morgana's birthday party

we began the day with a tie dyeing craft.

i soaked t-shirts in soda ash overnight and then placed them in plastic bags; one for each child.

relaxing in the grass, under the trees is such a treat. over the years, the two trees we sit under have grown together more, and give us better shade.

in the background, you can see a large section of the grass is cordoned off. it was being re-seeded. the fencing served to keep away the many ball and frisbee game groups that usually congregate (we have been hit in the head by flying frisbees in past years)! we didn't miss them this year.

the scarf grows longer every year . . !

the three-legged race team . .

the children like to play a lot of relay races . .

hmmmm . . i'm not even sure what this one was. morgana organized all the games with the help of her friends and her sisters.

i just had to make sure to retrieve the potato sacks from my friend's cellar . .

they're actually coffee sacks, and my friend brought a few extra this year so all the young people were able to race at the same time.

we had a lot of salads . . and sandwiches.

my favorite is the dilly brown rice salad from cynthia lair's feeding the whole family. we also had quinoa salad and tortellini salad.

there were many beautiful handmade gifts . .

and flourless chocolate cake for dessert.

the highlight of the day was capture the flag . .

it was really a very exciting day, and all the fresh air made for a good night's sleep!