Christmas Making...

I have been doing some Christmas making...

For a lucky little girl I know who loves to rig up hammocks for her dolls. I found this doll hammock pattern in this book... which is full of awesome toys to make out of felt, fabric, yarn and wood...

Are you doing any Christmas making?

Stormy Day at the Beach...

This was the first weekend in the last four that Wes did not have to work... We took advantage and headed out to Crystal Crescent Beach.

The gates are locked for the winter so it means a little bit of a hike to get to the beach...

But there is plenty to do for entertainment along the way...
It was stormy and the waves where big... for here...
The kids were excited to get down to the beach...
Lots of interesting things wash up on the beach in fall and winter...
Wes was giving the kids a lesson on slope stability...

The water flowing out here is stained with all of the fall leaves and other "organics"... making it look like tea...
Dylan loves watching his tracks...
Trying to keep up with sister... The tide was coming in and she was a little disappointed that we could not go out to the tide pool rock... Be she knows enough to respect the ocean!
Little hero tossing sand at Mama!
Tide coming in... She was great about keeping an eye out while she collected.
It started to rain on us just as we were getting back to the road...
Holding on to the bag of "beautiful rocks" and hat and jacket... while Dylan was off to puddle jump!

A good stormy day at the beach. I am happy we took a chance on Saturday because Sunday was windy.... and I can take the rain over the wind any day!

Thanksgiving... Take Two!

In this family we all love Thanksgiving so we are more than happy to celebrate it twice. In October is of course when Wes actually has time off from work so in makes good sense to have a long weekend with Thanksgiving feast. But even though Wes had to work on Thanksgiving... that would be American Thanksgiving... we still had a feast when he got home! Grandma and Papa came out from the farm with turkey in tow... and a whole lot of fixing's. I added a few bits and there you have it... Thanksgiving take two!

They arrived early in the day to get the bird in the oven and we had fun watching the kids dance, cooking and going for a hike while we waited for Wes to get home...

My camera was amazing short on pictures from Thanksgiving. I usually put my camera away once the sun goes down and it was definitely down once Wes got home. Not a traditional Thanksgiving but a whole lot to be thankful for none the less! Thank you Grandma and Papa!

While we were hiking and dancing here in Nova Scotia I later found out that my Mom was taking my Dad to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. I talked to them earlier in the day and he was feeling a little tummy ache but as the day progressed so did his pain. Just before dinner with friends my Mom ended up driving him to the hospital where he had surgery and a few days of recovery. He came home yesterday and I could not be more Thankful! Get your rest Dad!

Long Fall Walk Today...

More than a few snippets from our walk today...

She could not leave Martha the Mammoth behind this day...

As I have said before... rainy days make the forest colors pop... so pretty today.
Identified as Orange Jelly fungi... After joking with Fionna about spreading it on her toast I wish I had not read aloud the part about it being edible! Yum!
Hard Hat... check. Boots... check. Mud... check. Happy boy... check

Going ahead...
We found more than a few fungi to identify today... These are Fionna's favs... The Polypores...
Fungi out of reach...
We have been without rain for a little while and I have really missed it... Amazing that I went those very long stretches of time in Cali without it... But I always loved it when it came!
At the end of the trail...

I realize that statement can have many meanings... but it really is at the end...
On the job...
New lady bug found... An Eye-Spotted Lady Beetle

Fionna fell down and did not get up right away... I was a little worried... She found this little one in the moss when she fell... Luck of the bug hunter!
One of my favorite houses in the hood...
Roadside rose hips...
Fall rose leaves...

It was a great long fall walk... The kids did lots of off trail exploring and tonight were exhausted!

Tomorrow Grandma and Papa come for Thanksgiving Part Two... We did celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving back in October... but we are always willing to be thankful twice!

Wishing Everyone a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Math

Addition can be hard...

Or not....


Math has been great fun round here lately...

Imagination...

Our little man is having an explosion of the imagination and it is so fun to see and hear all of his adventures, discoveries and curiosities...

His shadow is an endless source of fascination... weather in the morning sunrise or heading up the stairs with the light to his back... He is in awe at how it grows and changes...
While sister was shaping up her solar system he decided those straws would be great as masts on his ships.... only one was a pirate ship and the others we rescue ships to "save the people from the bad pirate guys..."

Fionna's explorations into space have sparked many trips for this little man too... He frequently takes his step stool space craft to Jupiter... the other day he even brought me a banana from space... such a sweetie!
Helping to haul wood is great fun too... especially when being chased by "baby T-Rex's"... You know they live in the forest in the backyard...

I get lots of help in the kitchen... hard hat recommended but optional...

He makes his way into the kitchen every time he hears me begin a meal... The other night he came in... grabbed the step stool... and said "Mom, I am coming to help and I am determined to do some sampling..."

All things construction are number one on his list! He often draws plans and tells me about all of the details on the building... he only wants to wear blue jeans... like Dad and the other "struction" guys!

I see a tool belt in his future!

Sometimes I take for granted all of the things I did before these two little people were born... Until they come up with questions that make me think about how they see me and the things that I can and possibly can't do...

The other day he went with me to the store... once we finished shopping it was dark... very dark... Dylan was curious...

"Mama... It's dark! Do you know how to drive in the dark?"

As we drove home he went on to tell me that at night when we are sleeping he starts up the truck and goes to the store to get cookies and candy... then he added that he also gets bananas, apples and oranges. He said this all very matter of fact like...

He is also adding a very southern accent to Mama these days... that happens every so often and continues for a week or so before is goes away until another day...

He has his moments full of piss and vinegar but he is a Mama's boy to the core and great fun to be with as he discovers, creates and lives with the in the moment passion of a three year old!

Solar System... revisited

As the weather has cooled and the creepy crawlies have burrowed deep Fionna has moved on to bigger things... The Solar System to be exact...

From bugs to space... I am just waiting for the bugs in space stories...

These last few weeks have seen the solar system revisited... She started out recreating the same model as in the past... then moved on to clay. She wanted some help to get them "really round" then we brainstormed how to display them... straws started out as a good plan. We made bases for them and she told me how to spell each planet so I could etch the names on the bases with a sewing pin...
After a few days of drying time she was ready to paint them... She got out the Atlas of the Universe she obtained from the library and went to work...
This version of the solar system lasted a few days before she decided that the straws were no good and she needed metal rods for support because that would make it more like a museum display... "Like the hold up the dinosaur bones"...

More clay is on the list... along with some heavy gage wire... or maybe just some coat hangers cut to size... More solar system making is in our future.

I have to say that I have learned more about the solar system in the last few weeks than I ever knew before.

She is devouring all kinds of books from the library... two trips we have made to get more and more books about space.

A few she really likes:

The Atlas of the Universe

The Young Astronomer

The Moon Book (by Gail Gibbons - I don't think I have mention that we LOVE everything by Gail Gibbons - She pretty much ROCKS every subject she writes/draws about... and there are a lot of them!)

Our Solar System Series (Specifically Saturn)

The Kids Book of the Night Sky

Arty Facts Space and Art Activities

After reading the Young Astronomer books she was going around the house collecting things up to go into her Astronomers Field Bag... When the sky got dark she wanted to head out to the deck for some star gazing... luck would have it that some animal happen to be making strange noises in the forest that night... she was back in the house like a flash... She has since decided that the Farm is a much better place to star gaze because the is too much light pollution around here!

Last night when we tumbled out of the truck from our latest library excursion I told her to look up... She said, as she waved her hand in a sweeping motion over her head... "You see mom, this is evidence that earth is floating in space... the stars and the blackness... just space!"