Friday, July 29, 2011

So Long to Summer

Dear Summer,

every single day has been an adventure..
we've explored, vacationed, and celebrated.
we've sunbathed, partied and discovered.
we've stargazed and creeked and ghosthunted and ice cream'd and pow wow'd.
we've made new friends, danced in the rain and admired your beauty once more.
Denver learned how to drive and Nev even caught a chicken.
you are so delicious....













(seagulls wing)





..but you've got nothing on Fall..

~Sincerely, Erica~




* “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. “--Native American Proverb

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Furry Little Fella


Dear furry little fella,

thank you for stopping by today
on your way to who knows where.
you brought us smiles with your silly tricks
 and funky yellow hair.

we captured you to learn your ways
and adore your funny face
but nature needs you back again
we hope you liked our place.

we hope you come again some day
if you dont mind the things we do
but i think before i snapped this shot
you looked up to say, thank you.

~Erica Trent~



 

“Children pursue life, and in doing so, pursue knowledge. They need adults to trust in the inevitability of this very natural process, and to offer what assistance they can.” ~ Earl Stevens


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Homemade Shirts by Nev

here are some examples of shirts we have made so far.
we are working on a website where Nev can sell shirts like these in many colors and sayings along with random trinkets, books and crafts in order to save for field trips, memberships, lessons, etc.



"Children are born passionately eager to make as much sense as they can of things around them. If we attempt to control, manipulate, or divert this process...the independent scientist in the child disappears."  ~ John Holt



We don't yet know, above all, what the world might be like if children were to grow up without being subjected to humiliation, if parents would respect them and take them seriously as people." ~ Alice Miller


Haunted History

took my favorite gal out today for pizza, good talks, and a walk through the englewood dam area where we ended up at Patty's House in hopes of happening up on some paranormal activity.
this type of stuff is right up my alley!
no such luck in finding any spooks, but..we'll definately go back when its not so blistering hot.
all we did was make a splendid mid-day snack for thousands of  hungry mosquitos and worked up a mighty good sweat.
oh, and got a few fine pictures too.
Fall is on it's way my friends!! only 1,542 more hours!!
(64 days 6 hours and 25 minutes).....
just sayin.
xoxo









~Be careful of your moods and feelings, for there is an unbroken connection between your feelings and your visible world~ Neville Goddard (1905-1972).

Reading: The Secret The Power- Rhonda Byrne. (A+)
Tasting: Marions Vegeterian pizza
Seeing: my kids growing up too fast
Hearing: the planes practicing for the air show (yup, means summer is almost over)!
oh. my. gosh. love!




Saturday, July 9, 2011

Pure Michigan

wednesday i began to crave an adventure. i craved quality time with my children, cooler air, gorgeous scenery along the way, and a night sky so sublime that it steals our breath away.
thursday i scooped up my kids, packed the car and headed North to the top of the world.
but i didnt want to rush or keep track of time. i wanted the kids to experience the journey hands on.
stopping when they felt the need to stop. letting them feel and touch their way instead of trapping them inside the car watching it all go by through the glass. (they can do that at home on the internet).
this would be different. this was our journey. our escape. our vacation.
a time to enjoy our freedom and soak in the fresh air, sink our feet in the sand and gander at a horizon made of sparkly blue shimmers...everywhere.
no limits, no expectations.
just pure michigan.




and why is it that crossing the macinaw bridge...never gets old.
and either does a big fat hot vegetable pastie from my favorite pastie place in St Ignace:)
life is good up here i tell ya.


we pulled off the side of the road about 20 miles North of the bridge and the kids got a taste of what michigan is really about. they played and ran and soaked themselves as if the rest of the world did not exist.
because to them, it dont.
denver looked that of a boy who had never seen water before or felt sand on his toes, he played in complete amazement and it felt good. if we really stop and look and pay attention, there is nothing more rewarding than watching your kids learn and love life.
i could almost imagine a speech bubble above his head that read..
"learning in progress".


i planned on stopping to stay the night in a cabin along the way but the kids wanted to keep going,
and so we did.



its tradition to stop in Manistique at the Big Boy and play in the teepees.
it was chilly here.
i. love. it.


we attended a family reunion on saturday where the kids got to see lots of family they never knew.
denver got a tattoo at the tattoo booth and jumped in a huge inflatable thingy until he was on the brink of heat stroke. he didnt like me very much when i had to make him sit down and take a rest, but such is life. 
the sun was wretched, and we have the sunburn to prove it.
Sunday night me and Nev got the kids to sleep, tucked them in and snuck out to stargaze.
there is nothing that compares to the Michigan sky at night.
it was breathtaking.
its like a natural planetarium of dangling stars that seems almost 4-D.
clusters of contellations as far as you can see.
if we could have got to the top of the roof i bet i could have grabbed the big dipper and climbed up.
i remember being amazed by this as a little girl. i wanted Nev to see it too. it was surreal.
that 10 minutes we spent outside together looking up at those stars made the whole trip worth while in itself.
anywhere under that sky, is home.
up there is Gods country and i need more of it.




during our journey we were able to stop and see many things including The Cross in the Woods which was amazing. i went there when i was a little girl and barely remember it, so it was so awesome taking my kids there and experiencing it together and seeing their expressions.
there are many places to sit and take in the scenery, or ...to pray.
i prayed.
i prayed for my children.
i prayed for a safe journey home...
and i prayed for little Caylee.


i wonder what they're thinking about in this picture above.
but whatever it is its not for me to ask or to know.
the fact that the Lord can hear whatever it is, is good enough for me.
thats Gods business..
not mine.


they were given small handmade wooden crosses *for keeps* as mementos.
we'll write the date on them with sharpies and pitch them in their time capsules, and hopefully they'll remember that long lost stroll through the woods to the cross that was so high, that it touched the sky.


there is a small park near my aunts house i take the kids to play.
my cousin laughs at me for forever watching my back in fear of bears.
maybe their watching us, maybe their waiting for us to turn our backs so they can attack and gobble us up for supper. oh dear!
..or .. maybe i have a bad case of paranoia.
either way, im not taking any chances.
that bear bout to meet its match though if there ever was one.
 id load his hyde full of led in about 1.1 gigawatt seconds while the last thing he sees is the whites of my eyes.
we'd be having bear in my crock pot tonight.
mama aint playin.



denver talked to his dad on the phone and the first thing he said was he wanted to come home because he missed his trains and his train table. he also missed his brand new 4-wheeler we just got him the day before leaving.
 it was killing him slowly.
so we did what we had to do.
daddy met us up in frankenmuth with the dog and denvers new 4-wheeler taking up the whole back of the Aztek. Denver was riding it within minutes of getting to the hotel.
he wasnt so homesick anymore.



denver had a nightmare while we were gone about Chuckie Cheese.
so sissy told tales of Chuckie Cheese being a nice mouse and made up many, many stories to keep him occupied the rest of the trip, and make him feel better.
he couldnt get enough.


on our way home, while going through Toledo, we met up with one of Nevs online homeschooled friends.
they were so excited to meet and had a lovely time together in..McDonalds playland?
these girls are just cool.



but so is this guy..



i am so thankful.



~ my mom always told me how you can remember all the Michigan lakes because it spells HOMES.
Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior.~

i miss it dearly.