Spring Mill State Park part 2

You can't go to a state park without taking a walk on at least one of their many trails in the woods.

We saw lots of big, old trees. Some were as old as 300 years!

One trail wrapped around a huge pond. At the edge of the pond was a small waterfall that lead into a creek. Seth stood on the top of it and froze his toes off.  He looks pretty happy about the experience though.

And of course lots of pictures were taken of everyone . . . 

Spring Mill State Park

Saturday our family spent a whole day at Spring Mill Park. It was super fun! 

This little creek runs behind a small village.

The interiors of these old buildings were just as they might have been in the 1800's. In some buildings, volunteers were dressed as pioneers and performed various tasks. I watched some candle making and a lady baking over an open fire. 

This is the meeting house. I preached a sermon in it but Seth fell asleep listening to me. 

Even though it's the end of October, lots of things were still very green.  It was a fun day trip!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Pinks! Now that you're six, you're such a big girl!! Have a happy day!

Breakfast

Photographer John Huck takes pictures of people and what they eat for breakfast. I find it fascinating. Check out all of his breakfast pictures here.

Another Continuing Story

Here's the last one! Continuing stories never make any sense, but that's the fun of it!
Millie
Qix
Mox
Exie

After practice after practice, and many trying days, and also tons of hours of loss of sleep, I finally accomplished my goal! That I waited for years . . .at last I  can be a flying monkey! A very long time had passed since he had graduated from elementary school. Nobody had spoken so gentle. He was quite certain he was in love. Everywhere he walked, he saw the world through pink lens. "Ahhh," he thought, "I've never seen pink cucumbers before!" So after looking at this strange colored cucumber I made up my mind to give a try at it. I picked the scrawny looking figure up, hands shaking (I don't know hwy I would be nervous but I was trying something new for the first time). And you don't know, should you stay, should you go? But yes! You decide to swing dance. And you do, with bells on your toes. But she didn't mind. Everybody was doing it! Why couldn't she too? But no matter how hard she tried, they all made fun of her. He was determined not to let his feelings be known. So he picked up a microphone and began to sing really loud! So embarrassing. You know that feeling you get when your best friend is embarrassing herself in front of a huge audience? So since they were all watching she gave it her best performance! She was awestruck by the applause and laughter. 




p.s. Seth commented that I was the only one who had plain black . . but this is because when we wrote the continuing stories, we all used colored pens, except me. Somehow I got black. So when I started to blog these stories, I just kept the color for each person that we had originally used.

A Continuing Story

A while ago I posted two continuing stories. There were actually four, but I forgot to post the other two. So, here they are!
Millie
Qix
Mox
Exie
Deep in the Swiss alps lived a girl who could yodel extremely well. One day a man trekked up the mountain and made his way into her cottage and stole her voice. It was soft, yet a strong tone to her words. Her purple eyes sparkled in the moonlight and the shimmering waters around them seemed to dance with the stars. It was so romantic, until the mother rudely interrupted their moment. He stopped and stared at the entire situation. He was humiliated. The next three days he spent in his room living off ramen and tv shows. He didn't even think he could venture out the door, his humiliation was that great. It was such a wonderful evening. Ahhh, and Him-yes Him. Hint, hint, my bosom friend that I love bestest in the whole wide world, tried desperately to wink at me from across the room. But had I suddenly gone blind? She couldn't make out the darkness before her! Suddenly, it became more clear. It was him, the man she loved." Emma finished writing the last sentence, printed out the multiple papers and looked at her manuscript in satisfaction. Today, was the beginning of the rest of her life! And it was going to be a big adventure for her. The outside was a scary life, but she knew she had to give up her past. She put on her gloves and hoody. I was warm, my toes were wrapped up in the blanket, my hot chocolate was on the stand beside me, and the Importance Of Being Earnest was in my hand. Snuggle time, bring it on!

Quotes

Going through my drawer underneath my bed, I kept coming across slips of paper that had quotes on them, written down who knows when and long forgotten. I really liked these three and thought I'd share. 


Ninety percent of women are afraid of being conspicuous and of what people will say. So they buy a gray suit. They should dare to be different.
-Schiaparelli


There's no such thing as bad weather. Just bad clothes.
-unknown (that is, on the slip of paper it was written on, I didn't attribute it to anyone, so I don't know who said it :D)


I created flower women with gentle shoulders and generous bosoms, with tiny waists like stems and skirts belling out like petals.
-Dior

We Heart It

Mara Unni has been sending Qix and I links to various images on We Heart It and we both fell in love with the site. (Thank you Unni for showing us such a wonderful place! :D) Now, Qix and I spend waaaay too much time browsing for fun or kawaii things.

Gayageum

The gayageum (가야금 as it's spelled in Korean) is a traditional Korean instrument, and I think it's really neat. Traditionally, it has 12 strings but modern models will have more. I love watching the technique performers use to play. It's really unique!

Haiku

A cold rain starting
And no hat --
So?
-Matsu Basho


Speaking out
My lips are cold
In autumn wind
-Matsu Basho




Qix picked up a children's book at the library about Matsu Basho and a fox. It was a fable, but it got me interested in his haikus. Every time I read one, I think, "If only I could read this in Japanese!" Sadly, I can't read a word of Japanese so I have to make do with the English translations.

Miette: A video

I would really like to go to this pastry shop! It all looks sooooo delicious!

Miette: A Video from San Francisco's Most Charming Pastry Shop from 4SP Films on Vimeo.
(via sho & tell)