Greening Sam and Avery

a visit to the country

Is there anything better than being surrounded by extended family with THIS as your setting?

We headed to Westby, WI this weekend to spend some time with Chris's aunt, uncle, cousins and grandparents. The girls always have a great time exploring, playing with cousins and seeing the great-grandparents.

They got to build a snowman with their cousins,

and search the woods to make it complete.

And had fun with some hitch hikers (which were not so fun when they got horribly tangled in Polly's tail, the family golden retriever!).

But we also got to hike and explore their property.

And the girls got to see their dad test out his shooting skills on a fake deer.

So much family time and outdoor play over the last two days we are all exhausted!!

How was your weekend?

Day 364: camping wrap up

The last day of camping was pretty simple. Well, as simple as cooking pancakes and breakfast burritos for 30 people on a charcoal camping grill can be. As simple as having 13 kids ranging in ages from 15 to 18 months all wanting to fish at the same time. So, yes it was a crazy and chaotic morning but it was a morning filled with beaver tail slaps, kids in boats on the water, fish being caught, toddlers chasing grasshoppers, families eating together outside and sunshine!

Not much could be better than all of that in my mind.

 
Exhausted and ready for bed. I have many more other pictures and stories to share but those will have to wait for tomorrow!

We will be celebrating Day 365 by looking back over our trip, telling the stories and looking at the pictures plus I will pick a winner of THE GIFT! (so if you haven't entered be sure to check the sidebar page.)

Day 363: camping where the kids outnumber the adults

Yes, there are more "kids" in this giant family group then there are "adults".  Although I think some of the adults are sillier and more out of control then some of the bigger kids!

Here is where we are today!  Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park Be sure to click over and check out the pictures of the incredible rock formations that we get to explore and swim around in.

This is where we are camping for two nights, swimming, canoeing, playing, hiking and exploring!

Day 362: meeting the family to see some elelphants

Our whole group of 31 people is meeting at Elephant Rocks State Park today. We will explore, have a picnic lunch and wait here until we have all gathered and our campsites are ready for us at 3:00pm this afternoon.

I have been to this park many times but it has been years! I can't wait to see the beautiful views and boulders again and share all of this with Chris and the girls.

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The Nitty Gritty!

Since this is the first day of our three day adventure I thought I would share a little bit of back story about what we are doing.

Growing up my family spent three days camping and canoeing with our extended family every summer. At some point, I think I was in high school, the older cousins were getting married, moving away and everyone's lives were changing in a way that didn't make the family float trip possible anymore. We went just our immediate family for a few years but then when my older sister went away to college even that stopped. Now, 10 years later, we are ALL getting back together to do the family trip again. We all have kids of our own now and there will be faces not there that aren't with us anymore. But the memories will will flow out of each of us I am sure! I can't wait to reconnect with cousins I haven't seen in ages and introduce them to my girls.

Those family float trips are some of my best memories growing up. I learned more about the outdoors and my abilities on those days then during any other time in my life. I have no idea if this will once again become an annual thing. Since some of the family is coming from Turkey and many are coming from other states I highly doubt we will do this again, at least as the whole big group. But even getting to do this just one more time is incredible!  

Hope you will come back on Day 365 to see all the pictures! 

Day 353: home again

We are all finally home again. YAY!

I don't think my body has ever been this exhausted. Okay, I can think of a few other times...but you get what I mean.

The girls had a great four days with Nana and Grandpa. The weather kept them inside more than I think they all would have liked but they did have time to play in a baby pool in the backyard with lots of fun water play and visit the local zoo. The girls got a chance to "pet" some very interesting animals including a hissing cockroach, skink, other lizards and reptiles. Apparently the hissing cockroach was the big hit with Avery; she kept going back to it again and again. Seriously, only my kid!

We all came home today to tomato plants bursting with blossoms our first sunflower blooming and some much larger pepper and bean plants! Super excited to start seeing some food growing in our garden.

A great weekend was had by all! How was your weekend?

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The Nitty Gritty!

I really wanted to share a bit more information about the children's portion of the Energy Fair that I was working this weekend. If you are interested in the Energy Fair in general (and it is an event that ANYONE in the midwest could benefit from attending) you should go HERE.

So, just a few of the workshops that young children and families could attend over the three day fair included -

Homemade Bubble Wand Making - put on by Rachel from Lusa Organics

Sustainable Singing - TOM PEASE! An amazing children's entertainer.

The Unhuggables and Radical Reptiles - by David Stokes

Homemade Non-Toxic Paint and Homemade Non-Toxic Playdough - put on by Ramy Selim of Sunny Day Earth Solutions.

Recycled Paper Making - put on by Virginia Wiggen of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center (yes, I convinced my boss to drive up for the day and do a workshop for me! how cool is that?!)

Compost Companions - put on by Cassie Bauer of Camp Minikani.  This one was a great program that included a compostable v. non-compostable relay race where kids had to put different food item pictures into the right containers and they made these adorable buckets with faces on them to be "compost companions" in their homes. Basically the "companion" is a kitchen compost bin with removable faces pieces on it so kids can change the face up and then have fun "feeding" their companion the things that are compostable. Very cute for super young kids that are learning to compost.

Electric Charades - put on by WISPIRG. This was having the kids identify all the things that use electricity in their homes by having them get into groups pick one electrical appliance and then as a group try to act out that appliance for the other groups to guess. Very fun for older kids and was followed up by a good discussion of alternative ways they could do those jobs without using electricity.

Yoga for Kids and Families - put on by Marguerite Ramlow from Artha Sustainable Living Center.

Project Learning Tree - put on by my fellow coordinator for the children's free play area Jen Knade. I didn't get to attend this one (a girl's got to eat sometime!) so I don't know for sure what all she did but I did get a chance to see a few books that she read and I cannot wait to find them at the library! You will hopefully get to hear about those soon enough.

Building Like Birds - put on by Mark Morgan of Bearpaw Design and Construction. He had the kids mixing mud, water and clay with straw, grass and sticks to build bird nests and learn about how birds build their homes.

And there were many others that I don't have a link for to share with you like knitting with chopsticks, poetry in nature, mini solar cookers, pond class, learning about worms, learning about parts of a plant and which part we eat, building solar race cars, building bird feeders out of a soda bottle and several others!

One of my favorite parts about this weekend is that not all the people that come to present at this event for the kids consider themselves environmental educators or even educators for that matter. They simply want to share a passion that they have with young kids and they understand the value of these kinds of events for not just the parents but the kids too. I think that is amazing and wish more people gave of their time and talents to the kids in their community the way these people do every year!

Honored to have worked with all of them this weekend!

Day 341: a roadside wonder

If you ever see this sign you MUST stop!

This would mean you are on Hwy 14 somewhere between Spring Green, Gotham and Richland Center, WI (yes Richland Center is actually a town in WI not a shopping mall as I always think it sounds like!).

Some of the wonders you can see at this bizarre roadside stop...

interesting birds,

big animals that are prepared to be petted,

a deer farm (I know, I don't really get it either but Sam loved seeing all different kinds of deer up close),

I love this picture because Sam posture is much like the goat she is a bit hesitant to try and pet! I think they were sizing each other up.

and some of the cutest little animals you have ever seen!

We also had fun in a big bounce house, a playground, a fish pond, a duck pond and a very yummy store filled with all kinds of homegrown and homemade goodies.

Just had to share this one last photo. I loved how the goats were finding shade inside the huge tractor tires!

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The Nitty Gritty!

We were on the road again today to go pick up our dog Polly from her vacation (she stays with our aunt while we are out of town). Pecks Farm Market made a great halfway stop for the girls to get a break from the car, some outside time and stretch their legs a bit.

I try to stop at roadside stands and markets as often as I can when we are traveling because you just never know what you might find, a habit my mom and dad passed on to me. But it is rare that our roadside stands come with this much learning and exploring opportunities! A great treat today.

Day 316: traveling toy

We are headed on the road today! And although there are certainly things in life I like more than road trips I do love getting creative with how my kiddos will be entertained in the car. Of course there are lots of books packed, toys and dolls but the thing I am most excited about is this GREAT new toy that I MADE! Got the idea from this amazing site!

 
A lacing log! I had this great piece of wood from my dad's private wood stash (don't ask!). Once I pulled off and sanded off all the bark the colors and grains in the wood were just gorgeous! I got really excited.

 
No splinters, sanded perfectly smooth and then I started drilling the holes. I did them totally random, with no real plan of where they would go or how. Then I sanded it again (could still use a bit more sanding around the holes). We picked up an outdoor boot shoelace (the longest one the store had, I think it was 60cm) and tied it on one end.

I quickly showed it to Sam this afternoon and she jumped right in with little instruction. She got the first boot lace all laced in and said she needed more. So I handed her the other one. This is what I discovered about 15 minutes later.

 
Then she sat perfectly content pulling all the laces back out, which was quite a task! I was thrilled to see how much she enjoyed the toy. And even more thrilled that I made a lasting toy with just a little bit of my own sweat, skills and a few dollars (okay, yes it took a cool log, some sand paper and a power drill but you get the point!).

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The Nitty Gritty!

Have you ever made a toy for your child?  The idea of making the things that my kids will play with is SO intriguing to me. I would love to get some more ideas for simple wood toys and check out what other parents are making, so please share if you have posted about a toy you have made, have seen a great tutorial or just have an idea!

Day 290: outside time

Not always possible to spend a ton of outside time when you are visiting family and on the road. Fortunately for us we have family that enjoy being outside just as much as we do!

 
 
 

 

 
 
A great visit with family and some great outdoor time!

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The Nitty Gritty!

Like anything else that you do in your life if/when outside time with your little ones become a habit EVERYONE will feel the pull to get outside everyday. Regardless of the weather we have been getting outside for at least a little while everyday for many months now. Some days it may only be 15 minutes and other days it is hours. But there is always exploring, learning and fresh air to be had. And I can tell that it has become a necessary habit for both girls. They were antsy and constantly asking on Saturday to go outside, even though it was awful weather out (no Avery is not suddenly talking and actually "asking" to go outside, but in her method of communication standing at the door, pointing and screaming gets the point across just as well!). I can tell when they just need to get outside and I can the days where I haven't made it a priroty or we have just been too busy and haven't gotten out yet, they are not as happy.

So, in honor of Earth Day coming up in just a few days I would recommend that if you aren't getting out with your littles ones everyday, if it isn't a habit for you yet, then you should start NOW!

Okay, not right now because it is 10:00pm on Sunday night, but tomorrow! Get out with your kids and create a new healthy habit that hopefully they will continue throughout their lives.

Day 288: green activity kit for the car

I am pulling out a bunch of our past activities that I think will be good for in the car.

Here is what Sam will find in her little backpack that will be next to her in the seat -

1. The flower matching game.
2. Both sets of paper puppets. The books that go with the puppets will also be in there.
3. The "I-Spy Alphabet Bottle" with new sheets of words for her to spell.
4. The Identiflyer. Yes, slightly annoying in the car after a while but a great little learning toy for both girls.
5. Animal finger puppets.
6. Lots of books.

Hoping that the girls will be able to do the puppets together and entertain each other that way. I know this stuff won't keep Sam and Avery occupied the whole time but combine all of that with books, crayons and a coloring book and lots of snacks, and I think we will be okay!

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The Nitty Gritty!

How do you keep your kids entertained in the car? And how much different are your car rides now as an adult with children than your car rides were as a kid with your parents?

When we would travel as a kid we had a BIG station wagon, would lay all the seats down and my sister and I had a huge bed area in the back. We did cross country trips this way, stopping to camp along the way. But we could move around, play games and were rarely ever buckled. It wasn't until we got a van in middle school/high school that we were wearing seat belts and staying in our seats! That would all be unthinkable now.

Day 187: last day at the beach

Have I mentioned that it is winter here (brrrrr...HA! Just kidding!)? Which means that the ocean is actually really cold. So swimming in the ocean, at least for the girls, is not really an option. Bummer. Sam is still super hesitant about even getting close enough to the ocean to have her toes touch wet sand so not being able to swim has not been a big deal. But we have played in the sand and spent time on the beach several times.

Today Sam and I went early in the morning to build some sand castles. I couldn't figure out how to bring the camera, all the sand toys and Sam while also keeping the camera from being ruined so it got left behind (sorry!). We did the short walk down to the beach finding treasures along the way that we could add to our castles once they were built (leaves, sticks, coconuts, etc.). We made some pretty neat little castle and Sam finally starting to get the hang of how to flip the bucket over so that all the sand doesn't fall out. She had a blast.

We walked on the beach a little bit, finding more treasures, but with a steady wind and the loud noise of the waves Sam grew ready to head home very quickly.

We had a good time for our last beach adventure, even if it wasn't as long as I had hoped for.

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The Nitty Gritty!

I had high hopes of spending whole days on the beach with the girls. I was even asking other bloggers for suggestions and ideas for how to keep toddler entertained on the beach for long periods. (Thanks Debi for your great ideas!) Unfortunately with the cooler water temps and wind we have been experiencing (plus lots of other activities and family to spend time with) there hasn't been as much beach time as I had thought (and hoped).

But this trip has been a great break from the winter snow and freezing temperatures.  We have been outside as much as possible everyday which will be a huge change for the girls when we get back to WI and they are back to only spending moments outside at a time.

We are headed back home tomorrow and it will be sad to say goodbye but I am also ready for my own home and my own BED! Does any one else get like that?