Six Balloons for Ashlin

Ashlin turned six years old on the 6th of March. Naturally, she wanted to celebrate her birthday with a party and some of her friends. Since her birthday was on a Sunday she got to have her birthday on Friday night.

When we ordered her cake from Jana, Ashlin knew right away that she wanted balloons on her cake. Ashlin loved that the cake had six balloons on it.

Ashlin got to invite 5 friends to her party. I was a little unsure about the party because our girls basketball team had made it to state and the tournament fell at the same time as the party. But, the party went on anyway.

There are only 5 girls in Ashlin's classroom and three of them got to come to the party. They ate pizza, opened presents, ate cake, and played for three hours. Morgan got to stay a little longer and play. Their were many giggles from them all night.

What a great group of little girls!

Take care,

Michelle

One Book, One School

One Book, One School is a program where every family at school receives the same book and every family reads this book at home together. Our school on February 14th started reading The Trumpet of the Swan. Every family at school was given a copy of this book and a reading schedule to follow. Each night we had to read one chapter or sometimes two chapters. Usually, you spent about 15 minutes per night reading. This program was designed to encourage reading, but also to encourage family time. We completed the book last Wednesday.

Each morning at school, the principal would ask a trivia question about the chapter that was read the night before at home. Each student would receive a ticket to write down the answer on and at the end of the day a winner would be drawn from the correct answers. The reading of the book encouraged classroom discussions, lunchroom discussions, and family discussions about the book and what was going to happen next. The students at school were all buzzing about the book.

At our home, I would read the chapter at the supper table while everyone was eating. They would listen while I read and then we would discuss the chapter. The book was enjoyed by our family. Ashlin even got her picture in the newspaper for an article about the whole school reading this book. I have decided that for Lent we will start reading another book because I thought it was a good family activity. Next year, the school is hoping to read two books - one in the fall and one in the winter. This was a great program!

Take care,
Michelle

Practice Project

Cara's next 4-H project is going to be a simple crocheted scarf, but first I had to make one to test out the pattern and see how it was going to work. The project would be fine, but Cara didn't choose to use the yarn the pattern specified. Therefore, I needed to adjust the hook size and gauge according to the weight of the yarn, so, a little trial and error was needed.

These are the colors that I started with: chocolate brown, pink, and a variegated yarn. Cara loved how soft this yarn was when she touched it. The yarn is a baby yarn, therefore, very soft.

Cara wearing the finished project. I thought I was making this scarf as a test project for myself, but Cara has worn it to school every day that the weather has been cold. She has been practicing the two stitches needed to complete the project with some of my leftover yarn. She is almost ready to start her own scarf.

This project was very easy. It only has two stitches - chain stitch and single crochet. I started the project on a Saturday afternoon and had it finished before bedtime. The scarf is about 70 inches in length and about 4 inches wide. Even if we didn't use the specified yarn, I am pleased with the end result.

Take care,

Michelle

Annual Snowman

A few years ago, Keith and Erica started building snowmen in the backyard. They build one each winter and then take a picture with the two of them standing by it. They call it their annual snowman. Here is this year's snowman.

Daddy, Ashlin and Justin posing with the snowman. The weather was really nice and the snow was starting to melt.

Daddy, Erica and Justin posing with the snowman. A few days later, Justin went in the backyard and brought in Daddy's scarf that had been on the snowman. He didn't like that the scarf was full of snow and was wet.

Take care,

Michelle