Suzuki Christmas Recital December 3, 2015

Morgan had her winter violin recital on Thursday night.

Morgan and our friend Sonja - we are missing our friends Simon and Elsa Ruth this year while they are away

This year was songs from world traditions. Morgan's group played a Swedish fiddle tune called Engelska Fran Smaland. This was super cool for me since my family heritage is from Smaland! Morgan was chosen for this song to play the harmony - this was exciting because Miss Sarah picked her and the three others as they are the top of their group and were able to focus on the harmony while the rest of group 3 as well as 1 and 2 played the melody and open notes.

Her group also played Jolly Old St Nicholas. Morgan played the melody on this tune.

All groups 1 - 5 (kids ages 3 - 16) played Mozart's Alleluia Canon, Silent Night and Ode to Joy.

I created a movie with all the songs - it is close to 9 minutes long.

Butterfly Diaries - Introduction

So for the foreseeable future Morgan's blog will be dedicated to our venture and adventure in creating a butterfly garden and coming to the decision that we need to rear butterflies inside.

In the beginning I thought - "Easy - plant some milkweed, have pollinators (cone flower, thistle) and voile...Monarchs!

Our Swamp Milkweed is taller than Morgan!

 Yeah...not that easy.

I now find myself learning at an exponential rate and teaching Morgan just as fast. We have been introduced to the concept that many University-based projects like The Monarch Lab (http://monarchlab.org/) 

and Monarch Joint Venture (http://monarchjointventure.org/)

out of Minneapolis call Citizen Scientists. We are learning through research based organizations how to provide a Monarch friendly environment, how to find eggs and caterpillars and now how to rear them indoors.

Stay tuned for our updates

Raised Bed for Butterflies

Morgan got to undertake her first woodworking project! Two, reclaimed cedar wood, raised bed planters. Russel Ford Dunker was her Master teacher!

Cleaning off the boards before going through the planer

cleaning

catching the planks as they come through the planer

beginning construction

learning to use the driver

drivin' like a pro

even Momma gets in the action

showing Morgan how to drill pilot holes

getting a little support with holding the driver (heavy battery) up high

Adding the seat planks

Finished product with Russell!

Gymnastics Update

Morgan passed from G1 to G2 this spring.

In G1, her final skills were cartwheel, running cartwheel and Handstand-forward-roll. She passed her running cartwheel in May and was allowed to move up to G2 with a friend to work on her handstand. By the end of the first summer session G2 she passed her handstand-forward-roll.

G1 Bar work - she was the only kid in her class that could back-flip up onto the bars with no help.

She is also working on a handstand on the high beam. In G1 they work on a lowered beam with a wide, soft pad to help learn the positioning. Morgan can do a somersault on the lower beam with the pad. The handstand will be long time coming....

In G2 she is starting to learn how to rotate on the bar. The skill in broken down into two parts - work on the high bar (independently) and on the low bar with the instructor. On the high bar she needs to practice her kick-outs and release with straight arms and falling straight on her back into the pit 12 feet below.  On the low bar she is learning about her own centrifugal force and she spins around.

G2 beam work has increased in difficulty hugely! She is taught the skill on a low beam, but then practices independently on a competition height beam. In the video clip she is starting to learn how to do 'pike-jumps'.
She will continue to work on cartwheels and handstands - the difficulty level has increased in that she now needs to do a running cartwheel, sache (sah-shay), cartwheel across the floor, all in a straight line; she needs to perform a one-handed cartwheel and a handstand to bridge then back-walk-over and stand again. In the video clip she does her first back-walkover!

2015 Spring Violin Recital

Morgan played Allegro for this spring's recital

Last Day in Paradise

For our last day in paradise Morgan decided she wanted to be at the pool. I do love being at the ocean, but it was very cold and painful on little feet. As much as I think she enjoyed the ocean, I think Morgan felt much safer and as ease in the pool. She swam for over 4 hours and got skills like: swimming the length of the pool while turning her head to catch a breath (a start for her freestyle stroke), swimming the length on her back, summersaults and all glories - the handstand in the water!

The Family We Choose

The family we choose...

Sanibel Sea School

While doing a Google search for fun stuff to do with kids in Ft Myers - I came across the Sea School. A conservation program aimed at teaching children about the oceanic environments on Sanibel and Captive Islands. We signed Morgan up for an afternoon class on Manatees…

Morgan's group had about 20 kids ranging in age from 6 to 10 and 4 or 5 staff and interns. They started at the boat house/classroom and learned about manatees, then headed tot eh beach.

The lighthouse beach on Sanibel is very busy - I would be surprised if any Manatee are ever spotted in these afternoon classes - but they did learn a lot and had fun playing in the sand and water.

Morgan's group won the sand-manatee competition. The head of her manatee is pointing to the water and the tail is close to my shadow.

Websters in Florida

Not many pictures - but a ton of memories! We had such a great day with the Webster and Silliman clan...

Taking the boat out to an island, seeing dolphins and playing in the ocean

…to playing the afternoon away in the pool. Then sharing a fabulous meal with the whole gang!

The Mangrove Tunnel!

So when we get together with Mick and Melinda we like to take them on an adventure! An experience we can all share, remember and talk about...

We're always happy when we start!

Paddling ocean side was incredible! We stopped on a sand bar for lunch and some exploring.

As we took a break a very unusual and cool thing transpired…a Flamingo flew overhead! This was definitely the highlight of the trip! Flamingoes are accidentals on the coast - rarely seen as they live inland.

Jim and Morgan found this huge - intact, but dead, horseshoe crab

it hand't been dead long as the legs were still attached

As with all our adventures they tend to have an element of major discomfort! This one was no different with paddling through a mangrove tunnel, getting totally lost, hot, mosquito bitten, muddy, stinky…the expletive go on and on...

This was taken just as we entered the mangrove tunnel…things got stinky from there!

As we paddled through the tunnel a heron was flying in front of us.
We jokingly said that it was leading us…we got really lost!

It just kept getting narrower, shallower, and muddier and stinkier

and everywhere little tiny crabs were scuttling up the mangrove roots.
At first we thought they might be spiders - as we were told we would see very large spiders...

but they were just little crabs

thank God we didn't see any of these banana spiders!

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Florida Fun

We arrived in Florida - Ft Myers and into the arms of the Machoneses late Christmas Eve. Friday was our first full day in Paradise. Although the sun didn't shove it was a perfect day at the beach!

Getting acclimated to the sand and water - still in her wetsuit

Adoring 'Uncle' Adam and shedding the wetsuit for a more Florida look!

My rainbow beach girl!