We are back from our adventures, and what fun we had! The boys were terrific travellers, and it was such a joy to share it all together. Perry and I travelled quite a bit before having children, and though travelling looks quite different with little ones (and a pregnant mama too!) - we had such a wonderful time. The thrill of all the newness- the ocean, the language, the food- was so exciting for our little boys, and it was such a delight to watch them learn and engage and explore and to make new friends, and just dive head first (so to speak!) into in such a different world. It will be a good while before we'll be able to afford another trip like this, but the timing was perfect for this one- before entering the newborn realm again, and with the boys at such a terrific age for travelling. And we are inspired to start saving our pennies for an adventure sometime in the coming years.

The boys and I continued our trip after Perry had to head home for work, and we took a ferry boat over to see my sister's family and to love up the baby cousin for a few days. So lovely. These boys are going to make terrific big brothers (and this baby is going to have to get used to a lot of lovin' and noisy affection pretty quickly!)

and we are home now, settling back in, welcoming the spring that arrived while we were gone, nursing the colds we brought home with us, and just enjoying being home again.

Playing with Papa~

sure do love these boys of mine.

We had a busy weekend- sledding party, ski race, DJ gig, and Perry was teaching a workshop too. The ski race is the end of the season event with their Jackrabbit ski classes, and is thankfully pretty low key, with no winners announced or anything, just the kids trying as hard as they can. Parents ski with their kids and Ari sailed through his 3 km ski with Perry, loving every minute of it. It was a bit of an adventure with Dori and I-he, not quite ready to take on the uphill bits on his own,and me, pregnant and not a great skier anyway, but we laughed a lot and he ended the 1km race beaming and feeling very proud of himself, so all was well. 

And then, well past the boys bedtime, the boys had a DJ gig. I don't know if I've written about it lately but Ari has kept up his weekly radio show with Perry on our little community station- he absolutely loves it, and has learned so much about music and radio, and he looks forward to every week's show. The radio station has put on a dance as a fundraiser for the last couple years, and Ari and his DJ sidekick have been the opening act. They did so well, and were totally enamored with the lights and disco ball and with being out late. They both dressed up- Dori in a "musician hat" and Ari in a cape and crown. Cutest little DJ's around if I do say so myself!

And so we've been laying low after all that excitement,  and the boys have been spending the last few days playing lots of games and immersing themselves in long uninterrupted periods of play. 

And book reading of course. Dori and I just started a new Milly-Molly-Mandy book together. And I just finished reading Charlotte's Web to the boys- it is such a delight to revisit the books I loved in my childhood, and this was the first time we read a book that engaged both boys equally. 

We managed to squeeze in a little homeschool time too- math games and reading together in the afternoons and a short morning lesson time with fairy tales and word families. 

The snow just keeps coming down (so. much. snow!) and we are thinking and planning for a family adventure coming up- hot sun and beaches, thanks to Perry's parents who have been coaxing us to use their condo for years now- we can hardly wait! It feels like a wonderful way to celebrate this last bit of time as a family of 4 (with big kids who travel so well!) before the new baby adventures begin. And so we are packing and reading and spending lots of time with the globe. The boys have been carting the suitcases around for days, loading them full of all sorts of items, coming to ask if we can bring the periscope? the kapla planks? the whole collection of Beatrix Potter books? We'll pare it down to the essentials over the coming days, I'm sure. 

The weather has been lovely here this week, and we are getting out in the warm sunshine as much as we can. It is not warm enough to be melting yet, but it is so lovely to be out in the sunshine, and we have been loving our daily walks. 

:: icicle sword

Our daily pattern now is to walk together until we get to the sledding hill, where the boys take a detour- often with their sleds (but lately they are able to sled right on their bottoms or bellies, it is so smooth and slick!) and I continue on to a little loop we've tramped down in the forest. I can still hear the boys hooting and whooping it up, yet that little walk through the trees is such a lovely calm moment in my day.

I've been continuing on down the driveway and onto the big road, which has melted and is nice for walking, especially now that the winter trucks are off the road and it is quiet. I can watch the little sledding boys on the hill as I walk. Today Ari walked down in his ski boots and lugged all his ski stuff on his sled. When I got back to the road I could see he had strapped on the skis and was racing around the field, over the hills and bumps, grinning and flushed. He came down to the road to chat over the fence with me, and then was off again. 

The snow is perfect for the boys right now- a crisp layer on top means they can ski or run right on the top and not sink through at all- they've been having all sorts of adventures across this frozen playground. But this pregnant mama has to stick to the paths and roads - I just sink right through when I try to follow!

Inside, Ari has started finger knitting and is loving it. There is a story and verse in the Enki craft materials that really engaged him and made the learning quite effortless for him. I think he will be ready for the "knitting sticks" in no time!

I've finally started knitting the birthday sweater I had planned to make last year for Ari. I was stuck on the fact he had asked for one just like Dori's, when I knew both of them tend not to wear pull over sweaters, and I also was a little tired of that EZ pattern after making both Dorian and Perry's sweaters using it. I talked with Ari and he agreed he would be most likely to wear a hooded sweater with a zip, but he still wanted it red and striped. Done! I am enjoying it quite a lot now that I know it will be worn!

I'm a little late for Wednesday's yarn along, but I snapped the picture with the book- I just finished it last night-a light and enjoyable read. It is the first time I've read anything by Peter Hoeg and I found his writing style quirky and totally entertaining. 

I know I post endless pictures of my kids play, but I love it so. I had a strong feeling today, while helping them clean up their toys, of how much I am going to miss this stage when it is done (not the cleaning part so much!) I adore finding these little set ups, and seeing into their imaginations. Today there was the sweetest little farm house built from blocks and castle pieces with a vegetable garden on the roof complete with goats and chickens. So sweet!

This week there has been an ongoing game that gets set up over and over. It seems to be a cross between a farm and a pirate theme, which I find quite amusing. I suppose one never knows when you might need a sword and cannon to protect your livestock!

We are really noticing the lengthening of the days this week. Now the sun is up with us when we make our morning tea, entertaining us with beautiful steam clouds dancing from the kettle and the tea cups. 

We have a busy weekend ahead of us, lots of events and activities to take part in. Have a great weekend, friends!

 

  We spent the weekend celebrating the birthday of this wonderful man of mine- with our little family and then with family and friends. Perry, we love you so. Happy Birthday my love.  

A peek into our week:

Drawing, drawing drawing. So much drawing from these little boys.

Many experiments, potions and attempts at alchemy. We are still big Sparkle Stories fans around here, and this week Martin and Sylvia- the homeschooling brother-sister pair from these stories- did some reading about alchemy and tried their hand at it. Ari was very much inspired and has been sneaking away to try various experiments with household items. I found this scene above on his bedroom floor at the end of quiet time. He wanted to write down his recipes in his journal in case he really did make gold. Also a recipe for a (rather messy!) crushed blueberry drink he made for his brother and himself. 

A trip with their papa to visit a wonderful local farm and their goats, including the new baby goat. 

Play. Pirates. Playmobile (does that stuff multiply in the night? I swear we had just a few pieces and suddenly there are little plastic helmets and swords everywhere. They love it though, and play with it creatively so I am trying to be okay with the plastic-ness of it. It is kind of cute in its own way.) 

Peanut butter cookies. They instantly transport me to my grandmother's kitchen, and though these ones are made using this recipe- with almond flour and honey- which I'm sure the ones from my childhood were not- they taste just like Grandma's. 

And the temperature has dropped again- it isn't really that cold, just barely below zero, but the wind is blowing the snow is coming down, and it is feeling like winter will be with us for awhile. So the best thing to do is get a pot of soup on the stove, a kettle boiling for some tea, pile up some books by the fire and pull up the rocking chair for a bit. This is where I'll be if you need me.

Happy cozy weekend to you all!