New York New York

At Roots and Shoots the kids were playing a game which involved answering questions about wolves; the topic for the day. Depending on the answers the kids had to move back or forth. The leader : do wolves come from coyotes?
kids: no
the leader: do they come from dogs?
kids: no (hesitently)
the leader: well where do the come from
Aria: (in a loud clear solo voice) from New York

Winter is here

What a fabulous snowman/king/creature!
The finished product is what Aria really enjoyed, we have named the in the past, but we were all getting cold and tired and forgot.














Ben worked really hard on this beautiful creation. These were one of the rotating toys, that I just recycled out. They so enjoy their toys if they haven't see them for awhile. I know its silly but I feel so happy and clever when I pull out an old toy they just havent seen for a month or toy. I do really struggle with the toys and simplifying.















Aria was getting tired, and waiting for us to come in was getting hard. She told me she was grumpy and couldn't wait until she was a teenager and do what she wanted!!! Where did she get that idea! Firstly I didnt even know she knew what a teenager was let alone coupling it with the idea she gets to do what she wants. As my third child the information she is exposed to and the ability to comprehend it amazes me.
So she is tired, so I ask if she's grumpy and she gives me her grumpy face. I say that its not that grumpy and thought she could do better... I think I have pretty good authority to say that. ANd i was right, below is her really good pouty grumpy face. THankfully they never last long, before long it turns to silly and smiles.

Fashionably Building

It wouldn't be regular day in the Platts-Boyle housedhold if Aria didn't change her outfit a few times. She has fallen in love with her ballet slippers, and they accessorize most outfits. While cleaning out her closet she came across this shirt which Zoe passed on to her. Its a chinese style shirt that is very shimmery- I can see it being a staple in her wardrobe for awile. I love to see how she creates her outfits, and the combination is never out of thin air. THey are sometimes reflective of a personna she is being or a time in history or a job she is carrying out. The stories are incredible. She called this outfit her little girl delightful dancing outfit. What a perfect name! Oh yeah the reason I actually took the photo was to show the big circle she made with straws and connects. She quietly worked making it, which no one realized until she showed us.
The divers have joined the delightful dancing girl to build a kennel/beaver dam. It is awesome to watch them build and create together. One of them starts working on something and the other something different. When they watch the other work on something they become inspired and join their creations into spectacular piece of work. They were really proud of themselves for making this. I am proud of them for working so well together.


Rub a dub dub three kids in a tub!!! THey really did enjoy this!

Winter Finally Arrived!!!!

While bike riding and scootering in January has been a lot of fun the kids have been so excited for a big heavy snowfall. Well it finally came and they enjoyed it immensely. THe whole family was out shoveling, throwing snowballs, making hills. Ben thought it was fun to pile the snow over the drain, and despite Chris' attempts at explaining why it was a great idea somehow the snow kept reappearing. Although he didnt think it was very amusing... I thought (in secret) it was quite comical.




Elias and Ben were real troopers with clearing the snow, what an asset they were in making the job easier.









Here's my Angel. Ben looked hard to find a piece of undisturbed snow to make a cold angel he called it. He said when he stood up the angel would fly away leaving its mark in the snow. One day I am going to write the musings of Ben about death, the afterlife, angels etc. He has some amazing ideas. He is really in touch with his spiritual side, which stereotypically doesn't seem compatible with his rough and tough exterior.


Aria on the other hand could leave the snow. She loves mitts and hats and any other accessories she thinks looks good, but the outdoor time is the snow she could do without. She tried hard to do some shoveling and decorate a snowman we built later.



Here it is. ELias originally wanted to build a fort but there wasnt quite enough snow. So we settled on a snowman... we added a crown of twigs later and it became a snow king. We used pine cones and left over cedar for the decorations. Ben stuck a tail in the back because he really wanted it to be an animal king which totally worked to.