I have had the best day so far. This morning started with pancakes and pleasant children. Then after Noah caught the bus, we did some summer journaling (I'm so excited for the kids to have a fun keepsake at the end of the summer all about summer) while Lucy and Andy made crayons with their crayon maker. And here I thought that it was broken and I had thrown it out. Turns out it works and I had kept it! Woo! Andy said it was next to the paper making kit so that sounds like another fun thing. Anyway, we invented new crayon colors, purply purp, lava, alligator scale, and a few others that I can't remember. The crayon maker kit is so magical to them. They LOVE it!

After we dropped Andy off at school Lucy and I went to Greenwood Park to hunt for pond critters or plants that we could grow at home. We did come home with a few tiny little water bug type creatures and a snail which is the cutest little thing ever. So that will be fun for a while.

Probably the neatest thing we have done recently besides helping at the Greek food fair at church (which was crazy and fun) was to go to our friends', the McGoverns, last night to enjoy a night at the prairie. We do that once a year. It ended with organic red wine, tasty beers, and people sitting around the fire playing around with a banjo, fiddle, tin whistles, guitar, jug drum and singing (and laughing). The kids did sparklers and played Star Wars practically all night. Noah and Scott were able to take a little off road adventure to see the old oak savannah with 200+ oak trees. It was a wonderful night and I'm so glad because we were looking forward to it all winter long! Molly (a botanist turned massage therapist) and Joe(expert prairie restorationist) live here and keep this land trust alive and healthy, often removing by hand (and with plenty of intern help:) invasive species of plants:

Snyder Heritage Farm

They have done an absolutely amazing job of restoring wetlands, prairie and oak savannah from near total destruction in some parts.

Lovely, lovely night.