On This Eve of Easter

This morning we took Sienna to her very first Easter egg hunt with other children. She was a little nervous at first, but once she started running to look for eggs, she was off! After she found her 6 eggs, she turned with a look of worry, because there was so many other little ones around her and she had gone pretty far into the field. Luckily, I followed behind her at a close distance and she saw me right away. The eggs were, of course, filled with unpleasant candy, so we told her that she could leave the candy for the Easter Bunny tonight and she (yes, Sienna believes the Easter bunny must be a girl) may bring her some tastier candy. 

Before the Easter egg hunt began!

Sienna and her Daddy 

 Sienna turned around to see us!

Me, keeping a safe distance behind Sienna.

 Checking to see how many eggs she found!

While we were in town, we also visited the Flea Market Shop. Daddy found a Miles Davis CD for $3.00 (it's in the car) and some salmon lures for $1.50.

Mama found these three books. I thought the first two books would be a wonderful addition to our homeschool library when we study Pioneers. And, the last book, we are adding to our collection of cat themed books. They were a very good price and all hardback, too! There were also a few books on the Dust Bowl that I may go back for... 

$1.00 

$1.00 

$1.00

When we came home, Daddy went out to tend our garden pea patch. Me and the little ones stayed in and tended to the garden apartment to get it ready for the Easter Bunny's visit tonight.

 

Our Spring nature shelf.

And, inside the nature shelf... some of our recent finds on our nature walks. 

We set up the little table for the Easter Bunny, too! Sienna's basket is on the pink play silk and Forest's basket is on the blue play silk. Sienna chose the colors for the play silks, since she is sure Forest's favorite color will be blue.

We also set up this Easter playscape on our bookshelf. Sienna loves to play with all the bunnies. This Easter basket is for Mama and Daddy.

After we finished tidying up our nest, Daddy took Sienna over to the Pea Patch to see the work he did and to take a few photos.

 

Today, Daddy planted red onions, sweet onions, green kale, red romaine and green leaf lettuce. All of these plants were from the Skagit Valley Food Co-op.

Sienna on a balance beam next to our patch.

This year's pea patch. 

And, another view.

Here are some of the seeds that we are going to be planting very soon!

We also will be planting these seeds my Aunt Carol (Thank you!) sent to Sienna very soon, too.

We hope that you are having a happy day on this Easter Eve!

At the Park

Lately, we've been enjoying spending our afternoons at the park. Our Spring days have been beautiful, reaching nearly 60 degrees on most days. 

Sienna's favorite things to do at the park include sliding down the enclosed curly slide, swinging on the tire swing and walking the balance beam!

Forest loves to watch her play and look at all the trees.

Happy Spring!! 

Garlic Fries & Pancakes

Garlic fries and Pancakes. Yum!

But, not together, of course.

These are some of the recent photos I found on our camera. Both made by Daddy. Sienna prefers her fries without the garlic. So, she has her own little plate of regular fries. 

Chai Guy loves our Sunday morning pancakes for our bacon. We've been buying Hempler's bacon with the excuse that we need to grease our cast iron. It works amazing! And, yes their bacon is truly the best.

The Garden Apartment: In the Kitchen

So, this is our smallish kitchen. It's nothing special, but it is where all the magic meals happen! From David's chow mein to my weekly baked bread and our Sunday pancakes. Someday, we will have a beautiful kitchen with a window over the sink and sweet little drawers and built in nooks and crannies.

I decided I had to share it, since after all I like to do things all the way through and I started this little series. So, now I have to finish it! 

These pictures are from yesterday, when I was baking our weekly bread.

Our coffee makers. Mine is going bye-bye since I've given up coffee and am now just drinking tea. Mostly Chai tea!

Cooking oils on our counter next to the stove, since they don't fit into a cabinet. 

Our spice rack and baking rack, ready for bread! 

Clutter next to the sink! I prefer to do our dishes by hand, so this is what it looks like more often than not. 

Our magnets on the fridge! 

If Forest isn't in his Ergo when I'm baking, then he's here watching me and smiling. 

 Blurry! But, I caught him waving to me.

Ah, Spring!

Today on the first day of Spring, we watched the weather from our cozy, little home change from lion to lamb and back again. There was wind and hail with sun breaks between. Chai Guy watched from his window perch and then ran away down the hall when a loud gust of wind swept by. 

We put our Spring books in a basket, prepared our Spring nature nook, baked two loaves of whole wheat bread, painted with watercolors, created some meal blessing cards (I will share these vey soon!) and played lots. 

Our Spring books in a basket. One of our thrifted Easter place mats is peeking out in the corner.

 A Spring centerpiece on our harvest table.

 

Our Spring nature nook. We will be adding our nature finds. Maybe even a nest! I am hoping to expand our nature nook into a nature table very soon.

Today, I tried a new recipe for my bread. I used whole wheat flour and honey.

The yeast getting all foamy. 

Dough, ready to rise. I kneaded the dough all by hand today.

My two whole wheat loaves. Can't wait to try them! (I am still using a Pyrex container for one of the loaves. Hence, the wider and flatter shape of one.)

 Sienna painting with watercolors. Chai Guy likes the movement of the brush strokes when we paint. (Yes, she is wearing the same dress from my Saint Patrick's Day post. It is her new favorite dress and looks very Spring-like!)

 Happy Spring! (You can see my scarf waiting for me to knit...) 

Spring Cleaning

There is a change in the air. Spring is arriving! Yesterday, we drove through the Skagit Valley and we saw fields and fields full of bright yellow daffodils.

And, with it I feel the need to simplify and refine our home. To purge the things that are  no longer fulfilling our needs and beautify the things that will remain.  

I began the day by taking some photos of my clothing I am planning to sell. We decided that today, we would polish our wood toys with beeswax. Sienna always enjoys this activity. I also wiped down the play kitchen with some beeswax for the first time. I love the way the wood looks after a fresh polishing and it smells yummy, too! 

Unfortunately, two of our nesting wood bowls were cracked and broken from neglect. We have to remember to care for our wood toys more often!

With more creating and crafting going on, I needed to reorganize some of our shelves in the living room and dining room. I use our dining table for all of these activities and it drives me crazy when it is cluttered during meal times.  

Our family picture wall is coming along nicely with the two thrifted frames from this weekend. Of course, we need more frames. I framed one of Sienna's family pictures she made. We are fairies again!

Sienna made her own playscape using her play silks as water and grass. All of the toys on this table were made for her by Daddy! We love him and the things he makes and does for us!