Is it time for popsicles?

We made a return trip to the strawberry farm.
I wanted to lay in a good supply for the coming months!

And this time I brought along some picking power!

Toucie and my mom

Sodie

Mado

Naya

Toucie was seduced by the chickens and bailed on us right away

The rest of soldiered on and came away with 3 gallons to take home

I've been dreaming of making a homemade version
of the wonderful Mexican paletas we sometimes splurge on.

We capped and diced some berries, warmed them with
some honey,blended them up in the blender,
and froze them in our popsicle molds.

Then we decided to freeze every fruit we had on hand.
(Here are pear, cantaloup, peach, and strawberry)

Ok, Summer...now we are ready!

The Barn....

May Faire at the Waldorf School

We gathered rhodos, peonies and vinca to share at this year's May Faire.

We used some of our flowers to make garlands to wear.

Toucie welcomes the May Queen with a bouquet from home.

I think these are the children from grade 2..they sang so sweetly :)

3rd graders dancing

4th graders...what a web they've woven!

I love this sword dance that the 6th graders traditionally do.

Raising the "jester" aloft on their wooden swords!

Morris dancers

Toucie finally has a dance around the Maypole

I love this festival...it is one of our favorite family traditions

Cherry Blossom Festival

flowering cherry

Not very many pictures from the Sakura Festival this year...it was a rainy day :(

The next day the sun peeked out again and we were able to enjoy the beautiful blossoms of the season.

O Tannenbaum...

For the past 12 years we have sustained the tradition of joining with family in a trek to this Christmas tree farm.

Naya and Sodie made it through exams at college and managed a ride home for the occasion. Yay!

I look forward to coming here every year...it is so much fun to wander through the trees. It smells so good here! The farm offers complimentary hot cider and cocoa to keep you warm, and you can hop on a haywagon and tour the farm, too.

When the girls were little they used to run through the trees listening for the one that "wanted" to come home with us...I loved that :) This one seemed happy to come along with us today.

Two very handsome specimens.

The air was full of flurries while we were at the farm ... it was another magical yuletide experience...and it just got better!

...by the time we got home we had this!!!

Celebrating this beautiful season...hope yours is bright as well! :)

Visions of Sugarplums!

This week the super-awesomest daddy of the universe arranged for us to attend the final dress rehearsal of The Nutcracker with The Nashville Ballet. We had the 2,400 seat auditorium almost completely to ourselves, which is what made it perfect for a VERY excited little girl with a suppressed immune system.

I don't think I've ever mentioned here that my career before Toucie came along was in Theatre...specifically in costume and set construction. The scenic painting company that I worked with for over a decade before leaving to stay home with my babe created all the backdrops and painted all the scenery for this production. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of wistfulness as I admired the spectacle...I wish I could say that I helped build that!

It was all so gorgeous...stunning...magical....and then it got even better....we got to go backstage!

We passed through the strangely lit passages and pieces of scenery stored away in the wings...

We saw Herr Drosselmeyer in his dressing room, but I resisted snapping his photo! And anyway, there was someone else who caught our attention:

Toucie and Daddy had found the Sugarplum Fairy...who was so loving and kind that she ran to fetch Toucie a little gift. I don't know if you can see it here in my wonky photo, but that is Toucie in the lower right-hand corner cradling a pair of point shoes given to her by the Sugarplum...magical, I tell you...magical!

Thank you Sadie Bo Harris! You embody every virtue of the Ballerina Princess that little girls dream of. And thank you Daddy...for making little girl dreams come true.