First day of School

We are homeschooling again this year and loving using Ambleside online, and in addition to this the kids are attending the Masters Academy of Fine arts on Monday afternoons where they learn about theatre, music, art, and history.  Songbird attends the 6 year- old class, and Bro attends the 4 year-old class.  Raindrop and I do our weekly shopping and errands while they are at school.  This is the sweet bunch on their first day...

We've Moved

To Georgia!!!  Here's a few pictures of the most important things- the yard, the treehouse, and the kitchen:)

Peter

So blessed and thankful to have seen this old friend after soooo many years.  The last time we met was in Las Mangas, Honduras, over 6 years ago.  Songbird was just a melon in my womb at the time.  Now we have three little ones, and they can put a face to a friend from our prayers, and we can rejoice in the workings of the Lord to reconnect us in New England...

Yard Sale

We had a big yard sale this morning.  We sold 2 strollers, 2 dressers, some bikes, lots of books, clothes, a tricycle, and various other things (many of which were purchased at yard sales when we moved here last July).  We'll just see what we need once we get resettled in GA, and use the cash we made today to make those purchases...

But, the main attraction was the lemonade stand.  The kids made a sign, and it attracted a lot of attention on this 90 degree Maine Summer day.  They earned at least 25 dollars, and stayed enthusiastically at their stand for 2-3 hours.  I was pretty impressed.  Aside from being mute business people (they were on the shy side), they did a great job of serving their "customers."  Afterwards we had a talk about tithing, saving, and spending (the last of which we will practice at an ice cream stand later this afternoon). :)

The Little Cuties

William and Angela Part 3

Yesterday's adventures included breathtaking views from the Hoodoos trail and the loop around Lake Minnewanka, but after riding 20 miles over all types of terrain (and being rained on during the last hour of the trip and almost freezing), William and Angela decided that they needed a gentler activity for this morning.  So far they had seen elk and/or caribou, deer, bighorn sheep, marmot, and numerous types of birds, but they were still hoping to catch a glimpse of a bear.  They decided to paddle by canoe from the Bow River up to Vermillion Lake in hopes of finding some more wildlife to admire.

A few minutes into their trip they came across this deer feeding near the banks of the river.  Can you see him hidden in the grasses?

It took about 20 more minutes for the two to reach Vermillion Lake.  The mountains formed a bowl around the lake, so that no matter which way you looked, you always saw cliffs and peaks.

After taking lots of pictures and general silliness (though nothing so silly as to cause them to capsize in the 8 degrees celsius water), they decided to be own their way back down the river.

All of a sudden Angela noticed a furry ball on the side of the river and they immediately did a U-turn to get a closer look.  Do you see their furry friend hiding under the bushes?

Right when the canoe was within striking distance, the muskrat looked up at them and casually dove into the water.  He started swimming right towards their canoe, which gave Angela a little start, but before she knew which action to take he had disappeared under their canoe never to be seen again.

 Can you find him under the water? Look closely...

It wasn't long after the muskrat ordeal when they saw a bird soaring high overhead.  They noticed immediately his white head, and both stared in amazement at the Bald Eagle playing in the heavens above.  Though they watched him play for many minutes, soaring this way and that, they weren't able to take a reliable photograph.  So...you just have to take their word for it.

Well, that was the end of the canoeing adventure, and I am sad to say that neither William or Angela ever spotted a bear that day.  Nonetheless they were happy with the wildlife they came in contact with.

After returning the canoe, William walked back up the mountain, past the tee-pee, to the conference center to listen to presentations and prepare for his own.  Meanwhile, Angela decided to take one last adventure on her own.  As soon as the Sulphur Mountain bus drove through the town, she hopped on, and enjoyed the view to the Upper Hot Springs.

The Upper Hot Springs are natural mineral springs that keep a consistent, year-round temperature of about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is a historic site, and so Angela played the part by renting a historic swimsuit to wear.

Then she climbed in the pool and enjoyed the hot springs and an amazing mountain view.  She floated on her back, then on her stomach, and then did a few twirls in between.  All in all it was lovely and quite worth the trip.

 Then it was time to meet back up at the conference center to listen to William perform his paper, and support him as he received the Gilbert Fite award, which was a whole 'nother adventure... full of close encounters with the unpredictable creatures known as "agricultural and rural historians."

When the dinner was over, even though it was 8:30, they still had two hours of daylight left, so they took a meandering path down the mountain, and then a lazy stroll through the town, and said good-night to Banff.

 They went to bed with a happy, yet sleepy feeling in their gut.  They would miss the Australia of Canada (something they joked about because so many 20-30 year-old Australians live and work in Banff. Most of the servers and salespeople were from down under.)

Cheers, Mate.

William and Angela Part 2

On the next day, William and Angela traded in their easy riding cruisers for a pair of fancy front suspension mountain bikes. They started off by the Bow River. 

They kept on riding up the mountain to get a better view of the castle. 

They kept riding up, and stopped to lean against a fence.
They wondered who else might be the residents of this kingdom?  

It was a beautiful kingdom.

Calypso Orchids live here.

And Indian Paintbrush.

Angela looked across the river and saw a castle. 

Time for lunch.

Bighorn Sheep live here. Sometimes in groups. 

And sometimes all alone.

They rode up, and up, and up. 

Elk live here -- or are they reindeer? -- two calves and one cow. And somewhere a bull, though we did not see him. elk bugle 

a marmot looked on.  

William and Angela

William and Angela were traveling in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta Canada in a little town called Banf.  They decided to set out by bike in hopes that they might find a small mountain peak to ascend and admire the view.

Finding the perfect peak was a difficult decision since the snow-capped mountains surrounded them on every side.

After much deliberation, they finally agreed upon ascending the short peak to the Banf Conference Center where William would later be presenting a paper and receiving yet another award.

They were both huffing and puffing the entire 1/2 mile to the top, and at one point they even needed to stop next to an Indian tee-pee to take some deep breaths.  Thankfully, they were unseen by the natives, and were able to continue the trek to the top.

The top was not so much a top as a middle, but it was the end of the road, and as you can see from the map below, the Conference Center is sprawled out along this little peak.

The road that took a good twenty minutes to ascend only took a few minutes to descend.  It gave both William and Angela such a thrill that they agreed to rent mountain bikes for the entire day tomorrow.  If they are lucky, they may even catch a glimpse of a bear, cougar, bighorn sheep, deer or elk...  Stay tuned for more news from their adventures.