"Let your mind dance with your body." ~ Yogi teabag

A few pictures from Sofia's camera.............

Pau Pau with Benjamin and Olivia

The last remaining hummingbird.  He's so fat that when he leaves the feeder or the branch, he sinks a bit before gaining altitude.  Cliff says he looks like a tennis ball with a  beak.  All the others left a few days ago but he just hangs around eating and sitting on little branches. We've decided he's too fat to fly and he'll have to winter with us.

Nature's simplicity....................by Sofia

Hayden got the Lego ambulance set for her 8th birthday.

We took Papa out for Mexican food for his 68th birthday.

 

For five days there was laughter and energy abounding, yawning and napping, cooking and eating, bathing and bedtime stories.  I became Ben's favorite adult which gave me the honor of helping him bathe and dress, cooking his breakfast, putting his shoes on at least 20 times a days, and for five days he would only allow me to change his poopy diapers.  The children shopped at thrifts shops, helped me prepare meals and set the table, and enjoyed hot fudge sundaes for dessert.  

  Jim is an involved attentive  father, a loving husband to our daughter, and I couldn't have asked for a better son-in-law, and he made oatmeal bread while on vacation!  Lauria is an amazing mother and I love to watch her interact with her family.  This year she is homeschooling the three older ones while the two littles are in preschool.  Parents are the first teachers their children come in contact with and learning goes beyond six hours in the classroom.  They are supplying the children with the tools needed to solve problems, look for solutions, ask questions, and be respectful responsible people in society. 

This morning they began their trek home. 

Ben is ready.

The children are on their way back to their chickens, ducks, kittens, dogs, and bunny, but their laughter resonates in the living room where they played with blocks and outside in their make-shift fort. Chattering voices fill my kitchen where they grated cheese and measured soy sauce for the chicken marinade.