Creativity and Stuff!

The girls have spent the past two days just playing. Playing, playing, playing. What this means is that they take most of their toys and mix them all up and make things (piles) out of them. It is lots of fun for them but a little maddening to clean up when they are finished. What is the most fun for me is seeing how vast their imaginations are.
Here is how Edith dressed herself today. Can you guess who she is dressed up as?
Answer: Mary. I think she looks just like Mary traveling to Bethlehem. Didn't Mary wear a sequined top hat, silver robe, and a cowboy boot bandanna? The girls love pretending to be Mary. They each put their baby in a bin and listen to O Come all ye Faithful. I have to be one of the wise men and bring the baby a present every time the chorus comes on. Presents can be anything I find. After all, with a good imagination anything can become gold, frankincense, or myrrh.


After we cleaned up the giant pile of stuff (see behind Edith), the girls started up again. This time Addie built a tree house in the living room. Lots of kid furniture, some bins, a cradle, and a boot tray roof finish the project off. Her creations are always all lined up, neat and orderly. Future architect?
And it looks like she has made sure to use plenty of bolts so nothing falls apart.

Before and After

I am crabby because Mom makes me have my hair brushed.

Edith has been getting more and more resistant about having her hair brushed. It gets quite tangled and because she hates having it put up she gets a lot of gross crud in it. Today after she moaned through having her hair brushed, it was time to chop it off. I was disappointed because she had such lovely blonde locks. I did the preliminary cut today and will even it out tomorrow. She requested "short like Addie's, not bald." She is pleased with the new look even though I don't think she looked in a mirror. She reminds me of Ramona.

DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park

After a very crabby morning the girls headed out to DeCordova Sculpture Museum. The museum always has interesting exhibits that change regularly and walking around the grounds on a warm fall day is quite relaxing. One of the exhibits was sculptures made out of rubber. The girls loved exploring the texture of the ginat rubber bands and huge tongue. They also enjoyed the recycled room.

Open Farm Day

We have enjoyed eating loads and loads of fresh veggies this summer as we participated in a local CSA. We tried some new ones to us and ate more lettuce than we could have imagined. We will miss our weekly bounty, but now our Tuesdays will be free again.
Today being the last day was open garden. We could walk around the farm and harvest what we wished. At first the girls were not enthusiastic. They munched on cherry tomatoes while I picked beans. Then I looked for eggplant, broccoli and squash. We finally managed to find 2 pumpkins so each girl could have one.
The highlight, other than the goats and chickens as usual, were the carrots. Addie had a blast using the pitchfork to loosen the soil and then picking out the carrots. If I let her she would have harvested them all. She also searched for the very few remaining onions left behind after the tractors had gone through.
Edith of course enjoyed munching her way through the farm. Cherry tomatoes, then a bell pepper, some chives and a carrot, dirt and all. She managed to soak her shoes, socks and coat and shed them all at some point.
Both girls were covered with mud, dirt, and veggies by the time we left. Messy but fun.
Now I have to get busy getting everything washed and stored.

Storyland and Caves

The Haynes clan headed up to the White Mountains for a weekend of camping. Unfortunately Brian had a fever and a cough so he did not come with us.

We had a great time exploring Storyland on Saturday and then visiting Lost River Gorge glacial caves on Sunday.

At Storyland the big kids were very into lots of the story props. They enjoyed the Three Bears House, seeing the three little pigs and the black sheep. Addie missed Cinderella because she was at lunch but still tried out her throne. Edith was just big enough to go on all the wild rides. She is 36 1/4 inches tall. She tried out the roller coaster, crazy barn and the raft ride. The poor girl fell asleep in my arms while waiting for the raft ride but didn't seem to mind at all being woken up by spinning and water splashes.

At Lost River Gorge we hiked down many stairs into boulder strewn caves. Each little cave had an entrance and an exit. We had to crawl, twist and squirm our way through. Only the Matterns made it through the lemon squeezer though. I wasn't quite comfortable going through a cave that had a clearance of only 18 inches. Edith was really funny in the caves because she was so happy at being the "littlest" and not having to crawl and bend like the rest of us.

More pictures on facebook.

Sculpture Park with Nathan and Casey

Nathan and Casey made one last visit from Vermont before they move back to Michigan. We enjoyed a nice weekend trying not to melt. We went to Andres Sculpture park not far from us on Route 13. We enjoyed a nice albeit humid walk through the woods finding the sculptures. There were many different trails so I am sure that we will go back again.


Addie is riding on the back of some giant monster's spine. She was quite fascinated by this sculpture that had several parts peeking up from the ground.






Addie and Edith are holding hands with the mostly invisible person. Look carefully or you might miss some of the sculptures strategically placed in the woods.

Puddles!

An afternoon playing in puddles. Run, splash, swim and laugh.

Independence Day

On Independence Day Brian put on a great fireworks show for his girls. First the girls had fun with the throwing snappers. Then Brian set to work with the light show. It was great, although a little strange to be so close. The girls in their pj's and Dora chairs inched closer and closer to me as the show went on. Rather than oohing and aahing at the fireworks they would burst out giggling at their favorite ones.

Who is that girl?

Here is little Edie on a visit with Gramma and Grampa. Both of them repeatedly said, "She looks just like Sarah" Well here is a picture of Sarah. Same cuteness, same hairdo, even the same outfit. I guess she did look just like Sarah.

Matterns Vow Renewal

We are still recovering from an awesome party held to honor Sarah and Jesse's 10th anniversary. They had a lovely and very touching vow renewal ceremony with the pastor who married them. Girls in sundresses, boys in hawaiian shirts, and great company made for a fabulous time. And here is a picture of what the kids were doing during the ceremony. I guess the adults didn't know the proper seating etiquette for such an occasion.

Flowers

The girls absolutely love picking flowers. I told them they could pick anything not in the flowerbed. This is the bouquet they came back with. Edith especially enjoyed cramming the flowers down into the vase.

I do need to amend my flower picking instructions though. Pick anything not in the flowerbed that is not an endangered species. The girls each got a lady slipper. Luckily we found one more in the woods so that I could show them and say "don't pick this!"

Grouchy Girl

Well I figured out why Edith is a little grouchy and only wants to snuggle most of the time. She is finally starting on her 2 year molars. Right on schedule for her (6 months beyond the average) she is getting the lower on one side and the upper on the other side.

Fashion Design

I was inspired by a blog I read (who was inspired by a blog she reads) to have Addie draw some clothes she would like to have and then make something. At first she just recreated her favorite shirt. It has grown too small and she is sad that she can't wear it anymore. After a few more drawings including Mary and Joseph costumes I finally found something I thought I could tackle. A gray skirt with purple ruffles along the bottom.

We went downstairs to look at the fabric stash. Addie picked out her favorite purple, but I didn't have any gray. So she picked out camouflage. I didn't think camoflauge matched with delicate purple flowers so I just used the back side which looks gray! I traced one of her skirts and improvised on a ruffle. An hour or so later she had a new skirt. Not too bad. No one was injured in its making either considering both girls were simultaneously trying to help me pin the ruffle on.

Addie was super excited grabbing it out of my hands and putting it on as soon as it was done. Perhaps tomorrow I can make something with Edith. And I do have to say sewing without a pattern is lots of fun. What a time saver to not have to do all that extra and exact cutting and marking.

SEE Science Center

I took the girls to the SEE Science center in Manchester. They had a good time. Their favorites were the submarine and periscope, the gear table, lego exhibit and toys, and the pulley chairs. They spent quite a bit of time in the pulley chairs. Addie loved lifting herself up and then dropping down. Then she pulled Edith up over and over. Edith happily rode up and down. Overall a nice day.
Addie is very impressed with the Statue of Liberty made of legos as well as the "whole country of Manchester" made of legos. It was pretty neat. We'll probably head back here again. It was pretty empty when we arrived although it did fill up with field trips later on. That was a little too loud and chaotic so we hit the road then.

Look Familiar

Edith is now big enough to wear this lovely dress. The best part is the matching dress for a doll. Addie thought it was fantastic and Edith agrees. Nothing beats wearing matching outfits with your doll.

Lower Purgatory Falls

Yesterday we wandered out to Milford's lower purgatory falls. It was a short walk in and the falls were beautiful. Both girls did great on the hike. Edith and Addie repeatedly reminded me and themselves not to jump over the edge. They were a little disappointed that they couldn't really get in the water. I had had them bring their flip flops, but the water level was much too high for them to play safely.

Little Clown

Edith now talks in full sentences and amazes us with all the things she has to say. Many of them are quite funny.

"I ate so much I have to pick my nose"

Edith: There is something in my seat (wiggling and squirning)

Edith There is something in my seat! (more wiggling and squirming)

Me: What? What is in your seat?

Edith: A big butt.

Kaleidoscope Children's Museum

On Wednesday we headed out to Kaleidoscope Children's museum in Manchester. It was a nice open play space for the girls. The girls liked the fire truck quite a bit. They also enjoyed the car that they could fix themselves. It had a whole bunch of wires under the hood that they could take out and move around. I enjoyed playing with the girls but realized I am too tall for structures built for the pre-school crowd. I hit my head several times and had to drive the car with my upper half out the windshield. This of course cracked the girls up.

Little Chef

While Addie was at school this morning I decided it was time for Edith to have fun instead of being dragged on errands like usual. We started off the morning with a bath and then painted our fingernails and toenails. Then Edith got a chance to cook all by herself. Usually she and Addie have to take turns with what we are making so this is the first time she got to do everything herself. We made one of my favorites, S'more Bars.

I usually don't walk down the cereal aisle when I shop but Brian had requested some Cracklin' Oat Bran. Of course when I walked by the Golden Grahams I thought of one of my favorite treats and decided we would have to make them. Anyways here is the recipe I used adjusted from a few I found online using ingredients I had on hand. I don't always cook with random measurements, but sometimes its ok to just eyeball it.

S'more Bars

1/2 large bag of chocolate chips

3 handfuls of mini marshmallows

3/4 large box of Golden Grahams cereal

1/2 cup agave nectar

3 tablespoons butter

1. Melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir together and add agave nectar.

2. Add golden grahams and marshmallows.

3. Grease 9 x 13 pan with butter. Smash mixture into pan.

4. Cool in fridge until set and enjoy.

Now I am trying not to eat all of these at once. They are delicious.

Quote of the day.

Addie: You know, I don't drink bathtub coffee anymore.

Imagination

Addie really loves Cinderella. When asked to get dressed yesterday she put on her fanciest blue dress and then put some blue ski socks on as long gloves. Cinderella also needs a tiara so she found her Indian crown that she had made at school and put on her crown. What a beautiful Cinderella. Here she is playing with cars and blocks.

We all got some delicious Maple sugar treats in the mail from Brian's parents. The girls' treats were once shaped like moose but got broken in transit. I tried to explain that to Addie but I guess I didn't do a very good job. According to her, "This was a piece of a moose that fell off. Then they picked it up and put some sugar on it so it would taste so yummy." Well she loved eating her piece of moose. Hopefully she won't be disappointed if someone tries to serve her a piece of moose steak.

Tea Party

The girls have been keeping me busy, busy, busy because they were sick for a week. They were finally starting to get mostly better but a little stir crazy so I set up a little tea party for them while they napped. When they woke up we each donned a fun hat and sat down to a nice tea party. Well lemonade and cupcakes. Addie was a pirate and Edith and I each wore one of my Gramma Haynes' hats. Fun. Addie has already asked if we can do it again.

What's wrong with this picture?

After a morning of school Addie and Trekker were given free time. Usually they run around and make lots of noise. Today both were not feeling great and this is what they did. Snuggle and read together.

Our topic of the day was water. Here are the girls trying out their ice skaters. Everyone colored a craft stick. Then we froze it in some water and pushed the skaters around the floor. It was fun. Although a little gross when Edith decided hers was a Popsicle and started licking it.