spring beauty ~ two days of out-and-about

Wednesday

We drove a good distance for Camille to participate in a play rehearsal for a homeschool performance of Macbeth. While we were in the lovely town of Viroqua, Sylvia, Ayla, and I made the most of it. We dropped Camille off at rehearsal and headed out to Sidie Hollow Park for sand play and a hike.

 pink bloodroot

 a shared feather

After rehearsal and a stop at the library, Camille headed back to the local yarn store for homeschool knitting group and we checked out the Driftless Cafe which has a seasonal, locally-sourced menu for a yummy midday treat. We played games and read and put together puzzles at the library before picking Camille up at the end of the day. Perfect.

Thursday

The next day saw us heading the other direction into town to meet friends at Henry Vilas Zoo for a picnic, park play, and checking out the animals.  One of the zoologists kindly chatted with us for quite a long while, answering questions and sharing stories and knowledge of the animals and their care.

in the discovery center

The playful river otters were such a delight to watch, and the tiger came right up to us for an up-close encounter on the other side of the glass.

We rounded out our (already long) day at Olbrich Botanical Gardens to meet with another family of good friends. It was a relaxing and beautiful way to end our time in town.

the garden kaliedoscope

Turkish tulips and checkered frittilary

pasque flower

magnolia

pics by Camille

After a long, cold winter, we are reveling in these flowering spring days. The warmth, the friendship, the fullness. That's one of the benefits of living in a place with strong seasonal weather, it's easy to be enchanted all over again every spring. As buds and blossoms unfurl, I feel my muscles and worries doing the same.

three days

Here's three days in our sometimes simple, sometimes busy, always full of learning, in all of its various guises, life.

On Saturday and Sunday, Camille had a two-night sleepover at her friends house, complete with makeovers, baby goats, and a Morp (prom, backwards) dance at the library. 

  happy, but sleepy, girl

 Meanwhile, Sylvia went from her ballet class to a Girl Scout meeting at the park.  They planted flowers, made scented bath salts, and cleaned up debris and garbage at the park.

 

 We popped in at the library to bring Camille her shoes and it looked like everyone was having a lot of fun at Morp.

 Sunday afternoon was full of sunshine. Perfect for playing music in the yard and checking on the progress of the greening plants.

 raspberry

 currant

rhubarb

Monday, a day at home, lived simply and wonderfully, was just what we all needed! We had smoothies for breakfast and Camille and I did a cardio workout on Hulu.

 Sylvia: "Hey Ayla, if we help Mama hang laundry, she'll pick nettles for tea with us sooner!"
Ayla (totally excitedly): "Yeah!!!"

 Me: (big happy-mama grin)

  and wild mint, too

 garden gloves for the nettles

 While the backyard sun tea was steeping, Camille made gluten-free bacon-y biscuits, Sylvia sliced pears, apples, and mangoes, and Ayla put almonds in a fancy bowl.

 wild mint, nettles, lemon, and a hint of maple syrup

 So, we had a tea party picnic, and then practiced ballet leaps in the yard, and watched the ducks and chickens do their thing.

We made origami dragons and baskets, tried out Mathblaster, hung out more laundry, planted the last of the indoor seed starts, made rice and veggie soup and coconut custard. After Papa got home from work, there was more music playing, while the littler girls rode bikes and rollerskated 'til the sunlight faded completely from the sky.

Setting aside some moodiness here and there, it was just about a perfect day by my standards. It is often the little things in our lives that make me happy. Which is good, I guess, because most of it is made up of the little things.