The jumpy thing

The girls have recently taken to moving all the couch cushions to the floor and jumping onto them from the chair. They call it "the jumpy thing," and they make it and jump on it at least once a day.

It's taken some time for Mead to build up her confidence, but now she flies through the air with delight. Laine already loved jumping, so they've had a blast playing together. And Cole often crawls around the cushions, trying to join in the fun but not get clobbered in the process!

Snuggly sisters

Here they are again, getting through the scary part of a movie together (this is not posed!)

And then they looked at me for a sweet shot.

Hot dog roast

We recently got some large skewers to use for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, whether outside over the fire pit or inside with the fireplace.

So we inaugurated them as a family and enjoyed hot dogs and smores for dinner. Not the most nutritious meal ever, but it was yummy and fun!

Christmas chapel

Laine's Junior Kindergarten class participated in the Christmas chapel at school this week. They held up letters for a Christmas poem and led the congregation in "Go Tell It On the Mountain." In previous chapels Laine has been less than excited to participate, but this year she did great. I was very excited for her to be confident, albeit nervous, in her role during the chapel.

Here she is waiting for the poem to begin. In the foreground is a sixth grader whom Laine adores - they have become good buddies, and Laine loves hanging out with her older friend.

Laine is holding the letter Z. Note how high she has it up, right on cue. She did a great job!

Later in the chapel Laine's classmate, who is only 4 years old, played two beautiful songs on his violin for the whole congregation. He's one amazing little kid - who can also read really well and do multiplication!

Play time

One of Cole's favorite activities lately is playing with the plastic containers and the pots and pans. He empties out these cabinets at least once a day. It's easy to clean up, though, and I love the company in the kitchen, so I don't mind so much. Play on, Cole!

Reading with Nan

My mom came to visit a couple weeks ago to help out while Penny was traveling for a few days. It was a good visit, and the kids loved having her around.

They kept her busy reading tons of books, which is one of their favorite things to do. Even Cole sat at her feet and listened to the stories.

Homework

Laine took it upon herself the other day to do some "homework." She wrote out the whole alphabet and then wrote her numbers, 1-10, at the bottom.

It's really fun to see her starting to write and work on her penmanship. She'll be reading before we know it!