When Winter Stays Too Long...

And spring forgets it's entrance cue.
When outside it's wet,
but you long to get
grass in between your little toes,
When you're blue,
'cause it's cold
and books are getting old


What are two little girls to do?


Oh, yeah....rock it out!






Please hurry Spring!!
Thank you, thank you very much.

Must. stop....

eating candy!

Ah....the sweetest time of the year. Does the inside of a trick-or-treat bag smell as intoxicating to everyone else? There's no smell lab on earth that could match the yummy goodness of the inside of a trick-or-treat bag.

Nevertheless...I gain 5 pounds just smelling the stuff. So I have mixed feelings about this time of year. I helped out with Sam's class party today. I thought, 'Oh, these 6th graders don't need lots of sugar.'
Wrong.
Sam was pretty disappointed in me and my "lame, no candy party."
Yes, well...boo on you, I say. People can have a good time without a sugar rush.
"Even so," (he's admitted these are his two favorite words. We hear them A LOT)
"Even so, mom. Kids expect a sugar rush this time of year. We're kids for crying out loud!"

How do you think that went over?

That's right.

Seriously though, folks. I have pretty good kids, sugar expectations aside.
They even let me take pictures of them in their costumes.
Sam even agreed to be the Mad Hatter to complete our "Wonderland" theme.
(He wanted to make a fake dagger sticking out of his heart with blood and everything, but then figured he probably couldn't even bring a fake dagger to school.)

Are you ready to go to Wonderland? Here we go!

This was un-posed. After posing them and posing them, I finally just let them do whatever they wanted and this is what I got.

Again, un-posed.


He makes a rather dashing Mad Hatter, eh? I let you in on a little secret. That hat is mostly cereal boxes, hot glue and an old little jacket. Also, that's my blazer.


Again with the dashing. By the way, that's snow in the tea cups.


She's stolen my heart, this Queen of Hearts.


They're friends in real life.




Alice? How do you feel about having your picture taken?


Alice? Where did you get those wonderful stockings?
Why, Target of course!

Now everyone will probably want to change their costumes for trick-or-treating.
Happy Halloween!

Check, check.

Hello?
Are we on? Check, check.

Yes. Ah hem. (It's been a while.)

A quiet morning. The first one I've had in a while. Anna has been drawing, singing, dancing and now we are indulging in a little screen time.

This is a post in three parts.

Un.
I have been enjoying all the inspiring posts this month on Chocolate on My Cranium's family festival. I was really thrilled when she asked if I would contribute a post. It's been a while since I've tried to write something meaningful and it felt good. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to do that Montserrat!

Deux.
Also, I'm starting to think about Christmas! For several reasons.

a) Thanks to the family festival I won this beautiful plaque from Huckleberry Hollow Designs!

Isn't it perfect! I was so excited to win it. Thank you Debra Larsen!
She has many more lovely plaques at her website. I'm picking up a few more for Christmas presents.

b) We have begun rehearsals for Savior of the World again! Yay! This year Claire is going to join us! We can't wait for the time when we can do it as a whole family. A couple more years, perhaps.


Trois.
People have asked if I take pictures of my kids anymore, now that I've been taking pictures of other people's kids.



Yes. Yes I do.

Shhh......

Last Saturday we hiked to Cecret Lake with some friends.
There were still some lovely wild flowers.
The sun was warm.
Felt just like the end of summer.
Not the beginning of Fall.

She's Beautiful.

It's so hard to believe six years have gone by,
since my darling was born on the fifth of July.

She's beautiful.
She's beautiful, we whispered in the morning
on the fifth of July.

All the world should have some one who
makes them laugh the way you do.

When those laughing eyes are serene,
they reflect a heavenly scene.

She's so much strength.
She's so much loved.

She's beautiful.
She's beautiful, we whispered in the morning
on the fifth of July.






{photographs by Jeremy}

The right place.

This summer I volunteered our family to work once a week at This is the Place Heritage Park. My family is so good about humoring me.

Actually, the kids really love getting dressed up and being pioneers for a day.

And I can go no further with out publicly thanking my wonderful mother for making the girls' dresses and pantaloons. I get compliments on them all the time. I love my mother!

Sam slips into another world and time when he goes. Especially with the dialog. I've had people ask me where he is taking acting lessons. They are always so surprised when I tell them he's not.


Elise is in heaven with all the animals. It's exciting for me, as mother, to see my children grow into and develop their talents.


Claire is happy to run around with friends. She also takes her house chores very seriously (hmmm...) and loves to tend the baby animals.


Anna is happy to run around with Claire, tending animals and riding ponies. We had some drama last week, but with some training, a good night's sleep and plenty of food and water, this week was a much happier experience for her.



Another thing that makes this experience so much fun is that our friends are up there with us!
 Here are a few of them in front of the house that we tend. The official term is "interpreters." That's what we are.We interpret the history for our guests at the park.




At times pioneer life seems so idyllic. It's quieter.  It's moves at a slower pace. It's more family-centered.

Today we picked cherries. They will be really sweet in about a week, but we couldn't help ourselves.



Idyllic, yes?
Well, here's a little reality for you:
This morning Claire and Anna ate a whole pint of blueberries for breakfast. Then they ate pocket-fulls of cherries at the park. Can you see where this is going? Yep. To the loo. (or "necessary" as we call it at the park) Thank goodness for indoor plumbing.

This is the garden we help tend:


This little lamb was so new, it still had it's umbilical chord.



All in all, a very good day. Hot, but good. We come home tired and sleep well.
Yes,
this is the right place!