A little while ago, we went apple picking one afternoon with some friends (homeschool perks!). We had a lovely time... the afternoon was picturesque. A pretty orchard, a play house for all those girls to play in and a picnic. It was lovely! Here are some photos.

PS: I can't pick apples without fondly remembering picking apples in California at Gizdich Ranch. Take a walk with me down memory lane here. And here are some pictures of apple picking with Greta two years ago - what a cutie!

Sundays are a weird day. Love me a sabbath and do I ever need a day a rest after homeschooling each week, but Holly and Greta? They do not feel the same, they want to go and play and do and be! Conor is up at 5AM on Sundays and out of the house at 5:40 (I think? I dunno, I'm not up until later) and we have church at 9AM. It's a full morning! We're trying to figure out what our Sundays look like these days... email me with suggestions! Here are some photos of our most recent Sunday.

PS: Maeve's hair.... her sisters love to put it in a ponytail and sometimes they do it before I tell them no and then Maeve hair is all crimped that direction and I just have to go with it. If you've got it, flaunt it. 

Last week, we received a really fun box in the mail. One of the things in it was this stuffed koala. Maeve loves it! She loves picking at all it's parts. Anything that makes this girl happy, makes the whole family happy!

Many thanks to Owen for sending our family some of his favorite things from his childhood!

Until now, Maeve has been riding the bike without a helmet. I picked one up this week and it's a bit big (Maeve is so petite!), but I'm sure it's better than no helmet at all. I was worried she wouldn't like it. Maeve loves riding the bike and I really don't want anything to ruin that magic. But, with our praise and cooing, she seemed pretty pleased with her new thing to lick. That photo where she isn't looking straight at the camera, but still smiling? That's Maeve making eyes at her Papa.

It's no secret that we are homeschooling this year. It has so far been a big roller coaster and rather exhausting, but in it I have found so much joy. It has felt like coming home. I love having a platform and time to do things with my daughters that I want to do. I love reading to them, learning with them and discussing topics like self control. We all really enjoyed art this week. We read books about Henri Matisse and made paper cut-out art. 

The books we read (each more than once!) are:

• Matisse the king of color by Laurence Anholt
• Colorful Dreamer the story of Artist Henri Matisse by Marjorie Blain Parker
• A Bird or Two by Bijou Le Tord
• The Iridescence of Birds by Patricia MacLachlan

I had the girls copy out a couple of his quotes:

"Creativity takes courage." And, "There are always flowers for those who want to see them." Another good one is, "What I had to do, I did the best I could." And the last one that has stuck with me is, "My mother loved everything I did."

I got the idea for this project from the book, Playful Learning. We have three more artists to read about and mimic. I'm excited about this!