Hack and Whack

The weapon of choice.

Evidence gathered from a crime scene.

 

Close up!  ‘Waaaaah!’ cries Mom.

The perpetrator is caught and taken in for a mug shot.

Then whisked away to the cheapest hair cut place I could still find open.  I guess I got what I paid for  - a cheap cut.

Sadly, the stylist spoke very little English and even after I kindly held up my hands to Hope’s hair (three times) trying to show her how short I would prefer the hair cut (to hide the evidence of a crime).  Well let’s just say I finally gave up trying to communicate and brought the culprit Hope home.   And here’s the uneven mess the hairdresser left me with.

Are you kidding me? 

How uneven can you get?  So seeing that I had no extra money to go find someone to cut it right.  Well let’s just say Hope had to pray hard I wouldn’t mess it up even more as I tried to fix the extra mess the hair dresser made. So, here’s my attempt at a fix.

And the front, which I must mention in my defense, is much fluffier when dry.

Dang, I miss her hair.

 

Snapped this picture the same day she whacked it all off.   Well at least it will grow.  Meanwhile the scissors are under lock and key along with the permanent markers.   I think it turned out as okay as any inexperienced, untrained person could have cut it.  And I have to say it matches her sassy personality quite well.

I think she chopped it off because big sis Princess recently got a shorter do.  Princess has a nasty habit of chewing on her hair when concentrating.  That and I could just see her gnawing on it at school so she got a cropped look too.  But I’m missing both my girls hair.

The other hack and whack we attempted today was for a National Day of Service to commemorate the Anniversary of Sept. 11th.  No we didn’t whack or hack anyone.  We, along with thousand of others in our area participated in service projects all over the community.  We ended up helping out weed a garden for a local non-profit organization Camp Korey.  Sadly, I forgot the memory card to my camera.  The whole family went and weeded for 4 hours.  Let me say, the time flew by and I have to say pulling weeds is much more fun when there’s lot’s of people helping out.

The spirit of  whacking was preserved long after we went back home.  We decided to attempt to fight the jungle out back.  We mowed down weeds taller than myself and have now started laying out plastic to kill them off so we can till up the ground next spring.  I want my garden back. 

Weed hacking I can handle.  Let’s just hope the hair hacking has come to an end.

Hold On

Wow, the last few weeks have flown by and it’s all I could do to hold on for the ride.

 

Hold on and kiss summer good-bye with all the sweetness we could find.

We ended up taking our girls to the State Fair.  Boy’s weren’t too interested in going.  The boys were smart.  Other than introducing our girls to Cotton Candy and…

Finding a new Merry-Go-Round Friend…

 

Well, let’s just say it rained buckets while we were there and the cost of everything was unbelievable high.  Took the magic out of the whole experience.  The rain I can handle, the price gouging – no thank you. 

On a more fun end of summer note was an overnight camping trip and ride on the ferry.  Lea couldn’t resist feeding the gulls.

Always inspired by NieNie and her Back to School Feasts, we decided to have one of our own.

Wait, why is there a pole in the middle of the table?

 

It’s our theme for the year.

‘ Hold On.’

  Because as our whole family knows – Life can sometimes be a whirlwind of everything.  ‘Fun, Terror, Love, Frustration, Temptation, Friendship, Distraction, Family, etc.’  And while the whirlwind is swirling around you, sometimes as a breeze, and sometimes with the ferocity to rip out your soul; well, it’s important to ‘hold on’ to what’s really important.  Love, Family, Goals, Dreams, and God.

We’ve been through a lot over the past year with our whole unbloggable and still ongoing saga.   But I’ve so much more hope for the future because I’ve tried to ‘Hold On’. 

And with our theme a favorite verse from one of my favorite books, 

‘ And they said unto me:  What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?  And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.              

1 Nephi 15: 23-24.

And with the hope of a brighter tomorrow comes sweeter joy.  In our family feast it was the sweet joy of Ice cream sundaes.  They couldn’t wait for a picture.

I cut each of my children a tiny iron rod and soldered a jump ring onto the end.  Some keep it on a necklace, other’s a backpack pull.  Just a wee reminder to ‘Hold On.’

And with that I sadly sent my kids back to school.  I’ll miss them.  Wish we were in the position to Home school again.

And with that, I now torture you with the ubiquitous Back to School Pictures.

Princess couldn’t wait.  Could you tell she’s ready to bolt off to the bus.

Evo-man & T-rev totally thrilled to be hanging with friends instead of Mom.

And Lea’s off to Middle School.  No way is she that old.

Here she is, sporting all the freaking supplies that the teachers requested.  Back to school registration and classroom supplies nearly broke the bank.  Our compromise was no new school outfits.  Oh well. 

 

And they were off, except for Hope.  I still get to hang onto my baby for one more year.  She’s desperately lonely and I’m afraid Pumpkin might have to endure some more dress-up time in the very near future. 

I’ve so much to do this fall, better get started.

Down with Trolls.

Sadly the trolls are out there.  Remember my enchanted gift to the park?

I was informed by some friends that they couldn’t find it when they visited the park, so I had to go check for myself.

‘Sigh’, they were right.  Some trolls had come and carted off my fairy door just as I feared they would. 

Dumb trolls.

Of course I’m thrilled it lasted so long.  Three weeks feeding the imagination of children was something to be happy about.

So in order not to let the Trolls get the upper hand.  I’ve used the random generator to choose three lucky winners from the participants at my Magical Second Start to the Right Adventure.  I so wish I had something for all the participants because I loved visiting everyone.

Winner of my Fairy Dream door (on the left) is:

Surviving Grannies Guide to Happily Ever After

The Winner of my Cottage Kitchen Fairy Door is:

OLDE BAGGS ‘N STUFT SHIRTS

And finally my good-luck wood Ebony ‘Believe Necklace and Earring set goes to:

Witch Way

Congrats again ladies.  Please be sure and send me your addresses to I can send a little enchantment your way.

So Take That Trolls.  You can’t snuff out our imagination no matter how hard you try.

When Imagination goes Awry

We just flew home from Neverland, ahhhh what an adventure.  Many thanks to all the participants who joined me there.  Almost done with me Neverland clock… can’t wait… hopefully this weekend it will contain the names of the lucky fairy door winners.

And next year, I’ll be visiting Neverland again because I can’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first release of J.M. Barrie’s first book ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’.

My mind is swirling with all the fun we are going to have next year.  Who knows maybe my children will put on a clothesline theater production of the play. 

So, as you know I’ve been blessed with abundant imagination, as have my children.

Fortunately I have the good sense to keep a foot in both the land of imagination and reality at the same time.  My kids not so much.  Which is where it’s up to me to make sure I don’t lose them to their flights of fancy.

Four-year old Hope has enjoyed the ride to Neverland, just as I did when I was her age.  She presented me with this darling picture of Peter and Wendy that she drew.  It’s magic.

However…

Princess warned me that Hope was standing in her window waiting for Peter to come and fly her to Neverland.

Gulp!!! 

Her window is over two stories off the ground.  Fortunately she didn’t attempt to fly without Peter and Pixie Dust.  However, after I re-started my heart, I think the window may be barred, unless I’m in the room reading Bedtime stories.

Oh Heavens, that brought me back to reality fast.  I know where she get’s her wonder from.  It’s from me, this chick…

Me, as a wee one of course.  See the deer-caught-in-headlights look… I’ve perfected it during my many daydreams.  Remember how I told you my first memories of Peter Pan was listening to my Dad read me stories while sitting in a trailer home at my Grandparents farm.  Well in my memory (imagination) and for years (okay until this year)  I thought that trailer looked like this.  Maybe my thoughts latched onto it because it has the nostalgic look about it.

Can you imagine my dismay when I found this picture.

No, not the dismay of seeing a photo of wee me in curlers but notice the trailer in the background.  I didn’t recognize it at all.  The blue and white shelter was so chased out of my memory, replace by a sliver ghost that wasn’t real.  I had to immediately contact my parents to see if the silver ghost was a true memory at all.  It wasn’t.  The only trailer I lived in was the box shaped one in the picture.  The Airstream trailer, sadly was a false memory at best.  My Dad did confirm the stories under the window though.  Whew!  At least I’m not all bonkers.

Maybe the airstream is a future memory?  Hummm.  A Traveling Nursery?  

Okay enough dwelling on my imaginative memory.  I’ve got just a couple days left of summer before school starts and I’m going to work hard on helping my kids find their footing in both the land of reality and imagination.

Second Star to the Right Blog Adventure

"Second to the right, and straight on till morning."
That, Peter had told Wendy, was the way to the Neverland. ~ J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.

After Last Year’s Adventure, I just couldn’t wait for this day to arrive.  Many magical thanks to all the enchanted participants (see them all on my sidebar)  in this year’s adventure.  Please visit them to discover many different paths to Neverland, Imagination, and Staying Young at Heart.

Now we’re off.  First you have to Believe.

           Painting by Margaret W.Tarrant (1888—1959). 

‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.’  ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Sometimes it’s hard for grown-ups to believe.  Yes, sometimes they forget how to follow their dreams.

Mrs. Darling: There are many different kinds of bravery. There's the bravery of thinking of others before one's self. Now, your father has never brandished a sword nor fired a pistol, thank heavens. But he has made many sacrifices for his family, and put away many dreams.
Michael: Where did he put them?
Mrs. Darling: He put them in a drawer. And sometimes, late at night, we take them out and admire them. But it gets harder and harder to close the drawer... He does. And that is why he is brave.  ~From the 2003 Peter Pan Movie

Brave? Yes.  Some dreams need to wait.  Yet I wonder if Mr. Darling would have benefitted from bringing his family along as he followed some of those dreams.  The grown-up Wendy remembered the joy of dreaming or she never would have allowed Jane to visit Neverland with Peter.

Illustrations by F.D. Bedford for J.M.Barrie’s 1911 Edition of Peter Pan

I’ve chosen long ago to join in and enjoy frequent visits to the land of imagination with my children.  We even shared some of that joy with other’s when we installed a fairy door at a local park. 

When seeing children dream you can’t help but want to join in.  Somehow, watching them, rekindles the fire of imagination you held precious as a child.

And before you know it, your playing along, creating new dreams…

Taking the time to stop and admire the flowers in all their magical glory.

Or, gazing at the beauty of an evening sky…

And not only should you dream, but you should get up and do something about those dreams.  Like exploring new places.  When in doubt, let the Lost Boys be your guide, and explore frequently.

And Never, I say Never, pass up the opportunity to dip your toes in a cool stream on a warm day.  Remember how blissful that was when you were younger?  How refreshing?

When you’ve forgotten how to imagine, just follow the children’s example.  Play dress-up.

I’ve been dreaming of the Nursery Window.  Not the window’s in today’s nurseries (babies room), but the window’s in the Nurseries of Yester-year.  The window that Wendy began her adventure from.

Nurseries held adventures, both in reading fanciful stories and acting them out.  What would the story of Peter Pan be without it’s start in the Nursery.  What about Bedtime Stories?  Are they not the fuel of dreams at night?

Someday, I plan on having a magical nursery.  A place where not only can my children and grandchildren dream, but I can too.   I’m even working on pieces to add to my Nursery.  Want a peek?  It’s not finished but I’m enjoying the journey and couldn’t wait to share it with you.

Tis a simple clock box.  That spoke to my imagination and begged to be something different.  Something befitting an enchanted Nursery.

A box that wanted to be a dream itself.   And that’s just what it’s turning into.  My Neverland Dream.

Can you feel it’s magic.

I promise to show you how it turns out .  It’s a slow dream, but I’m loving every second of it.

There are so many adventures I’d love to share.  Some of these Neverland journey’s are not completed.  I’m still working on them.  Part of dreaming is being brave enough to try something new.  So I completed another Fawndear First.  Shockingly, I, with huge help from my editing-wise son Abner, made a little movie.  Well music-video, that is, just over a minute long.  It’s a wee little thing so take a peek and please forgive the camera lady, she didn’t do these sweet fairies justice.

 There is hope in dreams, imagination, and in the courage of those who wish to make those dreams a reality. Jonas Salk

And for all the wonderful Second Star Participants.  I will be randomly selecting a couple of you to receive some of my Fairy Doors on the 28th.

Now, Don’t forget…

‘There is nothing like a dream to create the future.’ ~Victor Hugo

Sweet Dreams and Thank you for Visiting.

Tootles,

FawnDear