybe next time!! 

The girls have made me promise to put this great little town on a girls only bucket list for the future!!

We will definitely be back. It was a great day exploring this beautiful Historic City. 

Day 362... IN A PICKLE

Today we played IN A PICKLE.. 

Makenna got this one a few years ago for her birthday. 

Trying to decide if anything in his hand would work. 

Poor Kenna did not win a single round!!

Maddie with her circus card!

Jack was our winner!! He loves games and he loves to win!!

This was a fun game and the last one for the 365!! We have played close to 30 games this year and have definitely found some new favorites!! 

Day 361... NATIONAL DOUGHNUT DAY!!

Picking a fun thing to do today was a no brainer!!

IT'S NATIONAL DOUGHNUT DAY!!! 

John Headed to our local Krispy Kreme with 6 kids in tow!!

The kids watching the doughnuts being made!! They also ran into some home school friends that we hadn't seen in over a year and had fun talking and catching up!!

Day 360... Blindfolded Taste Testing!!

Today for fun we did a blindfolded taste test. John and I had fun torturing the kids into believing that we were going to have them try garlic, onions, mayonnaise, vegetables, and spices. 

The reality... we had planned a dessert taste testing!! 

Every time they tasted something sweet they knew the next one had to be a bad thing.. It never was!!  The kids loved this and definitely had fun!!

Items I used: Chocolate, cereal, ice cream, licorice, cotton candy, fruit snacks and Sherbet!! 

Day 359... Sawnee Mountain Preserve

Today we went to the Sawnee Mountain Preserve. I did not do my research on this before leaving and we were not prepared for the long hike that it took to get to the Indian Seats. The top pictures were as we started on our hike/journey. The first picture is a tree house that is just outside the visitor center. 

When I say we were not prepared I mean we were not prepared. I had brought nothing to drink or eat and it ended up being 1.6 miles there and 1.6 miles back!! An older couple gave us a cold bottle of water about an hour into the walk. I am seriously grateful to those folks as I was feeling like the worst mom in America!!

 Maddie and I made up stories of fairies along the way. There was a lot of moss and several holes and it just looked like a fairy utopia. Making up these stories was fun and it  helped the time go by. Once we got the bottle of water things got easier and the rest of the walk was good.  

Victory!! I will say this was a long walk, one that I would compare to climbing Stone Mountain. We will absolutely go back as it is a beautiful view and great exercise. The next time we will have plenty of water and be wearing the proper shoes.