Last year we had a fantastic time at the Blandford Nature Center learning how maple syrup is made. This year we were thrilled when a mom from our homeschooling group invited us for a hands-on experience making maple syrup in their backyard.
First, the girls had samples of the sap.
Next, it was time to collect sap from the buckets throughout the yard. If you look carefully, you can see a drop of sap falling from the tap into the bucket.
Kayla and Madeline were good little helpers. Savannah and I had a hard time keeping up.
Mrs. Miles helped the girls lift and pour the buckets, as most were very heavy.
Here Mrs. Steinbach, the one who invited us to her house, helped the girls.
Once collected, the sap is heated over a fire. As the water evaporates, the syrup remains. The heating process also changes the color from clear to brown, sort of like caramelization.
And when they were done working, the girls had a chance to play with Mrs. Steinbach’s goats!
A field trip like this, of course, required thank you notes. Here is Kayla’s.
And here is Madeline’s.
We’ve lived in Grand Rapids for a little over a year now. Shortly after we moved I learned about a place called “For the Kidz” that’s only about a mile from our house. It’s a gymastics and trampoline facility that offers classes and also has open gym times. One snowy night a few weeks ago, we decided we needed a family outing. For a cost of $16, the girls were able to burn their energy for a full two hours. We all had a great time.
I love this smile:
Future Olympic gold medalist:
The weather was crisp today, just 8 degrees when we left for sledding, but the sun was shining. Plenty of snow had fallen in Grand Rapids over the past few days, and the girls were excited to try their new sleds on a hill larger than the one in our back yard. We drove to a nearby park and took the girls sledding for the very first time! Yes, believe it or not, Kayla is six and a half years old and has never been sledding. (It probably wouldn’t be fair to blame Mt. Pleasant for the fact we didn’t sled while we lived there, but we may have been more likely to if it would have actually had some hills!)
First, to find the perfect tree.
We searched and searched and searched …
At last we found it.
Nine feet tall, and perfect for our living room. Our first tree in our new house.
Time to decorate.
All done! Well, minus the tree skirt. :)
Step 1. Visit a local pumpkin patch and select “perfect” pumpkins.
Step 2. Clean, remove top and scoop.
Step 3. Count seeds. Wash and roast. (This is something we added to our family tradition last year. Guesses are on the left next to first initials, and the actual number of seeds is circled on the right.)
Step 4. Carve.
Step 5. Display.
Muscle tension—primarily in my neck and shoulders—has been an unwanted companion of mine for years now. I’m a problem solver by nature, and I really wanted to get to the bottom of this. Was it stress? Poor posture? Sleeping the wrong way? All I knew was the problem wasn’t getting better—in fact, it was growing worse. The muscle tension started the moment I woke and lasted all day, every day. Most days this would produce a headache, which made it hard to be cheerful and fun with my family.
In June I started seeing a chiropractor. It turns out I had major problems with the alignment of my neck. With adjustments three times a week, then two times a week, and finally weekly, this improved dramatically. The muscle tension, however, did not improve—it increased and the headaches remained.
Less than two weeks ago my chiropractor suggested taking a magnesium supplement. I was skeptical: I really believed I was causing the tension by something I was doing (or not doing).
The result since I started taking the supplement? The tension is gone; the headaches have ceased. I feel so different—so free! From the reading I’ve done, magnesium deficiency is very common. Many physicians say somewhere between 80-95% of Americans are deficient, and muscle tension is just one of many symptoms associated with it.
Each night as I take my magnesium, I thank God for this new discovery. And each day as I’m free of pain, I’m so happy to feel like myself again. I still love problem solving, but this was one problem I couldn’t solve on my own.
Before Madeline was born, Kayla and I went to a biweekly playgroup at a local elementary school. Though Kayla doesn’t remember the playgroup, I still have fond memories from our times there together. One of Kayla’s favorite activities was playing with containers of dried beans. We replicated this for her at home, but since dried beans are a choking hazards for babies and young toddlers, we put the beans away before Madeline was born.
A couple days ago I was researching ideas for keeping little ones occupied while you’re teaching older children and came across the dried bean idea. Now that our youngest is almost 2 1/2, we don’t have to worry as much about choking hazards.
We found that doing beans on the deck didn’t work so well because the beans got stuck between the planks. Our next idea was to play with the beans on the cement area outside our basement. This worked better, though a few beans got stuck in the cracks of the cement. Yesterday, when we were playing outside, this is what we discovered.
We didn’t intend to grow beans, but the girls sure think it’s fun!
I read this the other day and won’t soon forget it. I hope it’s encouraging to you.
Slow Dance
Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask: How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done,
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You’d better slow down
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won’t last.
Ever told your child,
We’ll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say, “Hi”?
You’d better slow down.
Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short
The music won’t last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower.
Hear the music
Before the song is over.
One of the new friends I’ve made here in Grand Rapids has two daughters, and they invited us over for a little girls tea party yesterday! We had also sorts of delicious finger foods and various beverages, and we all had a delightful time.
On March 24, I took the girls to the Blandford Nature Center to learn about the making of maple syrup. Having learned about sugar making in the Little House books, the girls were very excited to see it with their own eyes.
Since we have the audio version of “Little House in the Big Woods,” we listened to a refresher while having breakfast that morning. Kayla knew exactly which chapter to go to—”The Sugar Snow.”
It was a cool but sunny day, perfect for a walk along the sugarbush trail. Here are some photos from the day. We learned a lot, especially from the “sugar maker.” We were the only ones in the sugar house at the time, and he explained things so the girls could understand and also answered our questions.
