Aerial Silks, Year 2

No one has has loved Emma's journey in aerial silks more than the girl herself!  In her first year in silks, we got a front row seat to see how she could use silk and her own strength to hold her body mid air.  It was so cool, and if you missed it, make sure to click that link up above!  This year, we have been excited to see some new poses emerge as she has learned to showcase different positionings of her body on the silk. 

In this first set, she worked on both the Frog Split and the Dinner Roll, doing multiple split sets as she twisted and turned her body.

Her next skill, the Eiffel Tower (named for the look of the silks across her body in the end), required her to do some serious climbing and foot locks (wrapping the silk on her feet to suspend her), all while maneuvering the silk across her body with her arms.  So cool.

The next skill she worked on required lots of building and climbing as well.  Since this skill ends up dropping her - twice - it's important that she get each step just right as she builds so that she is safe in the fall.

Once on top, she performed the Double Fallen Angel, where she lets her body fall forward and the correct wrapping of the silk keeps her safely suspended.  She is able to fall over herself twice with careful placement of her hands and legs.

For her final skill, she climbed back up and got into the cross back straddle so she could do a partner skill by holder her partner mid aid upside down in the splits.

This young lady has been working hard and it has paid off!!  In addition to weekly hour long classes, she puts in practice at home to get down the timing with the music so that she and her partner can be in sync (she had a partner off camera that was doing the same skills).  We are wicked proud of all she has learned to do this year!!  Feel free to leave your thoughts to her in the comments and I'll make sure she checks them out!

Until next time,

Emerging Butterflies

As you can imagine, finding six very hungry caterpillars growing on our milkweed this year was a pretty exciting discovery!  At the same time, it also meant having a wide range of butterfly phases happening all at once.  While some of our caterpillars were still munching and scrunching, others were hiding away and getting themselves ready to emerge as monarch butterflies.

Over the years, we've had plenty of opportunities to watch the different stages of monarchs grow, but being able to see them every minute of every day gives you a unique new chance to catch details you might have previously missed.  Our first couple of butterflies even came out without much fanfare or notice, as they emerged either overnight or while we were gone.  However, we knew to be watching because the coloring of the chyrsalis changes from a light green to a transparent film, which lets you see the monoarch butterfly tightly bound inside.  One thing we haven't seen is the monarch fresh out of its chrysalis.  It's obvious that a full-size monarch is clearly IN the chrysalis of course, but it's also obvious that it can't be that size when it first emerges.

It was exciting to have that close-up view on this one and better understand how that full-size butterfly was hiding in that tiny little chrysalis.  I knew that they needed some time to let their wings fill (with a liquid called hemolymph) and dry, so it was cool to watch that happen in real time.

Like I said, with six monarchs, their stages of development were sort of all over.  It was neat to watch them all hang out (literally) through each one.  It was also interesting to see how each of them seemed to be more eager to take flight than the next.

I tried to wait for Emma to release them.  After all, isn't that part of the fun of making sure they have a chance to grow to adulthood?  (Oof.  That's a parenting hit.)  The second one below on our bush had to be transferred there via a stick and remained for several hours before being scared away by the front door opening, but it did eventually take flight.

But our final one to take flight gave us a beautiful view of that transparent chrysalis, with a monarch butterfly hiding inside ...

but a short window on a final release.  Nonetheless, it was a magical journey that I hope we get to have more of each summer.  And we're already trying to find a second place for more milkweed.  🎕🦋💓

Until next time,

Very Hungry Caterpillars

To say that finding monarch caterpillars on our milkweed this year was exciting would be an understatement!  Ever since our neighbor started posting about them 5 years ago, getting to see them in their various growing stages has been a fun side step on our occasional walks.  We even had a year where our neighbor let us have a few eggs, and we got to attempt watching them grow close up.  Sadly, that didn't turn out as we had hoped, with only one making it, and being deformed at that.  Nonetheless, we know that the monarch butterfly population is low, so planting milkweed felt like the next right step.  And when we discovered a total of ELEVEN caterpillars on our milkweed this year, we were ready to watch them grow!!

While it's challenging to really see the size difference in photos, if you look at them in comparison to the leaves, you can see how some are much smaller. In real life, it was clear that they were all at different growth stages, and in particular, two caterpillars seemed to be very small.  We were concerned that without some additional help, they might not make it.  So, we decided to grab our butterfly habitat and bring them in with some fresh milkweed.  Nani was so sad to not be included in all the hubbub, but as you can imagine, she wasn't exactly picking up on the idea of watching caterpillars eat and grow.  They are VERY tiny, so you'll have to look closely in that middle picture on the stem to find one!!

When I reached out to our local butterfly expert, she advised me that people are now suggesting you leave the caterpillars in their natural habitat.  That lined up to me, since we had not had a great first experience with growing them, so we left the other 9 out on our milkweed and checked in on them in the mornings.  It was actually really neat to see them growing and chomping away at that plant!!  We counted each day and had several days where we happily counted all 9.  Until we didn't.

In a few nights, we went from 9 to 8 to 4 (6 total).  Although I had done some good reading to find out the reasons why raising monarchs in the wild was best for the monarch population, it also mentioned that as long as you are raising fewer than 10 a year (which we clearly were), then it wasn't as big a concern.  So, we moved them all off the milkweed plant and into a protected habitat.  Getting to see them up close really was quite the educational experience!!  As they began to get ready for their chrysalis, they started climbing more so they could find a place to hang upside down.  They also began to have a light green film develop on their body, which you can see both on the head of the hanging one and the belly of the one climbing on the bottom.

With so many caterpillars growing at once, it was neat to watch each of them develop at their own rate and in their own time.  We got to see the largest one go into its chrysalis first, and then see our smallest friends continue to fill themselves, poop constantly (see all the little black spots), and shed their skins to grow and grow.  It was also interesting to see new details about how they develop, like the barely noticeable silk that they use to hang themselves with.

Similarly, as they move into their chrysalis, they also shed their final caterpillar skin.  You can see the remnants of one below.  You can also see the layers of their chrysalis as they are building it, before it hardens.  And if you look VERY closely, you can get an early peek at the monarch wings that are forming inside.

We were excited to see this stage of their development happen, and it felt like it went so quickly.  We were constantly checking on them and making sure they had plenty of milkweed so they would grow.  And then, we suddenly had 6 chrysalises, and the constant activity came to a screeching halt, where the waiting game for butterflies began.  I'm excited to share the next part of the journey with you!

 Until next time, 

Aerial Silks in Action

 After a bit of a tumultuous start to sixth grade at our new hybrid school, our family decided to do full-time homeschool for the rest of the year.  As a part of this, we signed Emma up for a few extra classes: one engineering, one art, and one acro/silks.  Of all the extra classes Emma took, her acro plus silks class was her favorite by far.  She loved going for an hour and a half every week and being able to stretch, flip, twist, and drop!  As a parent and family who continues to be cautious about getting Covid, what I loved was that the owner was supportive of us continuing to mask indoors, amazingly encouraging to the kids as they built their skill set, and that their end-of-year performance was outdoors!

If ever there was a moment when a previous photographer's work influenced me, this was one of those moments (thanks, Jenn Bowers)!  As Emma was getting ready for her performance, my Momma heart kicked in strong, and I wanted to hold onto to this first moment of my girl stepping into performance mode.  I grabbed my camera to take a few quick shots, and then it was off to the Fluid Motion Dance Academy studio, where her performance would be!

Watching her work on her skills has been a real treat.  Jason installed a silk on our garage to allow her to practice as much of her routine as possible at home, but watching her perform on a high rig was so cool.  And writing this blog has helped me learn the official names of all the fancy things she does!  She started out with the Seatbelt Series, doing the Rebecca Split and followed by a Split Roll.

At home, getting down this next skill was a labor of love!!  She worked and worked at moving from the Cross-back Straddle, named for the silks being crossed behind her back while in a straddle, so that she could transition into the Belay.  She then moved into the Monkey Drop (the seated position), where she dropped backwards. 

Her final skill was another Cross-back Straddle in combination with a partner skill where she held another performer in the air.  

Of course, a bow and then a follow-up outdoor acro performance for the girls to be able to highlight the second part of the skills they worked on in their two-part class.  It has been a real treat watching the girls perform and work so hard to learn how to do everything they did this term.  We are all so excited for Emma to continue her silks journey!!

Until next time,

The Start of Year Twelve

Ah, twelve.  The end of the age of innocence.  And the beginning of growing up and taking on more responsibilities.  Or at least it was for our household this year.  Over the last few years, for persuasive writing assignments, Emma has learned to do an excellent job of researching and persuading us to take a second look at things.  Case in point: Emma has wanted a hedgehog for over a year.  In an attempt to get us to take a second look, she gathered her pluses and what she anticipated to be our minuses (before we stated them) to bring to us the idea of getting one for Christmas.  While we were definitely willing to listen, we told her that she needed to prove to us that she was responsible enough to handle the extra work.  And although she didn't make that happen by Christmas, we could tell she was well on her way.  So, for her birthday, we told her that we would help foot the bills and she could get one.  To say she was excited is a massive understatement.   Since hedgehogs are nocturnal, we met Blossom the hedgehog later in the evening on the weekend before her birthday.  Emma had already spent some serious time getting the right set up and then spent the rest of that weekend starting to bond with Blossom.

A few days later, a couple of Emma's previous classmates meet us at an outdoor ice skating rink in St. Louis.  It was a perfect space for the girls to skate - and with less than 20 people there the entire time!  As a bonus, the weather had been warm for days, and it was a mild 50 degrees, making it a lovely afternoon to be outside.  Of course, by the time the sun set, the chill had returned and reminded us that it was still February in the midwest.

Emma's birthday morning meant getting the new hedgehog out and trying to make her more comfortable. What we knew—but weren't really prepared for—was how persnickety hedgehogs really are.  Emma continues to work on getting her out of her defensive mode, but it's certainly a long process.

And of course, birthday day means opening birthday gifts.  Since the big gift was the hedgehog, everything else was pretty low-key, but Emma enjoyed it nonetheless.

In fourth grade, part of learning about chemistry was about the chemistry of food.  The unit aligned with Emma's birthday, and she baked her first cake FOR her birthday.  She really enjoyed it for two years but wasn't planning on doing it again this year.  However, at the last minute, she decided to do it anyway.  She does such a great job of basically doing everything on her own, and it's awesome to see how her creativity comes into play, from the flavor decisions she makes (vanilla cake with strawberry icing and coconut) to her decoration choices.

With a yummy cake all baked up, it was time to celebrate our girl one final time by eating it!!  We enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening as a small group and sang her into her next trip around the sun.

I won't lie; it's a bit surreal to think that 12 years ago, this growing young lady was just joining the world.  But what a beautiful path she is creating.

Until next time,

Great Smoky Mountains, Pt. 2

With that up-close bear sighting checked off our list on the first leg of our Smoky Mountains trip, we were off to see more scenic views of the mountains.  But first, we had to make a stop at the iconic Great Smoky Mountains National Park sign.  Somewhere in my archives, I have a picture of the 4 of us in front of this sign, only Emma was still in someone's arms. What a difference a few years can make!  OK, a decade - but who's counting?

As we began our ascent, it was neat to watch the sun peak out from behind the clouds.  Many years ago, on our trip to Hawaii, our family started using an app called the Gypsy Guide.  It's like having your own personal travel guide with you in your car!  It tells you fun history, as well as pull-off stops to make (and skip) so you can have the best experience in your travels.  The mountain formation above (something about a ladder) was a fun one to check out.  We also enjoyed checking out the Rockefeller Memorial and finding out the history of the Rockefeller's part in making the Smoky Mountains become a National Park.

Traveling to the Smoky Mountains was a different experience for me when I was younger.  As a kid, we mostly stuck to Pigeon Forge and went shopping and did lots of fun things kids enjoy.  And while we certainly made sure Emma got to drive go-karts, mine for jewels, and even try a private family escape room, that wasn't our only stop.  After spending extra time in the mountains, I see the Smoky Mountains through a different lens (pun intended).  I definitely now understand how those clouds are constantly lingering over the mountains like smoke, giving the mountains their namesake.

With my asthma and T1D, walks and hikes are definitely a slow and steady journey, just like at home.  We traveled our way up to Clingman's Dome and I'm so grateful for a crew that goes my speed and is patient with me, even though they would be up and back before I can make it to the top.  I did enjoy this adventure, being able to touch the clouds once we made it to the spiral.

 And Emma was definitely down for scaling the rocks at the bottom while I rested!

Our journey to the bottom gave a few more opportunities to pull off and enjoy the sights.  The top one was our view during our picnic lunch out of the Jeep.  Of course, it looks a little more glorious here without the drop off and parking curb to remind you that you're still on a mountainside, but it was glorious nonetheless.

Before we said goodbye to the Smokies, we took one last stop alongside the water's edge and I made sure to hop out and grab a final shot of one of the tunnels carved into the side of the mountain - which is always a sight to be hold.  I hope you enjoyed seeing our travels as much as we did taking them!!!

Until next time,

Great Smoky Mountains, Pt 1

In the summer of 2024, our family decided last-minute to head towards Hilton Head, SC, for our last hurrah of the summer.  But wait - you say - didn't that title just say The Great Smoky Mountains?  Yep, just stick with me.

Like many of our family vacations, there weren't any solid plans set for the trip until a few days prior.  Unfortunately, the biggest part of that trip - the weather - was the one thing we didn't bother to learn much about, and the thing that mattered the most.  So, after a very full day of driving, what was clearly a serious storm met us on our last leg into town.  It was only then that we realized Hurricane Debbie was being forecasted to hit the exact area where we were staying.  We watched the local news casts, which seemed uncertain of the outcome, and decided the next morning that we would head to the beach and reevaluate after lunch.  When we returned & showered after the beach, our rental had a terrible water leak from the bathroom to the lower level, and the weather updates became clearer that staying would certainly put us at risk of being flooded where we were staying.  So we let our rental company know of the leak and our leaving, and in less than an hour, we packed everything back into bags, packed up the car, and headed west - destination unknown.

As we drove, we decided that since Emma was very young the last time we went to the Smoky Mountains, we would journey there.  What a trip!!  After two straight days of driving (the first to South Carolina and the next day to Tennessee), we were exhausted!  We took our first day just to relax a little and explore different parts of the area before we decided to try the Sky View for the late afternoon and evening.

Even though my childhood vacations were spent in the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg, and my family had visited the Smoky Mountains the summer after Emma was born, we had never been on the SkyView over Gatlinburg.  Attractions like this are perfect for us; we can be outdoors and not be surrounded by tons of people, while simultaneously enjoying a beautiful view of the area!   My photographer's heart was so full!

While there, we spent some sweet time wandering and exploring different spaces.  Jason and Emma headed across the walking bridge with a large glass section in the middle, while I got my fill by going just halfway and back.  We also got to enjoy some amazing views of the Smoky Mountains - fully understanding the smokiness that surrounded all those mountains - as well as walking through the paths and climbing the big person tree house!

We polished the evening off with some good old-fashioned ice cream, with plans to drive the actual mountains the next couple of days.

One of my favorite things about being in the woods is seeing the way the sun's rays stream through the leaves - it's so beautiful and reminds me of how amazing all of God's creation is.  It was neat getting to make stops at places like this little historic church and cemetery, too.  It gave us some perspective into the people who once lived on and owned the land that is now a protected National Park.

As we drove on the road, the traffic came to a stop, and people were clearly getting out to take pictures.  Jason suggested I hop out, not knowing what I was getting myself into.  I then found myself on the receiving end of a stern talking to from a park ranger.  I was guided back to a safe space to observe with a group of people watching a large black bear!  I was grateful to have grabbed my long lens on my camera and have the chance to actually take pictures of the bear (and her hidden cub) that were very high in a tree.

If you've never witnessed a wild black bear in action, I'll just share that while it is much larger and faster than I imagined, the one that I saw was also pretty low-key.  With nearly 50 onlookers about 50 yards away, the bear had zero interest in any of us and meandered its way through the grass and up the next tree to forage on leaves and berries.  That space it is wandering in in these photos was the hillside I had just previously tried to hop out of our car and walk up.  😨   I understood the urgency in that ranger's voice.

It was a bit shocking to me to see how fast and high the bears could climb.   In total, during this trip, we saw eight different bears, this being one of the largest and highest up (and the only one I had my camera at the ready and felt safe enough to take pictures of).  We saw two different mamas with babies - this set and one smaller one - as well as 2 individual bears in the alleys of Gatlinburg.  It was a bit surreal to experience them each time, but it was clear that the locals know how to both respect them and protect themselves from harm.

It was a bit surreal to have this experience on the first part of our trip, but it was clear that it would likely become the highlight, at least for some of us - Emma wasn't a fan.  We still had more mountain views to take in, so Part Two will give you the chance to share those with us!

Until next time,

Watching an Artist Grow

You know when you watch someone work at something and you can just SEE how they are wired differently for it?  There's something about their focus, intensity, and demeanor that makes you stand in awe of them and know they have something special.  In the last year, I have seen this in our girl more and more as she gains confidence in her art skills.  However, this artist doesn't often love an audience, so when she recently decided to try some chalk art on the driveway, she quietly snuck out of the house and the rest of the house was completely oblivious to her work.

Later, when I went outside to see what she was up to, I was blown away - and promptly grabbed my camera.  I have loved watching her grow in this space and begin to come into her own.  One of my favorite things about this time was the messiness that came with creating.  Her hair was tasseled all around her and her hands were covered in chalk.  It was really beautiful to watch her create something in a sort of effortless way.

Remember that intensity and focus I mentioned earlier?  It's something I always admire about people as they create.  I love to watch as their hands are driven by their determined stares.  It's as if they are creating with their eyes.  Watching my girl as she stared down her creation was no different and made me smile to see her go.

I watched her as she studied her subject, meticulously drawing lines, chalking in each area, and then rubbing the chalk to achieve just the right shade and texture.  She would then softly blow away the dust to reveal her progress and continue on.

When her first one was done (is anyone surprised by a panda), she took a break for the night and we covered it with a tarp for predicted overnight rain.  In the morning, she touched up the spots and asked about my favorite Disney characters.  Within a few hours, she had completed two more and was ready for her next round.  It was a bit surreal to see her progress.

Her final character was Squirt - her friend, Olivia's favorite character.  With great care and love, she carefully crafted Squirt.  He was beautiful and had details I had never noticed about him before.

I watched her giddiness as he came together and as she gently worked at each detail.  Her inner yogi would bubble to the surface as she attempted to stay above the drawings so as to not disturb them.  And just as before, she carefully chalked, rubbed, and blew away the dust as she progressed through her work.

The final collection was definitely a sight to be held - particularly for her first real attempt at chalk art!!  And even as I began editing on this set, our girl just kept going, providing one more time I couldn't say no.

I mean, chalk art at sunset  ... who CAN say no to that?!?!

Until next time,

Turning Eleven

For her 11th birthday, our girl decided that she was finally ready for a full-room overhaul!  So that we weren't cramming everything into just a few days, we opted to do some of the prepping ahead of her birthday.  In the weeks leading up to her birthday, with the perfect shade of teal chosen, this team got to work.  Of course, with a change in paint came the need to get some new painting skills from Dad.  While I looked on and photographed, I couldn't help but notice those letters of her name that had stayed since the very beginning - and wonder if they would remain this time.

After long days at work, this duo spent two nights putting in all the details to finish the job.  Of course, they still made time for fun in the mix.  It was neat to see them make light of the work together and have our girl repeatedly claim when it was done, "Guess what?!? My room is TEAL!"

The next planning step was the cake.  Several months ago, one of our favorite Emma adorers sent me a message with a panda cake and said, "Show Emma!!  I thought of her immediately!" (a common occurrence in our lives at this point).  As soon as Emma saw it, she was sold.  For those that might have missed it, last year's science experiment in chemistry was to bake a cake - the week of Emma's birthday!  So she and Dad baked her very first cake and it went over so well, I think we'll have homemade Emma cakes for as long as she'll let us.

The inspiration from Pinterest wasn't exactly to our girl's vision because she thinks pandas playing in snow are the absolute cutest thing.  So, snow decor requires things like white icing, coconut shreds, and some bamboo cookies to cap off the details.

One super fun detail was finishing up a conversation online with a friend while the decorating took place!

The next day was party day.  We started the day with some extra exciting party accessories to make the birthday girl's time amazing.  Since our family has continued to be cautious with COVID, we have built an incredible network of friends online.  With one of Emma's closest friends having moved to Wisconsin last year, she wanted to have her party online.  She did an absolutely amazing job planning it all out, including a slideshow of games!  We sent out care packages for the guests to have because what's a birthday without goodies?  With a few added touches, her room was party-ready and things kicked off.

After party games of hot panda, pin the bamboo on the panda, and some sweet drawing fun done by our favorite 11-year-old artist, it was time for cake and presents.  If ever you decide to celebrate with family from across the globe, know that mug cakes make the perfect celebration treat and my girl will happily share her tips with anyone who wants them.  Cake and presents (pandas galore!) were certainly amazing, but the true joy came from celebrating our girl. 

 As a side note, I wasn't a big supporter of this disco light idea, but this thing was a huge highlight and let the party keep going well after the planned activities were finished.

After a short break, we celebrated with our small crew at home, even doing a Facetime call for a special present, and finally getting to dig into that sweet cake our girl baked.  It was a pretty pandatastic day!

With so much happening before her actual birthday, it's difficult to believe that there was anything left, but what's a birthday without celebrating ON your birthday?  We opened a couple of presents first thing in the morning, then took a half day from school to have lunch at the park (on an unseasonably beautiful February day).

She got to add new details for the bedroom, like paper lanterns and panda canvases, and POLISH things off with nail art tools and an entire set of colors to start adding fun to our fingernail adventures.

A new year has brought us beautiful changes, even if they were difficult at first.  Celebrating our girl turning eleven was an unexpectedly amazing surprise, just like our girl was eleven years ago.

Until next time,

Washington DC, Days 4 & 5

We've reached the end of our 5-day visit to Washington DC.  With so much of the city under our belts from our first, second, and third days of exploring (click on the words for links to see each of the days), it made sense that our last two days fit into just one blog post.  We started day four at the Natural Museum of American History, checking out artifacts from our country's past, including US presidential items like Lincoln's hat and footage from JFK's assassination.

We moved on to pop-cultural US history, checking out friends and items from various different heroes in our lives.

We wandered through more of history and then decided to venture back to The National Mall and head towards The White House.  While we had visited it on our very first day, we realized we needed to be on the other side in order to get the best view.  It really is beautiful to see in person and be able to take in as a piece of our country's history.  We closed out day 4 here, rode scooters back to a small park area in the city, and had dinner in the park (a pretty regular part of life for us).

On our last day, it ended up being a bit more dreary and misty than the rest of our visit.  We spent a short time at the Botanical Gardens, then headed to the National Air and Space Museum for a bit.  I'm always a sucker for the history of photography and cameras, so I enjoyed reading about the Wright brothers' interest in photography and how the history of the very first flight was captured. 

During our exploration, we had the chance to see so many planes, both larger-than-life displays and models you could hold in your hands.  Emma also got to try her hand at a flight simulator; it was fun to watch her enjoy trying something new.

We continued on to see flight in outer space through a model of our solar system.  We also saw various other pieces of space artifacts that showed us up close and personal how our history and future were both impacted by the brave people willing to explore new adventures.

Since it was our final afternoon in DC, my husband asked if I had anything I wanted to try and photograph again before we left.  While I was able to get the Three Servicemen Memorial by the Vietnam Wall on our first pass, I somehow missed the Vietnam Women's Memorial.  It seemed so fitting to be photographing a statue that was dedicated to the women who cared for the heartbreak of the war in the rain.

As a final farewell, we decided to see if the Reflecting Pool might have been officially filled for the spring.  However, what we discovered was a still empty pool with just enough rain gathered in it to get a small reflection of the Washington Memorial through it.  Side note: if you ever see my husband, ask him to see the shot HE took of Emma and me getting this photo.  It's fantastic and I rather love it.

I hope you enjoyed coming along on our journey to visit our nation's capital!  We enjoyed getting a closer look at the memorials built to pay tribute to what our country has gone through to become the nation it is today.  May we always remember how beautiful our freedom is when partnered with responsibility, but that the cost of freedom is never free.

Until next time,