April in Pictures

April begins with Loki day!  For most this day is all about tricks and jokes but in our house we have a very close relationship with the trickster and we still do those things in his honor but we also take time to give him offering and thanks for all those lessons he brings to the for front. We  sing Rabbit`s Song by SJ Tucker and tell the trickster stories. Zed is a Loki worshiper and he is ever present when he is around, this can sometimes make for a disruptive atmosphere but we have learned to work with it and very early on learned the lesson that the trickster brings growth and learning always, whether you see it right away or not!

King Connaher turns 18

My sweet baby boy turned eighteen. He really was not excited about his birthday this year and and told me more than once that he was not ready to be an adult. It made me sad that he thought this age brought with it crushing responsibility and the loss of his childhood. We spent many hours talking about it and trying to sooth his fears that he would wake up on his 18th birthday a changed person that had to hurry up and achieve his goals and live an adult life. I explained to him how most people do not find them selves or the niche they fit into until well into there thirties and that no one was pressuring him to figure it all out. I told him he should take a few years to just travel and have adventures and that those years do not have to happen now either to just focus on his crystals and learn and that he would know when HE was ready to strike out into the world none else. Until then he has all of our love and support just like he always will. We were invited to a community potluck that day so we brought cake and celebrated his birthday with our friends.  That night after Daddy got home from work we celebrated with cake and some shooters (I used to be a bartender and could pour a mean shooter, I still got it!!)

Sacred geometry crystal stand

 Of course he got crystals for his birthday :) it is all he wanted. Here are some of them...

Set of platonic solids in amethyst and a nice little quartz point

and then the next day it was Bugs birthday and she turned the big 10!! Double digits she was so excited lol

Cherry vanilla cake for Bug

 Her big gift was her new puppy Finnigan.

Finnigan AKA Finn

 We totally surprised her with a tablet as well, you should have seen the look on her face :D priceless!! Hubby gifted me with a tablet in the winter (I think he thought he would ease me into technology because I flat out refuse to get a cell phone lol) I love the tablet tho and the Minions thought it was just the greatest. Bug never dreamed she would get one.

New back pack from Zed and new outfit from Willowtree

 

 With the growth spurt she just took she got a lot of new clothes.She pretty much ended up with a new wardrobe. We had a family swimming night at the pool in the nearest city and Chinese take out for supper from Bugs favorite restaurant.

More new clothes from Gramma and she got some more from King Connaher as well.

 Our first week in April is always crazy busy with birthdays but as soon as they were done we settled back into our routine and started a new unit for Bug on the principles of flight. It was review for the older Minons but a subject they all love. Grampa loved to fly and was a pilot, they grew up hearing stories of the far north and flying into places no one else could get to without a plane. He did search and rescue work as well and those stories always had you on the edge of your seat. King Connaher is fascinated in flight and wants to get his pilots license. Bug made a glider and a model airplane and tested there flight capabilities. I tied this into a physics unit on Parts of an Object. We watched a very good documentary called Birdmen about the creation of the squirrel suit and man`s quest to fly without a plane. We outlined and discussed Bernoulli`s principle. 
 

Grampa`s favorite plane The Blue Angel

YAY it is finally starting to melt

Bug and Finnigan

 We usually do not take the dachshunds for walks off the property as we do not want them to leave the yard when they are off leash. Every once in a while tho we will go on a big family walk with the whole crew.

My family

We watched the creek across from our house break up. It was a good break up. I told the Minions about the river break ups where I grew up The Hay River and The Mackenzie river in the Northwest Territories have spectacular break ups. This one still had its awe inspiring moments tho and we had a great discussion on the power of nature, erosion and how water and ice sculpt the land. 

The dachshunds liked watching the ice chunks hit the bridge

 

The creek got pretty high. this is directly across from our house.

My nephew practicing his golf swing

 King Connaher loves the art of ancient weaponry and spends hours learning about it. We believe it is important to keep the ancient ways alive and love to watch the boys practice. Here they are spear throwing. The Javelin is one of his favorites.

In art Bug made a plaque with her hand print and Finnigans paw print so she will always have a memory of her first puppy.

 The adult Minions and I went into Edmonton to a protest in support of the legalization of marijuana.

 With the weather warming up we have been doing spring clean up around the yard and having bonfire nights again. Bug finished her Ju jitsu classes. Willowtree started working on her Beltane costume. The melting is a lot slower this year and it really does not feel like Spring yet here but Beltane is just around the corner.