Black & Blue Paint Crew

When asked what color they wanted their rooms, Esperanza quickly said black. Black? Black! I of course had an initial response of wanting her to pick a different color...which of course made her want black more. Over time, we agreed on half a black room and found a black called Black Magic. Ezra, well Ezra just doesn't care. He found a blue color called Splashy and fell in love because of the name. 

So, Black Magic and Splashy it is! The kids wanted to paint their own rooms so we dressed appropriately, went to the hardware store the night before to buy paint rollers and Ezra even let me pull his hair back in a braid. They were so happy to help paint and they are both very happy with the colors they chose.

Mud

He just can't resist it. I can't resist him!

Chocolate Factory Tour

We went on a tour of Creo Chocolate store and factory in Portland with a  small group of homeschoolers. It was really good! The small business is family owned, they homeschool their own children, they are very active in the community with fundraising, farmers market stands and they give back to the community in various ways. They have very high standards for the products they use, the farmers they buy from and holistically are sustainable and environmentally friendly. 

The owner took us through the process via pictures from a trip to Ecuador to cover the portion of the cocoa beans on how and where it is grown, picked, dried and shipped, then in their facility she showed us the steps they take once they have the raw cocoa beans and how it all gets to the point of chocolate. She even gave us a quick chemistry lesson on the molecular changes that occur to chocolate during the heating and cooling of it, which we used legos to model. We bought some hot chocolate, some cocoa to take with us and a chocolate bar. It was delicious and we learned so much about chocolate!

Kid Selfies

My phone spent some time in the backseat with the kids, and this is what I found later

Crafting Lanterns At The Yurt

I love my friends. Have I ever mentioned that here? I'll keep saying it, as long as I have my friends that I have now. They are amazing...and we do amazing things together...because collectively, we are all amazing and I love us.

Anyways, this is about crafting lanterns at my amazing friends yurt. She is living there now and her space is magical and cozy. We brought some food for snacks (I made a quinoa salad), we drank some tea together and visited while the kids wrestled around inside then went outside and said they were going on an adventure. Eventually we did get around to getting our lanterns started. They will be used to brighten things up as darkness comes this fall. We will have a lantern walk soon.

Pumpkin Painting

We went to Joe's Farm again this year to pick out pumpkins and run around. We followed Esperanza through the corn maze as well as the fort maze. We picked out a few little pumpkins, a couple of big ones, some Indian corn and we bought some snacks from the farm store. I got no pictures of that day. I did however, get pictures of the kids painting their little pumpkins once we were home. I opted to go with acrylic for this activity and the kids had fun getting their art on.

Blueberries Done!

We planted all of the blueberry bushes finally! We have had our neighbor from Camas (Chris) helping with yard work for awhile and so he helped dig the holes. The ground is still so dry that it took him almost all day long to dig the holes. The kids helped as well, and Ezra of course just loves playing with water and making mud. The trampoline helps keep them entertained at times as well. We got 11 total blueberry plants in. Several were relocated from a different spot on the Acre of Nature near the kiwi monster, and the others were brought from home which had been in pots for a couple of years. I can not wait until blueberry season next year!

Just Another Day At The Big Box Hardware Store

The kids have to entertain themselves somehow, and to be honest, we spend so much money here lately, that I could care less what anyone thinks about my kids running crazy around the place. I mean seriously, they had SO much fun!!