Have you gotten used to the time change yet? I’m thrilled that we are on spring break this week and because my little ones wake up with the sun, they are actually sleeping longer right now.
Here is a new to me company from France that has me longing for warmer days. Take a look.
Aw, that baby girl in a sea of flowers is precious. I really like the tailored trench coat. A good looking jacket makes any outfit look pulled together.
Have a lovely day,
Sofija
All pictures property of Chloe, France.
Images found via Design Mom and Il Mondo di Ingrid.
I hate saying goodbye. I feel like there is always a part of me that leaves with the ones who are departing.
After spending close to three weeks with us the Hollands left for their next destination. This past week was so full with music, dinners, shows, school, friends, and life I had no time to do a post. I had no time to process. As it is raining outside right now, my two year old’s word’s describe it well: “Tasha miss my Craig and Jana (and Banjo and Grace)!” Picture here at the table with her fists tucked under her chin looking really sad.
I will see you here next week when I am caught up with sleep.
Have you ever wanted to be transported to a different planet? A place so surreal and completely different from what you know as earth? You might want to try Tent Rocks, tucked away in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico. You will feel like you have just stepped off this planet.
What do you think? Have you been to a place like this? You can find more information how these rocks formed here.
It’s been an eventful week. Last night we had a concert at our house, with over 3o people. It was so much fun, you should try it. I will try to do a post about it next week.
Today my 9 year old had his birthday party.
Tomorrow we will be exploring Tent Rocks with our guest.
This pictures was taken by my husband’s friend at the airport somewhere out East. I love how he captured him. My husband texted me this picture from the airport. What a lovely surprise.
Have a fun filled weekend! In this part of the world it is finally sunny and warm. Feels like spring.
I’m so exited about this interview. I have heard people say “I wish I could take my kids out of school and go on the road for a year.” Well, here is and example of what that might look like. However the Hollands do so much more than just travel. Everywhere they stay they bless the people around them with their musical gifts and their gift of friendship.
1. Tell us a little about your family. Who lives with you?
We are The Hollands! A nomadic family of merrymakers. We are four, Jana- Mother, Craig-Father, Graciana-Sister, Banjo- Brother. We are folk musicians and observers of humanity, encouragers of community.
2.How did you come to live on a bus?
We came to a cross roads in life whereby our family relationships were fragmented, our gifts stifled and a longing crept up for a more holistic way of life. And so, we began to dialog and dream of a simpler way. The bus life came as a result. It was apparent that a drastic change in lifestyle was necessary and the idea of giving away all we owned and traveling seemed a reasonable option.
3.What are the challenges of living on a bus and traveling?
We bought the bus off of Craig’s List in 2010. It was the Casper WY Trooper Drum and Bugle Corp Bus. It’s a 1984 MCI model. We had to strip it clean and build it out from scratch. The most challenging aspects have been building the electrical and plumbing systems, then the fact that we aren’t dealing with straight lines have added to the construction difficulties. However, Craig is a learner and these challenges suit him. As for the rest of us, living in a half built bus for a some time has been a struggle at times. We are much more comfortable now than when we left in the bus. We have electricity and now that my kitchen is built I can offer some pretty delicious meals. We have a working toilet and cold running water but look forward to the day we have hot water and a shower.
4.What are the perks?
Mobility would be the greatest perk. It’s very comfortable to travel and be in. It’s home. Another perk would be the opportunity to share in life with neighbors across the US. You are our 32nd neighbor in the last year and a half. It is a real joy to have the opportunity to observe, learn and work out life with so many kinfolk.
5.How do you home-school while traveling? Describe a typical day.
We currently use the K-12 for our 6th grade son and E-Achive for our 10th grade daughter, both are on-line schools out of our home state of Wisconsin. Each program is slightly different and offers separate perks and challenges. Our days fluctuate depending on the community we are engaging with. Some days are more focused on the curriculum and others we are fully engaged with community around us.
5. What are challenges of home-schooling on the road?
Because of the nature of our travels, the ebb and flow of virtual school can be a challenge and sometimes feels disjointed. Although the programs in and of themselves are quite good, we are beginning to explore other options for schooling that will bring the kids learning in line with our lifestyle and offer them more opportunity to really experience “live” learning. There is such pressure from the world system to “keep up with the jones” and when this concept seeps into our learning environments it stifles real growth. It takes us hostage and invokes a deep fear of failing and instead of learning we grow up regurgitating. We are tired of watching our children regurgitate. We long to see them really learn.
6.What would you like your kids to learn from this experience?
We would like to give them an opportunity to take “ownership” their learning, to find freedom and joy in observing and fully participating in the environments we travel in. Homeschooling is a real gift and we are excited to begin to think out side of the box and explore ways to facilitate this.
7.Tell us about a favorite stop. One that you go back to in your mind most often?
This is a difficult question because everyone of our visits has been unique and precious. Even places we’ve gone back to a second time around have offered a different experience. I don’t doubt we will have a favorite at some point. I wonder when we do, if that will be the place we stop indefinitely? For now, we aren’t looking for that, just taking it one day at a time and soaking up all that that day offers.
Thank you, Jana! I like how you aim for your children to find “freedom and joy in observing and fully participating in the environments you travel in”. That is so contrary to our culture where we often raise children to revolve around themselves. I have seen your children being flexible, adapting to the environment they are in, and being willing to serve where it is needed.
Friends, Jana described her family like this:” We are folk musicians and observers of humanity, encouragers of community.” I would like to give you some examples of what that has looked like since they have been with us. In the last week and a half Craig has been teaching my 11 year old math every day. Jana has taught my daughter art and cooked some awesome meals for us. They as a family have gone to a local ministry that serves immigrants and the poor. They have encouraged the leadership there and today they will be teaching Australian Folklore to the children. While here they are doing two booked shows. On top of that they are doing two house concerts and maybe worship at our church. But most importantly they are just friends, open about their struggles and willing to join us in what we are doing.
You can keep up with their travels here. If they happen to be near you, be sure to invite them over, you will not want to miss them.
How was your weekend? Did you watch the Oscar’s? Am I the only one who didn’t know that Scarlett Johansson can sing really well???? The song she did for the documentary Chasing Ice was nominated. Beautiful!
Our friend’s, the Hollands, made a really nice Oscar worthy meal consisting of seafood pasta, cheese and wine. Couldn’t have been better…
Do you remember my post on the Belgium brand Bellerose fall collection? Here is their spring collection that is just as cute and creative. Take a look…
After all the candy colored spring collections I have seen in the stores I find Bellerose’s bold colors refreshing. I like how they layer and pair dresses with T-shirts, dressy pants with Birkenstock shoes, or a nice shirt with a hoodie.
Back in the fall I started a new series on family sports. The idea behind is to find sports that families can do together and that suits several age groups. Rather than one family member doing a sport, and everybody else sitting in on a bench watching, I like to see the whole family being active together.
When my nephew was here visiting I took him and my kids (except the baby) to an indoor rock climbing gym. A one time visit is a bit pricey (it was $11.95 per person between noon and 3pm); if we went regularly I would buy a family pass. We brought our own tennis shoes and only rented harnesses.
Here is the group I took (sans my 8 year old who was hiding behind my back as usual).
Below is my 6 year old Ella with a full body harness. I recommend this harness for her age and younger as it makes them feel safe.
The gym had a variety of of equipment. There were rings and ropes hanging from the wall. Lots of bouldering walls, which are great for little ones. I wish I hadn’t paid for my 4 year old since she was too scared to climb on a rope and happy to just boulder. They also have exercise bikes there which we didn’t try.
Below is Esther. She climbed so fast it was hard keeping up with her trying to keep the rope tight while belaying.
My nephew did a great job evading my camera. Here he really couldn’t run away…Isn’t he cute? I love his plaid shirt.
Teenagers 14 years and older can be trained to belay, which really helps when you have bunch of kids. My oldest (below on the right) and I took turns belaying. It took us about 15 min to be trained in belaying, so factor that in the first time you come.
After fussing and complaining for a couple of hours my 8 year old finally started climbing and enjoying himself. He was allowed to climb without a rope up to a certain point.
This is a great sport for the winter time. My kids always ask to go. If you have never been give it a try. There are a lot of employees there ready to help.
The gym offers youth classes and classes for home-schoolers.
Have a great weekend, I’ll see you back here next week with an interview of the Hollands.
I woke up to this scenery this morning. I can never get enough of snow in the desert. Probably because it usually lasts only half a morning. Just enough to look pretty, not long enough to disrupt your life.
We live on the edge of a canyon, and we tend to get a lot of the snow from the mountains east of us.
Below are my kids going down to the creek. Can you spot them? When it snows during the night, my kids are up and out first thing in the morning. It’s like a fire drill; I never see them get dressed that fast any other time. They know the snow won’t last.
How is it where you live? Any snow? Are you sick of it?
It’s been fun around here. Non stop visitors. The first two weeks of February my husband’s parents and our nephew were here. Last Sunday the Hollands, who we know from living in an intentional community in Chicago, arrived. Along with them came another family who stayed with us for two nights. On Sunday there were 6 adults, 12 kids, and one dog here for dinner. Crazy fun!
The Hollands will be here for two weeks. I will post more about their interesting, nomadic life later. They home-school their two children on the road, and they are part of the same virtual school K12 as our two oldest are. What is even better is that we have two kids in the same grade level doing the same math. Craig Holland seems to like Math a whole lot more than I do and has been teaching my daughter Esther alongside with his son (which she seems to make her quite happy). So I while I visit with friends I get a break from Geometry and Probability…life is good.
On top is a picture of Esther and Graciana doing water color painting.
Lately I have been drawn to Italian photo shoots. Beautiful scenery combined with old world charm. That is definitely true for this one. Dolce and Cabbana shot this summer collection in Sicily, which looks a lot like the coast of Croatia, where I spend many summers growing up. Take a look.
Beautiful, isn’t it? Makes me wish, I could go there this summer…
Teach Where You Live 