Road trip day 2

We had a very busy day today, and although I do not have documentation of all, I did take loads of pictures, I just cannot help myself, especially with children and flowers and feel positively compelled to take photo upon photo.

We started with a clean up project, which included lots of moving of heavy object, sweeping and then flower picking, it turned out great and I took not a single photo:)

After lunch and a quiet time we all piled into the car and headed to town, all meaning 7 children and two mamas... 

7 children can build up quite a bit of energy and drive two mamas a bit crazy, so we stopped at a grassy hill, where the children happily rolled down, ran around..

while I found flowers to photograph, like I mentioned I cannot help myself.

Echinacea in full bloom, love it. 

Hollyhocks

Meanwhile the children had found some non edible berries

which they brought home

and mashed 

into this concoction, which they later boiled on the fire.

In town we found some great thrifty/antique stores,

ohh my god I could have spent a fortune there, so many great finds.

Imagine 7 children in a store like this.. yikes...

they loved it though, so many wonderful strange things, the smell of times long gone, and the owner was very child friendly which helped ALOT, and happily told stories about trinkets from the olden days.

  

Sweet Novah loves the camera

yet another flower

and to finish off for today a lovely dandy in seed

thanks for visiting,

and have a wonderful day

Road trip

Early this morning we piled in the car and drove almost four hours to visit our dear friends.

They live on a farm near Floyd in Virginia. It is really beautiful, and once again reminds me of how much I long for country living.

The children all eagerly got to work making a fire using a magnifying glass.

Everyone helped, patiently holding the glass and gathering sticks and the like for the fire.

Almost! 

They were so close, yet having finally had enough they went swimming in the creek.

I think tomorrow we will definitely get it going..

lots of fun on the farm..

during the evening walk they became fascinated with the potato beetles, 

and got rid of a good many from the suffering plants

and for the midnight snack, as they called it, they picked lots of sweet peas

Precious..

good times with good friends

and many thanks for stopping in

Words to ponder

“Permanence, perseverance and persistence

in spite of all obstacles,

discouragement, and impossibilities:

It is this,

 that in all things

 distinguishes 

the strong soul from the weak”

Thomas Carlyle

This Moment

A friday ritual inspired by Soulmama

A single photo, no words

A moment I want to pause, treasure and remember

Have a wonderful weekend!

Simple pleasures

The joy of the Mallow in bloom

the first blueberries of the season

the return of perennials from previous years

A really high rope swing

May your day be filled with simple pleasures.

Huge bubble magic

  Inspired by a post over at Childhood Magic the other day, I headed to the hardware store to get what I needed to make these wonderful bubble wands.

The wands are so easy to make, check Childhood Magic (update; please check comments section for a brief description of how to make the wands, also I am hoping to find time this summer to do another post with pictures on how to make them, since the one on Childhood magic is no longer online)

The bubbles they produce are magnificent.

I think I was almost as excited as the children, truly magical!!

Keenan was able to make little bubble, but mostly he enjoyed to pop them,

Kaleena however really got the hang of it after a few tries.

Wow!!!

Very happy indeed with her new wand

Thanks again for the inspiration Ariella.

Thanks for stopping in,

and have wonderful day!!

Bamboo projects

The other day we came across a bamboo grove by a creek we often visit.

There was so many broken pieces and we brought home a bunch.

My idea was to make a teepee and drape silk around it to make a fairy house for the child fairies around here

They loved it..

a little fairy child was quick to visit

Kaleena later, and still uses it as her little workshop.

She has been creating all kinds of little treasures with the bamboo, working (carefully)

with a saw, scissors and a knife.

this picture ended up in the wrong place, and I have not yet figured out how to move pictures around, anyways we made this simple swing from another piece, the children love to swing on it together, and at times it also doubles as a horse

 this is a beautiful treasure keeper that she made, complete with lid tied with a grass straw.

I just love it!!

she made a "grinder" using two bricks, which she used to scrape the skin off the bamboo, no apparent purpose for the grown up eye perhaps, yet she used a long time doing this, separating the thin bamboo paper, and she was so proud of her little machine, 

what can I say I love to see this kind of creativity

she made these beautiful patterns with a knife, and used this to keep the thin bamboo paper scraped from the inside of the tubes

another piece became (with the help of a grown up) a tray to carry special finds

and yet another became a cup..

so much fun with just a few sticks of bamboo,

Indeed; I love it:)

Thanks for looking in, and have a wonderful day!