Summer days

Long time, no post! We've had a busy and full summer and I just haven't made it a priority to sit down at the computer very much. To catch you up to speed on our summer...


Auntie Em came to live with us for nearly two months, much to the delight of everyone.


We took an unforeseen trip to New England -- and decided to drive there with all three kids! Our route took us through Canada, stopping at Niagara Falls, and took me to eight new states (having never been further northeast than Pennsylvania).


My favorite day out with the kids, while Douglas was occupied with a music workshop, was taking them to Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT. We love Raffi (at least his early albums, not so much the later ones) and his song "Baby Beluga." Edmund has been very interested in marine creatures this summer and the chance to see beluga whales up close was not to be missed!

Of sewing interest, I can now say I've visited Mood Fabrics in NYC and am the owner of some lovely Liberty of London cotton poplin as a result!


Back at home in the sewing room, I cut down this vintage full-size quilt to twin-size for Lavinia's bed. It was an old, worn quilt given to my mom by a friend of hers to use as a play mat for grandbabies. The binding was completely worn and there were some ragged holes around the edges, but I figured if I cut down the size a bit, it could still be usable. Since Lavinia has been in need of a quilt or comforter for her bed, my mom was glad to pass it on to us.


I found some matching lavender polka-dot cotton at Walmart and made my own binding, handstitching the back for strength. Yes, it took forever, but it looks nice and neat.


[First day of homeschool 2015!]
Most recently we've started up homeschool for the year. Edmund is in kindergarten now so everything feels a lot more official. I was kindly gifted some Sonlight curriculum from two friends, so we are using that for Bible, history, geography, read-aloud time, and science. I'm using Singapore Math workbooks for math, and making my own way with phonics/reading. For handwriting, I'm doing a bit of an experiment and we're using Cursive First -- we'll see how it goes! Edmund has really blossomed with his artwork this year and I love to see what he draws, too.


I had fun designing a coat-of-arms for our school in Adobe Illustrator. This binder is the key to my success this year, with everything planned out as much as possible! I'm thankful Sonlight does that for you, and it was easy to make up our own math schedule. For me to succeed as a homeschooling mom, I've realized I must have everything PLANNED OUT -- or else it won't get done!

If you're curious about our school name, Seekings School, it's a nod to my favorite children's books by John Masefield, The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights. (Seekings is the name of the house where Kay, the protagonist, lives.) But, of course, it has a delightful double meaning for seekers after knowledge and truth!

Florida in February

We just got back from a family trip to Florida, our first in three years.


Lots of firsts for my girls. First airplane ride, first visit to the beach, first visit to their great-grandparents' condo.


We built some modest sand sculptures.


The weather wasn't very cooperative. We had one sunny day, and although the temperatures were always more pleasant than what we'd experience back home, it was still a bit cool. The natives were wearing winter coats.


Lots of greenery for winter-weary Northerners, however.






And these kids would not be kept from the ocean! Edmund and his cousin loved to jump waves.


My favorite memory was taking Edmund for an early-morning walk to hunt for shells and other beach treasures. The commonest seashells sparked big-time excitement. You can see we found a nice assortment! God's beauty is everywhere.

The Badlands

Last weekend, our little family took a road trip up to South Dakota to visit two of my husband's siblings. Despite having lived in Nebraska for a large chunk of my life, I've only been to South Dakota once that I can recall, and that was just passing through the eastern part on my way to Minneapolis. Douglas had fun introducing us to some of South Dakota's famous sights, driving a scenic loop through the Badlands.

The scenery is eerie, especially in midwinter.

Edmund took the name "badlands" pretty seriously. "Where are the nice lands?" he asked.

Next up: Mount Rushmore!

Grand Hotel

Thanks for playing along with my little guessing game! Each of the photos I shared held a clue, which I'll now explain to you. The first photo shows that we were near water, and the subjects -- red geraniums -- are the "trademark flowers" of the hotel where we stayed. Photo #2 depicts a horse-drawn carriage, one of the main modes of transportation on the island (the other options are bicycling and walking). The third photograph shows lilacs blooming in late June, indicating a northern location. And the final photo shows a long porch, which is the façade of Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan!


We were very blessed by the wonderful opportunity to stay at this hotel for one night in the midst of a week-long reunion of my dad's family. Mackinac Island is situated just between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan, in Lake Huron, and is a historic summer destination. The hotel was built in 1887 and is beautifully kept, both inside and out.

My dad treated some of the ladies of the family to afternoon tea after we arrived at the hotel. How luxurious to sit in the beautiful parlor after a day of traveling by land and sea! We were each given a plate of savory sandwiches and a plate of sweets, plus our own pot of English Breakfast tea.


Each of the 385 guest rooms at the hotel has its own unique décor, so here's a peek at ours! I loved the striped wallpaper, floral chintz fabric, and mint green ceiling. :)


Part of the fun of staying here is that guests are required to dress for dinner. If you know me, you know I love an excuse to dress up. I seized the opportunity to wear a 1920s-style beaded dress Douglas gave me for my birthday two years ago. I did my best to approximate an "Eton crop" by slicking my hair down and pulling the length up into a bun at the nape of the neck.

Dinner was a delicious five-course affair. My favorite dish was the Salad Caprese -- I am going to try to replicate it in my own kitchen! We even did a little dancing after dinner. Douglas has taught me some basic Lindy Hop steps so I can act like I know what I'm doing.

The following day was gloriously sunny, so after a wonderful breakfast we enjoyed some family time playing croquet and lawn bowling on the lawn in front of the hotel. Douglas went on a garden tour and showed me some of the highlights afterwards. It was amazing to see lilacs and peonies still in bloom in late June! We also took advantage of the swimming pool and Edmund had his first successful pool time (he has rather hated being in the water until recently).


[pink poppies in the gardens -- lovely!]
After a late lunch, we boarded the ferry to return to the mainland. For me, it was surely the most unforgettable experience of our vacation!

Guess where?

Can you guess where we were this week?

Arizona!

Please pardon my lack of posting lately! I was quite under the weather in early April. God graciously healed me just in time for Edmund and me to fly to Arizona to spend some time here:


My longtime friend, Jessica, and her daughter M. (three weeks younger than Edmund) joined us there, as well as Jessica's older sister. This trip was courtesy of said sister as a birthday gift to Jessica. It wasn't my birthday but I sure felt like it was! We stayed in a beautiful rental home, decorated in a luxurious "Old European" style.


Not exactly kid-friendly, but with a few strategic rearrangements we managed. Edmund and M. are so close in age and they were often interested in getting into the same things, but we could definitely see differences in their personalities already. So fun!


One of my favorite experiences of the trip was making homemade lemonade from lemons we picked ourselves, right off the tree! That was such a novel experience for a Midwesterner. :) Not to mention the result was delicious.

I really enjoyed having a "feminine" vacation -- a.k.a. a lot of relaxing, resting, a little shopping, enjoying the good company and good food, etc. My husband was chiding me for not getting out and seeing the scenery but I told him we could do that next time when he's with me. ;) Edmund saw so many new things and we did some fun activities for the toddlers, like going to the park and a children's museum.


Flying is not my favorite thing to do and I was nervous about traveling by myself, with a toddler, but God gave me so many traveling mercies, not to mention the wonderful opportunity in the first place. Thank you, Lord!