relaxed

We went to a show this morning: Peter Rabbit, and then spent the rest of the day outside.
We had a picnic by a pond

played,

laughed,

concentrated,

created.


Another wonderful day with my sweet boys. Being outside in the fresh air makes my days so much better and life goes a little bit smoother.

Are there dishes in the sink?: yes.

Is there dog hair in the corners?: yes.

Do I get this day to do over?: no.

Therefore I will take as many moments I can to live with my boys and not sweat the rest.

new member

We have a new member of our family. My brother- in- law and sister- in- law just had their first baby. A sweet little girl. She is the first girl grand baby on Eric's side. The boys are just dying to meet their new cousin. So glad we are in the same state. They truly love visiting family.
Such joy!

picture study

I've done some reading on "picture study". It is part of a Charlotte Mason curriculum. I have been a bit skeptical on the idea but thought I would give it a try. So I borrowed a few art books from the library and decided upon this one.

Last Tuesday while eating snack I introduced the picture.

Harlequin by Pablo Picasso


We talked about what we noticed and every day during snack I would ask them a few more questions: what colors do you see?, what shapes do you see?, what do you think it is about? and so forth. I then told them the title and artist's name and each day they would tell me the names back. It seemed to be going pretty well.

Today we answered the question that was on the opposing page( I had it covered all week) It asks about the shape that is on the shirt: squares. You then turn the page and there are 4 more pictures of other artwork with squares.

Our goal for today was to draw a picture using predominately squares.



I thought we all did a decent job.
From top to bottom:
Landon
Will
Mom


William was working hard on making all four sides equal... and mama too!

Landon would draw his squares while saying 1, 2, 3, 4. He was learning how they have four sides and counting.

I have to say I thought this was a pretty neat idea and will continue working through the book as it covers all different shapes.

My favorite part of the week was when both boys were trying to pronounce Pablo Picasso- it always made me smile.

Sunday Smiles

{sunday smiles}: moments that made us smile from this past week



William created a Ninja Warrior course-( Ninja Warriors is a Japanese game show the boys watch with daddy, it is an obstacle course of extreme challenges.) The boys love making up their own courses outsides and sometimes even for their little animals inside.




Landon worked hard on making a castle for all if his little wooden animals.



Hanging at Will's game.

Opening Day

William was so excited for his first game. This is the first time he has played baseball with a team and has been looking forward to it for months now.

He did a super job at hitting- two hits and made it to first both times.

They only play two innings at the moment and only let them run one base at time. This is a beginners league, which is great for learning how to play. The coaches have said that by the end of the season things will be more realistic towards a proper game. However, this is just right for now.We had a fun day watching and came home to play even more baseball with dad's rules.

The night ended with a little ice cream and TV.

Spring Skiing

We were some of the few stragglers trying to catch one more ride of Winter, but, oh was it fun.

Sunday Smiles

four

Hard to believe that my baby is four! We had a great day at home and then headed North for our vacation!
Snaky- mama's handmade gift and an instant favorite friend.
His first bike = FREEDOM!

We celebrated with not one but two cakes and candles. (Eric and I made a castle cake. Landon had all the plans set with just how he wanted it)

Hibachi was his choice of dinner. We love watching it cook and seeing the onions on fire.

I am so grateful that Landon is part of our family. He is such a blessing.

together time

Our days have been awesome!

We've been skiing for most part of the day and then swimming outside later in the day.

Back to the condo for dinner, snuggling, reading and movies!

Some wonderful family time. :)

the moment

I have been taking it slow these days with blogging. I do love writing about our days but lately we have been rather caught up with just living and enjoying our days, so I don't always have camera in hand ready to go. There have been moments that I think- oh this would be a great picture but then I would have to tear myself away from the moment. And right now I need to be in the moment. My boys are getting so big way too quickly. My baby will be 4 tomorrow!

But I have a caught a few things of the past several days.

Such as....

preparing for a fire at the fire station
"Firemen get dressed in under 1 minute!"

daredevil acts

meeting new friends

seeing deer in the middle of the day while driving through neighborhoods

lunch with friends that we have missed all winter

lesson work

imaginations at work

and several sightings of a certain Arachnid

I will be away from the computer for awhile- celebrations and family time. See you soon!

Easter Morning

The boys had a great time finding their little treasures. I made Easter pouches this year instead of using plastic eggs to fill with fun little items. The plastic eggs just bug me, always have, so when I read this post I thought it was a great idea. Mine are made from paper since it was a last minute project but I have hopes of next years being made from material and lasting us for years to come. Similar in fashion to a stocking.