One Massive Weekend - A Time for Family

I'd been thinking recently about our family. Not just our happy foursome but our extended clan. After all, we are cousins, Aunt, Uncle, sister, son, brother in law, and daughter. Our nieces and nephew are very important to us and often we find the weeks slip by without spending quality time with them so to prevent this from snowballing into we never did anything with our nieces and nephew I've scheduled Friday afternoons as being 'our time'. My boys and I walk to school, wait for the cousins to finish school for the day and we walk the long walk (about half an hour) home together. Together we might stop for hot chips or an icecream or check out the second hand bookstore - I'm helping Princess Calamity grow her book collection - for any interesting finds. We slowly walk home chatting and catching up and poking around, collecting odds and ends and observing our world (as well as learning how to get to my house on foot). It's a bit of a ways so when we get home the kiddos need a rest to wind down from their day at school and from their long walk. Once they're ready though, it's on.

We Bake.

Marble Muffins this week!

Make miniature gardens in eggshells from cotton wall and cress seeds. Hopefully Princess Cupcake will leave cutting her own hair and stick to giving the egg a trim when the cress grows :D.

Build obstacle courses.

We go all out on our equipment here! Salvaged pallets are used to build climbing frames, secured with rope to prevent them from collapsing and an old water barrel to balance roll upon. These kids inner core muscles are going to be so strong if they keep that up!

Creating an art project too is another thing we try to cram in. This was so simple but they all enjoyed it. Pick two paint colours and put some generous dollops inside a ziplock bag with a little glitter and then send the children outside to see how well they can manipulate the paint through the plastic to make a 'new' colour.

But the number one reason for my making Friday afternoons an important extended family time is so that each week we are creating positive memories and through this ritual we establish strong ties and connections with each other. I want them all the children to know that they are worthy of our time and effort. We're growing our relationships purposely with them so hopefully, in time, if they ever need us - for anything! - they already know they are loved and cared for and we are there for them, no matter what it is.

This week Mr E's Mumma had a special visitor.... Mr E's Dad :) Aww shucks. They miss each other being apart as they are during the week and GD drove up to spend the weekend. It had been his birthday during the week so we needed to make a yummy Mud cake to celebrate!

Early Saturday morning my men and I packed up for Senjo (grading) on the Sunshine Coast for Zen Do Kai.

Congrats goes to Kookaburra who has ascended the ranks from yellow belt to orange and to my martial arts hero Mr E on being graded successfully as a new green belt. As for myself, I am now a yellow belt. Hoorah, means I now know my punches and a few other basics but still not enough to beat Mr E when we're playing around.

And Sunday. Beautiful, sunshiny, happy Sunday.

We went bushwalking with our in in-house insect and plant expert who gently caught this lizard within about two minutes of pulling up at the reserve.

So many magnificent colours and interesting things to see.



Lots of different types of termite mounds today.



and iron ore to collect from the road base on the tracks.

Spending my time in the native bushland with my family would be hands down one of my favourite ways to spend a day.

What about you? Did you have a crazy weekend too?!

'Backyard Insects'

We very nearly bumped into our Nature Study today.

Mid-morning we came through our front gate after piano lesson and groceries (oh, the joy of doing the yukkeries) when haphazardly fluttering past were these two very large butterflies. They danced gracefully, a little uncoordinated though, across our little suburban garden negotiating their way to the 'right' leaf to mate.

Since I re-started my blog last September I've tried hard, but haven't always succeeded, to keep my camera with me. Somewhere handy so I can grab and click. This was one occasion where I was so thankful to have the opportunity to slip the camera out of my handbag and fire away.

My boys were pleased to observe our little visitors and as they fluttered past hither and thither we followed them around noting their colours, how they flew, what they were doing and where they may flutter off to next. Too soon the butterflies parted ways to which Kookaburra announced that they must have mated.

Really?! I replied in a little disbelief.

Between you, me and the front gate - it was much too brief :D

So we took our photos inside. Downloaded them and dug out our 'Backyard Insects' book.

Turns out these little beauties are in fact a wee bit of a pest for our citrus growing friends out there. Its name is the Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly or Citrus Butterfly. One can deduce from the name the little fellas favourite snack.

In the Charlotte Mason world of homeschooling, I should have encouraged my boys to draw the butterflies but seeing as drawing madly has been their main occupation this week, I let them print, cut, paste and narrate to their hearts content into their Science Notebooks.

I don't mind Kookaburra dictating. Through giving him the chance to 'tell' me all he knows about the butterfly, we're developing his knowledge and I'm happy for him to develop his writing skills in his Language Arts program (for the moment).

Kangaroo's contribution was a little smaller but he's pleased with getting to know the inhabitants of our backyard a little better.

For fun we googled a few videos of the Orchard Butterfly too.

Firstly,

the Giant Swallowtail Butterfly hatching

Defense Behaviour of the Giant Swallow Tail Butterfly




Giant Swallowtail Butterfly becoming a chrysalis

My boys especially loved the little alien hatching and the chrysalis boogie dancer. It really appealed to their super silly side and had them cracking up with laughter.

Creepy Catches

Cyrtophora moluccensis

or sometimes commonly referred to as the tent spider, (not that we knew that :P so maybe it's not at all that commonly known) is a frequently found creepy catch hanging out in our garden. The common name refers to it's tent like web which is large and 'three dimensional'.

Kookaburra is still catching insects and spiders but at least now he is more likely to catch, draw and release than catch and keep it until it dies a slow painful death.

Visits to national parks stating quite clearly

'Take nothing but photos
and
leave nothing but foot prints'

has left enough of an impression to change his Arthropodological habits.

Thanks to Find A Spider Guide for the great and helpful information and for the crystal clear photo of this beautifully marked , female tent spider.

Who's been hanging out in your garden recently?

Odonata: dragonflies and damselflies

According to the Australian Museum, this is a Dragonfly. A quick identifier is the fact the Dragonfly holds its wings out at rest whereas a Damselfly will hold theirs alongside their body at rest. Both belong to the order of Odonata.

For more beautiful Wordless Wednesday Posts visit

Faith Hope & a whole lotta Love :D!