Saturday, November 21, 2009

e


e, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

While L had the flu we stayed home and did a lot of reading.

"sleeping"


"sleeping", originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

snuggle time with Grampa. :)

Thursday, November 12, 2009

OK I will stop now but isn't she just the best subject to photograph?


Wynter, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

I love doing birth photography. Thanks to my parents for watching one sick and one healthy kid so I could take these pics. :)

So sweet


Wynter, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Ah, what can I say? No words to describe this moment.


Wynter, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Brand new baby


Wynter, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

peeking


estlin, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

A little fresh air to ward off the flu germs. We went for a walk in the arboretum. Rolled down the huge hill a few times. Saw a frog. Tried to keep warm while we read some library books. Saw a merlin hunting. So nice to see the sun. It was quite sheltered by the pond and felt so nice to see some of the world besides our house.

coffee and quiet and Project365


344/365 november 5, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.
Every day is a field trip unless under quarantine. Have I mentioned that L has the flu? I am posting this on Nov 12 and finally she is better. All in all it lasted 11 days. We have been home for most of this time to keep from spreading our germs. I did manage to get out a few times .. my most exciting escape was to take birth photos. Unfortunately I was 12 minutes too late to see her birth .. but I did get to capture all those sweet moments of mom and dad and sister taking in their new family member. What a rush!
Otherwise this week is slow on the pics since we have not been out much. I have been struggling to keep up with my self challenge of Project365 .. taking one photograph each day for a year and posting on flickr. I only have 17 days to go! They are turning out to be tough ones but I am going to make it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daviessmith/sets/72157610298067811/

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

house finch friend


342/365 november 3, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Poor thing. He has no tail and no eyes. Well, we think he may be able to see a little out of one eye but we still managed to get right next to him. I had to ask L not to touch him anymore since she reached right out and touched him. It made the kids sad but it also made them realize what a survivor he is. We have been extra careful about making sure our feeder is full and we have seen him a few times each day. Maybe (?) we can get him through the winter. We certainly feel an affinity for him now.

artwork


artwork, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

our altar for sawain


our altar for samhain, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

red dye #40 is not my friend


red dye #40 is not my friend, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

our pumpkin


our pumpkin, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Yikes!


Halloween 2009, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Halloween 2009


Halloween 2009, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

My little vampire and "superhero tomato" making the rounds on Halloween. We went to G&G and Grampa Bud's .. then around to a few houses in our neighborhood. Earlier we carved our pumpkin .. as a dinosaur! The highlight for the kids was handing out our treats to the kids who came to our door. (Note to self for next year .. the superballs were a big hit.) We were interested to see SO many kids and families out .. I guess it helps that it was a Saturday night. It also highlighted one of the things that we love about living in NL. J said we had families speaking Spanish, Chinese, Russian and an Indian language (not that I know how to tell which one). Makes me happy to live in this little city.

Bushy Hill


Bushy Hill, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

L finding a beech tree. And giving me a priceless look ("mama, what are you doing taking another picture of me?")

Bushy Hill


Bushy Hill, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Bushy Hill


Bushy Hill, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Bushy Hill


Bushy Hill, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

We had our first hs class at bushy hill. The kids had a blast. e had to wrap his head around the "no picking up and carrying sticks" rule but once we had that straight .. we were good. e walked the whole time! We explored the cedar swamp and the teepee, wigwam and earth mound. There were lots of games and exuberance. It was a very different approach to being outside than we practice as a famly. We are usually quiet and calm and stay on the trail. So I am happy to expose the kids to another way of being in the woods .. even if it is not one I am as comfortable with.

fairy houses


fairy houses, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

I am so inspired by this one! I am gathering many little things that I have been holding onto all these years and getting ready to be creative. Now they have a purpose .. so thank goodness I am a packrat?! I am builing an indoor fairy house. And I am sure the kids will want to get in on the fun too.

flower


flowers, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

fairy houses


fairy houses, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

fairy houses


fairy houses, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Tracy Kane fairy house


Tracy Kane fairy house, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

fairy house details


fairy houses, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Love this harp and gate!

with grandma and grampa


with grandma and grampa, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

fairy houses


fairy houses, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Back to the fairy village. I could not help myself. This time we brought Grandma and Grampa.

dress-up and shadows


336/365 ocotber 28, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

L had her science class (made crystals and shrinky dinks!?) and then we ran errands and got to the sawain service real early. What luck, N got us out a big box of hats and turned on the projector. :) Really nice service .. we brought pics of our loved ones who have died and put them on the altar. N did a really moving story box .. and then we all ate yummy soup. It was pouring rain and windy. A downed tree knocked out power so j's train was way delayed. He did not get home until long after the kids were in bed.

fairies with wands


fairies with wands, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

fall flowers


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Corn maze


in the corn maze, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

We enjoyed the corn maze again this year. I was so glad that the music was quiet and that it was nice and warm. We were looking for pirates this time. We found a lot more than last year .. but still less than half before we ran out of steam. Also we ran into lots of friends and ended up getting distracted. :) Fine with me since I was feeling like we had been walking in circles. We went on the hayride, got to meet some of the milking cows and met "justin echo" again. The kids were not disappointed in their hope for things to be just as they were the last 2 years we have gone. The farmer told the same jokes. There is something to be said for an annual tradition.

on the hayride


on the hayride, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

in the corn maze


in the corn maze, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

home


home, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

sunset


sunset, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

halloween at All Souls


halloween at All Souls, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

reading and "painting"


reading, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

We found some great books at goodwill. This one is an encyclopedia of how things work with amazing illustrations. The kids were very patient while J was at work and I ran the membership class all day. The kids have this interesting habbit of "painting" books. We have paintbrushes scattered (and frequently lost) all over the house so the kids can paint. I believe we have some artists in progress. Who knows what art concepts they are learning by focusing so intently on the illustrations and how they are put together in nearly every book (thousands!) we bring into our house. I could not have come up with this strategy!

Flat Rock

Happy Bday to J! We went on our annual foliage ride and decided to take a different hike this year. We have a new guide to hiking trails and have the goal of (eventually) hiking all of the blue trails in CT. We loved the "flat rock," Devil's Den and the beautiful foliage around the pond. We were disappointed in the amount of trash that is being dumped off the trail and even encountered a truck driving in (over huge rocks) on our way out. ??!! It is such a beautiful place and in the middle of nowhere. It was really difficult to attempt to answer the kids questions of why someone would want to dump trash here when I cannot understand it myself. Despite that, we wound up at the Vanilla Bean cafe and had a delicious dinner.

poking around Devil's Den

hiking on the blue trail in CT

Fairy Houses


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

I could go on and on about the fairy houses .. they were so much fun! There is something so magical about the whole thing. It was a beautiful and setting. The fairy houses were so intricate and clever .. we had so much fun searching for little details. No wonder it took some of the artists all summer to design and construct some of these. We spent half the class time wandering around and exploring the fairy houses and then the kids made fairy wands for even a little more magic. :)

exploring the fairy village


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

prime real estate of the fairy village :)


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

peeking


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

Luna fairy house


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

hidden fairies


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

exploring the fairy village


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

the fairy moo


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

light and shadow


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.

a fairy pond


exploring the fairy village, originally uploaded by hobbitsmama.