Twin Oaks

Our dear friend of many years, Brooke, just moved from Oakland to Twin Oaks Intentional Community in Virginia. Chris, Zeal, and I spent a night at Twin Oaks, seeing Brooke and checking out this magical place. 

Brooke is the artist who did our birth announcements.

There are about 50 cows at Twin Oaks. They are used for meat and milk.

It was coooooooold. 

Here is a community space where any of the 100 members can post notices to the community.

The photo board, where Zeal is featured (see center).

A bench in the main dining space.

Oh, and there is fresh bread made daily, it seems. And wholesome eggs. 

And fresh, raw milk just comes out of this machine anytime you want it! This earned a big thumbs-up from the Hansons.

Hand towels.

And they have their own small school called The Unicorn School, of course. You can actually see a horn coming out of Chris's head. This was unplanned. I think magic just happens where you're at the Unicorn School.

Each of the houses has its own kitchen.

And there is a pond and sauna house (on the left).

One of the main ways T.O. makes money is by selling handmade hammocks.

Every member does about 40 hours of work per week. Work can be anything from childcare to cow milking. This is a glance at Brooke's week. She works on seed saving, pillow making, boxing tofu, cleaning, and child mentoring (group care). She also had some holiday time and some sick time (just in case you thought being sick was a job you could earn hours for).

Outside the herb garden, near Brooke's house.

After an inspiring 18 hours, we decided we have to come back (with Avery) and in warmer weather. Brooke, your new life is beautiful. We are so happy for you!

From D.C., With Love

It's just too hard to make themed blog posts when you're traveling. One minute you're snuggling up to a 30 year old collection of Raggedy Annes and Andys and then next you are watching a gorilla at the zoo. So here is a peek into our wonderful whirlwind of 10 days in D.C.

Zeal's Opa put lay him inside the limits of this country club train display. We got lots of pictures and videos before the police came.

Extra dough and a bag of assorted cookie cutters. Avery picked out the man. Pec-man Pie.

A dinosaur video display. You can see Avery in the foreground and Christine, Zeal, and Opa on the screen.

Uncle Peter's "race car" with helmet. 

Jules Gray! It had been 6 months since we'd last seen her and her lovely parents. 

Most Awkward Family Photos

It's been gradual, but now 4 Braunohler and Hanson boys have striped pajamas. It's a mix-and-match sort of arrangement.

Whoa! Wind blowing....

Atlas, the Christmas shepherd

And Zeal met his great Aunt, Ingrid Braunohler Roper (his Opa's sister)

Eggs and croissants for breakfast.

This is the kind of scene Peter makes possible. My brother loves woodworking.

I don't even know how to describe this "gift."

Avery passed out presents to everyone.

This is seriously the best captured moment of the morning. Mama slouching and sleepy.

That's better. Mama holding Zeal, 4.5 months.

We're Overzealous: Excessively Enthusiastically...Outnumbered

* A shout out to Tea and Kate, who originally inspired us with this technique.

Avery, Almost 3

And in this video, you can see him breaking away, like the big boy he (almost) is:

Dressing (and undressing) the Tree

Black Friday: Ferry to SF's Ferry Building

What do you do with a drunken sailor?

One of the many reasons it's helpful to have 2 adults on all excursions