Posts by Rachel Spoelhof
Israel Adventures continue
Our Fall bucket list for October has come to an end, but the adventures continue at home and for Kerry and Rick in Israel. Here is the latest scoop from their travels:
We made it through the border crossing between Israel and Jordan. We enjoyed seeing Mt. Nebo and a city called Madaba.
Mt. Nebo is referenced in the Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land in Deuteronomy 34. Madaba was once a Moabite border city, mentioned in the Bible in both Numbers and Joshua.
That night, we watched the sunrise over the Petra mountains and woke up early the next day to hike through the ancient city of Petra.
The Nabatean kingdom was established here approximately 9,000 BC. Petra is located near Mt. Hor, where Moses’s brother Aaron passed away.
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Israel Adventures: Ein Gedi
The bucket list adventures keep on coming from Isreal!
Today we hiked to the top waterfall in Ein Gedi, the oasis where David hid in caves from King Saul who was chasing him to kill him because David had become more popular with the people. This is referenced in the Bible in 1 Samuel 24:1-22.
Ein Gedi is located at the edge of the Dead Sea. It is the only natural fresh water oasis near this desolate below-sea-level area surrounding the Dead Sea, also inspiring the poetry of Song of Solomon, Song 1:14.
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Hiking Masada
Today’s bucket list adventure was hiking Masada, Hebrew for “fortress,” and one of Israel’s most popular tourist attractions.
It is possible that Masada is the place David took refuge from Saul and where he wrote some of his Psalms.
Herod the Great built himself two large palaces here between 37 and 31 BCE. According to Josephus, Herod had two great fears: one, to be deposed by the Jewish people, and two, the fear of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. This fortress, Masala, was one of his escape places.
You can walk the 911 foot trail to the top, and we are so glad we did. It took 52 minute to climb and the top has incredible views of the Dead Sea. We drank 8 bottles of water!
Signing off for now from Israel,
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Supporting Our Local Pumpkin Patch
Our favorite pumpkin patch is a family owned farm out in wine country. We love going every year to take a few of the same fun photos to compare as the kids grow. We’ve been going for at least 5 years!
It is really fun to go to this local pumpkin farm to support the family who owns it and run into lots of friendly faces of people we know. We actually decided not to meet any friends on this trip so our family could explore and play at our own pace. Each of the girls got a set amount of tickets and chose a couple activities each. There are lots of activities and even food trucks and a winery up the hill from the farm.
This year I let the girls decide what they wanted to do. They chose between the petting zoo, pony rides, and carnival games. At the end we celebrated awesome parent teacher conference with ice cream from their ice cream truck.
We almost didn’t go this year, but thanks to the Bestie Fall Bucket List Challenge, I knew that this was a memory I didn’t want to pass up! I’m so grateful for this challenge and the reminder to get out and make memories!
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Trunk or Treat
One of our favorite events of the year is our local Girl Scout Trunk-or-Treat. We love walking around the trunks with our troop and supporting all the local girls and families that make the event possible. It is a great way to do something fun as a troop and also to be a part of the Girl Scout community!
I love seeing everyone in their costumes. Even the adults get dressed up. Some of the troops even have theme costumes!! I admire those leaders because that is a lot of organization.
The trunks are FABULOUS. Everyone goes all out and most trunks are interactive with games or photo opps. There was a trunk playing music to dance to, a trunk where girls to try out a lasso, a slime trunk, and one of our favorites – the Star Wars trunk!
I sure wish these cool Halloween events had been around when I was a kid! But I’m glad that I can experience all the fun with my girls and our friends and their families!
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BOO!
Have you ever Boo’d a friend?
It is SO MUCH FUN. We LOVE putting together baskets for our friends and surprising them with goodies. It is such a fun way to spread Halloween cheer and do something kind for others. I really love watching my girls get so excited to give.
If you don’t know what it means to BOO someone, it is really simple and fun. You put together a bag or basket for a neighbor or friend. Depending on the person you pick items like activities, coloring books, treats or snacks, etc. We were able to make our baskets with things we found in the Target dollar bin (the dollar store is a great place to look too) and spent around $6 per bag. Leaving the bag is a secret. So knock on your friend’s door then get ready to run or drive away!
Do you BOO your friends? Do you have something you like to do for others in the Fall season?…
Read MoreHostess with the Most-ess
Does hosting bring you joy or stress?
I’m somewhere in the middle of both. Unfortunately, sometimes I convince myself that I’m no good at hosting. So I don’t do it. The truth is, you don’t have to be an expert to open up your home to others. So often I find myself wishing to be invited to fun things. Can you relate? How about instead of wishing for that invite, WE INVITE!! It is such a gift to others to bring people together for fun and connection.
Here are a few tips to throw an un-perfect PERFECT party:
Remember: Your party or gathering does not have to be Pinterest worthy to be fun.
Focus on things that are fun for you. I have a lot of fun finding a theme drink recipe to offer to my guests and like to focus on that.
Keep things minimal. I think some of the anxiety and stress of having a party comes with trying to do too much. That definitely happens to me with decorating. I’m not an expert decorator, but I did have fun for this party because I kept things simple. I found a garland that I liked, then picked the rest of the items I need to match. Matching made everything look cohesive, fun, and simple.
Ask for help. You don’t have to do it all. Having a meal or a party potluck style not only takes all the work off your shoulders, it allows your guests to be involved. You can just be the one offering the space, and everyone can contribute to the fun. This also lets people share their talents with the group – maybe with a signature dish they make, or something fun they add to the theme!
Serve your guests, but also be part of …
Read MoreHalloween Party Time
One of the activities we chose for our Fall Bucket List was a no-brainer – to go to as many Halloween dress up parties as possible!!
You can imagine our excitement when a party opportunity came up at Girl Scouts. I signed the girls up immediately and I’m so glad I did. These girls love to party and make new friends. Did I mention this was also a drop off event so the hubby and I had 2 full hours ALONE?!!! Worth it!!
Now, back to the party. This was the girls first opportunity to dress in their Hogwarts costumes and they looked adorable. We have been listening to all the Harry Potter books on Audible in the car and I am thrilled to have 3 super fans to share in my love of all things HP. (We are currently on Book 6!)
They have all sorts of fun accessories, but we decided to leave those at home for this event so they had hands free to dance, eat, and play at the event. The girls have a great assortment of Harry Potter gear, so they wore their favorite shirts and their HP Vans.
The girls had a blast and even won a costume contest with the other Girl Scouts dressed as Harry Potter!
What Halloween parties do you have planned?
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Learning Through Play
We LOVE our crates from Koala Co. They are science and learning based subscription kits that come with all the materials you need for some great learning time. My 5 year old loves the Koala Crates, and every other month we get a Kiwi Crate for my 2 older daughters. I love that the girls can have hands-on learning time with me and I don’t have to do any prep!!
Our latest Koala Crate came with everything we needed for a play campout. It was a huge hit!!
Focused playtime with the kids is super important, and these crates make it really easy to have a fun activity to do that keeps us entertained and working together. It is also a great way for me to teach the girls how to follow directions, work together, and let them learn how to do the steps themselves.
Do your kids get a monthly subscription box? What are your favorites?
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Baking and Teaching
Baking cookies is one of my favorite things. To be included as a “Favorite thing” however, cookies must include chocolate. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about why I love cooking with my kids. For one thing, it is a great lesson in patience. One I need often. It is also a super fun way to teach math! I like to have the kids practice counting and I always give a quick lesson about fractions (hoping one day the lesson will stick). Baking is also a great way to teach cooking skills in a safe environment. I handle the oven part, but there are lots of measuring, stirring, pouring opportunities for the kids.
I’m listening to a great book that stressed how important it is to teach our kids something, then give them the opportunity to figure it out (remember the patience lesson I talked about. here it is!!). Yes there will be messes and mess ups, and the process will be slow, BUT letting them do it themselves builds their confidence and problem solving skills!
My favorite part about baking together is of course, eating together at the end!
This Oatmeal Chocolate Chip recipe is one of our favorites. It just so happens to be the recipe on the back of the bags of Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Oats. This recipe is also gluten free. HORRAY!! As a happy accident, I didn’t have enough sugar for the recipe so I substituted maple syrup. BOY OH BOY was it delish and perfect for FALL paired with the oats and peanut butter in this recipe!! I hope you enjoy these as much as we do.
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tps vanilla
1 1/4 …
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