Holiday birthday

I have always loved having a December birthday. This is why.

Margaret Loves punchball

This little darling is such a toughie! she loves noise, and rough play of all sorts. She especially loves Punchball!

Celebrate

Autumn is fun on so many levels. Amanda's kids painted these.

Yummy pie

Butternut squash  pie. Yum!

Poor goat

We had an adventure today. A very bloody one.
Leia somehow broke one her horns off completely, down at the base near the head. I knew that horns  bled, but I had no idea they would gush and spray like an artery. So much blood.

We ended up cutting off the other horn too before it did the same thing.  Then for the broken one it was cartelized with a very hot iron. No sedative.

Did I mention that horns have feeling?  Yep, they do.  Poor girl, she was so stressed out. She found comfort in Williams lap, after having her head wrapped. She is not usually a lap goat.

Craft fair

We stopped at a craft fair today but the kids found better things to do than shop.

Grocery shopping with mommy

The tin man in action

Lil cow boy

Oh childhood

 Faster than a Cheetah!  Amazing!  but why are we leaning this way?

Blue tongue

Michelle cannot seem to remember the cosmetic effect of raspberry Italian ice.

Best Nanny

Rosie: "Nanny, You're the best Nana ever."

Nana: "Wow Rosie, thanks. What makes you say that right now?"

Rosie: "Because you let us wash our hands in the goat water!"

😊

Color Run

Today we did our first 5K - fun, family style, low key.  The kids LOVED the powdered paint part of it.
So did their mama.

Lights out

Rosie: "Daddy is a good fixer. Is daddy going to fix the lights?"

No Rosie. There are some things Daddy cannot fix. That's why we have candles.

Don't you just love Princess Birthdays?

Raining today

Hilltop blooms

These are from the other house.

Springtime flowers

This is one of the best years for our springtime flowers, and I even got to be here to see them. Most years either I'm gone, or the rains smash down the taller ones, but not this year.
The daffodils didn't make it in this collection, since they bloom so much earlier.

since the video I tried to post did not work, these are some the pictures I want to share.  These are from our house.

Time travel - of sorts

I had a short visit to Concord, MA this week. My first stop upon arriving was to walk over to the local, and very old cemetery in Concord by the name of Sleepy Hollow.  Many wonderful old graves abide there but I did not get to visit them all due to the muddiness of melting snow.  Still, this was a lovely spot to ponder:

I've always loved graveyards. When I visit old grave sites, like some of these from the middle 1600's, it feels to me almost like I'm in time-travel - the only realistic way I can be physically close to someone who lived nearly 400 years ago. My body, standing only feet above the body parts of someone I've read about.  Creepy, and very, very cool.

Louisa May Alcott's humble grave

Memorial headstone for Author's ridge

Then of course, there are the wonderfully creepy ones.

This woman was hanged as a witch in 1692

What!?

Rosie has an announcement, just listen to this!

Momma (and Daddy, for that matter) were NOT ready for this.  Rosie, however, was ready and is a very proud girl.

Bubbly day

Yesterday it was 72 degrees. Today it was 77.  To celebrate the farewell to single digit weather William broke out the bubbles.  Kids and dog had a great time. So did I, just watching.

The many faces

Obi goes to music class

Issaquah

This week I'm in Washington state in a quaint suburb of Seattle.  It's lovely - I had forgotten how many mountains surround this place.

My hotel has hiking trails - but my leg isn't up to that task just yet, so I just drove around and looked at all the lovely hiking. Weather's lovely - a bit chilly today and misty but so pretty (and a lot better than the 20 degrees we have at home - much as I love it).

There's a cougar zoo about 4 blocks from my hotel, and a large lake that is part of a state park - Lake Sammamish. I love these native American names, so much fun to say.

Happy meal

Look at this awesome lunch Alyssa made. She and her mom did this together. Alyssa has a kids cookbook and is learning to cook.