A Day With The Elliotts

Yesterday we spent the whole day with the Elliott Clan. 4 kids and two adults makes for two very tired adults by the end of the day. We started out at Fort Whyte which is one of my favorite places to go this time of year. And then we took them to the movie "up". Soooo sweat (if you take out all the shooting parts). I don't know why they can't just make a movie that doesn't have any violence at all. The movie itself was so cute. It's about this little old man who's wife passes and he decides to live out one of their childhood dreams. Ofcourse I cried (when don't I cry).

Playing with shutter speeds at the fish pond...

I was finally "allowed" to take a picture of little A...

I love this face!!

Every time I pull out my camera around this little guy this is the look I get....

But every once in awhile I sneak in when he least expects it...

This is a shot from underneath Janis's willow tree. Beauty.

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

My little girl loves to dance and loves to play a part. I'm not sure exactly where she pulls this total diva pose from but it's definitely in there!!! She has her big end of the year dance recital in a few days. Her dance group has been practicing this routine all year. :)

Garden Time

I absolutely love this time of year. This is the first spring in our new home and I'm already starting to feel like the weirdo neighbor that we all know I am. All of my neighbors are laying down their sod and watering their grass for hours at a time. What do I do... plant Eco lawn seeds (which are actually growing in clay). Not only are they better for the environment (less watering, no need for chemicals, less requirement for cutting etc....) but it takes awhile to birth. This seems to be the theme of my life. If it's good for the earth and it's a challenge I'm up for it!

Then... yesterday Emma and I prepared our "lasagna gardens". Lasagna gardening is basically horizontal composting that you can plant in immediately. Dave from Sage Herb Gardens told me about it, and I do pretty much anything he tells me to do. So while my neighbors are out tilling their gardens I'm layering compost, manure, glass clippings, straw, fiber from my juicer, coconut fiber and peat moss. Totally weird... but ohhhh so satisfying. Once our bed was complete we planted some tomatoes, peppers, peas, lettuce, carrots, beats, etc. Today we are creating two more beds (one for strawberries :) :) ).

Here's a few shots of the garden...

Poor Kitty

My little Lilly hurt her hip yesterday. Pathetic really. She jumped from our second floor railing to the landing of our stairway. What was she thinking? I think kittens and children are really very similar in one important way... they are totally fearless. So this morning after her adjustment she decided to hang out in her favorite box while sunning herself. I was beginning to worry about her when she didn't leave that box for three hours, but by the end of today she was perched up on the window ledge chattering away at a little bird who happened to be hopping around our yard. I hope that she will be back to 100% tomorrow.

More Bird's Hill

At the park there is this amazing little homestead which totally humbles me. I kept wondering why we complicate things so much! There was this tiny little one room home which had two wooden beds, a little table and two chairs. That's it. That's all. There was a chicken coup and a barn and a big metal piece of machinery of some sort. But that's all they had to live.
Life I imagine was hard, but incredibly peaceful and fulfilling.

walk at Birds Hill Park

Please stop it with the camera all ready!!!

video from the play

Birth

Tonight my husband and a group of women performed the play "Birth".
They did an amazing job. Here are a few shots from the night...