Drinking it all in

sun. tea. pigtails.

Green housing

getting closer...

This is the new gardening adventure that has been keeping our hands and minds occupied lately. We have been having such a good time dreaming about all of the winter possibilities that this new space could bring. What about a swing? a wood burning stove? a hammock? a big table to do crafts on? Oh right, I nearly forgot, FRESH FOOD! IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER! Oh yes, we are certainly excited about this little addition. Hmmn, maybe not so little. It seems to be about as big as our house. But hey, if you decide to go and put a big hunk of plastic in your yard then don't hold back. GO BIG. Right?

Welp. That's just what we did.

And my...oh my, this is going to be fun.

Making Messes

We have been trying to find the time (and space) lately to dig in and really mess things up with paint. I usually like to set up all of our painting activity outside but it will continue to get more difficult to do that. These cool autumn days are quickly beginning to consume our beautiful summer weather around here.

So we have been taking advantage of as much afternoon warmth as we can; chasing the sun around the front porch and making big colorful messes whenever we can.

Little Chris Columbus

*oops. I forgot to hit POST for this one on Monday...

We are observing Columbus day today by coloring maps and playing with boats. We have had little Chris sailing all morning long from Lisbon to somewhere in the Caribbean by following the trade winds in the north Atlantic. Owen really doesn't care too much about the trade winds, but he does care about how much food they will be taking with them on the trip.

I was searching around the web for some ideas and came across something that suggested observing Columbus day through the eyes of Native Americans which is such a great idea (and considerably more relevant, as I see it). Maybe we can put that on the list for next year.

First day

Owen's Montessori program began yesterday.

Two hours.

1 day a week.

Just right.

Collecting leaves

"painting" fabric with a toothbrush

(~not a toothbrush currently in use, just in case you're wondering)

Camping solution

It was a beautiful night under the stars in southern Indiana.

We all snuggled in together at night in our double wide and awoke in the morning light to greet a spectacular day.

From the garden

A few delicious surprises are coming from the raspberry plants. Our first harvest of brussels sprouts happened today (I need a good recipe, anyone?). The winter garden is in, growing, and ready for cover. Life is good.