Earth Day!

We finally had an Earth Day clean-up where the weather cooperated! We cleaned around a park and school in our neighborhood, and Jia made a bird house. The community center served treats while a guy played an accordion. It was quite charming.

Maple Syruping

We made maple syrup! We collected sap for weeks from our maple tree in the back yard. The season was a week longer than normal this year due to our weird weather. At least something good came out of it!

  Our fridge was nearly full of sap by the time we were ready to make syrup. After nearly seven hours of boiling, we were treated to the most delicious, tangy, nutty syrup! We are floored by how amazingly good it is. We will definitely do this each year!

 

Love

I love this note Willa made because
just because I do.

Easter

We had a fantastic Easter with our family. The weather was gorgeous and we had our egg hunt outside! Then we played at the park. It was a terrific day.

Victorian Easter Egg Roll

We had so much fun at a Victorian Easter Egg Roll at the Landing! We wove baskets, decorated eggs, made thaumatropes, and played old-fashioned games like graces, hoops, bunny hop relay and egg and spoon race. Thankfully, the weather cooperated and it was a beautiful morning!

Fun to learn how to make these baskets!

The competition was fierce!  

  
There were plenty of spills.

We were proud of Willa who worked so hard at hoops and finally mastered it!

Jia spent a LONG time practicing walking on stilts until she got it! We were proud of her perseverance!

 We love playing Graces and other old-fashioned games.

Coloring eggs naturally.

 
Willa's thaumatrope was a rider on a horse and Jia's was a bird in a cage.

Willa's Family Day

Today marks six years with Willa! We've celebrated by toasting with bubble tea (which also originated in Taichung, Taiwan), giving her a present that we bought for her there, and eating cake that she made! She decorated it with a saber-toothed tiger, because she felt like it. Willa is a sweet, charming, spirited little girl and we are so thankful to have her in our lives!

Outings

We went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for family day. We learned all about Matisse!

 

Willa took a shoe tying class at Nordstrom and like new math, there is a new way to tie a bow! You now make two loops and tie them together. Jia learned the traditional method at her shoe tying class there a few years ago. 

Willa was very proud of her new skills, and her new shoes!