The snow is finally melting here.
We have several bodies of water in our front yard just perfect for fishing.
Is it wrong that I get a chuckle (and lots of photos) out of watching her struggle to get up with so much clothing on?
She did do it by herself. I’m building up her self-efficacy.
Happy Monday. Happy (almost) spring.
Much earlier in the winter, we went outside to play in the snow and tried to make a snowman. It was too cold, and the snow wouldn’t pack.
After more than three months of temperatures too cold to go outside and play:
Still looks pretty darn cold, doesn’t it? On Saturday it was. We tried again to make a snowman and ended up making… a lumpy pile of snow. We couldn’t get the snow to pack well because it was too cold. Again.
So, the girls played in the puddles instead (of course).
I was determined to have a snow man at first, so I did not proceed to the puddles initially.
But it wasn’t happening (^^ obviously), and I couldn’t resist abandoning the snowman to play and splash.
I’m glad I did, because yesterday we ended up having the perfect day for snowman building. We were able to do the roll-and-pack move to make the body parts.
Miss made the head all by herself and was so proud.
I’ve mentioned before that my Dad is quite artistic, and once made a snowman in the shape of a bust of Abraham Lincoln. I had a passing thought as I was trying to pile snow up into some sort of “snowmannish” shape on Saturday that maybe I could create something like he did, since the roll-into-three-balls-for-a-body-and-head technique wasn’t working out for us. Yeah. Not so much (the lump on the right is the attempt from Saturday).
The finished product from Sunday’s efforts:
It’s no Abraham Lincoln, but I love it, and Miss was very proud.
It was nice and warm (which means above freezing around here at this time of year), so we stayed out and played until dinner called us in.
It’s over 50 degrees today (!!) so the snowman has already melted and fallen apart. But we made a snowman! We went outside! I can feel a tiny hint of spring in the air (very tiny). We’re so ready.
We had our first snow yesterday. The girls started begging to go out and play in it as soon as they woke up. I wasn’t able to take them out in the morning, but I told them we could go after nap time.
The snow wasn’t even enough to cover the grass, and it was mostly melted by midday, but if there is ever snow anywhere in our town, it will be in our backyard. So we still had a snow in the afternoon and they were thrilled.
^First time in snow.
I forget how much kids love snow. I was standing out there huddled and cold, because by the time I got them all dressed to go out, they were running excitedly to the door, and I didn’t take the time to get myself properly geared up. And I was thinking about how I am not ready for our looong winter to start yet.
But as I watched them I couldn’t help but feel a little excited about this winter. There are so many things they want to do (notice in pictures above they are really excited about making snow angels). Miss kept mentioning ice skating, which was a bit of a surprise since we’ve never talked about that, but we can go there I guess.
They enjoy the snow so much. They didn’t seem cold at all.
I just couldn’t help but appreciate the joy of my kids in snow. I even thought a bit about how much I loved it when I was little. I reminisced a little about how my Dad used to make the best snowmen/snow sculptures. One year he made a bust of Abraham Lincoln! And I couldn’t help but remember the time I found a “treasure” and ran to show it to my Dad. “Look Daddy! I found an acorn!” He laughed and told me to drop it. It was frozen squirrel poop.
And speaking of animals in the snow, the older girls started playing a game outside yesterday in which I heard them talking about helping the “hurt deer.” They were “warming” it up to make it get better. They seemed to be pretending that a big rock was the deer and they were brushing the snow off. Then I did a double take and noticed they weren’t playing with a rock:
For about a second I forgot that my husband’s deer target was out in the backyard, and I slightly started to freak out about them tending to an actual dead deer. Duh.
Another joy this year is that Miss can get her own snow pants, boots, and coat on now, and Lass can do some of it herself. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. Mittens are still my enemy, but that makes me very happy.
It’s going to be a long winter. It always is here. So we (I) might as well embrace it.
Yesterday we took the girls on a long treasure hunt. It was cold and windy. We ended up with one shell, one piece of shell, and two pieces of hickory nut husk as our “treasures.”
Not much in the way of take-home booty.
But, it was really one of the best treasure hunts we’ve had. The real treasures just weren’t things we could put in our pockets. My favorite was this deer carcass:
It had decomposed enough that it wasn’t stinky or gross. Granted, I didn’t want to touch it, but my Mother-in-law, bless her heart, took care of that when the girls asked to look more closely at different parts. They were fascinated by the ribs and spine and jaw and pelvis, and came up with various hypotheses about how the deer died.
My Mother-in-law showed them the teeth and discussed how old the deer may have been. We talked about the circle of life and how other animals had eaten the rest of the doe’s body.
It was a fantastic science lesson, without really being a lesson.
Then we had “gym class” climbing on this old fallen tree. They have been captivated by this tree since it fell over in the early summer.
The adventure turned out to be a bit of a disaster, because the girls were scared half to death by trying to balance on the tree trunk in slightly floppy rubber boots.
It was cool anyway.
Next stop was the beach. They enjoyed splashing in the water a bit (the whole reason we wore the rubber boots).
We went for a walk along the shore. 
And found some deer tracks.
We explored some beaver handiwork too.
Though we ended up with just a couple of small in-my-pocket treasures, the real treasures of the day were the findings and experiences of nature.
One of my favorite things about homeschooling the girls is that I think it has made me focus on and cherish these kinds of occurrences even more than I did before. I enjoy having a new appreciation for how much learning there is to be done out in the world.
It’s only Monday night. This was only my husband’s fourth night of bowhunting. He already got a deer! Woo Hoo!!
I am so excited. This never happens. Usually it is the very last day that he gets a deer. There are several reasons for this, and they basically all boil down to the fact that my husband is meticulous and picky. He will not take a shot at a deer unless he is quite sure he can kill it. He also won’t shoot if the deer is too young, as he wants them to be able to grow on the property here.
In years past, he has waited and waited for a deer worth shooting that was within range for him to get with his bow. This year he got an opportunity at the beginning of the week! And since he had a perfect shot and the deer died almost instantly, he didn’t need to spend all evening tracking it, so the girls and I were able to go out to his hunting spot and watch him field dress the deer.
We found him and he led us right to the deer, just a few feet away.
The older girls had already observed the field dressing of a deer that their cousin shot yesterday, but they were still excited to see Daddy’s deer.
WARNING – There are photos of a dead deer below.
The girls walked with their Dad to see where his arrow landed in the ground. It went clean through the deer.
SECOND WARNING – There are a couple of photos of a dead deer being field dressed below. I am not posting anything too graphic, but the third photo down from here is a little gross.
The girls really enjoyed watching this process and hearing from their Dad about what he was doing and why. He showed them the various organs of the deer and explained what they do. Lass was especially interested in getting up close, though she did say, “No more killing deer now, okay?” Sweet, tender-hearted girl.
They covered their noses when he cut open the stomach to show them what the deer had been eating.
I stood back a little, because I have actually never watched a deer be field dressed up close myself (the last time I was in the field when it was done I stood waaay back). This time I wanted to see what my girls were seeing. But I was a little worried I would get really grossed out, so I didn’t get too close.
Turns out it wasn’t really that bad. At least from a bit of a distance. With my camera in front of my face most of the time.
I love that the girls got to experience this with their Daddy. Miss was so intrigued and kept talking about when she will get to go hunting with him soon. I am thrilled that it’s only Monday night, and I will now get to spend some time with my hubby for the duration of our vacation.
Unless he decides to spend the rest of the week fishing…
My hubby and I have been meaning to put up our tent and let the girls “sleep” out in it all summer. It’s one of the few things on our Summer Fun List we still need to do.
We had the tent up and ready when we went to the Farm back in June, but my husband got sick with a bad sinus infection, so we (he) didn’t do it then.
When we went to the Farm in August we forgot the tent. And at other times my Hubby has been working nights or working weekends or we’ve been traveling. We haven’t had many free weekends at home, so the tent has not been up, and we (they) have not “camped.”
This week my Dad happened to bring a very small and I think kind of old Army tent with him. He thought the girls would enjoy playing in it, so he put it up for them yesterday morning. He had no intention of anyone actually sleeping in it. It didn’t even have a floor.
But I saw an opportunity and decided to take it.
Unfortunately, I didn’t really plan the whole adventure out very well. I had my first RCIA class last night and didn’t get home until after dark. I did pick up flashlights and cookies on the way home, but that was the extent of my preparation.
Fortunately, my Dad had grabbed a tarp at the hardware store yesterday afternoon, so I threw that down, flung a couple of quilts on top of it, had the girls grab their blankies and pillows and books, and out we went.
They thought it was pretty great.
We had a “Special Secret Camping Cookie Treat.” I called my Mom to ask her to bring out our water bottles (like I said, zero preparation).
We read some stories by flashlight.
We made two trips into the house to go to the bathroom.
The most frequently uttered phrase of the evening was, “No tooting in the tent!!”
Each time we went inside I thought for sure they were going to decide to stay in and go to bed.
See, part of the reason I wasn’t very prepared was that I didn’t really believe they would want to stay out more than about an hour or so. I figured we’d eat our special cookies, read a few books, snuggle and be silly for a bit, and then they’d be ready to go inside and go to sleep in their comfy beds.
Lass actually was ready to come inside after our stories were read, but each time she’d say she wanted to come in Miss would say, “I want to stay out!” and then Lass would say, “Yeah, me too.”
I was getting nervous that we might actually stay out there all night! That ground was hard. And I kept thinking that critters could crawl under the sides or in through the big gap in the front of the tent where I couldn’t get it snapped (yes, snapped, not zipped!!) all the way to the ground. And it was hot and stinky in there (from all the tooting).
Happily, a little after 10:00 Lass said, “I think sleeping inside would be better.” I asked her if she wanted to go in, and she said she did. I quickly and cheerfully said, “Okay! I’ll take you inside.”
To my surprise, Miss said she wanted to go in too. So I scooped them both up and hustled them into their beds before they could change their minds.
I thought I was going to be in for a looong night (though I would have stayed out there!). Instead, we had a lot of fun, rolling around and laughing and pretending. And I still got to sleep in my own bed.
Miss did ask if we could “camp” again tonight though…
Linking up with Conversion Diary again.
1. When we went to Des Moines for the fair, we had a little pre-birthday party for Lass. She was so cute and so excited about the whole thing. Each time she opened a gift she said a sweet, breathless little “Fank you!!” accompanied by a tiny giggle. She melts me.
2. Speaking of birthdays, my Dad turned 70 on Wednesday. We couldn’t be with him, but my girls drew him some pictures:
Lass drew two caribou and one “caribou-snake” and Miss drew a dinosaur (“Grandpa loves dinosaurs, doesn’t he?”), and a “snake-eel.” Sis mostly just likes to hold the crayons.
3. After Labor Day Lass will be starting swimming lessons with Miss. She has been begging to do this for the past year. Each time I took her to the drop in care at the YMCA when taking Miss to her lesson, she asked to take swimming lessons too. I told her she had to wait until she was three. She is so excited to start in a few weeks.
4. We have a swing set/play structure thing at our house. It’s sort of a cheap one, and we won’t take it with us when we move.
I have decided that when we build our new house, I’m not going to get a new “play system.” My girls’ favorite outdoor play spaces are old trees and big rocks and tall grasses. Those are much cheaper.
5. I always forget to pack bathing suits when we travel. In July, when we went to my parents’ house, I packed the girls’ suits, but forgot my own, so I had to run to the only store they have in their town, Dollar General, to grab a suit when we took them to the beach.
This week I forgot everyone’s suits. When the girls played on the beach, I didn’t really care. They just got their clothes wet and sandy and it was no big deal. But when we went to my sister-in-law’s house, I knew the kids would be swimming in her pool. I figured we would all need suits, so I ran into Target on the way to her house to pick some up. The suits weren’t quite the right size since the selection was pitiful, but at least they were on sale. Happily, my husband was merciful and let me out of wearing my ill-fitting, mismatched suit, saying he could handle the two older girls since we didn’t go in the pool until after Sis was in bed. He’s the best. Plus he was the only one in a suit that fit…
6. Cuteness:
7. Last weekend my husband’s whole family (almost) was here to help get things cleaned up. That’s because the annual Labor Day Party/Family reunion that used to be hosted here at the Farm is back this year.
Last year it was at a different venue, and it was amazing. But I’m excited for it to be at the Farm again. It’s a costume party and the theme is “Jobs.” I have no idea what my costume is going to be, let alone for my three little ones. Any suggestions?
It’s been a long time coming.
We have been trying to purchase a property on which to build a new home and set up our “homestead” for a long time.
A really long time.
Yesterday, we finally closed the deal on this beautiful spot.
Our view:
It won’t be long (hopefully) before we have our home and garden and chickens and an amazing space for our girls to grow.
They’ll have even more space for all the things they love to do.
Running and rolling and climbing and exploring.
All we have to do now is plan our dream home from scratch. Easy peasy, right?
Something that I have really wanted to do with the girls this summer is to get them outside to do a treasure hunt in our yard for natural items that they could use to do an art project. A “nature collage,” is I guess what I was thinking, though I didn’t have anything terribly specific in mind.
So a couple of days ago I rounded up their Halloween buckets so they could collect some treasures and off they went.
They found some great stuff. Leaves, sticks, flowers, rocks, acorn tops, etc.
Today we got out the buckets and some big pieces of cardboard that I cut from a box and got to work.
I had this image in my mind of some really earthy, organic-looking artwork with all the natural materials they would be using.
But then I saw the glitter glue.
Seriously? Glitter and nature go perfectly together.
Sis found some more treasures while her sisters worked.
I love what the girls created.
Love, love, love.
Miss’s:
Lass’s:
This was such a fun project. Easy and cheap too!
Found objects + Cardboard + Glue (Glitter optional) + Creative Kids = Art!
I am totally hanging these on the wall. I hope the enormous rocks don’t fall off…
Sometimes the littlest things make me the happiest.
Like watching my kids play with rocks.
Honestly, I can’t even describe how much I love to watch how creative their play is.
With rocks.
Miss informed me they were playing a game called “Get Rocks Clean.”
They were very intent on cleaning their rocks, though there was much more to it than that. This game was quite involved.
And I was so excited when Miss said, “Mom, I’ll put my clean rock up here now and the sun will evaporate the water and it will be dry.” Pause, “But there aren’t any clouds…”
She was thinking of our discussion of the water cycle and how evaporation leads to the formation of clouds.
Um, I get kind of giddy when she randomly talks about something that I taught her in our homeschool lessons.
The simple things…
Sis loves rocks too.
Rocks.
Simple.
I have been wanting a storage shelf for our art stuff for a long time. One like this:
I saw one like this at Miss’s preschool, and I loved it so much I looked for one of my own. I found several places to order one online, but I could never bring myself to actually spend the money.
Well. Miss’s old preschool teacher closed the school about two months after I took Miss out and started homeschooling. This past weekend she had a yard sale and was selling off a ton of the stuff from the school. I was so upset because we’re out of town, and I couldn’t go. But she let me put dibs on the stuff I wanted! She even showed me pics on Facebook.
I got a shelf just like the one above. Actually the shelf that inspired my love of The Shelf. I got it for a steal and it’s already put together and I don’t have to pay shipping or pay extra for the storage bins…
I am unreasonably excited about this shelf that I’m getting. Seriously.
I might have gotten up and done a little happy dance when I sealed the deal with Miss’s old teacher over FB chat.
And I might have spent the past 24-ish hours dreaming up ways to rearrange our homeschool room to accommodate the new things I got.
Because I didn’t just get that one wonderful shelf. I got another hinged/folding shelf, and a paper cutter, and a board game, and a box full of stuff for a Zoo unit that I just happened to see in a picture she sent me of the shelf. We are doing a Zoo unit next after Horses!
I’m giddy I tell you.
Simple things.
And here’s one more.
I have come to appreciate the beauty of a concrete patio this week.
Our driveway is asphalt, which isn’t really conducive to playing barefooted.
Or lying down.
If my kids even sit on it to draw with their sidewalk chalk or examine a bug their pants get all blackened. It makes everything black and gross.
So usually they sit in the grass or color on our brick walkway, which isn’t all that fun because how much can you draw on a brick?
But concrete?
That’s the stuff.
It’s just right for bare feet and rolling around and making art.
I never occurred to me until today how lovely concrete is.
By the way, Sidewalk chalk paint: Crush a stick of chalk in a ziplock, add it into a little bit of water, stir, voila!
Simple.
