Kindergarten Has Come!

Nothing says "GREAT DAY" like a big, huge smile. Which is exactly what we saw on Maggie's face when we picked her up!

If any of you are interested in learning more about expeditionary learning you can take a peek HERE.

Check out the Palouse Prairie page HERE.

Co-op Kids at Phillip's Farm

I couldn't imagine a better good-bye (at least for the school year) to co-op kids for Magnolia then a morning exploring and hiking at Phillip's Farm. 

I am frequently reminded how lucky my children are to be growing, learning and playing in such a wonderful community alongside such amazing friends!

Goodbye Summer

We've had an amazing summer, but it is quickly coming to an end. It's undeniable with the first days of school quickly approaching.

I'll be finishing up my last semester of graduate school and Maggie will be starting Kindergarten. There are big changes coming for the Crists!

These last few days I've been really focused on just being with them. 

So often now though they shoo me away from their independent play, or their play together. 

So I sat back, watched, snapped a few photos and simply enjoyed being with my children today.

Thought I'd share that joy with all of you...

Magnolia, busy building a home for her fairy.

River busy fixing a flat on my bicycle.
"I fix your back tire mommy!"

"This my favorite tool!"

The most amazing yoga, hula hooping, paper dancing girl EVER!

Dawn

Apparently we aren't ever going to lack the presence of imaginary friends around our house...
After reading up, a bit extensively, on imaginary friends after we "met" Enzy, and later Leah via Maggie's imagination, I felt I had a fairly clear understanding of their purpose. Specifically, I had learned that imaginary friends are common for girls starting around the age of three, and can develop during times of transition (i.e. a baby brother being born). Enzy and Leah seemed to make sense.
Dawn on the other hand....is RIVER's imaginary friend from out of the blue (or pink which I'll elaborate on in just a bit).

We first heard about Dawn when she started calling River on his phone. River quickly made up silly games in which he would bring me the phone and tell me it was Dawn, I would tell Dawn I was busy, then she would call right back. He loved this game.
Later River explained to us that Dawn is a girl. Dawn is two. She lives in a pink house, on Moscow Street. Her house is dark inside. River lives with her...so does Daddy. Dawn climbs trees in the forest, and sometimes she hides inside loveys. Dawn is silly. She frequently makes River laugh, and River loves telling us all about her.

A few days after we "met" Dawn, Maggie looked at me and stated with excitement, "He has an imaginary friend just like I had Enzy!" So FYI...If Dawn is going to stick around as Enzy and Leah did, I assume all of you will be hearing about her too. So, let me introduce you all to yet another imaginary pal in the Crist clan...Dawn!

From the imagination of this guy....

Family

Summer Feasting

Summer is that time of year when eating fresh, whole foods is easy and oh so fun! Especially when growing some of those foods yourself!

This year with a full school load I decided that instead of fighting the soil and shade in the garden beds we'd do some container gardening on our patio where we have plenty of sun. Not to mention, it's where we eat  and where we play.

Using our own compost, we planted our summer staples in pots around our patio, and we are just starting to enjoy the fruits of our very simple labors.

Maggie's Special Recipe:
Basil/Spinach Pesto Pizza
I kid you not....this girl has a knack for making pesto, with minimal help, and only a  few suggestions from mama!
And this pizza...well let's just say it will probably be a regular on pizza reggae nights!