Little boats...

Hands down my favorite thing about this camping trip were the little boats that Ava made.  I've read about bark boats in waldorf books, and countless mothering blogs.  I haven't ever told Ava about them, she came up with this all on her own.  When she showed me her collection of boats that she wanted to float I just about cried.  They are so pretty!  Oh I Love Her.

Can you believe them!?!?  I LOVE these boats.  The little flowers and mushrooms are the people on the boats.  I love that each of the three are so different.

She loaded them up and we headed to the lake for her to set them free.

 

Not to be out done Cyrus found his own boat....

I love camping.  I am so exited to see what happens next year!

Fun with Fungus...

We had so many chances to explore nature while camping.  One very special opportunity came to us by way of mushrooms.  Down here in the desert we aren't use to seeing so many varieties.  Next time we need to bring a book with us to help identify, but for this trip taking pictures while hunting for fungi was our fun.

We found beautiful reds...

Slimey beiges...

Little orange ones...

 Wavy browns...

Smooth rounds (possibly the same as the ones above?)...

Shiny slimey orangish brown ones...

Small cities....

Little villages...

Little fat ones...

Tall skiny ones....

Magical ones.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to show my children a new world of nature.

All those mushrooms, and not one spore printing project!  Ooops.  Next time.

Mountain Wildflowers...

I don't know their names.  

I don't have to.

They just make me happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I am going to miss....

about camping....

Quiet...

Meadows...

Flowers...

Laundry Lines...

Naps...

Coloring..

Campfires, and rain (in that order)....

Learning...

Walking Sticks...

Morning hikes...

Exploring...

All of us together.

I love camping.

Love it.

Gratitude Monday....

What I love today....

~New smart phones...
(I resisted a looong time for various reasons, but damn, these are fun!)

~A tiny (big fat) baby who took his first bath with me....


~A little boy who flies around like an airplane with one arm that "has fire", and "one arm that can hurt you" (I swear I haven't introduced the concept of weapons) in one moment while the next moment he's found taking a quiet break to cut out a fabric veil to wear under his princess crown that matches nicely with his poofy pink princess dress that he's put on.
That's balance. 

~A little girl who's beginning her school career this years in much unexpected ways.
(more on that later) 

~Prepairing our home, and lives for some biiig changes.... 

~starting my postpartum weight loss  plans... 
(you should see me try to belly dance, its both hilarious and pathetic) 

~A partner who knows that I've always wanted a picture of a humming bird, but some how miss my opportunity (baby in arms, missing camera etc) so he sat out one morning on our camping trip and waited for them.  The photo credit goes to him this week, and I am very grateful.

~Camping photos.  I love them so much that I am planning a whole blogging week of them!!!

Here's to a super week for all of us.
  I have so many goals, we'll see what actually gets done... 

One moment....

A moment to remember.
A picnic I wont forget.
They weren't posing, just hanging out on a rock.

home....

We're back home.
I've traded mountain's majesty for mountains of laundry, but its good to be home.
So much has happened since I went away!
A favorite blog ended,
a friend announced her long awaited pregnancy,
we withdrew from one school,
enrolled in another,
and our baby kittens are ready to go to their new families.

I'm looking forward to catching up on all that I missed, and sharing with you all that I've been up to.
For now I think a nap, and of course laundry, is in order....