Thankful Thursday-Random

What am I thankful for this week so far?









Monday: The boys and I baked a spice cake with caramel frosting and a lemon-meringue pie for hubby's birthday. It was a lot of fun.
Tuesday: Despite a really jam packed day, things worked out so that we could go out to celebrate hubby's birthday. It was nice because we went early enough and had the whole place to ourselves.
Wednesday: Ehric had a fun playdate with a friend. Ehric told his friend..."You know who I really like as a friend? You." I am thankful Ehric has such a big heart.

A fun day out with the boys yesterday.








Ehric having a fun playdate with a friend. Can you not picture them getting Senior portraits that way. Too cute!

The Rest of the Week: This week is super busy...but I am thankful that we are going to be doing a lot of fun things; learning a lot; and that there are people in my life who are willing to support me in my endeavors.

Thankful Thursday is at Spiritually Unequal Marriage for the month of March.

Maple Sugar Time

Today we visited a local Sugar Shack to see how Maple Syrup is made. It was a beautiful March Day and we had a lot of fun. The owner did a great job explaining to the kids; and didn't mind answering my four year olds questions! What more can you ask for?

Showing us the tools used to boar holes and to tap the trees.

Talking a walk into the woods.

The lines carrying the sap

Where the lines end up.The tub where the sap is collected.

Outside the Sugar Shack

Inside the Sugar Shack--Boiling it down

The Final Product: Maple Syrup ($50/gallon)

Eating Ice Cream with Maple Syrup! Yummy!

Every Wednesday bloggers post pictures of the Outdoors. Please visit Outdoor Wednesday to see even more outdoor pictures.

Celebrating Hubby's Birthday

Celebrating Hubby's Birthday!

Maine Maritime Museum

On Saturday Ehric and I had a special day out together. We went to the Maine Maritime Museum for their free event called, Crossing the Line. They had crafts for the kids, a little parade with King Neptune (the god of the sea) and various displays. On their grounds they have a really neat play ship for the kids that includes a slide and other fun things. The sky was so blue that day and we even saw two bald eagles flying in the sky! The ice on the water was floating down in big chunks. It was really a pretty sight, and a beautiful day despite the cold weather.

Ehric and I discovered this game amongst the displays. You are a ship trying to sail across the blue ocean. On your route you run into all kinds of mishaps like pirates, fire and other maladies. It was a really fun game and we must have played the game atleast five times while we were at the museum.

They had a captain's room were the kids could pretend to be in charge. Ehric loved it when we blew the horns to warn the ships in the harbor. Here he is in his dark-blue shirt holding his ears. He had a lot of fun in this small room and even got a few adults into his fun.

Ehric (in his blue coat) was so imaginative on this kid's play ship. He had so much fun steering the wheel, climbing up and down the stairs, going down the slide or making up stories about pirates. I really wish we had one of these at home. He burned a lot of energy there. Isn't the sky so blue?

Here are those chunks of ice. The sky was so beautiful. Too bad I wasn't able to get a picture of the bald eagles who were circling above in the blue sky.

Blue Monday is hosted by Smiling Sally.

Taking a Nap

Taking A Nap

Each Tuesday, I will be trying to post a photo that represents 'Simplicity' in my eyes. If you would like to see other Time Journal photos or would like to take part in this weekly meme please visit: The Simple Woman's Time Journal.

Worthley Pond

I am really excited about a new meme I stumbled upon, Outdoor Wednesday. On Wednesday people all over the blog world are posting photos of the outdoors. The photos can be of anything outdoors: your yard, a forest, field, beach, etc. I can't wait to see what other people share!

I thought Outdoor Wednesday would be the perfect time to share some photos from our trip to Worthley Pond this weekend. It was so beautiful out (in the mid 50s) that we didn't wear a coat most of the time we were there.

The kids had fun cross country skiing, sledding, running through the slush, and Ehric even got to go on his first snowmobile ride!

Ehric talked the man on the snowmobile into letting him take control of the steering wheel. Or should I say he probably pushed the man's hands off.

A friend of ours caught this fish. When we checked it out up close you could really examine its gills. It was pretty neat. Apparently out of all the icefishing traps set this was the only one caught that day!

Our Amish Wall

Our Amish Wall

Each Tuesday, I will be trying to post a photo that represents 'Simplicity' in my eyes. If you would like to see other Time Journal photos or would like to take part in this weekly meme please visit: The Simple Woman's Time Journal.

Poundcake

The boys and I celebrated National Poundcake Day by making a poundcake. After dinner we ate poundcake with strawberries and whipped cream. It was very delicious and made me wish it was summer!

Sharing with Friends

Eggs for Sale

Eggs For Sale

March Nature Table

I got inspired to change our nature table setup after seeing Melissa's nature table at In the Sparrow's Nest. In the cubbies I added rocks and feathers we collected last year; a guide on rocks and minerals; and magnifying glasses. On top of the shelf, I added our nature guides; a poetry book; and a vase with some tree branches. You will notice that I added shamrocks on the tree branches to give it a St. Patty's Day feel. Besides the shelf there is a basket with nature craft books.

The boys are liking the new setup and have been using the rocks in their play. Aiden likes to stack them on top of the cardboard bricks we have. Ehric likes walking around with the magnifying glass and looking at things up close. I figure once Spring gets here we will add new nature items to our collection. I also hope that by having all the guides handy we will start using them more.

March

The sun is nervous

As a kite

That can't quite keep

Its own string tight.

Some days are fair.

And some are raw.

The timid earth

Decides to thaw.

Shy budlets peep

From twigs on trees,

And robins join

The chickadees.

Pale crocuses

Poke through the ground

Likes noses come

To sniff around.

The mud smells happy

On our shoes.

We still wear mittens,

Which we lose.

- John Updike, from A Child's Calendar

Read Across America Day/Dr. Seuss' Birthday

Since today is Dr. Seuss' Birthday I made us green eggs & ham for breakfast. Aiden asked for pancakes so of course we dyed those green as well.

After breakfast Ehric and I watched a few Seuss related videos on the Internet. We just got DSL recently and are loving our new ability to watch videos on the Internet!

Classic Green Eggs & Ham Video


The following video on Dr. Seuss cakes is really cool! Just a word to the wise if you are going to watch this one with your children: the chef says, "Damn" atleast twice.


Here is a really awesome science video on experimenting with Oobleck

Oobleck: A Non-Newtonian Fluid - The best free videos are right here

Besides videos, we also found this website dedicated to Read Across America Day and all things Seuss. http://www.seussville.com/

This afternoon we are going to make Oobleck and read some Dr. Seuss books. It should be fun!

Milking Time

Saturday evening Ehric got to go observe Too Tall (the cow we get our milk from) getting milked. He was really excited and we were excited for him. Brother would have gotten to watch too but fell asleep on the 1 minute drive there!