Tuesday, December 31, 2013

52/52





Bear: Probably my new favorite picture of him. 
Wolf: Snow!!!!!
Hawk: Christmas morning overload 


YAY! I officially finished this challenge with a mere two and a half hours to spare. I am looking forward to getting these printed in a book form and be able to really look at just how much they have grown. This year had been the most adventurous thus far and although there were some very tough moments we came out a stronger family at the end. Let's see what 2014 has to offer. Happy New Year. 

51/52






Bear: This face kills me 
Wolf: Will always sit like this when he reads books. One of those little things I want to remember forever
Hawk: Future math wiz

Saturday, December 21, 2013

5 months (here I go catching up again)



I caught Hawks 5 month update right at the tale end of the month. I plan to print these updates after he turns one.  It seems to have slipped my mind to get an actual baby book for this little guys. (mental note... must get baby book)  Either way it is a super fun thing to look at even each month to see just how much he is growing and changing. One thing I hope never changes... those dimples, I mean look at them! Adorable. (sorry crazy mama moment) :)

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

50/52





Bear: Oh you know just sitting and having a chat with Santa.. no big
Wolf: hiding in the "reindeer forest"
Hawk: Christmas Story anyone.








While my MIL was here we continued last years tradition by trying Idaho's version of the Polar Express, the Santa Express. It was a total hit! Though the trip there was a little rocky (grumpy adults... what can I say we are human) we made it there and had a great time. The staff was friendly and so great with kids we were entertained by some funny elves and even got to get out of the train and visit Santa's workshop where we got to take pictures with him and Mrs. Claus on his sleigh and leave carrots for the the reindeer. On the train ride back Santa sat with us for a while and had a chat with the boys. Bear totally threw us a curve ball when he went from telling us he wanted specific Thomas trains to asking Santa for books and a "magic school bus"? (FYI he has no idea there is actually a cartoon with that name). This is definitely something we will be going back to each year.


*here's last years experience* Yay no one threw up this year! And yes Hawk fell asleep in that position and didn't even notice that Mrs. Claus held him for a little .

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

49/52





Bear: Asked to take a picture with his gingerbread house. Gotta love that fake smile. (note: we went grocery shopping and this is the smile he gave everyone in the store) 
Wolf: Full consentration
Hawk:  That neck just keeps getting stronger 

Still playing catch up on this challenge. I have to finish... We are so close to the end. The last week has been spent with my MIL in town and  a lot of fun adventures. Holidays always drain my blogging motivation but I like to think that sometimes it's better to live life rather than document it... right? Maybe one day I will be one of those super consistent bloggers that find that awesome balance of doing both. In the mean time I am enjoying reading Christmas stories for the 1000x to the older boys and doing anything possible to get a smile from Hawk, it's actually an easy task when I don't have my camera at hand. 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

48/52




        " A portrait of my boys, once a week, every week, in 2013 "

Bear: Laying on my lap while I read Christmas books. We have rekindled our love for storytime lately. 
Wolf: Braved the cold with me. 
Hawk: Happiest little baby 




YAY! I am caught up. 

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

47/52






Bear: Boot weather
Wolf: Has his mama's temper ...le sigh
Hawk: lumberjack diaper change

I'm still behind a week on this challenge and between three boys and starting to work outside the home more blogging has been on the back burner. Oh well that's life sometimes and I will still continue to try to document as much of our little life as I can.

In the meantime I leave you with a few things about my older boys that have cracked me up lately.

Wolf calls dog barks "woofing" as in "mama that dog is woofing too loud."

Bear: After telling me that Santa will be bringing him LOTS of presents I responded "he may, but that's not what Christmas is all about" Bear (totally serious) "mama, that's his job". Well he got me there, indeed Santa's sole purpose of existence is to give presents.

Bear likes to talk for baby Hawk the voice he uses is really high pitched and hilarious.

Speaking of high pitched sounds I am almost certain that sometimes only dogs are able to hear Wolf his voice can be so high sometimes.



Sunday, November 24, 2013

46/52




                                  " A portrait of my boys, once a week, every week, in 2013 "

I'm a week behind. AH! we are coming to the end of this challenge... must...finish... strong. Life has been pretty busy and I actually only had a few pictures to select from. What great about this challenge is the fact that it is a reminder to just document the day to day no matter what. I better keep my camera handy this week and catch up.

Bear: Already has his Christmas list... oy! At least it's not unreasonable
Wolf: Best location scouting model.
Hawk: Getting a little more control on those tiny hands of his.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Sheep lesson and yard dying tutorial


This week we have been learning about sheep we started talking about the fact that sheep provide wool that we use for sweaters, hats, socks etc. After getting trapped in the rabbit hole of YouTube videos of the whole process (hearding, sheering, spinning, dying, creating) I thought it would be a neat idea if we could find a place locally that we could maybe watch hand spinning or try our hand at dying since I have never attempted to do this before. Well I stumbled upon what I believe to be my new favorite local store Puffy Mondaes , ceramics, cloth diapers, and any type of yarn you could imagine and yes they even teach spinning all wrapped up with the kindest workers. The owner spent a great deal of time explaining a kid friendly approach to dying a small amount of yarn. Here's the method I tried: *note non of my measurements were very exact and we still had great success. **

1. Purchase your yarn (it must have at least 30% wool in order to grab the dye) the higher the wool percentage the higher the pigment. We used 100% wool,  dye, we used this brand in royal blue, gloves, vinegar, cling wrap (optional) something to protect work space, and a microwaveable dish and something to pour or submerge your yarn with.

2. I heated up a big pot of water with about 1/4 cup of vinegar (didn't boil) and submerged your yarn ensuring that you wet the whole roving. Once wet I pulled it out with a pair of tongs and placed it in a bowl with a towel inside to try to take most of the excess moisture away. Carefully try to squeeze extra moisture (this is super hot) 

3. I used the remaining water from the pot to mix my dye (this is where the kids come in) it was about 5 cup, I added a few more tablespoons of vinegar (note you don't have to use the same water but you have to make sure that your water is warm as well to avoiding felting) This dye is very pigmented so I used a little less than 1/4 teaspoon for that amount of water. 

4. Mix


5. Here comes the fun part. I couldn't find any of my squirt bottles so we used two old baby bottles with old nipples. I cut the tip of them to make the flow bigger. 


6. Pour your dye and have fun. Make sure you flip over to ensure that the whole yarn is dyed (it doesn't have to be perfect) using gloves rub dye in well.


7. Once your happy with the results you can roll your tube of yarn in cling wrap (think roll of cookie dough) I didn't have cling wrap so I skipped this step. Roll your yarn into a cinnamon bun shape and place inside your microwavable dish.

8. Microwave on high for 4 minutes, take out and let sit for 2 minutes. Repeat again.

9.  Take out and let cool (careful it's super hot).

10.Once cool rinse well.   You can let your yarn cool an hour and use warm water or cool over night and use cold water. (Again the key is to make sure your water matches the tempeture of the yarn to avoid felting) Rinse until water runs clear. We waited for a few hours so the boys could help rinse without burning themselves. 

11. The killer..... let air dry. This took two whole days for us.

12. Roll your yarn and enjoy!!!! I think we will be using this for cowl scarves for the boys. 

This by far was one of the most fun things we have done in a long time and I am already looking forward to doing it again. These would great to knit or crochet something for family members for the holidays. Especially since the boys can help with the process. 


Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Maps






^^^ I am sort of obsessed with this giant tree on the trail behind our house^^


Sometime last week before going on our walk Bear insisted we needed a map. Out came the markers and paper and he explained in detail all that we had to see. There was some impossible attractions named, but ducks were part of the must sees listed so that is what we did.

They chased the ducks, collected rocks and attempted to climb trees. Oh, toddler boyhood there are some parts of you I just love.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

4 months





45/52



 " A portrait of my boys, once a week, every week, in 2013 "

Bear: Tigey the Adventure Tiger (yes we are that into Daniel Tiger, although it has not surpassed Thomas)
Wolf : This photo captures so  much of his personality. Silly and ever so curious.
Hawk: Four months this week.