It’s been on our list for awhile, but Wilder + I finally took the backpacking trip we’ve threatened for two years. We reserved a space at Sourdough Springs, a pack-in site inside of White Ranch Park, + planned it for weeks. It was almost a 2-mile hike in with a lot of altitude gain, + then there was snow everywhere when we arrived! Thankfully the fire kept us warm for a bit or we would’ve gone to bed at 7pm. Morning dawned warm + sunny, so we dawdled a long time, climbing + exploring, before braving the trip back. Success!
Another thing we’ve had on the family bucket list is bird banding, which we finally checked off this week. We got one of the last spots at Audobon + showed up at 7:30am with grandma in tow. The lecture portion covered how + why they band birds. The kids each got to release a bird + then we stayed a bit, making the trek around to check the bird nets. We wanted to see a bird + watch how they got them out, but none were trapped. We’ve all been watching birds for years, + it was cool to see how they’re tracked. It renewed our interest in caring for the backyard birds we see daily.
This week, both kids focused on digital art.
A few weeks ago, Wilder asked for Photoshop + we got that downloaded onto his laptop. He spent a few hours going over the basics with me, then set off on his own. His ultimate goal is to create a new logo for his YouTube channel, but he’s figured out how fun Photoshop is in the meantime + hasn’t even started that yet. I’ve received several graphics this week alone, + included one below.
Rosetta created a photo of a fireworks finale that she tried to copy from last year’s July 4 pictures. When I showed her what types of photos I use behind the graphics in the magazines I design, she sat down with me to go through all of her art choices. We found one with bubbles that I added to an upcoming magazine design + she’ll be getting a royalty payment when I get paid later. With that as incentive, she kept working + eventually sent me the clouds, below, for future magazine use.
Rosetta’s digital art of fireworks / Still snow on the ground when we arrived at Sourdough Springs in White Ranch, so here’s our fire / More backpacking + climbing (3) / Art by Rosetta / Audobon Bird Banding adventure (3) + checking the park’s nets for more birds / Cafe13 brunch treat / Wildlings window art experiement with flowers (2) / Spring brunch party (3) / Showing me her digital art filters / Making frozen smoothie treats for the dog / A trip to the Clear Creek jumping rocks / GW Foods trip / Wildlings at McKay Lake Park (2) / TikTok salmon bowls for the win / May 4 celebration with Star Wars dinner trivia / Wilder’s fishing club met again at BCLP, where everyone caught something eventually (2) / The boba is back! / New seasonal art wall is finally done / Rosetta’s new digital art / Wilder’s expanding photoshop skills
Unschool Stories 