Jimmer and Helmets

Pretty much this boy is a magnet to anything related to sports.
Balls, helmets, gloves, bats, skateboards, scooters, bikes, etc.

The skateboard is the worst - with the scooter being a close second. I'm not fond of him swinging that bat around, either.

After

Here is Katie's new haircut.

More Hiking and a Rope Swing

I couldn't watch him cross this log.
He is usually very capable - but he was wearing Crocs and they are really slippery when they are wet!

How the Littles Camp

Millie and Jimmer had a pretty good time - but I had to get over the fact that they were always covered in dirt. If they weren't finger/thumb suckers it wouldn't be so bad...

Here Millie is collecting shells and rocks. This was a FUN beach! There were so many things to look at, but no one was getting sandy.

Millie was eating a bag of granola and James was following her around and she'd feed him. We got some pretty amusing video of these two.

And here they are splashing around near Morrow Rock. We collected a total of 86 sand dollars on this beach. It was AWESOME!

Coast of Northern California

These are views near Big Sur.

Waterfall Hike

During Spring Break, we went camping with some good friends to northern California. We enjoyed some beautiful hikes in the middle of big redwoods!

Released

All 5 butterflies successfully emerged from their cocoons. Yesterday, we took them from their temporary home and released them into the world. Here is to a propitiation of the species.



This swallowtail was just a visitor - but he was big and beautiful!

Life Cycles

Here are some of the fun things surrounding us these days.

We ordered 5 caterpillars who made cocoons.



One emerged last night and has been drying her wings all day long. It is amazing to gradually see the colors spread on her wings. The inside is vibrant and the outside is still pretty dull. We expect one or two more to emerge tomorrow!

We also have 3 birds who have built nests at our house. This one we found today. It is right about eye level in a pretty small bush. The opening is 1 inch in diameter and the nest measures 9 inches from top to bottom. It is SO long! The birds that fly back and forth from it are as tiny as can be. They have been a lot of fun to watch.

It has a bunch of toilet paper weaved into the nest. :)

As we were walking home from the park yesterday, this nest was lying right on the sidewalk, so we brought it home. No eggs were nearby and it must have blown around in the wind, because it wasn't near a tree either. It's beautiful to look at, though.

A Teaser

Here is the BEFORE picture. You'll have to wait in suspense for the AFTER.

I Believe in Fairies

In preschool a week or two ago, we gathered different materials that we could find and made fairy houses.

I bought some little "pocket fairies" on a good sale just as distraction tools for my girls, etc. In taking a closer look, I realized how darn simple it would be to make them, so a friend and I have been whipping these little beauties out to give as gifts and my girls think they are tons of fun.