where the days pass like minutes*

i'm not sure how it has been well over a week since i last posted. i am choosing to look at that as a good sign that life is full, and we are busy living. ;) i'll treat this post as an attempt to catch up with what we have done in the past week and a half.

the day after i wrote, we had a trip planned to Biosphere 2. asher has been really wanting to visit here after we talked with him about it several months ago. he was asking about it at least once week and so we planned a trip out there with a group of friends. josh was able to take the day off to join us, which was a huge help. trips out into environments like that, with all three is still proving to be difficult for me. so, the extra pair of hands is always helpful and appreciated! it was interesting. the tour held asher's attention for the most part. he soaked in a lot and was surprised that a group of people had lived there before. in the beginning, the guide asked how many of us would be willing to stay inside the Biosphere for two years. i thought to myself, " two years of peace and quiet and gardening? where do i sign up?". ha! asher really liked the sections where we talked about the air pressure, the fog desert and the "ocean". journey loved running around with her pals.

a lot of our time has been filled up with the regular stuff. helping dad make muffins...measuring, taking turns stirring, learning about why muffins rise when they cook.

reading...exploring our interests. this is one of my favorite sights of all time. when the house falls silent, i know that either 1) i am about to walk into some type of disaster, or 2) they are both completely enthralled in books. this vision always, always brings a smile to my face.

exploring shapes, creative energy, letters, and imagination through our wooden blocks and sticks...

the weekend brought a couple of parties. yummy food, good company...and then repeat. sunday we had earth scouts in the morning. i just caught the tail end of things because i ran an errand to give kodiak a decent nap in the car. the kids are earning a peace and non-violence badge and so they did a lesson on peace, where they read a book and made a peace tree and then took a walk around the preserve. we packed a picnic and stayed in the park for lunch. it was beautiful out. after lunch we went to the recreation center where asher could climb the rock wall. he LOVES to climb. journey is itchin' to go too...but she has to wait until she is 5. she keeps asking me when she will turn 5. that number holds some kind of crazy magic to her.

monday brought a lesson date with some of our friends. we covered the days of the week...playing games, singing songs and enjoying the afternoon together. after that, we started preparing for an early valentine's day party we decided to host last minute this week. we made some decorations

some valentines for our loved friends

and some totally indulgent and delicious whoopie pies. journey helped measure, pour, stir, mix, bake and lick. ;)

the party was wonderful. the kids did a heart hunt game where they each got to find 5 hearts that were hid around the house. they played a heart dart game and exchanged valentines with each other. they also tried a craft and then had some lunch (heart shaped sandwiches, fruit, and other crafty snackies). and then they played for hours and it was perfect. other than that, we have just been exploring through art and song and reading. it takes up most of our time, really...the exploration.

we had a really great day of making some medicine with a dear friend on friday, and that has brought up a lot of conversations about medicine from the earth. asher is wanting to make a tincture or salve from the roots of the mallow in our backyard. hopefully i will have something to post on that soon. :) this weekend has been another busy one...i will save all that for tomorrow. better yet, i think i will ask asher and journey to write the post. their words and summary would probably be much more inspiring. :)