Yeah, I know, it's been a while...we've been sick like pretty much the rest of North America it seems :(
On a happier note, we did have the joyous opportunity to visit the Happiest Place on Earth at the beginning of February, it was a BLAST!!! Here are some highlights ::
We enjoyed some lovely weather and good times together, we had such a fun time playing all week long :) What have you been doing for fun lately??
What a great time we had on our early Autumn campout with some great friends this past week. They happen to be the parents of our goddaughter, and such a delight is the whole family.
Here are some great photos of our mini-campout at Wallace Falls State Park.
Heading up the trail
Cool Moss, Gee, do you think it rains here much??
Always nice to have the whole story :)
Ah, the River
River Adventurers
This tree has seen better days, but pretty cool upturned.
This is for my friend Patty, I'm sorry I scared you pointing out this beauty of nature ;-0
Super fun time at Wallace Lake, a definite bonus after a 5 mile hike!!
My favorite Michaelmas Daisies, right by the lake :)
This little beauty landed on everyone it could, I think it wanted to hike home with us ;-)
God's Splendor and beauty
End of the trail, almost...
Now, THIS is the end of the trail, and boy did it feel good to be down :)
A super time was had by all. Did you camp out this summer at all, what's your favorite spot?? Do you like mountains or beach?? Many blessings in all your adventures and travels in the upcoming year!
The Dirt.
The Sand.
The Beach.
The Campfire.
The Extra Gooey S'Mores.
It Was All Good!!
Besides the fact that we were almost too busy to take pictures, our trip to Denver was lovely and filled with reaquainting with some of our favorite friends. I have nicknamed MaryM "Mrs. Hospitality" (she's laughing at this) and she promises me her "company dinner" recipe as it was SO yummy! And no I won't share it, you'll just have to visit to enjoy :)
My Violet and Mary's daughter have been long-time penpals and have discovered that they both have a mutual passion not only for great books, but card making, and let me tell you, they are professional!! They made quite a nice tidy sum selling their wares at the conference, much to the delight of all purchasers.
The two girls and I also had a blast bumming around together at the brand new American Girl Place that just opened this Spring in Denver. They really enjoyed seeing all the dolls up close and personal in their original condition. Plus all the accessories and hair salon.
(I think Violet was a little sad that she's sort of heading out of the doll collecting stage, but she still loves each and every one of her special treasures and I believe that it gave her a renewed sense of joy to know she'll have them to pass on to her daughters, if she's so blessed :)
I was overjoyed to finally meet this lovely lady, Carmen of Carmie's Cozy Conifer Cabin. In case you didn't know already, she's pregnant with twin boys!!!! It was so nice to be able to chat and get to know each other, rather than through our blogs and occaisional chats by phone. She truly is a dear and we are SO excited for her new little blessings to come!
And this is my conference buddy!! Erica and I had to travel across the country to Pennsylvania to meet each other the first time at the Family-Centered Conference in 2008. At the time her 7th son was with her and he was cute as a button. This time it was baby #8, the precious little "master of the bleachers" ;-) Erica, I truly just want to come to San Diego, which is OUR coast so we can visit for real :)))
Such a joy to see her again and her two oldest, darling daughters! Violet was sad to have to say goodbye to some new found kindred spirits!
It was also so special to meet Danielle Bean, she radiates joy and is probably the funniest conference speaker I've ever heard, thanks for all the laughs Danielle :)
In other news: my talks went great to filled rooms and we had lots of good questions and discussions afterwards. I'm pretty sure you can purchase the audio cd's if you are interested in some good teatime listening :) Preschool Talk and Celebrating the Liturgical Year Talk.
We're in full summer and planning mode for the next several weeks, hope you'll stop by and let me know what you've been up to!
Many blessings in your day and thanks for coming by :)
We ventured to a wild animal park about an hour south of our home on Labor Day. We were privileged to have my father join us and it was a delight for us all.
Seen ~
Six hundred and fifty year old tree, wowee! At Sean-Paul's chin was the year Leonardo da Vinci was born!
The river otter (Lontra canadensis) was a favorite of everyone, especially grandpa :)
This young bull elk was not in the least interested in the three-car tram that was passing him by. He apparently has claimed this herd prematurely as the cows were as disinterested in him as he was with us :)
Heard ~
"Mommy, look how the slightest breeze makes the leaves shake on that tree." (Seamus on a nature walk)
"Look, here's a picture of the baby squirrel we just saw on the doorstep." (Sean-Paul painting)
"Mom, you won't believe what I found, it's the biggest limpid shell yet!!" (Violet at the beach Friday night, SCORE one for the shell collection)
"I wonder how big satellites are and how they move around?" (Matthias, the ever-wondering scientist)
Books Seen Being Read ~
Read Aloud ~ Swallows and Amazons (almost finished, even though I will be sad as this one is truly an all-time favorite)
Seamus ~ The Cat and the Hat Comes Back (he couldn't believe that he could read this now, very exciting!!) This is Our Home (Seton Reader)
Matthias ~The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy, Bionicles (6 book collection) Archimedes and the Door to Science, Edmund Campion (Vision book)
Violet ~Rilla of Ingleside, They Loved to Laugh, Catholic Girls Guide, Home Comforts, Nancy Drews, a Costume making book, Things to Make and Do: Accessories (American Girl) Mary Frances Housekeeping
Moi ~ Revolutionary Road (almost finished) Howard's End (audio cd's) Teach Your Own by Holt (always a nice injection at the beginning of a new school year).
We lift our eyes to the heavens and sing of His glory and thank Him for the goodness in our lives.
We're settling in to a nice groove. Really good week! Thanks for visiting our little corner :)
We had the pleasure of spending last week at our favorite Lakeside vacation spot with my parents. It was their birthday present to me this year and it was a welcome gift and such a delightful amount of "chill time" for us all! (Warning LOTS of pictures ;-)
Bucket Time ::
Boat Time ::
Discovery Time ::
Swim Time ::
Wonders of God's Creation Time ::
Climbing Time ::
Skate Time ::
Feast Day Time :: Pentecost Sunday
Kayak Time ::
Jumping In Time ::
Mama's Chill Time ::
Pool Time ::
Ball Time ::
Park Time ::
Goose Time :: (lots of these beauties around)
Dock Time ::
Water Slide Time ::
More Beach Time ::
And finaly Crash Time ::
This was a great get away and the pictures can only convey a morsel of our enjoyment and great family time together! I hope your summer is off to a grand start!
I haven't forgotten about Summer School either, and will be back later this week with some more ideas and sharing from others as well!
Many blessings in your Summer days together :)
As usual our lakeside vacation was much too short. We did enjoy ourselves immensely and had some special celebrations while we were there.
Mainly we just relaxed and played on the beach, went to the pool and relished in the lovely weather and the dear children having so much fun! Here is a little photo memory of our favorite things:
Paddle kids.
Yes, I am Pocahontas and that's my trusty scout :)
Beachtime.
First time with water wings, swimming by himself :)
Swim coach!
Dockside.
Chillin for lunch after pooltime.
More paddletime.
Not a bad outlook for a week or so. We miss it already...
Thanks for visiting today and I hope you're enjoying your summertime fun wherever you may be!! Many blessings in your day!
We had the distinct pleasure of taking our newly turned six year old and his very willing siblings on an incredible overnight adventure in a YURT!!
On first thought I was a little nervous (okay, ALOT nervous) that is was going to be miserable as we are still experiencing temperatures in the single digits at night and this altitude that we would be staying at is even higher than our home locale, so...here we go!!
These are the highlights of a most delightful and memory filled overnight with my sweeties! Oh to be so blessed, I am so underserving!
I now present you, the Yurt:
And to the dear children's delight, there were a series of SNOW TUNNELS just outside the yurt door for my little explorers to play in, how cool is that! (Is he really six, sigh...)
A very delighted and smallish tunnel explorer:
Another tunneler Extrordinaire:
Is that a happy birthday boy or what?
A very snug sissy enjoying her top bunk status!
Yurt Mama happily on the bottom bunk with a very tired and soon to be asleep little snuggle-bug!
And here's the view we awoke to and 15 degrees!
We finished our excursion with a delightful hike back down to the lodge (about a mile) in the glorious morning light. Daddy and the older three couldn't resist sledding most of the way on some borrowed snow discs.
Then while my hubby and I sipped yummy steaming Lattes, the kiddos enjoyed Hot Cocoa with whipped cream and Cinnamon Apple Turnovers, and then went back for some more sledding adventures before we headed home.
All I can say is that if I were six again, this would be the ULTIMATE birthday, and I think it WAS!!
Thanks for enjoying our adventure with us, have the best day today!
We happened to be away for most of the weekend. It was lovely late Autumn weather. Some highlights first from my rearview mirror:
Sean-Paul having fun with some very tired sunglasses.
The "boys" playing Poker, yes, you heard that right, my 5 year old and 9 year old are playing poker in the back seat. I think it was Five-Card-Draw.
Violet giving Seamus advice on his hand.
As you can see here, Sean-Paul has decided he's a big enough boy, at 2 1/2 mind you, to ride his big brother's scooter. This is him poised and ready to go down a drop, just kidding, he's watching Matthias go down one and unfortunately I missed the shot, it WAS a big one, and on roller blades too ;-)
The rest of our weekend was spent buzzing around, a piano lesson for Matthias, he's working on Pachabel's Canon D right now, you can listen to it here. Lots of shopping and business and looking at houses...yes Sweetness and Light is gearing up for yet another possible move before Christmas, please keep us in your prayers. I hope your weekend was blessed and joyful!
A relaxing week at the Lake is always a good time, even though we were more on the go than sitting and sipping iced teas! Here's a photo journal of our week away and the rejuvination it brought us all was certainly worth this little sojourn in the Fall!!
Daddy and the Canoe...
Me and my paddle-boat buddy...
Beach Beauty at dusk...
Pool Olympics anyone??
What floats your boat?
Beach therapy...in your socks???
and more...Hey, where'd my feet go???
And lots of great evening walks after a relaxing dinner on the patio..
Have a great week and hope your Autumn has been a time of wonder and great family learning time!!
As we rolled in last night under this incredible moon we recalled how clearly home is truly Sweet Home!! Writing soon about our little sojourn...stay tuned and in the meantime, blessings in the rest of your week!
We're off for a little Fall Sojourn for the rest of the week and some of the next! I do hope you'll keep in touch and still visit while I'm away! You can catch up on all our recent Learning at Mama's Muse, my online Learning Notes Journal, here's a little excerpt from today's lessons:
"Read a beautiful story about the Apparition of Our Lady of Tears, at La Salette France. The kids loved hearing this and we then prayed a decade of the Rosary for the Resurrection.
Prayer intentions and then we read our new Catholic Mosaic that I was thrilled to find at Barnes & Noble over the weekend! Mother Teresa by Demi! What an incredibly detailed life of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta for young children, this one is a winner Cay, we loved it, albeit a few days past her celebrated day, it was great! The kids also colored their stained glass drawing from Fenestrae Fidei which is a lovely accompaniment to our Catholic Mosaic program..." read the rest here!
And then please visit the Archives and Sweetness Pages of Interest for more inspiration and ideas for you!!
See you soon...and as always, you'll be in my prayers, blessings in your day!
To say that I had a "good time" at the First Ever 4Real Conference would be an understatement for sure! It was truly surreal! To gather with a group of ladies (and a few gents) in a setting that was so warm and welcoming and friendly was a true delight.
The hospitality of my generous hostess was beyond gracious and we made a fast friendship that will be in my heart for always (thanks MC)! Elizabeth Foss and her family were a joy to finally meet and she is as warm and giving as you would expect from a mother of eight! Oh, and they have a REALLY BIG (and friendly) DOG!! Meeting all my other Conference partners and co-speakers was equally delightful and to finally put their names to their lovely faces was fantastic! It is a trip I will not forget anytime soon.
Unbeknownst to Moi until just before speaking I found out that I was to be recorded and let's just say that put just a little more jitter into my already nervous self! But to be able to speak to women who have the same passion for home education as myself put me instantly at ease. (Let's hope it turns out OK).
Please keep checking in with this thread to find out more on availability to purchase these keepsake DVD's from all the wonderful speakers!
Without further ado, I bring you the 4Real ladies:
Back row - Theresa from Lapazfarm, MaryChris (4Real Conference planner extraordinaire :) Elizabeth, Moi, Front row- Janette (4Real Forums Designer) Dawn from By Sun and Candlelight!! Oh and don't miss Baby Karoline!
What a privilege to be able to spend time with these beautiful and talented and warmhearted women, I was honored to be considered part of the core speaking team with them!!
Here's a few more ladies:
Ruth Tucker from Just Another Day in Paradise!
Theresa and I WELL before our talks!
Dawn and I, and in the background right behind Dawn's left shoulder is adorable Jordon from Cheerios and Fingerpaints!! I wish I could have had a photo op with ALL the beautiful ladies I was SO privileged to meet, but their well wishes and thank you's will always be imprinted on my heart, thank you all so much for YOUR inspiration and encouragement, it was a huge blessing for me to be a part of this terrific 1st 4Real Conference! Enjoy!
Our most recent and enchanting nature study took place on our lovely camping trip in the beautiful mountains surrounding the area of Mt. Shasta, California. We had the pleasure of a long-awaited meeting of some online Catholic Charlotte Mason home school families, mainly from the California area, and it was quite a meeting!!
The campsite was situated amongst the large, beautiful pines and redwoods native to Northern California and it was, shall we say - DUSTY! Yes, I think that would be the correct term for it! From the moment my clean little brood and I (and dh of course) stepped out of the car, until the last farwells were said, we were clean-no-more, LOL! Chari can attest to the fact that I in fact attended our outdoor Mass with, ahem, camp-dirt between my toes. (I am not too proud of this fact either). So here's a few things we learned and would like to share as a kind of "Camping 101" for all of you who haven't taken the camping plunge with your little ones yet!
CAMPING 101: Checklist
1) Prepare for the DIRT and DUST, in fact COUNT on it!! You will not be able to get away from it, even if there are lovely showers available right across from your campsite, you just have to take a deep breath and know that you will not be as clean as you are at home! (I know I sound very Obsessive-Compulsive here, but it's a reality of camping!)
2) Always check to see if you have your foot pump for your blow up mattress on hand before you leave home as you will undoubtedly upset the serene and peaceful setting in the campground as you hook up and operate your car-battery run air mattress pump from the back of your car! Oh and make sure your King-sized air mattress will actually fit through the opening of your tent BEFORE you do said excercise above!
3) No matter how FUN it may be to make a "DUST STORM" by throwig buckets of camp-dirt into the air, try and discourage it at ALL costs, especially if it's anywhere near the TENT! (see #1 above!)
4) Make sure you have someone to build a campfire for you! These two were excellent camp hands!
5) Not only is there going to be large amounts of unwanted dirt in your tent, but if you happen to be camping where there is a wonderful Lake with which to dig in the sand, you will also have sand, and plenty of it, some even in places you'd rather it not be, like baby's mouth!! 
(He's got that "Where-can-I-find-MORE-sand-to-stuff-into-my-mouth" expression!)
In all seriousness, and joking aside, we had the camping trip of a lifetime!!! Believe it or not, this was our FIRST real camping experience, one without a boat or trailer, etc. and it was a delight! We had the privelege of Daily Mass for 4 out of the 6 days we were there, met so many wonderful Catholic Home Schooling families, had moms meetings (the dads had theirs too, usually with the Priest included) and ALL the children got along beautifully! We had SO MANY wonderful excursions, all of them bathed in nature and beauty, and most of all FUN! Here are so more highlights:
We went on a lovely hike to a lake just a little winding drive from our campground. The pictures are from the hike. I just LOVE Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata) so I tried my hand at it one afternoon while the kids were having "painting time" at our camp table!
Here is Seamus's rendition of Lake Siskyiou, I just love the colors, it's as dazzling as the lake was in the evening sun!
This group assembled many times for Rock and Watercolor Painting time at our camp!!
Another great outing was our trip to the Fish Hatchery! The children had loads of fun feeding the hatchery fish and watching them for part of an afternoon.
Notice the orange looking trout, they are Albino Cutthroat Trout, very cool! There was also a Bald Eagle continuously circling the hatchery hoping for an easy catch no doubt!
Another glorious day trip to a different nearby lake and trail around it provided many opportunities for identifying and picking wild flowers, climbing on logs and just enjoying the serene beauty in God's Creation!
It's a little blurry, but the beautiful purple flower is a Western Monkshood (Aconitum columbianum), it was so beautiful, we brought some home to press! (Violet has a collection for a forthcoming post, stay tuned!) On the picture next to it are some Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and just to the left of the Butterup is a small lavender Butterfly!! I almost got it with it's wings open, but alas, my camera wasn't quite fast enough!
We had such a splendid time camping and getting to know some fantastic people. There is but a snippet of it here, the memories that we hold in our heart will last a lifetime! Or at least until the NEXT camping trip!! Do you camp?? I'd love to here your stories too! Thanks for traversing the Camping Nature Trail with us and May God Bless you in your day!
Our summer has evolved with not much schedule other than a few kid activities, although I would be the first to say that we've had much joyous learning despite the lack of structure, which has been very nice!!
Matthias had a blast at his very first Skateboarding camp through the YMCA:
Seamus has had his very first simming lessons at our neighborhood pool and is loving it!! This morning he dressed in his swim shirt and trunks and said "Mom is it time for swim lessons yet?" (It was 8:00am) LOL!!
Baby Sean-Paul has mastered climbing up his slide and STANDING at the top and screaming for everyone to see him!!
And dear Violet had fun creating this beautiful table setting for a special "Lavendar Tea" she hosted for two of her newest Catholic homeschool girlfriends. (See Lavender and Lace post forthcoming)
Our summer is off to a lovely start and it's looking like we will have many more adventures to share about soon!
May God Bless you in your day, Happy Summer!
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