Life has been full and wonderful...and I wanted to share some of our most recent fun with you! This weekend Bella took a tree climbing class (part of the Longmont Parks and Rec Program) and she had SO much fun. This isn't your regular 'ol "tree climbing" though...

Once you get your harness on, you use your arms to pull yourself all the way to the top of the tree and then you release the knot to come back down.

She was a natural...and loved every moment. Matt is even talking about getting our own tree climbing gear.

On a rainy day this week, we met our unschooling group at Bounce Town! It's a big warehouse with 6 large bounce houses in it for the kids to go wild. I like to crawl in there with them and bounce bounce bounce, but it doesn't take long before I get sick and dizzy!

I'm getting to know some really fun local mamas...it's so nice to build a connection here.

Another day, while we were cleaning up a bouquet of purple irises on the table, we decided to see if we could dye paper with them! They were wilting and we were going to throw them away...but instead, we threw them into the Vita-Mix with a little water and soaked our paper in it.

It turned out to be a beautiful shade of blue/violet. We had some good discussions about how people used to use plants, seeds, and flowers to make dyes all the time (and still do). I told Bella that's how they did it in the "olden days", and she said, "...you mean like in 1984?". Oh my.

Bella has been asking to set up a lemonade stand...so on the first sunny day this week, we brought out all the supplies and set up shop. She did well...but she did have to pay her "employees" their wages, so her profit was a little down. :) She was still happy with her results...she has such an entrepreneurial spirit!

Yesterday morning we decided to scope out a new breakfast spot in town and we settled on Two Dog Diner. It's a sweet little cafe tucked away in the Prospect area of Longmont. They have Bhakti chai there (which I am quite obsessed with right now) and even veggie sausage! We enjoyed some sweet family time together and we will definitely be going back!

Other activities from this weekend: I painted our TV-less corner and have a few little decorations in it. :) It's not quite done, but I will share it with you when it is! I picked up the supplies to paint our bedroom (finally!!). I'm SO excited to start it. Bella had a sleepover last night at her friend's house, which went splendidly. Today we enjoyed meeting with our house church family and had a relaxing afternoon.

We're looking forward to another lovely week.

Monday and Tuesday we're *hoping* to paint and hang curtains in our bedroom. We're having guests over for tacos on Wed. night. Thursday is Bella's last day of Raccoon Clan for the season and there will be a family potluck out on the land. Right after that we will leave for Iowa and drive back for my Grandma's estate sale. If you recall, she died just a few days before Lucy was born and I wasn't able to attend her funeral or have closure...so I am looking forward to getting back there. My entire family will be there, as well as Matt's parents who are driving down to see us. We'll be there through Sunday.

Whew! Life speeds by so fast...I have to remind myself to stay in the moment so often! I love taking time throughout the day to stop and really WATCH the girls faces and see what they are feeling. I also like to list all the things I am grateful for in that particular day...and that helps me too.