Month: May 2016

2016 Summer Bucket List

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Never mind that I haven’t finished my traditional annual bucket list for 2016…. IT IS SUMMER! I am always a sucker for new beginnings, which is one of the reasons I know I am meant to be an educator. Only in education are you afforded the opportunity to create new year’s resolutions/plans/lists at the beginning of the calendar year AND at the beginning of the new school year. But, if you are crazy like me…you also stretch your new beginnings, planning, and list-making by creating new plans and adventures each Summer as well. I don’t know what it is, but there is so much sweet satisfaction in crossing items off my list. I have a problem….I know!

Last Summer was full with a new job on the horizon and working Summer School. This year will be busy as well, however I am eager to spend some much needed quality time with my mini-me! Here is a list of what we hope to accomplish during our time together. Don’t worry, we will keep you updated on our progress!

Summer Bucket List—2016 Edition

-Go see a $1 movie

-Make homemade ice cream

-Go camping

-Tiedye t-shirts

-Pick blue berries/strawberries

-Make jam & can tomatoes

-Host a yard sale

-Get play make-up and have a makeover night

-Paint Pet Rocks/Character Rocks

-Go to the Library

-Finish Thanksgiving table cloth

-Make flash cards

-Homemade pizza night

-Oatland Island nature walk

-Throw a Tea-Party

-Make a Pillow Fort & hold a Disney Movie Marathon

 

Can you think of anything we are missing? What is on your Summer Bucket List?yos

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Saturday With Addie: Working on the House & Our Tans!

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Another Saturday has come and went, and it is even more apparent that Summer is upon us! May 20th marked an important day in my educational career as my first “last day of school” as an administrator. It has been a truly memorable year, and I will not forget everything that these students have taught me. Yes, I will still be working during the Summer and in and out of the school building, but Friday was still very special!

On Saturday, even though I would have much rather reveled in my celebration of Summer a little bit longer, we hit the ground running to tackle some much needed projects around the house. We washed load after load of laundry, cleaned the house, hung a (very, very, very heavy) porch bed swing, and dismantled and reassembled a (very, very, very heavy) weight bench system.

You would be right in assuming that this took to majority of a day to complete; however, we wouldn’t be completely satisfied if we didn’t try to squeeze every possible minute from the day. So….we loaded up the car and struck out towards the beach with some family. We. Had. A. Blast! Although initially I was hesitant to drive out to the beach for just a couple of hours, but I am really glad that we did. Addie loved playing with her cousins on their boogieboards and performing her best cannonballs in the waves!

Saturdays With Addie: 1 Staycation & 1 Weekend Away

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I can’t deny that the month of April was a bit of a blur. Working three weekends in a row and then going out of town for the other didn’t really leave a great deal of time for family adventures and fun. With a new month ahead of us we wanted to make sure to take advantage of the warmer (but not scorchingly hot) weather. The last two weekends have been very different, but equally exiting.

Weekend #1: Staycation

-Savannah Scottish Games (complete with Celtic dancing, traditional highland games, fairies, Scottish soda, and lots and lots of plaid)

-Mother’s Day (we went to church and had lunch at my parents and hubby’s grandparents)

Weekend #2: Adventures Away

-Walt Disney World (We left Friday after work and spent the day at Magic Kingdom on Saturday. We saw the princesses, rode our favorite rides, and hit the rode around Addie’s nap time.)

-St. Augustine (We arrived in St. Augustine in the early evening, and spent the rest of the day walking along the river, San Marco Castillo, and downtown. We had delicious pizza at Pizza Alley and homemade popsicles at Hyppo. The next morning we made sand castles at the beach and went on walks for sea shells.)

-Grandma’s (Like many Sunday evenings we spent the last bit of the weekend at hubby’s grandmothers house eating good food and enjoying random conversations with family. Addie and her cousins even found the time to make “mud angels”).

Was our weekend busy? Of course, but we wouldn’t have it any other way! I can’t wait for many more weekends just like this one of the next few months!


Spring Break 2016: Expedition New England & Montreal

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Once again this year, the Vinton’s and Harvey’s braved uncharted territories and faced perilous times all for the sake of chasing the next adventure. No….I we did not explore the remote areas of the Amazon. What we did was much, much more dangerous. We took  a TWO YEAR OLD on over a 1,000 mile road trip and four plane rides in one week. Yes, we are crazy!

We certainly had many adventures (and misadventures) along the way. Here are just a few snapshots to highlight some of the memories we made.

I am so thankful for good friends and good times! Thank you Lord for blessing us with a sweet (and sometimes crazy) little girl, and such fun (and sometimes crazy) friends!

Here are some highlights from the trip:

-Driving to the very tip of the Cape & collecting sea shells

-Watching whales breach near Providencetown, MA

-Exploring Vermont’s Agrotourism (cheese and chocolate tasting, and touring a cider mill)

-Ben & Jerry’s!

-MIT Museum, Sam Adams Brewery tour, & the Boston Aquarium

-Riding the ducks in Rhode Island

-Addie seeing SNOW for the first time

-Hearing FRENCH all aroumd us in Montreal

-Montreal’s AMAZING food scene

-Authentic Sugar Shack dinner in Montreal, complete with maple snow taffy

 

 

Saturdays With Addie: A Little Retail Therapy

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Can you believe that there are only 940 Saturdays in each child’s life? Yep, the days a certainly long, but oh how the years are fast! While every Saturday will include bucket-list fulfilling activities, they will be priceless moments for our family. I don’t want to forget even one of them! So here goes…

I had a work obligation during the early part of the morning on Saturday, but after lunch I was able to meet up with Addie and the Hubby at the outlets. No, we didn’t have a massive to-do or to-get list. We just strolled, browsed, went to the candy store, and played on the play ground. We then hit up the ole faithful Mexican restaurant in town, and then headed home for an early evening in house. All in all we had no earth-shattering, ground-breaking adventure. But we did have fun!