It's coming. The real winter weather. So today we took advantage of our last spring-like day before the big freeze.
Nothing like pizza, pistachios and yogurt out on the porch. (complete with baby stroller and dog rumpus)

Long after Mary and I had come in from lunch, Emma was busy at work with one of her birthday gifts.

I love this next picture. I wasn't sure if she was really catching birds with her binoculars. But when I saw her get these Canada Geese in her sights(the little dots in the top right corner), I knew she was....

Then she carefully recorded everything she saw in her notebook, including Canda Geese, a Turkey Vulture, leaves, electric fence, pine trees, and a cat.

Emma and Dan just started reading "Little House in the Big Woods" before bed each night. Of course Emma seems especially fascinated by all the hunting and detailed deer and pig-butchering scenes. She's glued to the stories in those parts. Today, I overheard her calling Mary, "baby Carrie". So I have a little Ma Ingalls project planned for the two of us tomorrow. My grandmother, is my "Ma Ingalls" go-to--I'm borrowing some of her "tools" for tomorrow's project. I'll be sure to show some pictures.

I just overhead this conversation between Mary and Emma, sitting in front of the dollhouse. Actually, it wasn't much of a coversation, more of a lecture from Emma's doll, who wants to play at the dollhouse alone, to Mary's doll:

"Are you listening to me? Look at yourself. We don't look like each other. You're made of wood. I'm made of rubber. So you can't possibly live in this doll house."

I'm going to refrain from adding any type of interpretation to this pretend play.