the trumpet of the swan by e. b. white

We recently finished, The Trumpet of the Swan Audio, by E. B. White. I was able to get it from the library, but it was only available on tape. This link is for the disk set.

I really got a kick out of E. B. White's accent, as well as the sound of the trumpet, in the audio version. The story is great also, with themes like courage, honor and love. Louis is a swan who is born without a voice, and Sam is a young boy who becomes a part of his life. To overcome this challenge, Louis, his father, and Sam have some funny, and some serious experiences. E. B. White blends fantasy and reality as Louis the swan learns to read and write, therefore able to communicate with humans like talking. It's altogether enjoyable to hear, especially told by the author himself. Time spent in the car is so much fun! :-)

boulder fairy parade

We almost forgot about the fairy parade today in Boulder! We were planting in the garden, when Zoe reminded us! Abi and Tori came with us at the last minute, and it was a great time -totally disorganized, great weather, beautiful tulips, very Boulder. ;-)

What do I mean by very Boulder? Well, for starters it was a fairy parade. Complete with grown women, dressed up as fairies, with whom the kids posed for pictures, while they dispensed advise on organic gardening. No one seemed sure where the parade began, though some knew where it ended, and everyone chatted with one another about the confusion. 

Along the way there were street performers. Today's performers were two pairs of pre-teens. The first pair played string instruments beautifully. They had a sign which said they were raising money for music lessons. The next pair had a giant wooden xylophone, about 7 feet long, and each played one end. Their sign said they were raising money to go to South America. 

The tulips were in full bloom, the sun was shining, altogether lovely. When the crowd meandered around between some buildings we followed everyone into a chic hotel, through a very cool looking, open lobby. There was a huge crowd in the conference room on the left, trying to read Peter Pan to the dozens of fairy children sitting in an enormous circle. Outside nothing was going on, but everyone appeared happy and talkative, just taking pictures and enjoying the view of the Flatirons. 

Very Boulder :-)

cuteness

These are for you, Lisa! Thank you so much!

Lounging in their sleeping bags :-)

a rare treat

While Andy and Ashley were out a few days ago, when we were expecting 20 inches of snow, it began to rain. It has probably rained less than 5 times in the year and a half that we've lived here, so this was a rare treat! Zoe ran up and got her raincoat, which luckily still fit okay. She's long outgrown her rain boots, which I never bothered to replace, obviously. :-)

She had such a good time that I think it may have made up for that fact that we got barely a few moments of snow flakes, during the two days straight of rain that followed. After she walked around for a while she used paint brushes to draw in the mud, talking to herself the whole time. It was so cute. 

Easter Bunny by Zoe

biking to the creek

We took about an 8 mile bike today, with Andy's sister, Tegan. It was a beautiful day, and we had a fabulous time. The spot we like to hang out is so enchanting. The water is low enough to sit on the large rocks in the middle of the creek. We had a snack, I did some sewing (a purse for Ashley - Zoe is sewing herself an identical one), and the girls collected sticks and leaves. Then we headed further down to the big ponds.