L asked me (in all earnestness) to marry him! So sweet!
I said yes, what else could I do?

The bridge where the canal meets the White River.
Originally uploaded by annamaren.

Part of the ceremony of destroying the mandala is taking the sand to a body of water and putting the sand in the water. In this way all the prayers of the mandala are released to the world.
Here it was the White River, and we know the White River needs all the help it can get.

Completed Sand Mandala
Originally uploaded by annamaren.

This was the completed sand mandala we went to see today. Every photo I took has this line through it, as it was roped off from the crowd who were at the closing ceremony.

Circle fun...
Originally uploaded by emaho.

Jamie caught some of the fun the kiddos were having today!

As I post this, the rain is starting. Rain is forecast over the next 24 hours. Glad we got some outdoor time today!

Sand Mandala
Originally uploaded by annamaren.

This was the best photo I managed to get- and I think K took it!

When we dropped back in after our walk, they had finished a whole extra circle around the cicumference of the mandala!

Fountain fun!
Originally uploaded by annamaren.

We took a walk after watching the mandala-making. Yes, you bet there were wet children after this. Despite the mama's telling everyone to slow down, take it easy and not splash!

(Lucky the sun was warm and dried everyone right away!)

Homeschoolers are transfixed....
Originally uploaded by annamaren.

Here we are gazing at the wonder of the Sand Mandala being made by two monks. It is a mandala of compassion. The Monks are using special funnel tools called Chakpur, which create a tiny flow of sand when vibrated with each other.

K with Sand Mandala
Originally uploaded by annamaren.

Today we went with friends to see a Sand Mandala being made by some monks of the Drepung Gomang Monastery. (Tibetan Monastery in India)

It was fascintating!

At the very end of our visit, K took several photos and the one of the monks asked her if she would like her photo taken by him, and she said yes, gave him the camera and posed for this photo!

More photos of the afternoon over on flickr. We had a gorgeous day. The Sand Mandala was wonderful and beautiful, and then we took a walk through campus to the fountain where the kiddos splashed and played. Then they went over to the lawns and entertained themselves and all those around them by playing some rounds of Duck Duck Goose and then some Leap Frog. I got a couple of sweet and funny photos, but I didn't get one of J and L playing Leap Frog, possibly because I was laughing too hard!



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Trapping Removal: The Solution
Originally uploaded by annamaren.

Life long learning in action..... Rob thought it would be fun to learn more about swarm removals. He's read up about it, bought some gear and put his name out there in a few places as someone who will come and remove swarms of bees.

He had a phone call recently, a guy in a suburb a little north of us has bees living in the walls of his house! There are two ways to get rid of bees living in the walls of your house- one is to tear apart things until you get to the hive, then cut out the hive. The other is a trapping removal, which is what Rob is doing here.

If you click on the flickr photo you can read all about it in Rob's own words. I am finding it fascinating, and can't wait to go along when he goes to visit later this week.

All in all, if this trapping removal is successful it will be ready in time for our friend Emily who is starting bee keeping this summer! What wonderful timing!

K doing some laundry
Originally uploaded by annamaren.

What a full and busy weekend!
WellSpring held a yard sale on Saturday at Jenny's front yard and my front yard combined. It was a great day of fun and sales and we raised about exactly what we needed for our WellSpring Spring Camp! (try saying WellSpring Spring Camp fast five times! Blah!) Many WellSpring families had done some spring cleaning to donate things to the sale, so we had a wide variety of things to sell!

I have no photos of the fun at the yard sale, because Rob took our camera. He and K went to a beekeping workshop at a farm an hour north of town. They had fun together, and while she was gone, I snagged a washboard from Jenny's side of the sale! K loves it! She has announced she is going to start washing her own clothes as well as her dolls clothes!