~ summer solstice celebration ~

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Last weekend, our Waldorf group gathered to celebrate the Summer Solstice!

~ as usual, the kids get all the good seats ~ 

The spread of food was amazing, 

with everyone bringing delicious dishes,

from their gardens and farmers' markets.

Afterwards, everyone went outside to play in our host's amazing backyard!

I snapped this quick picture of my partner carrying her twin boys.

Brings back memories of when our twins were that small.  

~ hmmmm, i don't think he misses this too much ~ 

Our host also made 5 - 5!! - different flavors of homemade ice cream and sorbet.

I sampled the mint chocolate chip - divine!

Here's a sweet picture of her twin boys and my twin girls.

~ i love those little boys eyeing the other's cone! ~ 

Laurel and Daddy have a cuddle after ice cream. 

She was recovering from an encounter with my rotary cutter (!!!!)

which landed us in the ER for 4 stitches in the end of her finger.  

 ~ impossibly cute makenna ~

~ bursting with precious personality these days ~

~ dear friend t and lela holding clancey the kitten ~ 

For the third year, our family made the Sun pinata for the party.

This year is was tougher than ever,

perhaps from the fact that it was slightly damp,

and covered in mirrors, jingle bells and curly-cue paper

(which drooped in the thick NC air).

 ~ youngest to oldest ~

 ~ r giving it a good hard *twack* ~

 ~ liv and lela ~

 ~ t takes her turn, only days out of a cast for her broken elbow ~

 

 ~ parker ~

 ~ lela ~

 ~ 6 year old l means business ~

 ~ lefty jacob ~

 ~ s taking his turn ~

 ~ blake's daddy was manning the pinata, and didn't make it easy for him! ~

 ~ blake ~

 ~ swing and a miss as his daddy pulls the pinata up higher ~

 ~ n sends the pinata spinning ~

Having gone through all the children,

and the pinata was still intact,

we decided to let all the mommas have a swing.

 ~ tanya ~

 ~ our host ~

 ~ c sends it spinning! ~

Time to move on to the daddies!

Our daddy, former park ranger police officer, had the right technique,

and soon the pinata burst open!

~ lefty daddy subdues the pinata ~

The children all rushed in like a flood,

as chocolates, gems, lollipops, sparklers and taffy rained down!

As a testament to the overwhelming amount of goodies in the pinata,

and the practical nature of our children,

there were several large handfuls left on the blanket.

~ l camp prepared with a basket for her stash ~ 

Afterwards, all the adults were glowing with the laughter.

I'm so glad that we had a turn at the pinata,

it was a lot of fun and it was good for the children to see us enjoying it.

I also suspect that the boys especially were impressed 

by all the strong daddies.  

A short walk through the woods took us to a little pond.

Once again, our hosts supplied rods, reels and bait,

and the children all had turns fishing.

 ~ lela - she is her mother's daughter ~

Their were many species of frogs calling from the alders around the pond,

and fireflies began to rise up out of the grass.

In the darkness, we tromped up the hillside trail again,

where a small fire greeted us.

It was good to gather again.

~ carrie ~

~ waldorf co-op ~

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The Autumn woods were so lovely on Friday for our weekly co-op!

We have been tweaking our rhythm and circle in the past few weeks,

to meet the needs of children who have whirled around the Sun another year,

as well as the needs of mommas whose infants have become toddlers!

Leading off with Rinka Ranka, then Circle Round,

we settle onto the blankets for our communal snack of muffins.

Each week someone brings mini-muffins for the group.

If there is a birthday, we sing and give small gifts now.

When muffins are finished, it's time for yoga.

We finish with some a few "ohms" then light our centerpiece candles.

This week was our third and final week of The Musicians of Bremen.

One of our mommas told the story, complete with needle felted figures,

created by another co-op family last year.

It was a truly magical telling - the children AND adults were captivated!

After the story, we sing sing SING

finishing with "The Little Light of Mine"

and the candle is extinguished and it is time for lunch.

We often have a basin of warm water for handwashing,

and the children all say a blessing before they eat.

After lunch, the children have a little bit of free time

while the mommas clean up from lunch and set up craft.

Please enjoy these pictures from our craft this week.

It is difficult to get pictures during yoga and circle and singing.

One momma went OVER THE TOP dehydrating apples

to make these amazing apple wreaths.

Lela had fun working AND snacking on her wreath!

One of the five babies/toddlers of our group.

I cannot believe that last year all five of them were tiny little nurslings in slings!

When their craft was finished, the children all romped into the woods for free play.

I went with them to a nearby spot where a large grapevine

had become a rope swing across a little stream.

Even the littlest of the children were able to swing across!

It was so exhilarating for them and me!

~carrie~

~ waldorf co-op ~

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The weather on Friday was perfect for our Waldorf co-op.

We're just getting back into this new rhythm,

after enjoying a busy summer.

We celebrated the birthday 

of a sweet and special little girl.

The kids always enjoy yoga before Circle.

We practiced being volcanoes,

rubbing out hands together to create heat before erupting!

All my girls loved this - Liv's face is priceless!  

After our story (Musicians of Bremen) 

and some songs (I am playing the guitar this year)

we had lunch and the afternoon to explore.

We took some of the kids up into the forest 

to build some forts and had a lot of fun playing there.

This is such a beautiful time of the year,

and amazing to see how much the children have grown since last year.

~carrie~