One Little Fish

Last weekend we pulled out our princess fishing rod and headed to the church's fishing derby.  Sapphire fished her heart out, but caught nothing.  She did learn to cast like a champ though! Ruby caught a little blue gill, and we were grateful for the help of a volunteering grandpa who managed its release for us.  Ruby was less interested in the catch than Sapphire, but she did enjoy the snack table.

This has been "Mulch Weekend" here.  Since the two little girls received work gloves for Christmas, they are eager to use them and ride the tractor wagon.  They seem more interested in finding worms than actually mulching, though.



Last Sunday Daniel participated in a dedication of the new church plant our church is supporting in York city.  We also had a chance to celebrate the baptism of the girls' little cousin and enjoy the amazing music at her church.  Then, this week we heard the pleasant news that the girls have a new tiny second cousin.  

When there's a rainbow, Daniel likes to capture it.

Duck Watching

The ducklings have moved to their teenager pad in the duck house. They are growing their real feathers and drinking water like crazy. The little girls especially find them entertaining. Today we completed construction on their outdoor run. 











Our homeschooling events reached a head this week with the Envirathon Competition and Field Day.  Pearl has been studying her Aquatics, Forestry, and Wildlife subjects with her team since January.  They took quizzes on their subjects, having to answer as a team. Her specialty is Forestry, and she did great. Her team, the Marvelous Maples, came in second overall in a competition of 67 teams, one point behind the leader.  We're pleased at this confirmation of all their memorization and learning this spring.

Here's a proud little reader. Sapphire has been diligent with her reading now that we have struck upon the rewards plan. After earning a trip to the Hands on House, she wanted to work toward a double scoop ice cream cone from Perrydell. I guess double scoops seem like a fantasy to a five year old!  She earned her scoops, and now we are working toward the next goal.  She's got a great attitude.

Pearl is proud of her Field Day ribbons

Pinewood Passion

This is Awana Grand Prix season, and that means that our family spends time discussing what each little girl wants to create, and their daddy researches plans, and, finally, they turn our house into pinewood derby workshop.


I'm including these pictures so that you cans see that the girls actually did collaborate with the construction.  Sapphire requested a chocolate theme, and Ruby wanted something from "Frozen" (big surprise). 


Tonight was the Grand Prix, and the girls were excited to compete and cheer on their friends.  My daughters' cars were probably the slowest ones there; they stood no chance at speed. The kids in our Awana program are all better engineers than anyone in this humanities household. Sapphire and Ruby were pretty excited to show their daddy the design trophies their cars won.






Daniel was on a trip for a church conference in Denver this last week. He so enjoyed the chance to see the scenic hugeness of Colorado. He spend a day out in the mountains, shod in borrowed snowshoes thanks to some gracious friends in Denver.  He said snowshoeing was neither as hard nor as cold as he imagined it would be. 

Our eight ducklings are starting to grow some very un-cute pin feathers. We've also acquired a cat for the summer while her owner visits family in China.  Our house menagerie is at its peak, I think.