Quilt for Nora

We were invited to a little friend's birthday party. Since Mary has been interested in sewing lately, we decided to make a doll blanket for our gift. The kids were very excited to help pick out fabric, decide on a design, and start sewing.

After finishing the quilt top, they sandwiched it.

They also worked together to help sew the binding down. Mary made the stitches, and David pulled them through.

 All done!

Easter

We enjoyed spending Easter weekend with the Kerrs.

The kids had fun eating at their own little table.

Photo: Joshua

David has been requesting to wear his tie lately so he can be like Daddy.

This beautiful little dress was Natalie's when she was the flower girl in our wedding; now both Mary and Hannah have worn it for Easter. Heather hand sewed all the little beads on the bottom so it would match the color of the bridesmaids dresses.

The kids enjoyed hunting for Easter eggs, and then hunting a few more times after we hid them again.

 They then hid Easter eggs for Solace and Amari to find when they came to join us for Easter dinner.

Hardings Visit

My longtime friend, Janelle, and her family came up to spend the night in the mountains, and we enjoyed time to catch up and go for a couple of walks, including the Gethsemane Trail Friday morning.

Camping at Bass Lake

We took our pop-up trailer out for the first time and stayed overnight at Bass Lake.

David didn't waste any time finding a tree to climb at our campsite.

We walked down to Miller's and got milkshakes, then walked out on the dock to see the boats.

Our home away from home.

Just sitting around enjoying the trailer.

We had soup for dinner with a view of the lake.

It was beautiful watching the sunset over the water.

We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.

 In the morning, we hiked the Mono Trail and got a nice view of Bass Lake before heading home.

Quiz Show

 David enjoyed his turn to pick out a crazy outfit and go to Quiz Show.

Drawing

Hannah drew a picture of a car all by herself.

 Mary drew a picture of her, David, and Hannah in front of the trailer.

Snow and Treats

We got more snow at the beginning of April. The kids decided they didn't need sleds to enjoy sliding down the hill.

 Mary and I had fun going to the luncheon tea party during the first women's retreat. It was fancy and tasty.

Bike Riders

After a little instruction from Joshua and some encouragement from Dad, the kids learned to ride their bikes without training wheels one afternoon at Mom and Dad's house. They now love to ride bikes and want to go for a ride every day.

 Playing follow the leader on bikes.

Snow and More Snow

We woke up to a white world. The kids went outside to explore right away, but it was hard to walk in all the snow, so they didn't stay out long.

Olivia and a couple of her friends were up for the day to play in the snow, and we ran into them while we were out for a walk. They took Mary and David sledding a few times.

We got a lot of snow with this storm.

The kids and I made a snow fort in the front yard with multiple rooms and pathways.

I love watching the sunrise over the snow.

Saturday morning we took the kids sledding, and Hannah got to try it for the first time. She thought it was pretty fun.

David loves to sled.

We were surprised and delighted to wake up to another six or so inches of snow Tuesday.

We tromped around in the snow for our afternoon walk.

The kids like to climb the big piles of snow left by the snow plow.