Once Upon a Story

It's no secret that I am a classic book lover. I had an idea in my mind for some time now: To grab my camera, take some of my vintage books, an old desk and three adorable kids into the open air for some photos. I happened to already have three adorable kids in my possession (along with a stack of vintage books). All that was missing was an old-looking desk. That was taken care of a couple of weekends ago when my sister Mel and I found this dilapidated desk at the side of the road, adorned with a "for free" sign. It must also be mentioned that my sis-in-law, Angie, provided the basket, No Frills provided the organic apples and my dad provided the field:)

"And the fox put them all in socks in Johnny Crow's garden"...

And then there's Tom Sawyer... that boy is always getting himself into trouble!

Aunt Sheryl found a vintage copy of Longfellow's Evangeline for our little Evangeline a few years ago. It was Longfellow's most famous work in his lifetime. We haven't actually read the whole poem yet as I had a notion it would be a bit complicated for Evie. However, we're currently reading Ginger Pye in which nine year old Rachel refers to how she "cries through the sad poem Evangeline". Perhaps Evie might be ready for it:)

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” - Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

Science Fair

To be honest, when I was first approached about doing a project with the kids for the Science fair, I wanted to respond with a big, "NO, thanks- sounds like lots of work and a big mess!".... yet I knew the kids would love the chance to exhibit what they have learned about Astronomy over the last two years. They LOVED putting together their project. Evie did her own research and the older two did all their own typing (and in the process, learned how to type the proper way!). What a great learning experience. Evie remembers so many facts because she took her education into her own hands. Best way to learn is to discover it for yourself. I am beyond pleased:)











My cousin's wife is already getting started with homeschooling her little guy, Brennan:)


My sister Beth and her little guy, Lincoln...


And her other little guy, Maddox...


My niece, Reese, did her project on the beetles that they raise at their house:




My mom is such a big supporter of the homeschooling community. Love her!





Reese did a great job presenting her project- I was so proud of her because she has a big fear of speaking in front of crowds!


As much as we've enjoyed studying Astronomy, we are very excited to move on to our next Science topic... but I'll save that for a different blogging day.

Living in the Fast Lane!

Thanks to Tante Sonya for these awesome t-shirts that match the theme of our blog so nicely!! (and by chance, they match the kid's 3 orange bikes too:)







I'm so happy for the warm spring weather! It's been a nice change from hearing them beg to play video games to hearing them beg to go for a bike ride every day! :)

Anne of Green Gables Tea Party on the first day of SPRING!!

It's the first day of Spring and we are having a historic warm spell here in Ontario! It has been exciting to see our garden in blossom in MARCH! Here are our first spring flowers, crocuses.



We thought that a fun way to welcome in Spring would be to have an Anne of Green Gables tea party. I just read the book to Evie and her cousin Cassidy over the last month and a half. The girls loved it and were the perfect ages to read the book too. The giggled their way through the whole thing.





We started preparations a few weeks ago. Cassidy and Evie did some baking together and we froze it for the day of the party. We wanted to have a four course tea party as suggested in the Anne treasury book that we have.





The Anne of Green Gables cook book also had a recipe for Raspberry Cordial so we made that too! If you remember from the book, the cordial is what Anne was supposed to serve to her bosom friend, Diana. However, she accidentally served her red currant wine and the tea party was cut short because Diana became drunk!





I found this vintage Anne pop up book at a thrift store yesterday:)









Evie baked the biscuits all by herself this morning. She wasn't sure how she'd like biscuits as she's never tried them before but she quickly became a fan:)














My mom made the fruit cake this morning. Did you know that in the past, fruit cake was made in the fall and was placed in the pantry and served all winter because it kept well? That way there was always something to serve to unexpected company. The fruit cake my mom made was great, it tasted much better than the typical fruit cakes one might have at Christmas (yuck!).



We made the Maritime Gingersnaps from the Anne cook book. They didn't have sugar and were quite potent! No one liked them:)

















Caylee, Reese, Cassidy, Evie, Zoe and Eden!



My baby nephew, Maddox made a very cute Gilbert!





Elijah made a very cute Gilbert, too!












Aren't they all "divinely beautiful" ??!!