Jan turned 8 on the 5th of March. She has grown so much this year, I feel really proud of her and enjoy her company and help very much. She works hard at everything she does and many things that do not come naturally to her she learns to do just by sheer determination. This year she has begun to read for pleasure, because she is interested herself. She is rarely without a book. She has even tried walking places while reading which I would not recommend. I appreciate her hard work around the house, her kindness to her brother and sisters and her spirit of adventure! We had a wonderful day on her birthday. I think she did too. David was home and took her out to breakfast. This next picture is of Pati, all dressed up to go with them out to breakfast. It was hard to get across to her the concept that she wasn't invited.
Grandma and Grandpa Copper were here for her birthday which was so exciting we didn't even need any other company to make it a party! Jan wanted to take them out to the Nature Realm here and feed the birds by hand.
Kind of a funny looking party (the cape and pink gloves should be explained I think: We had been watching the Zorro movies made in the 50's. They are black and white and you can't tell what color the gloves really are in the movie. Alec is not worried about the color of the gloves, he is just glad that he is getting to be Zorro for once. Being the second born he usually has to be the corporal, Tonto or Little John, it is rare that he get to play the actual hero.)
This next picture is so funny to me. Anne is trying to help Grandpa know exactly where to put the tail. Putting things in their right place is really important to her and this game drove her crazy. She couldn't even bring herself to play it. She wanted to, but every time she put on the blindfold and knew that she couldn't put the tail in precisely the right spot she would burst into tears.
We loved having Grandpa and Grandma Copper, and we always hate to see them go.
They stayed with the kids for three days while David and I went out to Oregon for an interview. We had a wonderful time being away and they seemed to have a great time without us.
Since my parents got here the snow started melting and it has been above freezing every day! I don't have the courage to put away the snow clothes yet but it is nice to know that if it snows it can't last too long.
The kids and I got to spend the day at a nearby living history farm last week and watch different demonstrations about how pioneers and Indians made maple syrup and sugar. It was fun to see and much better than reading a book about it. We went out on a rainy (cold) night watching for migrating frogs and salamanders. Every morning when the kids get up they like to spend time before breakfast sitting quietly by the window to watch the birdfeeder. There are many different kinds and they are learning to identify them. When Grandpa Copper was here they had out the binoculars and were sneaking around from window to window watching a Cooper's Hawk hunting in our backyard. That kind of school is terrific.
