Farm Fun

Eme was pretty excited to see Grandpa & Grandma when we arrived!

We went "home" for a long weekend. Even though I didn't grow up where my parent live now, I still call it "home". It's my second home of course now that we have our own home, but where  Mom and Dad live will always be my second home... unless they live in a nursing home.

We were reminded how much fun farms are a month ago when we went to the farm where my Mom grew up and picked apples, climbed the bails and fed the cattle. So we went back for some more fun.

This time the round bails were lined up, so Griffin had a remarkable time running and jumping and climbing.  He also helped my uncle Roger drive tractor spread the good stuff on the field.

The good stuff came from these beauties. And we found two heifers with hearts on their foreheads.  

Here's a pic of one.

Nature's Pallet

We explored Nature's Pallet yesterday.
First I cut some "painter's pallets" from a cereal box.  The kids drew and colored each circle with a different color and added it's name.  Then I used Medium Zots on each color.  We ventured outside to see what we could find of each color and stuck it to the pallet.  Surprisingly in October this project wasn't too hard! We had purple kale, blue spruce needles, green leaves, yellow dandelion and stella d'ora daylillies, orange mums & red leaves. It was a great activity to get us outside in the cold and wind.  But they quickly forgot about the elements!

Good-bye Summer

Fall is finally here with the leaves changing and farmers in the fields. 

 Here a some of the greats from the summer.

Building a play house with Papa David, Dada & Mama

Mama struggling to get a smiling picture from my kids in the new play house... 

and everywhere else I bring a camera.

Playing at the beach

Play dates with friends in parks around the area

Fishing

Happy days on the lake

Specials for the kids at the Farmers Market

What were your greats from this summer?

let them lead

The cool mornings beg me to go hiking.

So we drove to Seven Mile Creek for a little wandering, climbing, playing, throwing stones, and exploring.

And it was best because we did whatever the kids wanted. They led, I followed.

Makes for a happy, peacefully, fun experience for all of us :)

Griffin's Tractor Pull Results

 

Eme's Tractor Pull

Look at Eme go at the Small Town Tractor Pull!

52 ordinary acts of kindness

Is this a great idea or what?
"A year of kindness.  Our family project is off and running!  Our commitment in 2011 is to complete one out-of-the-ordinary kindness act each week for one full year.  Each month we pick from a kindness “type” and our challenge is to complete it before week’s end. "
http://katherinemariephotography.com/blog/archives/tag/kindness-activities-for-kids

{this moment}

It's Friday and it’s time for Soule Mama’s {this moment}

- A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Visit her and link your photo too!

Yes, I know I'm a bit excessive with these Friday one snap shot posts. But I'm on summer vacation :)

-Trish

per Griffin's request

"Mom- can you come take a picture of this?"

It's Friday and it’s time for Soule Mama’s {this moment}

- A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  Visit her and link your photo too!  

flowers & contact paper= beauty in the window

I was inspired by The Crafty Crow's post to gather some flowers from the garden

 take them apart

 have the kids stick them to a half sheet of clear contact paper

and these are the beauties we came up with!

parenthood joy

Being a parent brings natural enjoyment in watching children find joy in

riding

collecting

witnessing nature (baby painted turtle)

{this moment}

I’m linking up to SouleMama for this post, it is after all a Friday ritual.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Have a lovely weekend!

It's been a rainy spring here in MN.  After a nice supper with the neighbors, were were surprised by a double rainbow for dessert!

 Exploring one day we climbed a hill in a local park and found this majestic sight at the top!

Beautiful trees everywhere.  Funny how trees can take my breath away.

Brings me back to Itasca State Park and this sight below.

it's one of our favorites

Simple as it is, washing stuff is one our favorite activities to do outside on a nice day.  

What is your favorite thing to do on a nice day?

outdoors

Finally we were able to get outdoors for a hike with some friends.

This April was rainy and cold for the most part.  Out of the 4 dates we had planned for Let's G.O. (Get Outside), only two were nice, the first and last week of the month.  Weather can definitely be a barrier to getting kids outdoors!

 My Master's paper is complete and my degree is complete!  Now to enjoy summer!  

 I'm planning spending lots of days on the bikes, at parks, hiking, camping, working with vacation bible school with my nieces (so excited), and just taking it slow!  

What are your plans for getting outside this summer?

Let's G.O!

I am so lucky to have met other moms around town with the same passion for getting kids outdoors. It was spurred by our ECFE (Early Childhood & Family Education) teacher. She talked about the importance of getting kids outdoors, which also began my research for my Master's Degree in Health Education. It's amazing what reseach has found nature and time outdoors can do for people. Reduce stress, increase physical activity, reduce the need for medication for those with ADHD, improve mood, confidence, social skills and the list continues! If you want to learn more, check out Children & Nature Network.

As part of Let's G.O. (Get Outside), a couple of mom's and I scheduled some park dates and invited other families. Here are pics of our first gathering of 12 kids (ranging from 6 mo. to 5 year-olds) and 4 moms. We had a blast at a local nature center.

Next we are bird watching, then picking up around the neighborhood & then hunting for bugs! I can't wait!

Go Twins!

We are excited the Twins' baseball season has begun.  I ran across this video from last year of E cheering for Joe Mauer.... with no prompting.  She's back at it this year rooting for her favorite Twin!

new baby

We were able to meet the new baby of the family this weekend! 

 I had one of those baby moments you dream about.  He opened his eyes for a few minutes and just looked at me while I talked to him. I love those special moments.  Melts your heart.

Here's Luke with his big cousins.  He's also wearing his new rockin' onesie that I made him.  It's so fun to make gifts.  I feel I can put a little extra love into it & it means so much more to me than giving something from the store.  E & G sure like him too.  They are already making plans for when he's older and can play with them.  G was asking when that will be.  It's hard to explain what a year is to a four year old.

Congrats family!  Thanks for brining this special little boy into our lives.