Playing Catch-Up

Some people announce they're taking a blogging break in advance; others let you know afterwards that they haven't blogged in a month. I guess I'm in the latter category. I didn't intend to stop blogging- it just happened! The last two months have been very busy around here, lots of friends and family coming to town, as well as several jaunts here and there on our part. I'm hoping to get back to more frequent posts soon; for now, here are pictures of some of the highlights of the last while!

Erik had to go to Boston for a week for work, so the kids and I took the opportunity to make a little trip up to British Columbia to visit some good friends. I was a bit nervous about the long drive by myself, but the kids did great (for the most part) and it was special to spend some time with our friends. Along the way we stopped and met Stacy, which was delightful. I've enjoyed her blog for over a year now, and it was a treat to get to meet her and her lovely children in person. I hope we'll be able to do it again sometime!

At a visit to historic Fort Langley the kids enjoyed panning for gold....

....sinking their toes into a bearskin and learning about the fur trade sustained the Fort .....

...watching a blacksmith at work.....

...."building" a cabin....

...exploring the homes of people who lived in the Fort....

...and racing barrels, a pastime enjoyed, no doubt, by many inhabitants of the Fort.

I love this type of hands-on living history. I learned a lot in our few hours visiting the Fort. The people who work there all wear period costumes and are busy working and talking about what life was like. Nearly everything was hands-on and the kids were encouraged to touch and feel and do. That's my kind of education! If you're ever in the Vancouver area of BC, I'd highly recommend it!

Another day we visited the world famous Stanley Park in Vancouver. The kids had fun....

....playing in the bubbles....

...riding a miniature railroad through the forest...

...and visiting a petting farm.

Not long after returning, and being happily reunited with Erik, we went on our first camping trip of the season. Going with Erik's parents made it even more special, and a wonderful time was had by all.

Peregrine was a good helper around camp. He especially enjoyed being allowed to poke a stick around in the fire, under lots of very watchful eyes, of course! What is it about boys and fire?

The kids had some nice story time with Daddy.

The thrill of the hunt... the crawdad hunt that is. Through the icy waters they went, searching out the little red crawdaddies. Peregrine was very excited about this...

...as you can see by the look on his face!

And here is the first victim, I mean catch, of the day, soon to be appetizer for a little boy's lunch!

Mmmm.... there's nothin' like fresh crawdad. (What is it about boys killing their own food!)

In other news, I've been busy painting our bedroom and the hallway. I'll try to post pictures soon. I'm having fun venturing into the world of colored walls! Peregrine is wanting me to paint his room red! We've also got two of the most exciting things that can happen in small people's lives going on at present. We've put one of these...

.... in the main area of the house and Poppy is using it quite frequently. I'm a fan of "potty-training without tears", in other words, not pushing it, but waiting until they seem ready. For Peregrine, that was around three, and I'm happy to say that it seems to be happening a bit earlier for Poppy. We could be a diaper-free family very soon! Yippee!

And the excitement in Peregrine's life? Well, we're reading, or should I say, he's reading a lot of these:

He's really picking up reading. (Can I say I'm a fan of "reading without tears"?) I know that neither potty training nor learning to read is always this easy, but right now both things just seem to be happening around here. Much cause for happiness and extra little treats.

Finally, I want to share what Peregrine has been praying for lately. His prayer goes something like this: "Dear Lord, Please give us another baby, one that won't die in Mama's tummy, one that won't want to go to heaven so soon." I say amen to that! I've sometimes wondered how much impact the two miscarriages have had on him, and I think this prayer shows me that it's not been a small thing. We'd appreciate your prayers as well.

Well, I'll sign off for today, and hope to be back before another month goes by!