Fairy Garden

Because she believes in fairies and I can't help but believe a little too, we made a garden for the fairies.  Presumably big fairies because, you know, everything is bigger in Texas.

Justin built the box out of some pallets from work.  Caeden provided the umbrellas because hurricane season is upon us....poor fairies.  They will most likely need a house....

Pismo Beach 2010

*first bikes for a blue eyed girl*roasted marshmallows*frogs & ladybugs*sand*friendship adventures*glow-in-the-dark dodgeball*knitting*surfing*laughing hysterically with friends*

Outside

That IS my 3 year old zipping from the Oak to the Pistache, bravely and then asking to do it over and over again.

Tents made by a friend in the backyard...

Hannah.  {You can see her eyes!  Hilarious.}

If only I was as brave as this girl.  Like when she brings in a handful of worms after a good rain.  Or when she says "Mommy look!  It's so cute!  Look it has bubbles!"  And the thing she is talking about, dangling inches from my face {but I am reading email or reading my blog reader or, or or... }and that's when I look and it's a snail.  In my face.  And I gasp, nearly gag and I think a shriek came out.  She is the one that says, "It's okay Mommy, it's only a snail."  And then she comforts the snail... in case it was terrified of me.  Which it probably was.  

It makes me want to be her.  Have her courage and bravery.  Because gagging and shrieking at small slimy things is just so girly and not cool.

I think she is kinda cool.

A few weeks ago we took Caeden's new foam airplane up to the hills and let it soar.



The plane found itself in many trees and the kids were nice and tired from all the running up and down hills.

Justin, Lily & Sam

Introducing our squirrel family.

Justin and Lily (named by Caeden a year ago, at least.) have lived in our backyard for some time.  We made a bird feeder that instead feeds the squirrels, the poor birds don't stand a chance.  We have spent a lot of time watching them chase each other playfully in the yard and tease our dog, Maisie.

A few months ago we noticed a squirrel, a smaller one with a thinner tail and realized we had a baby squirrel in the yard!  Justin and Lily (accurately named) had a baby!  Not knowing if it is a boy or girl we decided on Sam (Samantha or Samuel) and we have had so much fun feeding and watching this little guy (or girl).  Sam is a lot more adventurous than his parents.  He comes right up to our kitchen window looking for scraps, nuts, bread and looks at us in the window.  His parents stay in the tree, watching closely.

We made pine cone treats for the birds for Winter Solstice.  Laid out peanuts on the sill for our backyard family and sprinkled seed in the feeder.

Once again, the birds had no chance.  Sam buried all the nuts in the backyard, all over the backyard.  They don't bury them together, each goes into there own little hole.  Justin/Lily enjoyed the seed and the pine cones from which they hung upside down in order to eat from. The next day they had taken the pine cones down from the tree to finish them off and play with.

Going On A Leaf Hunt

A spontaneous family art night.

 

We're Going On A Leaf Hunt

Stained Glass Leaves: 

• wax paper
• leaves
• hot iron
• construction paper cut into strips for frame. 

 *Make sure the wax paper is ironed right side together or it won't melt correctly.  These are so pretty hanging in a window!

Chinese Pistache~Autumn Tree Study

This our first Outdoor Hour Challenge and I am so excited!


So we have a tree in our backyard that we actually wanted to rip out but now I have grown to like it very much. It has berries that the birds eat which is great for bird watching. We also have squirrels that chase each other and then eat the seeds out of the bird feeder. The berries are beautiful when they change colors in the fall and winter. I did not know what kind of tree it was until last week but thanks to Google I am now a little smarter. :)


We watched, we listened, we did some drawing, rubbing and smelling. And it was good.

From Ringorland

Chinese Pistache

Praying Mantis

I am not sure how long Praying Mantis' live but we found a one the other night that was much bigger than the one we found earlier in the summer. Could it be the same one?

On Wednesday we walked outside and I showed it to Maleiah. I said, "Look, it looks like he is praying."

In a sing-song voice Maleiah said, "Awwww, Jesus I love you!"



And then I realize that despite the bad days and the frustration of raising a strong willed, two year old girl...we must be doing something right.

Larva, Pupa, Ladybug

"Mommy! Mommy! I found the thing that a ladybug is before it's a ladybug that we saw in that book!"

That book would be the Handbook of Nature Study.

And that would be Caeden screaming.

And that would be me in shock since that was in the spring that we looked at it AND it was one of my worst memories of first grade nature journalism (nice word, huh? Journaling isn't a word according to Blogger spell check so I picked that one, it makes me sound smart...LOL). But, God makes all things new...so I followed the screaming boy.

And there on our toy pirate ship was indeed a ladybug larva. Ever seen one?Like any pirate on a ship, we captured it...for observation. We also captured 2 others in different larva stages but the poor things were eaten alive by the bigger one.

We gave it a leaf form our tree with aphids on it and we waited a few days and it hung itself upside down and became a pupa. Caeden was sure it was dead. I thought maybe he was right so we put it under the microscope and IT WAS MOVING! We could see the top of it's head {?} pulsating. Amazing. So we watched, and watched.
Wednesday afternoon more screaming ensued.

"The pupa hatched! The pupa hatched!"

Did you know that when ladybugs come out of the pupa they are yellow!?!?! They are. I might have shrieked a little too. No spots either! Just a yellow ladybug.So we left and went to dinner and when we came home....IT HAD SPOTS!!!!! Are you on the edge of your seats? You should go find a ladybug larva.

By Thursday morning, we had a red ladybug with spots.

Nature Walk

We have a lake/creek/very large pond near our house and Justin and Caeden often fish there. We took a walk there last week and came home with algae, cattails, pond water and various flowers.

Works For Me Wednesday-Nature Bag

I am hoping in all the chaos of second grade this year to do some nature study using this great book:


and these:
So to make things bit easier when we are on the way I put together this bag! It has a supply box for each of the kids with {colored pencils, crayons, glue, tape...}, a sketch book and some of the above mentioned books. I purchased a canvas bag at my friend Joanns and had the kids decorate it with fabric markers.All the stuff goes in and then when we are leaving I don't have to scurry for pencils, crayons, sketch books, etc...just grab and go. OH! But don't forget the camera...I thought about getting them each their own disposable camera but that will cost more $$$ and time than I am willing to part with so the digital goes with.


Go here for more tips! WFMW :)

Praying Mantis

We found a praying mantis in the backyard! I love when nature gives us gifts like that...love it! So we watched and wouldn't you know with ALL the books in this house there was nothing about these cute little predators in any of my books! Luckily wikipedia came through....did you know....

Praying Mantises are exclusively predatory and their diet usually consists of living insects; larger species have been known to prey on small lizards, frogs, birds, snakes, and even rodents. Most species are known to engage in cannibalism.


Amazing....AND I learned how to use the "close up" feature on my camera. A good day I tell ya!

Escargo?

On our way to get the mail this afternoon, as we watched Maleiah gallop to the mailbox, Caeden asked me:

"Why can't I have a regular sister?" As opposed to what?

"One that's not so silly?"

Sorry, kid. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

Besides, it's free entertainment.

When we returned to the house, there was trauma on the kitchen table. Maleiah's snail was missing. Yes. The one she put on a paper plate and left on the table before we went to get the mail. It had crawled away and was camoflauged against the wood table. Luckily, we found it...lucky for me.

Lady! Where Are You?!?

Last night while we were in the backyard playing, just Maleiah and I, while the boys were gone fishing, and we found ladybugs. We watched them crawl on the green blades of grass, along our fingers and even in Maleiah's hair. We sang, "Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home..." and then we would find another.

They would fly away

("In car." she said)

and Maleiah would yell,

"Lady! Where are you?!?"

We would find another one.

By the time I got the camera there were no ladybugs to be found but we did find a lot of ladybug pupa's! All over the "grassy plains" of our backyard, little ladybugs waiting to fly! How exciting! We love ladybugs!

This morning after my pancake breakfast on the Celebrate plate we went out again and found a single pupa so we could show Caeden.

I used the Handbook of Nature Study to learn about "Ladybirds" and they really are fascinating. Did you know they have a poisonous goo that squirts out of their knees? {Did you know they have knees????} In this way, they have no insect predators. Most of us know how good Ladybirds are for our gardens, they eat those nasty aphids on our roses and vegetables.

I am looking forward to welcoming all those waiting Ladybirds...welcome home!

Every Boy Needs a Tree

We are so thankful for our backyard and one of the great things has been this tree. In the last few weeks Caeden has perfected swinging from this tree and spends everyday, sometimes early mornings still in his pajamas, trying out different ways to swing and freak his mother out. Is this P.E?

Point Reyes, California

I have lived in California my whole life and thanks to our friends, Dan and Tiffany, I have been able to see a lot of it. They moved here from Colorado so everything is new. I should be the one showing them around, instead, it's the other way around. I am the tourist along with them. A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to Point Reyes (it's a peninsula...we have been talking geography in first grade). It was a great drive and then the ocean came into view! Justin rolled down the windows and goes into a zone (it's a surfer, water loving man thing...and I totally love and respect it) and the kids are shrieking and the cows are everywhere. Everywhere. So we got to the lighthouse and we went DOWN over 300 steps, enjoyed the view, tried to watch whales and then I nearly died going back UP the more than 300 steps. They. are. steep.

So we loved the day.

We went to Drakes Bay (more geography), flew a kite, collected sand and other beach paraphernalia and then went to look at tee pees near where there are mountain lions of which I have a phobia about (that includes anything with claws that may want to eat me). We love the beach even if there are wild animals that can eat us. The next day I could still feel the ocean breeze on my skin and after putting off a shower just for that reason I concluded that we have issues....but I will keep them. :)