so. day two. we decided to go minimalist. the kids took towels and whatever toy they wanted. hazel went in the ergo carrier. and off we went. and we lasted a whopping 30 minutes before isaac had a total meltdown. and hazel’s love affair with the sand and surf came to an abrupt end. so, […]
anna
no dads allowed beach trip. day one.

a few months ago, my friend lorena invited me to the beach. her husband would be out of town and he was sending her and some of her friends and kids to the beach. there were eight moms. and eighteen kids in all. and no dads were allowed. i was a bit stressed about the […]
pools and ice cream and bubbles, mostly.

yep. so here’s what’s been happening in our little world lately… hazel had her first swim in a real pool. she was a fan. i also had anna clinging to me like i crazy person, so it made my experience a little overwhelming. but, here’s a pic before anna “joined us”. isaac. he loves the […]
double check ups.
so. i had the bright idea to take anna and hazel for their well child check ups at the same time. anna’s four year. hazel’s six month. they did all the required measurements and such. anna… height: 3′ 4″ tall. 50th percentile. weight: 31 lbs. 14th percentile. she’s a heavyweight. and hazel… height: 26.25″. 58th […]
rainbow tutu mania.
before anna’s birthday, i had the bright idea to make her a rainbow tutu. you know, to go with the rainbow dash my little pony theme. except then, everyone took a turn at being sick (some of us twice). and time ran out. well, i picked it back up yesterday. and frustratedly concocted this shoddily […]
memorial day hike and waterfall.

yesterday. we loaded up the lid kids. and headed to hanging rock state park for a day of action packed adventure. side note: i have been hiking at hanging rock. but only to the actual hanging rock. so, whenever people would suggest taking the kids there, i would laugh at the possibility knowing that surely […]
butterfly field trip

after having studied the butterfly lifecycle, we knew that a trip to the butterfly garden was in order, but it’s only open on saturdays and you know how saturdays seem to fill up with stuff. well, this saturday, we got our stuff done early and scrambled off to all-a-flutter butterfly garden in high point, for […]
asheville anniversary. with kids.

this past saturday was our 11th anniversary. so, obviously, we packed the kids up for a hike and an overnight trip in asheville. derek had found a short little kid friendly hike online. not much elevation change. cool rocks to climb on. and a waterfall. so, off we went, to toms creek falls… firstly, we […]
the other things that have been happening lately.

besides anna turning four, hazel turning five months, the strawberry picking and the butterfly growing, these are some pics of what’s been happening around here… hazel is fast outgrowing the bumbo seat. she can almost turn herself completely around in it. and she rocks violently and it slides across the table. and this: test run […]
the metamorphosis of the painted lady.

riding the high of our super successful homeschool bee unit, we decided to try our hand at growing some butterflies. my mom had bought isaac the kit a year or so ago, so we ordered our caterpillars and got started. they came two days later. two jars with five caterpillars each. all the food they […]