Advent is just around the corner and it's one of the most special times for us as a family. Sure, the festive lights and Christmas goodies are fun, but the real meaning of Christmas is so special. It’s so easy to get busy with holiday parties, Christmas shopping, school programs, and baking that the real meaning of Christmas can get buried and forgotten about. There are so many Advent books to choose from, but which ones are really great and which ones will the entire family get something out ...
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Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup
I've found the best loaded potato soup recipe and I just had to share it with you all. This is the perfect soup to take to a friend during those chilly months or to put in the crockpot in the morning for a cozy dinner that evening. *Ingredients* 5 slices of bacon, diced3 pounds of russet potatoes, peeled and chopped (I dice them)3.5 cups chicken stock1/2 onion, chopped3 cloves garlic, minced (or 1.5 tsp of minced garlic)2 sprigs fresh thyme (1-1.5 tsp dried thyme)1-2 tbsp unsalted ...
Little Beaver State Park in West Virginia {review}
Another camping trip is in the books and we loved our visit to Little Beaver State Park in Beaver, West Virginia. This West Virginia State Park is only 6.5 hours away from our home in Nashville, TN, and was such a great trip. Little Beaver State Park is settled on 562 acres which offers so much family fun no matter the season you plan to visit. I lived in West Virginia during some of my elementary years and the weather is wonderful no matter what time of year you visit. If you visit in the ...
Our 2020/2021 Homeschool Curriculum
'Tis the season for all things back to school. I'm seeing LOTS of new homeschoolers around here (hello, COVID) and getting lots of questions about our homeschool curriculum. That's so great! We have tried a lot of different homeschool curriculum over the years. This will be our tenth year homeschooling, so you can imagine all the curriculum we've gone through. When we first began homeschooling, I was all for the boxed kits where everything comes shipped to you in a box and you don't have ...
6 Places to Camp – Within 3 Hours of Nashville
Camping is one of our favorite ways to vacation as a family. We have some favorite places to camp and recently, I was asked if I would compile a list of our favorite campgrounds (within a short driving distance of Nashville, TN) for another family, and I wanted to share it with each of you as well. Townsend / Great Smokies KOA - this was the first campground we camped at as a family and what a special (and beautiful) place it is! All the river campsites are great - however, our favorites are ...
Make a Splash at Gaylord Opryland SoundWaves
It's no secret that we love Gaylord Opryland SoundWaves. We try to get there as often as we can. While we normally aren't waterpark or water attraction people, we do LOVE SoundWaves! The last few months have been interesting, to say the least, so a little staycation was in order when we heard that Gaylord Opryland was re-opening its door after being closed for three months due to COVID-19. If you've never been to Gaylord Opryland or SoundWaves, you may want to check out the What to Know ...
16 Day Family Road Trip: Nashville to Jackson, Wyoming
Our kids have always been good travelers - whether it's on a plane or in a car. When COVID-19 hit, we had to cancel a few camping trips and were pretty much stuck at home for a couple of months. After month two, we were ready to get out and needed a family road trip, if for nothing else than a change of scenery. My husband has a flexible schedule and right now was a great time for him to pick up and leave. We decided on a road trip out west from our home in Nashville, TN. We went back and ...
The Garden Loft – Chicken Coop Review
We decided (after several years of going back and forth) to get chickens this Spring. What better time to start this project than when we all are at home during a pandemic, right? Picking out the chicks (all 16 of them) was so easy, but what's next? There are SO many chicken coops online to choose from (between Pinterest, Instagram, and Google), how do you decide which one is the right fit for you? We thumbed through hundreds of blog posts and reviews on Pinterest. We even bought several ...