Springing into Action

Since we have been home, its been busy. A good busy. We are feeling as though the last of the winter layers have been shed (even though it's cold!) and we are motivated to follow interests and start new projects. It feels good to be outside, moving a little lighter and more freely. We have big plans for our vegetable garden, the flower beds and the boys are in a horticultural group. So gardening is at the top of our list.

The daffodils are up at one of our favorite walks, which we enjoyed. Its become a yearly tradition to visit this trail in the spring and take in their sunshine.
We also enjoyed a trail which is an off leash dog area that we used to visit with Marly. It felt a bit strange without her, but it also felt great to reminisce. The pond on the trail is a favorite for frog spotting and turtle watching. The turtle's create these giant nests in the middle of the reeds. If you weren't carefully observing you would probably miss them, but there were about 25 painted turtles enjoying the little peeks of sun.
The rivers and creeks have been calling my children. We joke that there are sirens(the mythological kind) that live there and that they need to be careful or they won't get away. I love that not only are the kids excited to visit these beautiful places but that they are even more excited to invite certain friends to visit. They have friends they really wanted to share a clay spot with. They have other friends who love to get into the water and play otters sliding down the bank in between frog catching.
We also had cousins visit who were willing to climb and splash at one of our favorite creek spots (which also happens to be on a trail that gets us to the organic coffee shop -what a treasure!). The only thing better than visiting our favorite nature places is sharing them.
I think one of the draws to hikes for us is the unexpected. While there is some expectations of trees to climb, rocks to turn over, and the hopes of water, there is always the unexpected discoveries that lure us back. It was such a sweet surprise to see the trillium's, both white and purple. I keep meaning to go and seek them out at another trail, and here we got to stumble upon them. What luck!
I am finding it tricky taking photo with Shai in the sling, (or on the ground! ) my one eye is always distracted. I am also having a hard time to remember it!!!

Around the World in an Afternoon!

We participated in a geography expo this afternoon. What a wonderful event. There were about 25-30 families, with everyone having chosen a different country to share about. Each family had a display, regional snack and a stamp/sticker for the passport that every child carried around. We were asked to give a few questions about our country that the kids could use as a scavenger hunt. The displays were very impressive and all very different. There was games, puzzles, toys, money, history, seasonal celebrations, musical instruments, buildings and more, much more shared.
We chose Italy as a country to study in part for interest in the history and in part because we have plans to visit in 2010. Everyone loved reading about the history and very quickly we were all working away on costumes. We had Santa Lucia (Aria), St. Francis (Shai), a Roman Soldier (Elias), a Gladiator (Ben) and Christopher Columbus (Me), five famous Italians. We shared biscotti, and our display had a map, Italian inventions, celebrations, interesting facts (in Rome alone there are 300,000 cats). Under our table we placed pictures of the Sistine Chapel.

There are plans laid for next year.

Hands on

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As has been the case in the past, this was a program the kids really enjoyed. They moved through stations building and talking about clay pots and the importance of them. They had discovery bags each containing items of a different theme; clothing, food preparation, hunting, etc. They got to see the museum exhibit with mini display of a village. The morning ended with a games session. The big hit was the dried corn cob/feather dart game.

We have a pile of books about native peoples out and our discussions are taking us through time.

Aligators and Birds

Just a few more vacation adventures to share :)













We received a recommendation to visit the Huntington State Park which we are so thankful for, it was a beautiful exciting park. As we drove in on a road which had salt water lake on one side and a salt marsh on the other we spotted an alligator swimming in the lake and great egrets fishing in the rushes. We were so giddy with excitement I took very few pictures. I could barely tear myself away from being a participant of the experience long enough to snap a few.
There are 55-75 alligators in this fairly small lake, it is a natural habitat for them and they are not uncommon for the area (just for us!).
We were able to see 5-6 of these amazing residents, one whom looked to be about 5-6 feet long. There were boardwalks at various different spots around the lake and marsh to view the wildlife. The alligators were undoubtedly a highlight, but as you know we love our birds so this was a highlight day for the birding as well. The majestic birds were incredible. We saw snowy egrets, great egrets, little herons, blue herons, osprey, gulls, and some we have no idea what they may have been ! We had our various binoculars but were treated to viewing through a fellow visitor's high tech viewing fancy contraption (LOL) and saw amazing details of the birds and alligators.
We really did walk away awed at seeing alligators in the wild and talked about these great creatures quite a bit. We decided, despite knowing how touristy it would be, to see alligators up close at a gator park. To see these huge, huge, HUGE reptiles up close, learn more about them really was incredible. Their armour skin, their group living, the different types (including rare albinos) what to do when you spot them on the golf course (what?!*!). Pretty cool.
The park also had some amazing trails, miles of beach and boardwalks we explored.

Ocean days

We literally had a two minute walk to the beach from where we stayed. We were often called down to the beach after a late dinner because the sound of the waves were so inviting, and getting there was so easy. Chris, Elias and Ben all bought skim boards. They had a blast trying to stay on top riding the water. The consequence of falling meant landing on the thick layer of broken shells which I am told is worse than road rash. This didn't turn them away. Elias had a huge amount of determination to 'get it', spending most of his beach time trying. Aria loved the background sound of the waves, to accompany her as she sang and danced down the beach. Ben loved beach combing and searching out jelly fish. Me I loved the space as we could all just be.

Beach Treasures

The beach. Its all there for a wonderful holiday. Nothing else is really needed. Sand. Water. Shells. Space. Perfection.

Had we not ventured from the beach it would have been as equally relaxing and adventurous.

The shells of course were a big hit, the first day gathering everything in sight. As the week progress we realized the abundance and became more selective. We sorted, washed, polished, examined, enjoyed each shell.

A few times over the week we found different types of jelly fish washed up on shore. We were fascinated. The kids (carefully :)picked them up, examined them, tried to bring them to life in the water, then give them a burial and no stings to be had!

After reading about ghosts crabs we decided to time our visit to Myrtle Beach State Park to include dusk. We searched out and found the crabs holes. We followed their tracks, and after being totally startled we realized they bury themselves in the sand. We watched them scurry sideways, bury themselves except for their eyes. They are the same colour of the sand, which makes them look almost see through, hence their name ghost crabs. We were giddy to have found them....or have them find us :)

When we were at Huntington State Park Chris noticed lots of bubbles in the sand as the waves rolled in and out. With the kids they sat and watched little tiny bivalve mollusks (tiny shelled creatures) go in and out of the sand between waves. They would poke out and bury themselves before the next wave returned. Later we watched the sand pipers and plovers catch them.

It was so great being in a totally different environmental zone, discovering all these cool things!

More Aquarium

Over the course of the trip, we would often talk about other holidays we would like to take that have 'popped' up because of things on this trip. While driving up we noticed three crosses; two white and one yellow, and Chris said they marked places of battle during the civil war. This was new to me and the kids. To led to conversations about the civil war, re-enactments, different books and accounts, etc. An interest was sparked.

The same happened with the aquarium, we talked about different sea life in different bodies of water, migrating and water temperature. This lead to ideas of an aquarium holiday...visiting places with different types of aquariums. There was even talk of creating an aquarium in our house!

Although the rays were the highlight I must mention a few other parts we loved. There was a horseshoe crab display, with actual crabs for you to hold. They were huge, heavy and so interesting. They piggy back on each other as a means of protection, sharks won't mess with 10-15 sets of pincher's!

There was also a tunnel with a moving sidewalk , filled with amazing sea creatures; saw fish, nurse, sand, tiger sharks, sea turtles, barracudas, fish of all colours, eels, rays, starfish. Since it was a tunnel you got to see them from all different angles, their bellies, their eyes, watching them swim. It was fascinating.

Tiny toes at the beach

His first trip to the ocean. The sand he enjoyed at the beach last year, this time was no different. The added fun of picking up seashells to put in a bucket was a big hit. The gulls were by far the biggest hit for him. Watching them fly around the water, over the beach, walk along the waves, calling to each other, he soaked it all in. The water. Not so much. Well it wasn't the water that was the big problem but the waves. He would find a spot that he thought he was in save distance and then the next wave would come and get him all wet. He clung to someones leg, interested enough to stay but not sure enough to let go.
It was adorable. The wet suit, the toddle down the beach, tiny toes in the sand, the smile finding a shell while carrying his little bucket. Too cute.