Jack, skiing, and a bow and arrow

We got a new crate for our growing Jack. The first night, Nate wanted to get in the crate with Jack. They fell asleep so quickly. Nate sure loves having a buddy in his room. The other night I went in to say goodnight to Nate and he was having a full conversation with Jack. He was telling him that when Jack gets big, Nate will ride on his back. They will ride through the forest and Nate will slice off the coyote heads while Jack gets the other animals. Yikes. But...I really loved hearing Nate talk to Jack like a good, good friend.

We squeezed in two ski trips this spring. We were so glad Sage could come with us. Sage and Sadie were such fun ski buddies together. Ash was true to form and wanted to take the more cautious and careful route for skiing. I was so proud of her for trying so hard at something that didn't come easily to her. Once Nate decided he wanted to ski all by himself, he took off. It was fun to watch him fly down that mountain trying so hard to balance.

Dave helped the kids each make their own bow and arrow. They had so much fun making these. Ash sewed a quiver for Nate to hold his arrows.

Ashlyn as Abigail Adams

Ashlyn had a big report to write up on Abigail Adams. Along with the report, she had to give a 6 minute presentation in first person, describing things about her character, and then at the end the class had to guess who she was. All of the kids dressed up like their character. It was such a fun day at school! Ash did a great job.
The week before Ashlyn's presentations we were practicing curlers in their hair (and how many we would need to get Ashlyn's hair in ringlets!) so we did curlers for church.

Happy Birthday Ash!

Birthday kisses for the birthday girl.
Nate and Sadie spent a long time making special birthday cards for Ash. Nate wanted to explain every bit of his note and drawing to Ash.
We surprised Ash on the morning of her birthday and told her that we were taking her to get her ears pierced. She was shocked and so excited and I think it made the whole day that much more fun! She kept saying "I can't believe I'm a girl with my ears pierced!"
Ash chose a chocolate mint cake with chocolate mint frosting. She has an "A" of Andes Mints on her cake. And she wanted to light her own candles! Hard to believe we have an 11 year old girl!