all grown up

 

ooohh.... i came across the new photos of layla and pesto sleeping on the couch together today and instantly remembered the old ones. it was a lot of fun going through those old photos.... so many moments that i had forgotten. in the "kitten" photos layla had just had her fourth birthday and eislee was just about one. it has almost been two years since then and they have changed so much. i must admit i feel a little bit sad when i look back in awe of "how fast it all went" but i think it is a wonderful thing to look back and remember that it does go that fast and faster and that we really must enjoy every moment... i forget that sometimes. i can get so caught up in all the things to do that i feel like my life is scheduled about two weeks ahead (life really goes fast when you live like that). i have discovered though that when i do my best to slow down and live "in the moment" that life really does go just a bit slower and that i really enjoy it. so that is my goal today... to slow down and enjoy my life and my children because all to soon i will be looking back on these new pictures saying "oh, how they've grown."

a busy break

oh.... spring break.... i must admit it hasn't been what i expected it to be, but it has been a wonderful break none the less. i was picturing the kind of break with lots of relaxing down time were you catch up on everything you are behind on..... hmmmm..... sounds a bit like a daydream. what we got is equally wonderful and is definitely a "break" from the norm though. we have been having lots and lots of fun. lots of catching up with family and friends. which is a much more important (and fun) kind of catching up. this week has me so excited for summer and more of this wonderful freedom. it's officially spring now... which means summer is only one short season away..... yes!!

in the photos above:

*taproot is an amazing new magazine created by a few of my favorite people

*chai tea steeped in hot milk with a large drizzle of honey (my absolute favorite!)

*progress on charlotte... she is almost complete! what do you think of the rainbow hair?

the (last?) storm

some of the large limbs of this overgrown laurel bush cracked and fell with the weight of the snow. my children were delighted with the "cave" it opened up. they collected many small branches and planted them in the snow. layla worked hard and planted a whole row.

matt was working hard in somewhat of an opposite way... cutting trees to clear roads. it was the largest  number of trees down that we have seen in our five years here. 

maiko built this snowman entirely by himself... i had to chuckle when i saw all the fruit.... i didn't even notice that he was taking it! he's very creative, that maiko. when i asked him if he was going to eat all that fruit he replied by grabbing a strawberry and taking a big bite.

and i... well i was spoiled... i stayed in next to the heat of the fire, drinking coffee, and finished up an old project. i am assuming that will be the last of the snow... but one can never really know when it comes to the weather.

oh march...

well.... the weather here has been pretty unpredictable lately. it's been something along the lines of hail, rain, snow, rain, hail, wind.... whew. monday we traveled into town for layla's dance class and i decided that we should probably make a grocery trip while we were there. i had all four kids with me and as we walked into the store the rain was pouring down on us like a waterfall. it was crazy. i noticed on the drive home that there was some snow mixed in with that rain and shortly after the sun went down it was snowing wildly! we were so excited. then, somewhere in the middle of the night it started raining. we still had a lot of snow the next day but it was very wet and heavy. that snow took down many trees and put many of us out of power. i was feeling very fortunate for that wood stove and giant woodpile. even though we felt somewhat inconvenienced, we still had heat and we were able to cook and heat water. we were very lucky. there were many people around here having a hard time even making it to their homes. a small group of men (my husband included) spent most of their morning and afternoon driving around the area with chainsaws helping to clear the roads. such wonderful community servants! i must admit... the first thing i thought after the snow started was "oh no! are my flowers going to make it through this?" i have really been enjoying their wonderful presence and they really just got started so i would be pretty disappointed to loose them so soon. i'm really glad that this storm hit before the apple trees blossomed. fingers crossed for good pollinating weather once they do bloom!

can you believe that we are already half way through march? that means only one and a half more months of yucky weather dear friends and then it's beautiful sunshine. the first day of spring is less than a week away. the never ending winter is almost over.

keeper of the chicks

yes... we got chicks. if you have heard some of my complaining in the past you may be wondering "why more?"(we keep ours completely free range... so.... they poop everywhere and scratch up my flowers). well, we are down to zero chickens at the moment and the truth is, well, i miss them! it's somewhat like childbirth were you forget all the "bad" things. i truly miss seeing chickens, hearing chickens, and especially eating chicken eggs. we are eating eggs right now, but even the "free range", "organically fed" eggs from the store don't even come close to the rich flavor and deep yellow color of our eggs.

eislee has taken a special liking to this batch. maiko and layla have seen enough chicks and the rule of washing your hands every time you touch them is enough to keep them somewhat disinterested. ollie is too small to reach the box... so she doesn't really even notice that they're there. but eislee... she is constantly watching them... she doesn't really like to hold them that much.... but she loves to watch.

i am really excited about our new flock. we are experienced enough to actually know what we want this time. we plan to get a few chicks every other week until we have about ten or twelve chickens. we should end up with two or three chickens of about five or six different breeds. a beautiful assortment of sizes and colors in the chickens.... and for the eggs... if all goes well... we should end up with various browns, some green, and some deep chocolate brown (yes, yes, yes!). i can't tell you how fun it is to collect colored eggs. it's kind of like an easter egg hunt every day... so fun. yes, i am very excited. oh, and you know what else all this constant chick chaos means? lots of baby chick photos for you... whether you want them or not.... hope you want them.

happy friday friends! see you soon.

sunshine and lemonade

on any sunny warm day the favorite activity at this house is to make a lemonade stand. i don't know which my kids like more... making the stand..... making the lemonade... or drinking the lemonade. it's fun as they are getting older because now they can write out their own signs, set the stand up with absolutely no help from me, and help so much more with the making of the lemonade. it's really too bad that we live so far out on a dead end street because they dream of having real customers and, if i do say so myself, we make some pretty dang good lemonade. 

taking turns testing the lemonade....

above is eislee's smile face... if you tell her to smile for the camera, that is exactly what you get. love.

have you ever made your own lemonade before? it's really easy and wonderfully refreshing. the best part about making it yourself is that you can make it however you like it..... sour.... sweet.... or a little watered down (it's actually really refreshing that way). well, i will share with you how we make our lemonade..... just to make sure your not missing out.

homemade lemonade

what you'll need:

lemons (room temp.)

water

sugar or honey

ice

(and a lemon squeezer, a pitcher, some measuring cups, and a sauce pan)

instructions:

squeeze all of your lemons (if they feel really firm then roll them around on the counter first). measure how much lemon juice you have. whatever amount of lemon juice you have... put that much sugar (or honey) and water in a sauce pan (ex: if you got 3/4 cup lemon juice, then put 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water into a sauce pan.... if you got a half cup lemon juice then put a half cup sugar and half cup water, etc.) heat up the sugar and water on medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.  pour into a pitcher with ice cubes in it. stir and add lemon juice. stir more. taste. then continue adding more water and tasting until it's just how you like it.

little ollie fell asleep in her highchair while we were making the lemonade. she does this quite often.

do you like my new apron?! a very dear friend gave it to me recently and, oh, how i love it! i wear it every chance i get... is it me or what? i love how she gets that..... thank you erin! i love how you get me! and, man, i've been missing you...

they charged twenty five cents but supplied a little baskets of quarters for those who weren't prepared for the cost....

i think me and matt each got to buy one glass before they drank it all.... hah.... that's the only problem.... if we were in a better location and they got more customers... then they would run out of product! i guess it all works out pretty perfectly. two customers and unlimited refills was just right for them. 

cheers! happy squeezing.