Rabbits for Fun Things

Sometimes we use our rabbits for extra fun things...

Like Sunset Milkshakes!  

Blossom4 and Weston won the Cutest division of our Dress Up Your Fair Animal contest this year!  

It tickled me that she came up with this idea and executed it all on her own.  

(Thankfully, Weston mostly behaved himself for the contest.)

Dominique

School, but in a Different Place

Sometimes it's fun to change it up a little bit.  Variety is the spice of life, after all.

We drove to Blossom2's place of work, to surprise her for her birthday.

An added benefit is that we decided to spread out and enjoy our coffee, chai, and goodies over a little schoolwork.  Why rush off?

It helps that the atmosphere is peaceful and soul-filling there.

The younger Blossoms settled in beyond the novelty of it and got right to work.  

Maybe they felt grown up.

Blossom1, of course, had no trouble.  Coffee shops are her vibe and studying is her game.

Blossom2 popped over whenever she had a break to taste our goodies

and snap silly selfies with her sisters.  

Her boss is one of three girls.  I'm pretty sure she was back in the kitchen grinning at the sister fun.

I helped the younger Blossoms periodically, but also delved into Know and Tell, an excellent book about having your children narrate back to you what they have read and learned.  It's a sort of verbal processing that I find logical and fascinating.

I was astonished at the amount of work the younger Blossoms were able to accomplish.  It seems they embraced the treat, but settled into the work.  

(We were wise and chose work that was most conducive with a coffee shop environment.)  

We left feeling accomplished, refreshed, and together.

I think that someday, these are the little things they will remember.

Dominique

A Deep Breath

In the morning, when I rise,

give me Jesus.

Squeeeeeeeeeeze It In

It seems that family time is about making the most of the little opportunities that present themselves.  Yes, making sure there is margin enough for those opportunities to be able to present themselves is surely important too.  

Daylight fades earlier and earlier this time of year.  On those evenings when a Blossom pipes up, "Hey, can we all go on a walk?"

We say, "Yes!" even though the dishes will need to be done after darkness falls... 
or some other such task will need to be moved around... 
or something else can be delayed for a bit.

And some of us lag behind and some of us speed ahead, but there's time for the conversation and laughter to happen.

Some of the best family times are the in-between times, 

the squeezed-in times, 

the normal times, 

the every day times that we scoop up and hold on to.

So, I will keep my eyes open for those opportunities and make the most of saying, "YES!"

The (Non) Waterfall Hike

Over Labor Day, this mama wanted to take a hike.  My favorite kind of hikes are those that lead to waterfalls or something scenic.

I hiked Jacoby Falls ages ago with a good friend of mine.  It was one of those rare mama outings that memorably lives on for a variety of reasons.  

Blossom1 pointed out that she researched this hike before and heard that flow can be hit or miss.  

However, I argued that we've had tons of rain, so it should be fine, right?

Besides, this is 1.6 miles.  It's an easy hike and it's beautiful one way or the other.  After a very busy and hard-working weekend, we're certain this is the hike for this weekend!  

Plus, there is the promise of local creamery ice cream afterward.  

Beginning with a long and charming boardwalk over a marsh isn't a bad way to start either.

We even saw a little bit of wildlife ~ a tiny, feisty snake that would quake at the sight of an earthworm.  

The younger three Blossoms charged ahead with Binney.  They were off and running straight off the boardwalk so fast that I wondered if they realized they were following the yellow blazes.  The Rugged Mountain Man reminded me that we have taught them a lot about navigating in the woods through the years.  He was right.  They were fine.  

Henceforth, though, I will give instructions while we are still in the truck.  Once those doors open into the Great Outdoors, they are like kids in a candy store.

We arrived to this beautiful stone bowl to their matter-of-fact announcements, "There's no water."  

They didn't seemed bummed; the geology is still really, really cool.  

A massive stone bowl between two mountains?!!!!

Blossom4 scampered about like the mountain goat she is with Miss Bianca.

And Miss Bianca eventually treed a porcupine... thankfully, without having tasted it first.

The promise of local creamery ice cream may have caused a bit of skipping down the boardwalk.  This mama isn't the only ice cream connoisseur in the family.

I turned around one last time to admire my autumn field favorite - goldenrod...

... and to reflect, 

these truly are the special times.

Dominique