get on the bus

this bus! this rusty, blown out hippie bus. what happened to it? who abandoned it? why? how old is it? we found it in the middle of nowhere -- or more precisely, next to a trail north of nederland, colorado. i googled it inside out and came up with nothing other than a few pictures and the same questions i had.

i think this bus deserves to have its tale told. want to play? leave your theory or wild concoction of a story here. this sunday evening (july 3) mr. artsyville and i will pick our favorite to win a little package of artsyville love (your choice of 5 mini doodle bookmarks). as my artsygirl says when it comes to story writing, "it can be long, short, fun, serious, tragic... anything you wish." have fun! ♥

up in the clouds

we went away to the land where the phone reads No Service, and it was awesome. last week we hiked through miles of sun, rain, thunder, snow, little rocks, big rocks, tundra, cascades, horse shit, and dirt; saw caribou, elk, and marmots; ignored the clock; made pit stops in little towns and at roadside stands for cherry pie; even had coffee one morning with my favorite map maven jill berry. i missed my kids, but knew they were in good hands, so i let go and enjoyed it all. my head needed a total reboot and this did it. nature always does.

metamorphosis

doing a doodle & guest-host-post today for new mama leah at creative everyday! come over & say hi! ♥

milestone

she's five. she made it. we've all made it. it's a milestone for her, and for us as a family. gone forever in this household are the days of diapers, chubby legs, first words, babbling turning into sentences, bleary all-nighters that left us with hangovers and no fabulous story to show for it, the simplistic curiosity of preschoolers, the first drawings of hearts and people. many things i enjoyed, many things i didn't, many i should have enjoyed more. a phase for all of us comes to a close.

and now my beautiful girl joins the ranks of the big kids. she reads. she writes. she asks questions i can't answer. she still throws temper tantrums, just more complicated ones. she helps her 8 year old sister with her math. she'll be a kindergartener in two months. and she'll take off on her adventures with her beautiful new journal, made by our next door neighbor (a KU art student) and left ever so sweetly and surreptitiously on our doorstep this morning.

the girl is also going to get a load of shots tomorrow at her 5 year old checkup. please don't tell her.

surprise balls

surprise balls! how did i make it through childhood without ever making or opening one? injustice! well, i know about them now. my kids each bought one at a craft fair last year and they were absolutely enthralled by them. i remember that we, the parents, weren't quite as enthralled as the unwrapping went on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on, as the piles of crepe paper surged and the doodads emerged, but in the end their giddiness trumped our annoyance. when i saw amanda's darling post and tutorial on surprise balls at kind over matter, i decided to make them as favors for my daughter's birthday party this weekend and risk the outrage of the partygoers' parents. inside went the normal random crap of goodie bags: ring pops, mini bubbles, googly eyes, stickers, carnival tickets, etc. i also had a few bags of crinkly colored paper strips (the stuff that's like mulch for presents) which i planned to layer in with the doodads, but in the end i didn't have the heart to do it. as it is, there probably won't be many parents speaking to me after this weekend anyway ;)

taking the law into my own hands

just penned a few friendly words to the numbnut(s) who "visited" us last night -- i figured a sign would be more effective than filing a police report ;)

to market we have gone

it was a smothering, steamy morning in middle america (i think i heard the air hiss on several occasions) but that did not stop me from the weekly walk to the farmers market. we used the parental divide and conquer technique this time, so i had only the eight year old mix and match girl with me while the four year old birdie girl stayed home with daddy. and let me say that it made the world of difference in the experience. i had the time and presence of mind to observe. i could actually see what people were selling. it was quiet, we took our time, walked, talked, and took pictures. (eight year old took about half of these, including the fresh lavender and the big ass red bass.) no raised voices, no fretting, no begging, no fighting, no explosive sister drama. and next week i've promised to take the four year old while the other one stays home. adventures with the entire fam are of course important and we have plenty of them, but we don't always have to move as a unit. i think it's equally healthy to spend time alone with each kid instead of always trying to cater to two radically different demographic groups on the same tour.

can it

here are the latest victims of my need to paint whatever is in front of me. cans. i don't think they even qualify as art. but they add color to my life, and to me that's worth the effort no matter what they're called. the idea came from these prettily painted coffee can planters nailed to my neighbor's tree. my personal opportunity arrived during an absolute panic over a preschool potluck picnic (you know how i am about cooking) and didn't know what to make that wouldn't poison the crowd. i settled on my default dish which requires no cooking, merely tossing (chickpeas + olive oil + cumin + garlic salt + lemon juice) which left me with four empty chickpea cans. i de-labeled, liquitexed and stuffed them with flowers and we'll see how long they live -- both the cans and the flowers. i'm aching to paint the walls now but the porch (as you can see) really should be next. it is desperate.