Games

At my house we love to play games. Dutch Blitz is our favorite. What's yours?

xo

Lindsey

in my bedroom

i've been in the same place all my life. same city, same neighborhood, same street, same house. my family has traveled the country but we've never had to pack the generic cardboard boxes full of our belongings and leave. where i am right now, it's home.

i wake up every morning to the sunlight seeping into my yellow walls, or the cloudiness casting its haze and shadow. i turn back my white comforter and stretch a little, sitting upright before actually getting out of the bed. it's a process for me. a process that i didn't realize i created until just a few weeks ago.

we're like birds, you know. born in mommy's nest, then gathering strength and gathering knowledge to survive in the world on our own, and eventually make our own nest. from day one, it's like a timer. counting down the days, the hours, the minutes, the seconds until we say our last goodbyes. i don't want that day to come, but i know it must, and soon i'll be the mommy to my own little birds.

my timer is running out. but until it beeps, i'll drink in every detail of what i have now. the purple closet because i wasn't good at color coordination. the headboard and the dresser. the dolls that sit under my windowsill. this is sacred to me, precious. and i'll hold onto every last bit of it, even after i have to let go.

what about your room?
xoxoxo,
jocee

flowers everywhere

flowers are growing everywhere.
and when i say everywhere, i mean everywhere.
but that's okay, because i like flowers.
a lot.
has spring arrived in your part of the world?
xoxo,
gracie

braids in the spring

The weather is getting warmer, the daffodils are coming up, the constant chirping of birds outside my window.  It's all a sign that spring is on the way.  Life is popping up out of the ground, trees are growing leaves, and the grass is slowly turning green, instead of the crunchy gold it used to be.  The sun is finally out for more than half an hour at a time.  Rain falls from the sky, giving life to the gray dreariness leftover from winter. 

How could you not love this lovely season?

xo,

abby

for when you're stuck

xo. Megan Kristine

Oh, how I love spring walks

I love spring. I really do. The budding trees, green grass, and busy, red-chested robins always make me open my eyes and gaze upon the beauty all around. My favorite spring morning pastime is walking around my neighborhood, usually with my dog, and sometimes my camera. I walk, think, snap pictures, tangle myself in my puppy's leash as she attacks some innocent stranger, and apologize to the strangers who are covered in mud and asking about my rambunctious golden retriever.

But my favorite part of my walk is when I venture to the far end of the neighborhood to see my favorite piece of eye candy: an old volkswagen kelly green beetle. Cutest. Thing. Ever. I have to laugh at myself for walking so far, just to see the old thing, but it's worth it every time.

[sorry these are a bit blurry. . .  I try not to look too conspicuous when I pass by]

What's your favorite spring pastime?

xo,
Lindsey

i'd be one of those creepy bird ladies

I know it's finally spring when I see the birds munching away on my back porch. I like watching them and noticing all their different colors. I always try to get a picture, but they always get scared and fly away.

Sometimes I wish I was a peaceful bird watcher. I could sit on a park bench with a good book and read until a pair of little birds come along. I would then reach into my bag and pull out some birdseed and sprinkle it along the ground. And then the birds would come to my hands and perch there and I'd be one of those creepy bird ladies that sit at the nearby park with thousands of birds around her, and perched upon her.

Yup, that's me.

xo, Hayley

leading that simple life

mommy, look at those two houses over there. the white one and the green one? yes, those are my future homes.

i've always thought about what i want to do when i grow up. i know i want to be a musician, to write music for the movies; to write, but other than that, it's still a work in progress.

there are these two houses i see every wednesday, to and fro my piano teacher's house. one's white with pillars all around, with a balcony and a sitting area on the roof, and the other is green with see-through window and a short balcony on the side. both have spacious backyards, and they're both right next to each other. i might have been the second of third time i saw them that i whispered, "those are going to be my homes."

i've begun to imagine what i'd do when i finally owned them. build a library in both. one for books, one for books on tape, and one for music {vinyl and cd's}. i'd cook homemade spaghetti in the kitchen, with basil and fresh-cut tomatoes and thick pasta noodles and maybe have a glass of punch on the side. make my own bread sometimes, and my own ice cream, and even have a special cabinet just for tea!

and when i'd tire of one home, i'd just pack up my groceries and head to the other. or, i could invite one of my best friends to stay over, and we'd migrate from one house to the next.

i'd have a book club, and a writing club. a music club, and a food club. i'd sit with my husband - yes, during the football games -, and curl up with an oversized mug full of tea. have you ever realized the effect of leading a simple life? sitting in that favorite chair or in your favorite position on the couch, reading kinfolk and listening to music. it encases you in that sort of aura, that euphoria that you want to follow you forever. that's what i want to do when i grow up.

what about you?

xoxoxo,

jocee

s is for spring.

spring means sunny skies and wildflowers,

bubble blowing and photo-taking adventures,

thousands of laughs by the ocean blue.

oh spring, how we have missed you.

you bring smiles and daisies galore

bluebonnets, roses, and peach trees are planted

waiting for those april showers to help them grow.

blackberries are enjoyed whole and in smoothies,

lemonade stands are set up at the store.

oh spring, how we have missed you.

why did it take you so long to arrive?

xoxo,

gracie

spring is almost here

Buds on trees.

Spring is almost here.

xx,
abby

35mm film + camera

It started with a little digging through of photos mom had taken from when we were little. And the times when all the old folks, who would hear my shutter clicking which never ceased, commented on how photographers today just snap endlessly -- so unlike when there was film. It started when I found that comfort in flipping through the old photos. Touching and feeling their surfaces.

A couple of days ago, I asked mom about her old 35mm. She brought it out. We went to the store and bought film and batteries. I've got 3 rolls of film, each with 24 exposures. I've only taken 2 photos with the old film camera so far, which is so unlike the 200 daily I took when I first got my DSLR. Because I'm cherishing these photos. Because I don't want to take photos for granted any longer.

Have you ever done film photography?
xo.
Megan Kristine
p.s. it's raining outside and I am a happy girl.

Because You Haven't Heard Enough About The Hunger Games

Five days from now, I'll be sitting in a theater, waiting for the most anticipated movie of the year to come on the screen in front of me. And I'm not the only one.

I'll be giddy and antsy, just waiting for Peeta's face-- I mean, uh, the faces of all the cast of The Hunger Games to appear before my eyes. 

My first midnight premier. A marvelous book series. Tickets already in hand. The Hunger Games.

I've been so excited that I made a countdown. :)

Are you going to the movie? Dressing up?

Also, for those of you who haven't read these ( I know there has been a major shortage and a 27  year wait in every library across the country ) do you have a favorite book series? Has it been made into a movie yet?


Well, have a lovely weekend, and happy Hunger Games!

xo,

Lou

books are my escape

Books are my escape from reality. I can delve right into one, and suddenly I'm in this whole other world. When I'm reading my mind forgets all of my truth and instantly, I am transfixed on the main character. I am now living through this character and my reality is forgotten. This makes me glad because sometimes you need a break from your life and it's reassuring that you can slip away into another world by just flipping open a page and reading.

xo, Hayley

the raven and the writing desk

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" "Have you guessed the riddle yet?" the Hatter said, turning to Alice again. "No, I give it up," Alice replied. "What's the answer?" "I haven't the slightest idea," said the Hatter. 

i like writing. i like having my thoughts spilled onto paper with black ink or charcoal pencil lead. i like making up people and magical lands where you can fly and the sea is a mass of lime jello.

writing has always been a big part of my life. i remember the first story i ever wrote {and the only story i've finished} was called The China Tea Set. four chapters long, four pages long, with an incomplete beginning and an incomplete ending. but i liked that book, because it was the first time that i expressed something i was passionate about. i expressed my thoughts.

sometimes it's not easy executing an idea onto paper. sometimes i have to walk away and do something else. clear my head. light my cupcake candle. daydream about peter/peeta/loki {had to}. but sometimes, it just all comes together. those inner sentences that may or may not make sense to the rest of the world, that's writing! that's me.

the question's been in my mind forever. have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk? i don't know. it doesn't make sense. but writing doesn't always have to make sense. writing can be jumbled thoughts; abstract. you style it the way you want.

do you like writing? what sort of things do you like to write about?

xoxo, 

jocee
{pea ess: the answer to why a raven is like a writing desk from lewis carroll himself: “Because it can produce a few notes, tho they are very flat; and it is nevar put with the wrong end in front!”}

when we go to the park

yesterday we (zoe, mia, kayla, mom, and myself) went to the park. we were only there for an hour or two, but we had so much fun. our younger sisters really wanted to play some volleyball so while they did that, zoe and i decided headed out towards the river.









shortly after we finally got to the river, our sisters got tired of volleyball and walked over to the river and joined us.

zoe and i really wanted to take a picture of us blowing dandelions, so we looked all over the park for some and these two were the only ones we could find. sadly, though, the picture we had in mind kinda turned into an epic fail once we actually tried it...

i love going to the park, especially with friends <3 xoxo,gracie

birds in trees

When I first took this picture, I knew I wanted to add some kind of quote.  I came across this one on pinterest and instantly fell in love.

In which home schoolers take a trip and live to tell the tale.

pictured: Jonathan, Jordan, Becca (teacher), Melissa, Whitney, Me, Marissa. Not pictured: the moms Pattie + Maddie Anne, younger siblings Meredith + Mallory, and becca's boyfriend Chris. [PICTURE BY MY MOTHER]

chris, (becca, whitney,) mallory, meredith.

Our homeschool-history class (+ a few others) took a field trip today. It was full of lots of things:
• Stifling laughs as the tour guide says "you're probably married, aren't you?" to the teacher's boyfriend.
• "Whoa. The babies were lucky! Their carriages were as fancy as cars." -Chris
• "You just don't want to look at it because you don't like the font." -Melissa, to me.
• "Oh look. We're segregated." -Melissa
• Writing character profiles on the way up.
• Forgetting my memory card and being happy Marissa brought hers.
• Impromptu Dairy Queen stops afterward.

I guess homeschoolers can survive outside of their basements.
xo. megan kristine