Arts and Crafts

Finn and Sean making a card:

Play Dough

Finn has delved into the world of play dough. In retrospect, I should have tried it sooner, but I was convinced he would just try to eat it. He did try, but was easily distracted by rolling and smashing it (and eventually throwing it about). He had a grand time.

Play Dough Recipe:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 tbsp veggie oil
1-1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Mix in sauce pan over low heat (not very long). Dough is ready when it rolls into a ball. Keep dough fresh in an airtight container. Use food coloring or sugarless Kool-Aid while mixing over heat to make different colors.

We Love Butternut!

Jen and Finn and I went apple picking again at Butternut Farm. We just can't stay away. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we had a wonderful time. Jen took some beautiful photos.


I was really surprised, Finn was really happy to pose in this:

The pumpkin patch was open and Finn liked the big ones:




The ladders were very fun:

"Side, Ride Bike, Mama"

Translation: Let's go outside so I can ride my bike, Mama. This consists of Finn riding his bike up any hill turning it around and pulling his feet up and letting gravity do the rest.

Weekend Walkin'

Finn is really enjoying hiking on his own these days and it is pretty impressive how far he will walk. Luckily, we have this beautiful old logging road that no one ever goes down anymore within walking distance of our house. We can trek there with Finn in the backpack and then he can run and jump and play to his heart's content in the woods.

We have had some rain over the past week, so the path was full of puddles. Finn couldn't let those go to waste:
Lily enjoys a good puddle too:
Pure joy:



Finally, we were able to keep walking and exploring:

We found more newts:

Finn is just thrilled by them and I love the way he exclaims, "NEWT!"

He takes the obstacles in stride:

And he has to throw rocks into all bodies of water:

Newt Walk

Finn spent some time with his cousin, Liam, this week and here are some lovely pictures Carrie took of a newt hunt. Armed with some walking sticks, they found several newts.

Pollinator Garden

One of my favorite spots in our yard is the little herb and flower garden we threw together this spring. It has become a pollinator haven with lots of butterflies and bees. I can't wait to expand on it next year.

The butterflies with spend a hours on these zinnia flowers:
A gentleman down the street makes these wonderful birdhouses:
Hi butterflies:

Finn's Starter Bike

You Just Can't Have Too Many

Jen, Finn and I headed to Butternut Farm for their last week of peach-picking. Really, you just can't have too many peaches fresh off the tree. Lots of eating and canning this week.

The peaches were still beautiful:

Finn really enjoyed picking again:

As did Jen:

More wagon rides:

Finn climbed right up to the top of a ladder and started eating:

He obviously got over his fear of the fuzz:


And this time, he helped me pull all of our fruit back:

A Hike Up Blue Job

Not too far from us is a lovely mountain called Blue Job. It is a nice hike and has lovely views. On a good day you can see the ocean and Mt. Washington from up top. This past Sunday, we enjoyed the walk up with our neighbors to celebrate JoAnne's birthday. It was quite hot, but there was a nice breeze up top. Finn really enjoyed running around when he was out of the backpack, but he nearly gave me several heart attacks as he tried to race down the mountain.