Note to self:

– red cabbage makes an incredible blue (pictured)
– when the recipe said 2 cups of matter, it meant vegetables. 1 cup of turmeric to 4 cups of water creates more of a yellow sludge. So use less with the powdered slices.
– rubber bands = fun
– white beeswax crayons make a good resist too!

It is like Christmas around here the day after Halloween since the sugar sprite visits! This year the kids really seemed to enjoy what she left them.

Spin Art Fun!
Quinn received a spin art maker. She really enjoyed squirting the pain and then making the holder spin. Tyler also got in on the action and together they made about 6 cards each. I wasn’t sure what to do with them and finally decided to bind them together in a small book. So I made them each a small book of their spin art creations.

Lego Catapult!
Tyler was excited about his catapult and wanted to make a movie of himself shooting it, so I obliged. Here is a picture of his catapult and his movie.

Catapult Movie
YouTube link (faster and easier to watch):

Click on the image below to view my copy – only do this if the YouTube one is unavailable because it will load much more slowly.

This year I wanted to keep Halloween easy. I thought the best way to do that would be to buy costumes this year instead of make them. That proved to by much harder as the kids could not make up their minds. Quinn wanted to be a three-headed purple monster. Hmm…they don’t have those in the catalog. I looked for a Purple People Eater, thinking hey, a one-headed purple monster would be close, but still no luck. Tyler wanted to be scary…Mommy was not so excited with the blood dripping stuff.

Going to costumes shops didn’t really help…and they are really expensive. It came down to the wire as we headed to a store one evening determined to come home with costumes for both kids. Quinn immediately stated that she wanted nothing in the girl’s section. No problem.

Finally, Tyler decided he didn’t want to be something scary and we ended up with this knight gear. I told him that I could make him a cape. Quinn decided she wanted to be Darth Vader. That is funny because she has not seen the movies – just an old 70s Pop-up book and Daddy’s figures. But hey – I talked her into getting a mask and light saber and I would make her a cape too!!

Done and Done!! And those capes – no sew except for the ribbons to tie them! Woo-hoo! Tyler picked out two kinds of awesome silver fabric, one looking like chain-mail. For Quinn – black was an easy choice.

So another Halloween down! Quinn looked awesome and I loved the way she walked around with the light-saber sticking out. I have a video of that to share with you. Tyler was standing a bit taller with his knight costume on. He was happy to show me various fighting stances.

The way Quinn walked and held her light saber was incredibly hilarious. She is this tiny thing…here is a video of her heading to one house. You will catch a glimpse of our valiant knight.
YouTube link (faster and easier to watch):

Click on the image below to view my copy – only do this if the YouTube one is unavailable because it will load much more slowly.

These things are pretty great. They can sit and spin around in them which I have a movie of them doing that somewhere. They can turn them over and stand on them. They have been hats. Not surprisingly, Quinn is using it as a place to put things. Tyler nn is spinning bear and lobster in his. We brought them with us for sliding down hills in the snow. Pretty fantastic thingamabobber!!

Speaking of love, this dog loves Chris. Sadly Daddy is very busy and so Chase doesn’t get all the Daddy time he would like. But when he does, oh this dog is in completely heaven. I love this picture….

This particular night we had Tomato Fennel soup (Med Vegan cookbook) – simple and uber yummy. We paired that with a link of sausage, chard and some sourdough bread. Delish!

And the main event – homemade eggnog. Kicks the store-bough stuffs butt. And people – 4 ingredients, a hand mixer and 2 minutes. Heck – a whisk would work. Anyone can do this and you should..it is so good!

Tonight we dined on a lovely, simple meal of Winter Minestrone with basil pesto and Irish Soda Bread. For dessert, we have our traditional cake that the kids helped me bake in the morning. Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, cherries, pecans, lemon zest and a pinch of cinnamon. Then we drizzle the top with honey. Yummy!

As the sun began to set, we headed back to the cabin for a yummy dinner. Then we closed the night around our Yule log and made smores. Honestly, I wanted to include more ritual than I did, but time slipped away on me. No matter, we will be back next year and I can add a bit more to our celebrations.

The next day we had hoped to hike at Lost Maples before heading home. Sadly the park was closed that day. We took it as a sign from the universe that we needed to get home. It was just as well.

All in all a fantastic solstice! Come with us next year, won’t you?

I think it came out pretty good!! Her doll looks cute. Now as to why dolly is running around in her nightgown in this cold weather is beyond me. You will have to ask my daughter that question. She will probably say that Mommy needs to sew dolly more clothes! :-p

We had done this 3 years ago and I commited that this year we would make it an annual tradition. I love Texas in the winter! Its’ beauty comes through its simplicity, its nakedness. No snow or leaves to hide behind – just bare branches stretching to the sky. The sun finds its way through and creates amazing dappled light, shadows, sunsets and sunrises. While it may be a time of sleep for much of nature, its majesty is ever present.

The first day there we went on a 4 hour hike with the kids. The weather was incredible and we all had an amazing time! I have to share some of the pics from the hike!