Spring Break

Sorry we haven't posted in a while.  I'll try to bring you all up to date over the next few days.  Peter came home for his Spring Break a couple weeks ago and we had a GREAT time!  Here are the top 10 favorite things of the week with Peter, according to Anna (with a few photos):

1. Playing Civilization

2. Going to the Aquarium

3. Playing Settlers of Catan

4. Peter teaching me how to play Pokemon

5. Going to the Sugar Shack for breakfast

6. Playing Stratego

7. Going to the Spinnery (and stopping at the Bakery Arts Cafe in Brattleboro)

8. Building train tracks

9. Gato Party

10. Peter getting to sleep late

Anna and Peter spent a lot of time hanging out, going down to the stream and playing games, and while it wasn't Florida, we had warm and sunny weather the entire time.  We got a couple day trips in, one to the New England Aquarium and another to Brattleboro, VT and the Green Mountain Spinnery, but the kids generally just relaxed, or as Peter likes to say "chillax" - Anna teases him about that!

The Tiger Photo Series, Part 2

As promised, here is the Tiger, all dolled up in Part 2...

Snow Kitty

The bride looked lovely in silk with snowflakes.

Giddyup!

It's Tea Time.

The Tiger looks like he has had enough in that last photo.  Anna insists he was just tired, but his eyes say it all.  Grrrr......

The Tiger Photo Series, Part 1

As you can see, Anna was very busy with the Tiger, a most tolerant cat...

I need to shade my furry locks.

Ready for a ride, pardner?

 

 Those jumps were exhausting.

  

 Princess Cat.

My apologies to the Tiger.  I did not know what Anna was doing in her room.  We will post Part 2 tomorrow (yes, there are more photos).

YAGP Competition Last Weekend

Well, it was one week ago today that Anna was getting herself ready for her first ballet competition.  Her ballet school had a "warm-up" class on Friday morning before everyone headed out to Providence, but Anna wanted to prepare herself (and not be around a lot of nervous people), so we rented the studio from 9-11 am, before everyone else got there.  I always find it amazing that even though she is only 10, she knows what she needs and is responsible for herself.  Here are some photos of Anna warming up...

And now she's warm...

 

Look at those legs!  These photos don't just capture a split second, she's holding those positions!

And here she is running her variation in costume...

 

 

Anna is really a serious and lovely little dancer.  She did well at the competition - no nerves, wobbles or mistakes, she held her positions, had a high arabesque, and kept a beautiful smile on her face the entire time.  We don't have any back stage, pre-performance photos, which in a way I wish I had taken, but I think it would have interfered with her mental preparation.  She didn't place in the competition this year, but she was invited to participate in the NYC Intensive.  So in March, no competition performance, but master classes with amazing ballet instructors and finalists from around the world.  She is very excited!

Finally, Some Snow!

This has been a very UN-snowy year for us, which, for Anna and Crash especially, has been a big disappointment.  But it's snowing now, our ground is finally covered again, and Little Miss Anna was outside in her coat, boots and red snowflake jammies first thing this morning taking photos.  This one is her favorite....

...but the majority of her photos were of the animals.  That's Jumper looking up from his hay....

 

Here is the sheep water bucket...

  

This photo of Buttercup surrounded by all her duck tracks is adorable...

Ducks are by far the most adventurous of all our animals.  They love the rain and the snow, and cover a lot of territory when the sheep and chickens won't even come out of the dry sheep shed.

Let's hope this snow lasts a long while!

Homeschooling On The Go

Today we spent our morning working for Habitat for Humanity - at a very long (and surprisingly contentious) meeting with some town officials.  Anna fit some of her schoolwork in on the drive there.

She is a very serious student, as you can see.

Farm Chores

I thought I'd give you all a little peek into our morning taking care of the animals.  Usually I do the feeding, watering, tidying up, adding hay to the laying boxes and freshening up Buttercup's bedding while Anna spends time talking to the animals, petting them and feeding them treats (no wonder they love her!)  But today, since I had the camera, Little Miss Anna did all the work!

Feeding the sheep and chickens some apples (it's treats first, hay and layer pellets later, when Anna is in charge!)...

 

Carrying fresh water from the pump, and filling the bucket...    

 

Buttercup finally figured out she had to get INTO the bucket to splash around...

A little chicken friend comes to visit...

Chicken Girl!  (She actually likes when we call her that!)

We hope you have a wonderful weekend!