Spring, Spring you are an amazing thing

Spring Spring Spring
You are an amazing thing
With your own force you rise up so high
Spring Spring Spring
You are an amazing thing.

We have had such a wonderful Spring. The weather has been incredible, so many sunny days. We still spend our mornings outside. We have been exploring the beach near Dupont trailhead. Our Forest Gatherings havMondays we spent the mornings at Outer Point. So many adventures with such small people.

Here are our Monthly Guides for April and May

April

Theme- Spring

Verse
Spring! Spring! Spring!
You are a brave thing;
On the ground you will not lie,
Always up from it you fly.
Your own force
Does, of course,
Take you up so high.

Story
“The Story of the Root Children” by Sibylle von Olfers

Song
This is my trunk, I’m a tall, tall tree.
In spring time buds blossom on me, I open , I open.
This is my trunk, I’m a tall, tall tree.
In the summer time, sun shines on me. It shines, it shines.
This is my trunk, I’m a tall, tall tree.
In the Fall time, breezes blow through me. I sway, I sway.
This is my trunk, I’m a tall, tall tree.
In the Winter time, sap oozes from me. It’s sticky, it’s sticky.


Activiy
Week 1- Senses Meditation “Look, Listen, Feel”
Week 2- I Spy with my little eye –signs of Spring
Week 3- Spring boutique
Week 4- Mussels Art Walk

Forest Gathering
May
Theme- Rainbow

Verse
I’ll be a little sunbeam true,
A tiny ray of light,
And try in all I say and do
To make the world more bright.

Story
“The Sunbeam’s Visit” by Cornelia Fulton Crary

One day, as the glorious sun came up to bid the world "Good morning," one beam of light came out with all the rest, and went to give its part of rightness to the people of the world. In this beam of light were six little rays; but they all had on white cloaks, and they went along so close together that they
looked like one clear, white ray.

It was early in the morning, and as the beam of light went on its way straight from the sun, to take its message of love and brightness to the world just as well and quickly as it could, it went through between two of the slits of the
blind in the window of the room where little Johnny was snugly tucked in bed fast asleep; and it shone right on the top of a glass inkstand which Johnny's mother kept on the table. As the beam of light went through the sharp edges of the clear glass, all the little rays took off their white cloaks, and went and stood hand in hand in a streak of colors on the white ceiling.

Each one of the six rays that made the beam of light was a different color. Three of them were strong, and able to take care of their little brothers and help them to be bright as they were, just as little children who are bright and happy help others to be bright and happy too. These three strong rays were
red and yellow and blue.
The red and the yellow rays had between them another ray who held tight to both of them, and the red and the yellow ray each gave him some of their brightness; so he was an orange ray. And the yellow and the blue had fast hold of the little green ray which was between them, sharing the brightness of the yellow and the coolness of the blue ray, and very happy and bright
himself while he was standing close to them. Then at the end of the line, close to the blue, stood another ray. He was something like the red ray at the other end of the line, who gave him some of his red glow; but he was more like the blue, because he stood close to him and shared his color, which, mixed with the red, made him a purple ray. So there they stood, the red and
the orange, the yellow and the green, the blue and the purple rays, holding each other's hands and looking at Johnny.

And all this didn't take as long to happen as it takes to tell about it; for as they looked at him, Johnny felt their brightness against his eyelids, and opened his eyes to see what it was, and said: "Why, there is the light; it must be morning." So he got up right away, and washed his face and hands very clean, and dressed, so he would not be late to breakfast. He opened the
blinds to let more of the sunshine in, and then the six little rays ran back through the glass and put on their white cloaks again, and went with all the other beams of light to make the day bright. And Johnny stood before the window and said "Good morning" to the sun, which had sent the beam
of light to visit him and make him glad.

Song
“Beams of Love Fingerplay”
Round the golden dome above
(arms above head in a circle)
Sends to me its beams of love
(bring arms slowly down and cross over heart)
As I go about my day
(move arms back and forth like ‘walking’)
Beams of love unfold in play
(start with hands crossed over heart and slowly bring arms down and outward)
Take these beams I give to you
(hands outstretched showing palms, move the outward more)
And pass them on in all you do
(bring hands together in front of you)

Activity
Week 1 Low tide- Tidal animals
Week 2 Make a rainbow with found objects-
(each child will be assigned a color)
Week 3 Find your favorite color in nature
Week 4 Rock Art- balancing


Landry and Wilder's Birthday

I have started a new tradition of Birthdays. On the morning of each kids birthday we go outside to the place we buried their placenta into the ground. Landry has 3 blueberry bushes growing over his and Wilder has a May tree growing over his. We set up their birthday ring and sing Happy Birthday and open a few presents. Both birthday mornings went wonderful. Landry received a needle felted robin, nest and eggs from Mom and Dad and a dinosaur egg from Wilder. They both received a gnome house from Mopsy and Pop. Wilder received furniture for the gnome house and a running bike. Also, on their 3rd birthday I make them their birthday crown. Wilder's crown had a black bear and 2 fiddle head ferns. I had a joint birthday party for both at Auke Rec.


The Birthday Camping Trip

After the birthday party we left and went straight to Echo Cove, where we met some friends (Lindasy Bloom and Brian Delay) at the boat launch. We packed our camping gear onto the skiff and took for for an adventure into Berner's Bay. On our way into the Bay we stopped and dropped a couple of crab pots. Wilder really enjoyed touching the crab bait ( halibut heads and leftover salmon scraps). We trolled for king salmon and jigged for halibut. When we arrived at the cabin a humpback whale cow and calf were feeding 50ft from the shore of the cabin throughout the evening and into the night. We saw 2 black bears and many sea lions. On our way back home we pulled the crab pots and kept 20 dunganess crabs. It was a great camping trip for us all.

January turning February

I have the best husband in the world. My birthday was at the end of last month. I have been hinting to Brett what I would really like, the ski attachments for our stroller (Chariot). I was so excited when they were delivered.

Since getting the skis for the stroller I have been using them as much as possible. We ski near the Mendenhall Glacier at the campground. There is a local nordic ski club that keeps the area groomed. I pull both boys and stroller (70-75lbs) about 2 1/2 miles. It is a great workout for me. I stop half way and let Wilder get out and play in the snow and run along the track.
We always look for the black wolf (Romeo) when we are skiing. Often times we just missed him, according to people we pass.

The wolf if Wilder's obsession. Wilder would like to take him home with us so he will not be lonely and won't have to howl. He said he could sleep on the floor in the bedroom. He talks often of the wolf's behavior. He is a curious wolf who follows people and dogs and is not afraid of people. His presence is more expected than not.

Landry is standing up on his own and will stand unassisted. He still laughs and is easily amused. He seems to like words that begin with a "B" sound.
Here are a few pics of the sunroom. I have purged and re-organized their toys. I am really starting to enjoy the space.

Letter from Mopsy- What Happens next?

We received a letter from Mopsy today. In it she placed a picture of Wilder from our trip to Atlin in 2008. Wilder had his face painted like a tiger. It brought back many memories in his 2 1/2 year old brain, some that turned into stories.









We are coming down off of our snow high!!! We had below freezing temps for 5-6 weeks in a row with close to 5 ft. of snow. We had many sledding adventures and adventures to our special place in the forest where the Ents live. We would leave in the am with our neighbors Abbey, Mike and Corder. Elias pulled our sled packed with a backpack with stove, fuel, sleeping bag, insulated sleeping pads, pots, tea, snacks, lunch and emergency gear. We made a fire each time and cooked lunch. On our recent outing to our special spot wih Meadow and Corder we were turned around due to avalanches in the area. We camped out in the backyard of Budzo Manor, digging and heaving snow around. In the end we had a slide and small tunnel.

Our return home-Juneau

My time to keep this blog updated has been limited. Here is a brief summary of the last two months.
- Brett came to New Orleans for the last two weeks. He is close to getting his next book published and it still enjoying his work at the law office.

- Landry mastered the full crawl and is now standing on his own for several seconds. Landry babbles and laughs all the time. He goes along with the flow especially lately when I bundle him up for 15 degree temperature and head outside for several hours.

- Wilder is trying to understand morality issues. (We eat deer, so the deer must have been mean) Wilder is trying to understand the world, people and animals are either nice or mean. Wilder loves the snow. We have been having our daily adventures. We recently claimed a spot in the forest as our special place (I think we will call it Shooting Star Forest). We built a fire and cooked lunch for ourselves. Today, we went to a friends snow cave.

- Kristy (Me) enjoying being back in Juneau. I have been skate skiing with the boys on Mendenhall Lake and the campground. This is my winter passion. It is an incredible workout and Wilder gets to place in the snow for a while. We also like to look for the black wolf who has made his home on the lake. I have been making several crafts needle felting and wet felting. I love it. It makes me feel happy to see Landry and Wilder playing with toys that I made.

I have really fallen in love with staying home with Wilder and Landry. We are settling into our routines. I must go outside every morning with the kids, it is a matter of survival. We have become creatures of habit. Some people look at me like I am crazy outside with 2 kids (with temp -5 below to 28 above). We just dress for the weather and have good gear that protects little people. Not to mention our 100lb dog that needs daily exercise. It is good for us all.

Big Branch Marsh, Lacombe

My parents live about 4 miles from Big Branch Marsh Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge is huge it borders Lake Ponchatrain on the northeast side of the lake. This week we have been exploring different access areas to the Refuge. Hiking trails in the area are scarce, I have sought out several gems within a 10-15 minute drive from Mopsie and Pop's house. Our two favorite trails are close to 5 miles in length and have been abundant with wild life. So far we have spotted 2 deer, 1 large bee hive, 3 owls, woodpeckers, 1 armadillo, 1 coyote, 2 cotton mouths snakes, 1 nutria, several blue herons and lots of egrets. Wilder is a wonderful naturalist and hiking partner.

Landry is sitting up unsupported and beginning to crawl on his knees. He has become the master scooter (all over the house). He also has his first tooth as of this week.

Monster Mash-Oct. 25

We are having so much fun in New Orleans staying with my family. There are so many events and activities. I have been limiting ourselves to one big event on the weekends. Today we went to an event called Monster Mash in Bogue Falaya Park near downtown Covington, LA. It was so much fun, it was created for toddlers and preschool age kids. There were games, trick or treats, music, bug mobile, zoo mobile, crafts and food.

Wilder and I have been working on his costume this week. He dressed up as a gnome. To make it complete he wore his belt with a pocket and carried all important things for a gnome (nuts, string, needle and stick) I was bit nervous because everytime I asked Wilder to try on the hat, he would squeal and run away. Finally, he tried it on and fell in love. He would not take his hat/beard combo off, even when we got in the car to go home.

The costume was such a hit I am going to make one for Landry and myself for Halloween.

Auquarium of America- Oct. 24

My mom skipped work today to go to our Waldorf School parent/toddler play group and to our Friday outing in the city. This week I met Aunt Karen at the Aquarium. I was wonderful to see the excitement in Wilder's face as he traveled from each exhibit. We would squeal with joy to see 40lb catfish, white alligator, alligator snapping turtle, blue dart frogs, sharks, sting rays, and sea horses. After we went shopping in the French Quarter for Christmas gifts.