ehren...

our sweet 3 year old...

he ws so very proud of his easter eggs! he carried them all around the house that night...

evyn...

i absolutely LOVE this photo!

evyn has been asserting her independence lately, wanting to do more on her own. so, i let her feed herself the blueberries...

(and learned my lesson soon after...)

soccer...

spring & fall around our house means soccer...hooray!

orin has been playing since he was 6 years old (now almost 10) & aydin just started last fall.

we aren't big into "busy", but i do want the boys to be exposed to various outside activities. so, starting when they turn 6 years old, they each get to pick one activity. my only rule is that only one plays soccer at a time...

soccer is very much a family activity for us. and when more than one child plays it ends up being much to crazy with 2-3 practices during the week, on various days (or worse yet, on the same day!), at various locations... ditto for game day as well. this is all much too maddening on mama & papa, not to mention younger siblings.

lance (papa) played when he was younger & we all enjoy going to the games as a family. whether or not we actually get to watch the game or not, with little ones in tow is debatable. BUT the key is moral support anyway, right?? ;)

our birthday ring...

we discovered waldorf when our eldest (now almost 10), was 6...


so many things drew me to this philosophy. the simplicity, the respect of children & their play, the rhythm, the inclusion of nature & art as necessary elements of their schooling, the natural materials & playthings...but also the festivals & traditions.


i have always envied other cultures 7 their traditions & festivals...waldorf gave me an outlet to invite these into our home. there are so many festivals, it can seem overwhelming to a person new to this philosophy. we have slowly been adding various celebrations each year, but there are still many that i have yet to explore.


one though, that called to me from the beginning, was the birthday ring...and with the birth of our fourth child, i decided it was time.


you can buy ready made birthday rings & sets, but none of the ones i found online "spoke" to me, so i have one made custom (from etsy :).


the ring itself is a from jalutoys & our gnomes & fairies were handmade by rene of rjabinnik. i had him leave them natural so that i could personalize them myself with watercolors.


we absolutely love it!...thank you both!

the circus!

on sunday, april 18th we went to the lewis & clark 'old fashioned circus"...it was awesome!


we weren't really sure what to expect, but figured we couldn't lose since they were giving out "free child admission" tickets at the local gas stations & things.


there was a bit of cheese & the soundtrack could have used a bit of work, but the performers were truly amazing! when asked their favorite part, the boys (lance included) all said the clown.
aydin & ehren rode a camel...

lance was a audience volunteer...he had to test the lock & chain...and help chain him up...cool! ;)

more spring babies! :)

we posted a while back about the arrival of our sweet baby chicks (who are now 3 weeks old & longer so little! :)




those are not the only spring babies that we have had the pleasure to watch grow...



our neighbors down the road have loads of baby chicks...seriously, 40+ chicks! they also have 2 dogs, a cat, (full-grown) chickens, 4 guineas...




their newest additions were 3 ducklings & 3 (litters?) of rabbits...(one of which will be moving in with us in just 2 weeks!


they are totally inseparable!

ok, well, this one has nothing to do with baby animals...other kids stuff their faces with cookies or chips...no ehren...he stuffs his with wild onions! it cracks me up...