Sea + Prairie

Breakin'

We're feeling pretty blessed right now.  We've just returned from a few days away.  It is Spring break here and a good friend invited us to spend part of our week at her family's cabin.

We spent a good amount of our time fishing...read that, practicing our casting.  We did some short hikes and a lot of wading.  It was a bit too cold for swimming, although the boys got brave and dared each other to go in.  They came right back out pretty quickly.

It was a wonderful time to think and be quiet.

We're all feeling a bit more settled, relaxed and generally centered.

That's a good thing.

Read more about our little adventure over at Steady Mom today.

For Japan With Love

My heart is breaking for those in Japan.  It is difficult to explain to my children, but they see it.  They've talked about it at school.  And they are collecting coats in their school.

Every day new photos appear showing the devastation there, and I just want to sit down and cry.  And I do. I can't help it.  This disaster is so huge.  I just wasn't sure what to do.

 

Then via Honey+Jam, I discovered For Japan with Love, which was started by the bloggers of Ever Ours and Utterly Engaged.

Donations go to Shelter Box, which is a great organization that provides basic lifesaving supplies like a tent, blankets, water storage, and a stove to those who need it.

I gave.  You can too.

Just a small donation can help. Spread the word!

 

Wonderful Weekending

 

Hello all!

Is it really Monday again?

I love that in the summers, weekends and weekdays just blur together.

One of the boys ask me this morning what day it was and I honestly had to stop and think for a minute.

It's Monday!

We had a most lovely weekend here at the beach.

We were visited by some already friends, but now I am so excited to know them "for reals" as Zane says.

Really though, Jennifer and her family could NOT have been more fun.  The kids got along swimmingly and the husbands did too.

Its nice to know that there really is something to this whole blogging community.  If you have ever wondered if you really get a good idea of what someone is like through their blog, Im here to say...yep.  Jennifer was as warm and charming as she comes across in her blog.

Of course we could have used another day or three.  We didn't get to talk much knitting.  I could really use a lesson or two, ya know.  And I didn't even get to thank her for the CD she sent last week.  And completely left out talk about the finish of the Virtual Quilting Bee...and my poor performance towards the end.  But she shared some of her jelly (YUM!) with us and we sent her away with a little reminder of our day at the beach.

Thanks Jennifer and family.

We had a ball!

Whose next?  Anyone want to come to the beach?

How To: Outdoor Movie Night

It's outdoor movie season!

You all know we don't watch T.V., but we are big movie buffs.

Last week, during Spring break, we hosted the official outdoor movie night opener with one of our favorite movies "The Apple Dumpling Gang" staring Don Knotts and Tim Conway.

Some of you have asked what projector we use and how we set this up, so I thought I would let you know well in advance of the summer.

Last summer we knew we were going to be getting a little bit of money back from our tax return so when talking about what we should spend it on, we decided we wanted to get something that would be not only a family present, but something that would be a gift to our community of friends as well.

Ours is an Epson Moviemate 55 Portable Projector.  It is super easy to hook up I can do it myself...easier than our regular DVD player.  The only problem we had was that the speakers on the projector were not loud enough.  So S hooked up some old computer speakers we had in the garage and now you can hear everything just fine.

For a screen, we took a plain white sheet and added medium sized grommets across the top and down both sides.  It is not necessary to grommet the bottom side.  We just leave the nails in the fence so that we are ready at a moment's notice to pop the sheet up.

Some of our favorite family movies to watch outdoors include:

• "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938)
• "Babe" (1995)
• "The Apple Dumping Gang" (1975)
• "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again" (1979)
• "Back to the Future" (1985)
• "The Bad News Bears" (1976)
• "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969)
• "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982)
• "Field of Dreams" (1989)
• "Fly Away Home" (1996)
• "The Iron Giant" (1999)
• "Mary Poppins" (1964)
• "Peter Pan" (1953)
• "Pinocchio" (1940)
• "The Princess Bride" (1987)
• "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)
• "The Rookie" (2002)
• "The Secret of Roan Inish" (1994)
• "Star Wars" (1977)
• "Swiss Family Robinson" (1960)
• "The Three Musketeers"  (1974)
• "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962)

We've also been collecting previously loved (meaning very worn) quilts and blankets.  The kind you don't mind if juice gets spilled on them or cheesy popcorn fingers get wiped on them because you just throw them in the wash.  We have about 5 now, so they are at the ready.  

Movies!

Popcorn!

Quilts!

Friends!

Could there be anything better?

A Photo Essay { Spring Break Camping }

A good time was had by all.

We are now home and the laundry is clean and put away...almost.

We now have a camping bin for all of our gear, so it will be easier to pick up and go again next time.

Yes, next time.

Three more days of Spring Break.

We're soaking them in.

How about you?

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Photos were taken at First Landing State Park in Virginia.

Happy Easter Friends

We've had the most lovely Easter weekend. Saturday night we hosted a small gathering of good friends for a Christian Passover seder. Both the Christian and Jewish faith share this ritual of telling the passover story in common. Although I think it has been almost lost in the Christina faith. But no less important to remember.

The table was set with our blue rimmed everyday wedding dishes...we never got good china. I used my ever growing colellection of vintage silver napkin rings and my Great-Aunt Grace's silver plate.

There was a scavenger hunt before dinner for the kids.  As they progressed through the clues, the Passover story was read and they picked up items to remind them of elements of the story...a piece of rope as a sign of Israel's bondage, etc. It was a great night full of much fun and time with good friends.

As I type this, I can hear the older two boys and S organizing the camping gear in preparation for tomorrow's excursion with yet a few more friends.

It is times like this that I feel so overwhelmingly thankful for such a full life shared with such amazing people.

To my family...I tried to get a decent shot of the boys all dressed up and looking nice before they got dirty.  It didn't work out like I had thought it might...here is the only one that is even worth printing.  

Ugh!

Such is life with silly boys.

I just found our that our campsite has electricity, but I do now know about internet access.  But I would really like to leave the computer at home.

Wish me luck with that.

Happy Easter ya'll!

Surrounded By Friendship

::a little jadite bowl, perfect for tea bags from my friend Ambre::

::a new "e" for my collection from Kari::

::perfect Spring earrings also from Kari::

::sunflowers on my kitchen table from Christine::

(not pictured)

::a kind word from Carole::

::a phone call from Jamie::

::a quik drop in from Shannon::

::encouragement from Staci::

Everyone needs to be known...really  known.  And I am so blessed to have friends who know what makes me smile.  Know what connects me.  Grounds me.  What brings me back into focus.  Thank you friends.

And thank you to all of you who drop by and share a bit of your time here in this space.  

Happy Tuesday!

Japanese inspiration from Ana

Dear Ana, Alaina and Mason,

Who would have thought that after our grandparents being friends for over fifty years and our meeting once at St. George Island, we would reconnect and ourselves with so much in common. The boys and I are literally over the moon with the package you sent. Simply amazing!

And please allow me to apologize for not posting a proper thank you for the amazing package we received from you and the kids. Our camera has been in the shop (again!) and I just didn't think a quick thank you note would do.

The note Mason sent was so thoughtful. The boys are working on a project to answer all of his sweet questions.  The boys loved (really loved) the Japanese gum and it lasted all of about three hours.

The shells were just wonderful and we have enjoyed talking about the differences between the shells we find on our beach and those that you sent. The two in the top of the mosaic are my personal favorites and find myself studying them almost every day. 

The Japanese toys were also a big hit, especially the tops.  Wyatt can not get enough of them and takes at least one of them with him everywhere. 

And you were so thoughtful to include the books and tea towel for me.  I have spent the better part of several evenings and a few glasses of wine pouring over each and every page.  If these books are any indication of what inspires you as well, we are more alike than I ever imagined.

But what is the most amazing thing in all of us getting back in touch is that the common bonds that brought our grandparents together fifty years ago are the same thing we find ourselves having in common today.  A love of family, travel an experiencing different cultures, our journey through motherhood, and the ever wonder of the natural world. 

Please know that we appreciate this gift more than you know.  And we are in the process of putting together something equally wonderful for you all.  Although it might take us a little bit...you all have set the bar high my friend!  *wink*

With much love to you all friends,

Eren and the boys

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Please visit Ana's blog to view her amazing photos of their experiences in Japan.