Family-time ways to start the New Year right

Family- one of the greatest gifts of all. After the fun and frenzy of Christmas, we are going to refocus our energy on family as we move in to the New Year. Here are ideas to help you do the same:

 

Go on a hike & find a geocache

Just a few days ago we took the boys to a great park outside of Philadelphia where my husband and I used to hike long before kids. Geocaching will lead you to great out-of-the-way places that you never knew existed. Sign up at www.geocaching.com or download the app.

 

 

 

Play a new game

 Last week, thanks to my sis, we discovered the game Labyrinth.  It was so much fun requiring thought and planning. Here we have my 9 year old trying to outwit my 81 year old mom and my sis. Good luck, kid. :)

 

 

Start a nightly story time

We are fortunate that both of our sons are good readers, but I find they still enjoy being read to. It is calming and gives us something to talk about that is both entertaining and often filled with life lessons and deeper meaning. We are just about to finish the Seven-Year-Old-Wonder-Book and move on to the Bobsey Twins.

 

 

Visit a National or State Park

Grab a Junior Ranger booklet at the visitor center of any national park and start working on collecting badges for the kids. Some parks even have programs for adults. Click here to learn more about the Junior ranger program and download the booklets - you can even earn some without leaving your home.

 

However you choose to celebrate 2018 may it be full of fun, love and adventure!





Down By the Bay

When I was down beside the sea

A wooden spade they gave to me

To dig the sandy shore.

My holes were empty like a cup,

In every hole the sea came up

Till it could come no more.

At the Seaside by Robert Louis Stevenson

One of the best parts about our trip to the Chesapeake Bay was the lazy days at the beach. Of course, as a parent "lazy" day at the beach meant fun times in the water and sand, not exactly leisurly afternoons of naps and a good beach read. The boys were happy to gather shells, watch the crabs scurry on the sand, build sand castles, and run into the waves, but we had a few other fun things planned as well...

A straight stick and some stones made a sundial. (Simply place stones or shells at the shadow's end every hour or so.)

Bubbles on the beach at dusk

It is easy to dye sand: Mix water with food dye keeping in mind that the sand will dye lighter than the water color, fill a glass/bucket up 3/4 of the way with sand pour on the dyed water to 1 inch above the sand. Stir it to make sure the all the sand gets wet. Let it set overnight. The next morning, spread the sand out flat in the sun to dry. After a few hours you can make sand art.

The absolute delight of the trip, was the buried treasure, complete with a secret treasure map thanks to my fun, uber creative sister, aka Grand Patti:

The secret map that leads from our cottage to the buried treasure.

The digging begins.

What have we here, matey?

Keeping an eye out for incoming vessels


That afternoon, their imaginations took flight! The crew of gentle pirates have claimed my boys and there is adventure at every turn.

A Little Indoor Snowman

While we wished for a white Christmas, we missed it by one day. (I grew up in north Idaho and will always feel less giddy on Christmas without snow.) The day after Christmas we got slightly more than a dusting, while 60 miles east of us got a foot or more.

Anyway, Aidan begged and begged to go out and make a snowman, but he was very sick, so instead I brought in a big bowl of snow, cut up some pipecleaners for the nose, eyes, mouth and the necessary top hat, and let him have at it.

The result was a pitifully puny snowman and a very happy sniffly son.

Waldorf Winter Festival

A few weeks ago, we attended the Susquehanna Waldorf School's Winter Festival, where we met some lovely people, played games, decorated a gingerbread house and did some Christmas shopping.


Nature Table at the entrance


A lovely welcome


The chalk board in the 1st grade room


First Grade Nature Table


Playing marble wacker


The Gingerbread House



Aidan meets the Snow Queen

On the Road and Back Home - Oregon or Bust Part IV

After our wonderful cross-country train trip we rented a car and drove north. The original purpose for the trip was so I could be in my dear friend's wedding to take place just outside of Seattle.

Shortly after leaving Portland, we saw Mt. St. Helens. When I was ten the volcano blew and so much ash fell on the ground where I lived in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, that we did not go the school for several days. (I still have a big jug of the ash.)

The drive was lovely and I was reminded of how much I enjoyed life in the Pacific Northwest.

After spending the night at Kitsap Navy Lodge, we headed out to Stevens Pass. Tiny coffee huts dotted the roadside leading to the pass. The pass, with towering evergreens and patches of snow, led us to Leavenworth, a quaint Bavarian town. The food and shopping were a pleasure as was the stunning drive back over the pass.

The next few days were a whirlwind of wedding arrangements, the joy of participating in such a love-filled event and packing up to head south of Portland to visit family. It was a long, but lovely drive down Highway 101.
What a good time we had with my brother and his family! Whether we were geocaching at the Newport beach, where Aidan and I were soaked by the waves, or just hanging out, we all appreciated the warmth of family ties and good friends.

After several days, it was time to head back home. Again, we drove on Highway 101 north then over to Portland, with a stop over at the Tillamook Cheese factory for fun. My husband, Rob, had left a few days earlier, so the boys and I flew home on our own. They are such good little travelers, making the time pass by drawing till their heart's content.

Now we have been home for 3 weeks and have more travel adventures to tell...