Backpacks & Bentos

I have a sickness.

It's May 22, I have 12 days that I still have to come to work before summer.

And I'm already shopping & planning for the girls' first full year of elementary school.

First off, we had to have backpacks. And since Pottery Barn Kids was having a sale (I got one of the backpacks for $19!), and free shipping - I hopped on it. Audrey picked the Chocolate Geo pattern & Natalie picked the Chocolate Floral.

But of course I couldn't just stop there. I've been searching for lunch ideas, other than lunchables. I'd love to do bento boxes, but ain't nobody got time for stuff like these super cute ones....at least not in my house! I'm also pretty sure the girls would FLIP if they found Yoda staring back at them in their lunch box. Not to mention, after carpool, sitting in a classroom for a few hours, and being carried by almost 5 year olds to the cafeteria, all my hard work would look more like a Pollock.

But I found some supplies on Amazon, and they are rather cheap (like $3-4), that I think might make them more eager to eat their PBJ and fruit. Or possibly use to trade for square pizzas and cookies, who knows?

silicone muffin cups / face punching templates / 4 pack bento boxes / stacking bento box / egg mold / food picks

I think I could probably pull off lunches like this. Maybe not every day, but some days. They look pretty basic, and it's just the little things (picks, silicone cups, shaped sammies) that make it look nice.

What do you pack for your kids for lunch? 
I'm in need of some ideas, because the girls have never had to have lunch outside of our house - and I certainly get in ruts with what we eat.

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Stumphouse Tunnel & Issaqueena Falls

We decided to head out on an adventure yesterday. After a rainy day stuck inside, we were all itching to get out doors. Eddie came up with a plan to visit Stumphouse Tunnel in Walhalla, SC - after reminiscing about a childhood trip there and how awesome he remembered it. So a quick stop to Academy Sports for some flashlights (oh, and they had puddle jumpers on sale for $14), we were off!

For those that have never heard of Stumphouse Tunnel, it was started in 1852 as a tunnel for the Blue Ridge Railroad to connect Charleston to Knoxville. But, the Civil War brought construction to a halt. The tunnel is 17 feet wide, 25 feet high, and there's an airshaft about halfway down the 1,600 foot tunnel. In 1951, Clemson University bought the tunnel and used it to cure their famous blue cheese (ew, this sounds so gross to me!). We also got to climb on one of the train cars, I'm assuming that was there in the 1800s, but I couldn't find any information about it.

We read a sign going in that there were bats in the cave, and since we were the only ones in there - I was officially freaked out about bats & serial killers. My husband laughed about the bats and said they didn't seem to bother Bruce Wayne all that much. To which I replied that Bruce Wayne was a billionaire with the funds to seek therapy for his trauma - I'd just be stuck as the crazy lady terrified of bats. I'm also a chicken because my 18 month old boy basically led the way down the tunnel and didn't want to come out.

Dead of cuteness!

The fog did not help ease my bat/serial killer fears

At this point, I heard a bat squeak and dragged the girls out running 

We then headed down a path to view the Issaqueena Falls, named after a Native American woman who alerted settlers (her husband was David Francis, a silversmith) to a native attack. When her tribe realized what she was doing, she jumped off the falls, and they believed her to be dead. In reality, she either landed on a ledge, or a stump (hence Stumphouse Tunnel) and she & her husband left South Carolina to live in Alabama. There's a little easy paved trail to an overlook of the falls. Of course, this was not enough for me & my adventurous family, so we ended up hiking straight down a cliff to get a better view, and play in, the falls. Even little man did some good hiking & climbing!

Natalie: "Hooray - the waterfall!"
Me: "Honey, that's not it - it's only a little one"

Thank you, random hiker that wasn't a serial killer, for taking our picture!

We had such a great day, and I hope the girls will remember this. I'm actively finding more places for us to visit this summer, hopefully one a week. I want them to have a love of the outdoors, and possibly not fear bats like I do, hehe.

And last, but not least, please click below to help vote for us on Top Mommy Blogs. It's been a while since I've asked, and we've definitely fallen out of the top ten. Thanks!

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Playing Outdoors

Can you tell he's so stinking proud he snagged his sister's juice?

Oh yeah, he thinks it's hilarious!

The most beast swingset ever

Did you take the picture already???

Multi-tasking 

T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

Emma & Axl

Random ghost like picture of Natalie running after Uncle Daniel's truck

Corbin & Aunt Anna

We got to watch our neighbor make hay today. It's so cool that we live out in the "country", yet a half mile away from every type of shopping center imaginable. 

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