Unpleasant Discovery/Epämiellyttävä löytö

ATTENTION: To those of you (like me), who get willies even from the thought of snakes, you might want to skip this post, or at least take precautions at looking at pictures.



The boys, Little Miss and I went on a walk up the road today.

Pojat, Pikkuneiti ja minä lähdimme kävelylle tänään.



We were prepared with water, snacks, extra socks, sun block and tissues. And chocolate (love the after Easter 50% sales!!). We were relaxing at a picnic table, enjoying a snack break and just being together. Until....

Olimme hyvin valmistautuneita, meillä oli mukana vettä, eväitä, ylimääräisiä sukkia, aurinkovoidetta ja nenäliinoja. Sekä suklaata (jee pääsiäisen jälkeisille alennusmyynneille!!). Istuimme piknik-pöydän ympärillä nauttien eväistä ja yhdessäolosta. Kunnes...



I saw this garter snake next to us!! I am so proud of myself of not screaming from the top of my lungs, but the kids did get to witness mama climb on the picnic table... After we walked out of there (very quickly watching where we step):

Mr. A said: "That was interesting to watch."
Me: "What was? Watching the snake or watching your mom climb on the picnic table."
Mr. A: "Actually both :)"

Yes. I am not a fan of snakes. And I am so grateful my boys have never been ones to pick up snakes and bring them into the house. I let them catch frogs, earthworms, bugs, but draw a line at snakes. (((Shudder.)))

Näin tämän käärmeen piknik-pöytämme vieressä!!! Olen ylpeä etten kiljunut kurkku suorana, mutta lapset saivat nähdä äidin kiipeävän piknik-pöydän päälle... Kun lähdimme pois (hyvin nopeasti katsoen minne astumme) Mr. A sanoi "Olipa mielenkiintoista seurata." Minä kysyin: "Seurata mitä? Käärmettä vai äidin pöydälle kiipeämistä?" Johon poika myönsi: "Itse asiassa molempia :)"

En todellakaan tykkää käärmeistä. Olen kovin kiitollinen ettei minun poikani ole koskaan halunneet pyydystää käärmeitä ja tuoda niitä kotiimme (edes näitä myrkyttömiä). Annan heidän ottaa kiinni sammakoita, matoja, ötököitä, mutta käärmeet pitää jättää rauhaan. (((Puistutus.)))



I'm so glad we brought our Audubon Society's Field Guide to New England. It has been handy already a few times identifying birds and plants. We even checked the snake section today (ewww). And now our walks become not just homeschool PE, but science also :)

Meillä on ollut kovassa käytössä tämä pieni kirjanen, kun olemme etsineet lintujen ja kasvien nimiä, ja nyt käärmeen (yöks). Kirjan avulla meidän kävelyistä tulee kotikoulu-urheilutuntien lisäksi biologiaa myös :)




This is today! A bigger area to swim in ;-)

Tältä näyttää järvi tänään. Isompia alue uimiseen ;-)

So Loved

Monday is the last day to enter this amazing giveaway (actually there are two giveaways, the other one ends tomorrow) and fundraiser to bring home two children Poppy and Esther from China by Stefanie from Ni Hao Y'All and her family. Click on the picture or here to read more.

Well, what are you waiting for? Head on over there :)

Moose & Baseball/Hirvi ja pesäpalloa

We saw a moose today! Not the first time here, but this time got a pic too. Always exciting to see, as long as they aren't too close!



It is great to have a lot of children! Today there was a slightly modified baseball game going on in our yard that lasted a good couple of hours - totally PE in my homeschool book!

Unfortunately Missy's friend has to leave tomorrow, but we should be getting another friend this weekend too - six is a much better number for playing games outside than five is :)




Mr T also had his first real baseball game here in Maine. They lost by a couple of points, but it was a good game. T didn't get to play a lot, but the coach said on Monday there will be more play time for the newer/younger players as well. We were so proud of Mr T coming back all excited after having a great game, and continuing to make new friends.



Mandatory lake pic: Little Miss testing waters here. Yup! Still icy :)

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Näimme tänään hirven, aika lähellä omaa tietä!! Aina ajaessa katselen tien varsia, täällä sattuu paljon hirvionnettomuuksia. Mutta on se upeaa nähdä näitä suuria ylväitä eläimiä.

Muuten päivään kuului pesäpalloa. Ensin sitä pelattiin omassa pihassa (omat lapset + Missyn kaveri), sitten iltapäivällä Mr T:llä oli eka peli naapurikaupungissa. Meidän joukkue hävisi, mutta hyvä peli oli ollut, ja poika tuli onnellisena kotiin. Omasta mielestään hän oli pelannut hyvin sen ajan, kun oli ollut kentällä (ja maanantaina kuulemma uudet ja nuoremmat pelaajat saavat enemmän peliaikaa).

All In A Day/Yhden päivän aikana

We see deer every day. Today, however, we saw a deer on thin ice! The kids noticed it, and were quite concerned. They watched it until they saw it get safely back on land..



The Captain saw a loon swimming by too! Hopefully we can get a photo one of these days.. Maybe it came by as the house was quieter - I took Mr. T to his baseball practice with Little Miss, and stopped by the library again too.





The ice continues to melt rapidly, and we continue watching it (you might be getting a daily report, we are so fascinated by it). Today was another warm day, with some rain showers and strong wind at times, which is helping a lot. Almost all the snow in our yard is gone - another couple of warm days is all it will take.



After The Captain and I got back from our late afternoon walk, the lake started calling me. I was feeling hot from our brisk walk, and there was just a perfect opening near shore to get refreshed... I actually went in twice, because you feel so amazing once your blood starts recirculating and you can breathe again. I have to say I missed our sauna (this lake house definitely needs one!!) afterward, but it wasn't too bad. I might need to do this on a daily basis ;-)
(Crazy Finns, eh?)



Little Miss begged to go for a swim too, but I wouldn't let her. She was freezing even after her warm bath tonight :) But notice the flip-flops!! Spring has sprung!



The Captain and I let Mr. D go on thin ice right near my swimming spot. I was quite surprised he didn't fall in!! He knows (and all the kids know) not to go on the ice anymore, and to always let us know when they are hanging by the water.



Tonight's stormy skies.

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Lapset huomasivat valkohäntäpeuran jäillä tänään, ja seurasivat sitä niin kauan että peura varmasti pääsi takaisin maankamaralle. Olin jo valmis soittamaan metsävartijalle tai poliisille... Kapteeni näki myös kuikan ihan meidän rannassa, muttei ehtinyt saamaan kuvaa.

Täällä oli taas lämmin päivä, noin +17 C, välillä satoi vettä, välillä tuuli oikein kovasti, ja lumi ja jäät sulavat nopeaan tahtiin. Saatte varmaankin päivittäisiä raportteja sulamisesta, vietämme niin paljon aikaa järveä katsellen :) Tänään(kin) tosin oli myös kotikoulua, yhdet pesisharkat, kirjastoreissu, kävely, sekä yksi avantouinti! Olin aika ylpeä itsestäni - ei ollut eka kerta jäiden seassa 'uimisessa', mutta eka kerta ilman saunaa! Menin itse asiassa kaksi kertaa veteen, kun se tunne jälkeenpäin on niin uskomattoman mahtava.

Watching The Ice Melt

Spring has arrived to Northern Maine! Finally!!! We wore t-shirts and flip-flops today, people!
(Just in case I'm keeping our winter gear close by...)

Other tidbits:

- Mr. D and I explored the shore/woods some more
- Mr. T started baseball this week, woot woot!!
- Missy has her best friend over this week (insert hearts here)
- School is going great (yay!)
- We may have a loose schedule for our next few weeks... it will include traveling again (more later)
- I don't think I've remembered to blog about it, but last week I finally got a washer & dryer & a dishwasher!! They all work, and I'm back to happily washing laundry every day ;-)
- And that is all I can say, have to crawl over to bed...... zzzzzz
- Anteeksi, ei suomea tällä kertaa....

New Walk/Uusi kävelyreitti

After homeschool today Mr D and I decided to go for a walk together. The Captain had found out about a local baseball team, and had taken Mr T for their first practice (he loved it, and made a lot of new friends, yay!). Mr A, Missy & Little Miss were already exploring the disappearing ice on shoreline.



In this picture both had wet pants and water in their boots ;-)




In one of these shots Mr A also got his behind wet as he crouched a bit too low ;-)
I sent the three of them inside to change clothes (I didn't get a picture of Little Miss out there).



So Mr D and I headed out, facing the lake turned right and followed the shoreline quite a long ways, stepping on rocks, occasionally on snow, and quite a few times stepping into water.




We discovered neat looking trees, bugs, spiders, little greenish buds on trees. And very clear water - a good thing, as that is what is coming out of our faucets :)



I think one of Mr D's love languages is Quality Time, he really enjoyed the one on one with mom.



This is how thick the ice was near land. It looks like floating slush, but wasn't :)



How long until ice out?

I am linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop!



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Löysimme tänään Mr D:n kanssa uuden kävelyreitin: rantaa pitkin kivillä (ja vähän järvessä ja lumessakin) kävellen! Meillä oli aivan ihanaa kahdestaan. Mr T oli ekoissa pesisharkoissa Kapteenin kanssa, ja kolme muuta lasta jouduin lähettämään sisälle, kun kumppareista löytyi puolikas järveä, ja housut ja sukat olivat kastuneet.

Weekend Highlights/Viikonlopun kohokohtia

Sunday was gorgeous! Our first warm day here in Northern Maine. Mr. A built a fleet of bark boats and did a trial run on the lake. The ice has slowly melted some more, and he can't wait for larger 'seas' for his boats.



Sunday's biggest highlight was having Grandma, Grandpa, Nanny, Aunt & Uncle and cousins come up for the day from Southern Maine. Boy were we glad we didn't have snow falling like on Saturday! Or have an ice storm like we had middle of the week...! All the kids had such a wonderful time playing outside, only coming in for quick breaks.

After family left (and everyone was feeling a bit sad), we decided to enjoy the beautiful day by going on a hike. The woods still had a fair amount of snow, but it is quickly melting.



Saturday's highlight was our first trip to the library. We live in a small town here, and really didn't expect much, but wanted to go check it out anyway. Wow! Great library, great children's area and the surprisingly good selection of books. We will have to restart our weekly library trips as a part of our homeschool program.

I'm linking this post to Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot.


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Viikonlopun kohokohtia olivat lauantain reissu kirjastoon (todella positiivinen yllätys pikkukaupungin kirjastolta!) ja sunnuntain vieraat (isoäiti, isoisä, isoisoäiti, täti, setä ja serkut) etelä-Mainesta. Saimme onneksi kevään ensimmäisen lämpöisen päivän, ja kaikki lapset viihtyivät ulkona koko päivä, ja kun vieraamme lähtivät lähdimme vielä metsään kävelylle.

He Is Risen/Hän on ylösnoussut!!

Buy The Jesus Storybook Bible from here.

He is risen indeed!
Totisesti nousi!

Joyous Easter to all!
Riemullista Pääsiäistä jokaiselle!

On Good Friday/Pitkäperjantaina

Today the girls and I made Resurrection Rolls. I found the recipe here, but instead of cinnamon, we used cocoa powder (yes, we are chocoholics here).

Ingredients:

Large marshmallows
Melted butter
Sugar/cinnamon mixture (or cocoa)
Cans of crescent rolls



* Separate dough into triangles. The rolls represent the linen wrapping used in covering the dead.



* Dip and roll one marshmallow into melted butter. The butter represents the oils used in anointing the body.
* Roll the marshmallow in the sugar/cinnamon mixture. The mixture represents the spices used in burials.



* Place the marshmallow in the center of the crescent triangle. Fold and pinch the edges tightly closed around the marshmallow. Put each crescent wrapped marshmallow on a slightly greased cookie sheet.




* Bake the rolls as directed on the package. The oven represents the tomb.

When cooked, the marshmallow melts leaving only the puffed crescent roll. This demonstrates how Jesus rose from the dead. All that remained in the tomb were the linen wrappings.

We didn't all the edges tightly enough, so some opened up and marshmallow oozed out. We decided to do a taste test on those. And I forgot to take picture of one half bitten, as our Resurrection Rolls disappeared too quickly - but all were amazed how the 'tomb' was empty!
We will definitely make this a part of our Easter every year. These rolls were delicious, and I enjoy finding ways to explain the resurrection story in different ways, especially to little ones.



Today is Good Friday, and our family will be reading "The sun stops shining"-chapter from The Jesus Storybook Bible. Last night we read "The Servant King" and "A dark night in the garden"-chapters. We'll leave "God's wonderful surprise" for Easter Sunday.

We highly recommend The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones for all. It is a children's Bible, yet really speaks to grown-ups as well. We love reading it all year long, but find it especially moving at Easter time.

"Father, forgive them," Jesus gasped. "They don't understand what they're doing."
"You say you've come to rescue us!" people shouted. "But you can't even rescue yourself!"
But they were wrong. Jesus could have rescued himself. A legion of angels would have flown to his side - if he'd called.
"If you were really the Son of God, you could just climb down off that cross!" they said.
And of course they were right. Jesus could have just climbed down. Actually, he could have just said a word and made it all stop. Like when he healed that little girl. And stilled the storm. And fed 5,000 people.
But Jesus stayed.
You see, they didn't understand. It wasn't the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love.

We are so thankful for His love! And so glad the story doesn't end here... On Sunday we will celebrate how He has risen! Jesus has conquered death, Hallelujah!

It sounds like our internet will be down for the weekend, so Mothership Adventures would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter! We will return after the holiday.

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Pitkäperjantaina me hiljennymme ajattelemaan Jeesuksen kuolemaa, kiitollisina siitä, ettei Hänen tarinansa lopu tähän iltaan! Sunnuntaina saamme juhlia ylösnoussutta, kuoleman voittanutta Jeesusta!!

Yllä ohje englanniksi 'Ylösnousemuspulliin', jos joku haluaa, voin yrittää kääntää ohjeen suomeksi. Myös suositus The Jesus Storybook Bible-raamattuun, tietääkseni sitä ei ole vielä käännetty suomeksi.

Meidän nettiyhteys on kuulemma poissa myös viikonlopun, joten toivotan kaikille Iloista Pääsiäistä, ja pidän samalla pienen blogitauon.