We began with computer time for both kids.

After breakfast we picked up my sister for a walk up City Creek Canyon.  We parked right under a chestnut tree so we spent some time collecting chestnuts, mainly for my sister to take to her group of after school kids to check out.  Chestnuts are so beautiful when they first come out of their prickly shells.  We saw empty shells, old crushed bits, and a few shiny chestnuts.  We took a few home too and the kids loved opening them and admiring the swirls on their shining surfaces.

We walked up and then headed down by the stream for bark floating, mushroom finding, log bridge crossing, path finding.

Up a bit we saw water skaters and a small fish in the creek.  We took a different path and found what Gavin called a teepee so we explored that and then added to it.

We headed onward and found ourselves back by the stream but on the wrong side so we built a bridge out of large sticks and small logs and a stone or two to cross.  We saw milkweed seeds coming out of their now brown pods.  We saw small butterflies and chickadees and a turkey vulture.  It smelled wonderful there and is always beautiful.  The possibilities to explore are endless which is just such a wonderful, exciting feeling.

After lunch we cleaned up the Legos all over the floor, sorting them into our three bins: regular blocks, itty bitty “special” blocks and big “special” blocks.  We decided we need to have a family conversation about how to handle Legos in a way we can all feel comfortable with so they are not spread across the entirety of the living room shared space and upsetting me and getting lost or broken but so that the kids have space to play and keep things together.

Gavin did some magazine browsing.

Then it was time for Lilah and I to collect her friend from school.  We spent a bit of time on the school playground and then came home to play with ponies, Magformers, stuffed animals and Lilah’s bobble head cats.  There was cat carrier building, shopping, hair-do admiring.

After Lilah’s friend said good-bye, we practiced some Spanish – food and plurals today.

Then Gavin and I headed to the park on our bikes to do loops around the parking lot and then cross the park to the other parking lot and do loops there. It was just after sunset and the sky was still lit but the ground was beginning to gray.  We talked about how there are several words for this time of day: twilight, dusk, evening, the gloaming.