Woodwater Farmhouse

Last year I saw an ad for Kiwi Crate and was intrigued by it.  What are Kiwi Crates you ask?     *This post contains affiliate links. See policy at the end of the blog. Kiwi Crate is a monthly subscription service for kids. Each month, subscribers receive boxes filled with fun and engaging kids' projects. Each box includes plenty of materials and inspiration for 2-3 projects in arts & crafts, science activities or imaginative play. Previous crate themes include Dinosaurs, Gardening, Colors, Space and more. Kiwi Crate projects are age-appropriate for boys and girls ages 3 to 7 and are designed to encourage discovery, exploration and expression. Each project is designed by moms, reviewed by child development experts, and, of course, tested by kids. Subscriptions can be ordered month-to-month ($19.95 per month) or annually ($220). Kiwi Crate also makes a great gift for birthdays or holidays. We have 3 and 6-month gift subscriptions available (for $...

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see bottom of blog for policy.  Welcome to Collage Friday!  Today is our 10th Wedding Anniversary !  Ten, WOW...A decade with the man of my dreams!  I can say without hesitation that these 10 years have been wonderful!  Honestly, not many ups and downs, mostly UPS!  He is a kind man that was sent down from God to keep me real.  To love me unconditionally and be my mate in life!   Most home schoolers have been sharing their learning spaces these few last weeks of August. Here is a pic (last year) of our learning area - we usually sit at the table for studies but honestly outside and the rest of the house are really where we learn mostly! We are not back to school Full Time until October 1st. (two more vacations yet to go!) We leave on Sunday for a long road trip!  Check this POST out to find out how the kids will be keeping busy on our long journey! Friends, I pra...

*Post may container affiliate links. See policy at bottom of blog.  In just a few days I am packing up all four of my children (ages 4-25) and hitting the open road!  We are traveling from NY to NC to see my ailing father.  After a few days in NC we are back in the truck heading further South to SC (I was born in Charleston, SC) to visit my aunt and uncle for a week. My husband, due to work, won't be joining us.  My oldest son will be flying home mid-vacation.  I will admit I am anxious about traveling this far with the children without my husband to help out. Especially the home trip without another adult helping.  Keeping the children occupied (using DVD player as a last resort) is important to me. With some preplanning and forethought, I was able to put together some great Travel Containers for them!  Keeping with a tight budget is a must since the trip (gas alone) is costing us a pretty penny.  Finding a lot at Dollar Tree sto...

WOW What a week it's been!   We spent 5 days upstate in Watkins Glen NY (AKA Wine Country of the East) for a fun filled, action packed vacation.  We did SO MUCH!   I will try to recap quickly in pictures how our time was spent..... We arrived at our camp ground on Thursday afternoon (no pics - bad thunderstorms after setting up!)  Friday - more rain, but did not stop us from checking the track out!  Lots to do... These pics are from Saturday's Nationwide Series Race.  SO LOUD (we used ear protection) but sooo cool!  Our seats were great, right at start/finish line. No rain, beauty of a day! We found some time to HIKE the Gorge at the Watkins Glen State Park.  It is so beautiful and the falls are all breathtaking.  There was a ton of fun to be had at the McDonalds Pavilion.  Tailgating is always a must also (pic with the kids and our travel picnic table) .  Morning of Sprint Cup ...

We recently took a 5 day trip to the Fingers Lakes Region in Upstate New York.  Known for their winerys, the Finger Lake Region is a gem of a place to take the family. I have been to this region of NY plenty of times and it never gets old. The scenery is just breath taking.  This trip our main focus was  the Nationwide and Sprint NASCAR Races (more to come on this experience) .  We did have time to take a detour and visit the Watkins Glen State Park .  This park is something to behold.  God's beauty at it's best!  It's only $ 8 per car load to enter and well worth every penny.  We only did a fraction of the hiking trails due to time and level of hiking knowledge (kids mostly).   The morning of - it rained cats and dogs all morning...so a lot of the trails were puddle ridden.  Humidity was 100% (hair is not looking good...lol)   but we had a great family hike!  There are SO many waterfalls at this park. The kids and hubby...

Not real sure where the week went....we celebrated a lot this week...Zachary turned 9 on Monday and a few days before that we had family over to celebrate with us!  Minecraft was the theme of the party!  We had a great time and the weather was perfect!  We did about an hour a day of book work and continued with teachings outside the home...We went to see the movie TURBO (great movie!) and of course Friendly's for a celebratory birthday sundae! On Monday, his actual birthday, we went to the Renegades Baseball game (our minor league team).   It was a special time for Zachary. We allowed him to bring two friends to share the night.  As a surprise to Zachary, I arranged for him to throw out the 1st pitch, had his name in lights on the tron board and they all went out to practice catching on the field prior to the game!  In addition, one of the event employees picked the kids (randomly) to go out at the 7th inning stretch and sing Take Me O...