dragonfly days

scenes from the weekend.

This weekend: garage cleaning, movie watching, picking up our new to us piano (!!!), music playing, bead making, biking, playing at the park, grocery shopping, game playing, a first break up :(- which meant crying, treat making, helping neighbors, etc.

On the list this week:

• back to a light summer school schedule for Jack, he just does better with some structure to his days.
• a bbq at the neighbors
• baseball
• A big birthday for my man! 40!!! And I need to plan something!!
• getting the older kids on a "won't drive mom batty because we are out of school and bored" schedule.
• play- lots of play- lots of fun.

What is on your list?

the eclipse

the garden

My herbs are really taking off this year.   From top to bottom: feverfew, mullien, comfrey, goldenrod, milkweed, and calendula.

Time to get to work harvesting and more making goodness.

 

the garden

My herbs are really taking off this year.   From top to bottom: feverfew, mullien, comfrey, goldenrod, milkweed, and calendula.

Time to get to work harvesting and more making goodness.

 

the garden

Today we:

• had phone call about our online school plans for next year- more about those to come.
• watered the gardens
• practiced playing baseball
• played with a friend
• tried new foods
• had dessert
• bought solar eclipse glasses
• ran long overdue errands
• did lots of laundry
• did a light homeschool day
• made necklaces
• went for a walk
• cooked  a new dinner
• enjoyed the views.

 

 

hey batter

Tonight was our first experience with youth baseball.  Our older kids were never interested in it. We counted ourselves lucky. But Jack, Jack only wanted to play baseball. He started to hit balls that were pitched to him when he was three.  He even asked back then to play.  Our excuse was in the bag, "You're too young. They don't have a team for you."  But this year they had a team. Honestly he could have played t-ball, but we just won't mention that.

I figure if the baseball career doesn't go anywhere that maybe he can model for a sports magazine.

Okay, seriously the poses were all his idea. Ahem. Now on to the game...

The players rotate positions throughout the game.

They get six pitches while up to bat. If they can't hit it in those 6 pitches they walk to base.

Nobody gets out.  And the inning is over once everyone has had a turn at bat.

There is also a strict no heckling policy. 

All the parents were cheering both teams on. So far it seems good. Exactly the kind of thing we were looking for-- a fun way to learn more about the game.  He is over the moon about it all. He can't believe they won their first game. They don't actually keep score at these games, but the kids can count.  He also can't believe that he has to wait until Thursday for the next game.  He wants to eat, breathe and live baseball. 

hooked

Some of you know that Jack's favorite show is River Monsters. Last week he asked if he could go fishing. We're not big fishermen around here. Steve goes with his grandpa, but Zac doesn't enjoy it. I told him I would take him to one of the local ponds. When Steve heard the plan, he immediately offered to go along and help. That was a good thing since the last time I went fishing was around 20 years ago.

This past weekend he took his money and bought a rod and was ready to go. As in- bouncing off the walls ready to go.

Two minutes later, he had a bite.

He did throw the fish back. We have a strict you kill you eat it policy, which makes it hard for a picky eater.

It was also nice to see these two connect on something. It's hard to find common ground with a nine year age gap.

That was the only fish caught tonight.

On the way home they were already planning the next trip. I think Jack is hooked!

kite festival

Saturday was the local kite festival. This year, Jack had an opportunity to participate in the reading program they have.  He had to read 50 minutes per week for a total of 650 minutes. He had no problem reaching that. 

There wasn't a wind, not even a slight breeze, so it was really hard to get a kite up.

Some people were more creative and used helium balloons. Why didn't I think of that?

It was a fun afternoon!

the new hobby

A while back I mentioned that Zac has a new hobby.

It is a hobby  I fully support because it gives me things to hang on the wall.  Pretty things.

It's also sparked a lot of learning. We have a poster hanging up  that shows different types of butterflies and Jack would read it, copy down the names and then google them to find more images. There have been books and movies about butterflies.  This past Sunday Zac and Jack went on a butterfly hunt.  They were gone most of the day and came back with three.  Zac let Jack pin one.

Someone is hooked now. They are plotting buying a real net for him for the next butterfly hunt.  In the meantime, I no longer have to buy artwork.

scenes from the weekend 1/15

I don't know why this pic won't post right, but it's kind of funny sideways too. :)

This weekend: Battle of the bands in support of our favorite guitarist-- they did awesome! Recovering from a looooong week with very little sleep. Baseball and lacrosse at the park.  Staying up too late again, running errands, driving class with the teens, birthday parties, and cleaning.

 

On the list this week:

• rugby
• lacrosse
• dance
• park
• Zac is off.
• no dentist- always a good start
• project life-- every time I try to start I find I am missing one thing. I vow to get it started this week.
• homeschool- make paper and penguins are on the list this week
• movement- I lagged at the end of last week between being busy and no sleep. Won't let that happen again.
• Lacrosse tournament- tis the season
• rugby meeting
• Guitar lesson
• I'm thinking some kind of surprise field trip is in order one afternoon this week.

What is on your list?

scenes from Sunday 11/27

 

 

 

We had a wonderful holiday and hoping you all did too.  Everything for the big feast turned out great, well except for the pies so we had a re-do. Well a re-do plus two from the store just in case. Which left us with a whole lot of pie!  Talisa worked on Friday. Since I had to be up to take her to work, Steven and his girlfriend and Alex and I ventured out to shop. We had a lot of fun. Then it was home to rest for a bit before picking Talisa up and hitting the craft show.  I was beat that night.  Saturday we got me a new MacDreamy. Sigh. So nice.  Which left the rest of the day to deal with cords and transferring files. We're still getting settled in. Today, I called it a rest day. I only ventured out once to get gas. The rest of the day I spent getting everything in order for school this week, planning a menu, watching the leaves fall, listening to the little kids jump into the leaves, and getting the Christmas tree up. It's up, but not decorated. We're doing it slow and easy this year.

On the list this week:

• Choir dress rehearsal
• p.e.
• rugby
• lacrosse
• Choir performance
• Dicken's festival
• hip-hop class
• book sale
• park day
• Grandpa's birthday
• decorating the tree
• decorating the house
• Dinner with the other Grandpa

What's on your list?

 

a leaf walk

Yesterday we went on a leaf hunt at one of our favorite parks. 

We collected two bags full of leaves. Now to dip them and hang them up.

i think fall is here

 

Notice the shorts with a hoodie, topped off with a coat.  I think the cooler air is finally here.  Time to get crafting!

 

finding fall

Last week the temps were still hitting 100 degrees.  We had already bagged school for the week due to classes, field trips, and doctor appointments.  I decided that Jack and I would take off on Thursday and go find some fall. I love fall. I love the smell in the air, the colors, the shorter days, the feel of it all.

garden update

A litte update from the garden. Our first tomatoes this year! The first pepper! I'm thinking some homemade Italian is in order this week. we also have pumpkins and jack-be-littles coming out our ears. And speaking of ears- corn! Yes lots of corn this year.  The cabbages have also made it and cabbage salad is on the menu for this week. 

The flower garden is slowly changing. The early blooms are dying off and new flowers are appearing daily. Love that.

 

 

scenes from the weekend 7/10

Giant pumpkin plants sprouting up.

Marshmallow blossoming.

Hanging out in the treehouse.

Tomatoes.

Corn, almost ready.

Projects in the works.

More peaches waiting.

A baby watermelon.

Watching the bees work.

We spent the weekend catching up with everything! Work, canning, garden, kids, etc and we are still catching up on sleep.

On the list for this week:

• more canning~ donut peaches, maybe some more cherries and anything else I can get my hands on.
• processing zucchini. I'm thinking muffins for some of it.
• library visit. We haven't been going near enough this summer.
• yoga
• Alex is getting her wisdom teeth pulled this week. :(
• That means I need to finish up any major projects within the next few days so we can focus on taking care of her.
• Which also means a special soft food shopping trip.
• Harry Potter marathon. Yes this week I want to watch them all. :)
• ease back in to shome gentle learning with Jack.  More on this later.
• Harvest more herbs.

What's on your list?

 

garden update

First of all, we are loving all the surprises in the wildflower mix we planted this year.

The herbs have gone wild! I am loving them!

But our main outdoor activity lately involves...

Watching all the baby birds learn to fly. We were able to observe this baby robin and it's mama interact and feed just a few feet in front of us.

Today it was this trio of youngsters.

With mom coming in to feed them.

A little sibling rivalry.

So neat to witness these moments. This last nest has been about 10 feet above the tree house which has made a perfect spotting place.

 

a bowl of cherries

Today the girls, Jack and I went out to a local orchard and picked cherries.

When Jack picked two cherries with the stems connected he told me that he thought it meant he was going to have good luck. :)

 

Jack didn't want to leave. I think he would have stayed all day if we had let him. In all we ended up with 40 lbs of cherries.  Now to just do something with them. First thing on the list is a homemade cherry pie!  A friend also suggested cherry chocolate chip muffins. Mmmmmm.

 

hooping it up

Today I finally did something that I have been thinking about for over a year.

We made hoops.

I had no idea they would go over so big.

Jack does full body hooping. We thought he was going to take off like a helicopter.

Despite the hand Alex is already moving in to learning some tricks.

There were quite a few hooping contests to see who could go the longest.

And I even got in on the action. We'll see how my back feels tomorrow, but it was really fun! I should have done it a year ago.

 

 

hello summer.

mud pie making.

log cabin building.

playing in the sprinkler.

homemade slingshots.

I think that all points to one thing, summer is officially here!