Happy Birthday Emily!

Our sweet Emily turned 5 today.  She is the best!  We are so grateful to have her happy, cheerful spirit in our family.

Coon Dog Cemetery

James' Aunt Kim and Cousin Maya came to see the sights of the south.  We went to the Coon Dog Cemetery one day while they were here.  I thought it was defenitely blog worthy so here are a few pictures from the day.  The Cemetery was started in 1937 when a man wanted to honor his dog when he died.  Not just anyone can bury their dog here.  You must witness that your dog is a coon dog, have another person witness that your dog is a coon dog and have some one from the boardof the Coon Dog Cemetery see your dog and witness that it is a coon dog.  It is pretty serious business.  The cemetery is in the midle of no where (unlike the reinacted one in Sweet Home Alabama).  It is actually pretty neat and it was fun to see all the names of the dogs, the unique headstones and way that people really cared about these dogs.  So...if you are ever here for a visit, I know the way to the Coon Dog Cemetery if you would like to go...

The Quail Have Arrived!

Sarah's quail hatched this weekend.  Here are some pictures of how they looked right after they hatched and then a couple of days later.  They are SUPER cute!  Sarah is very excited!

SNOW DAY!

If you ever wondered if it snows in Alabama, the answer is yes!  We played together outside and made a quick snowman.   A few hours later it was all gone!  

Church was canceled due to weather so we played in the snow this morning (how could we resist?) and then came inside for some good family time.  

Jacob had prepared a talk for Primary so he gave his talk to us and Dad taught us a Sunday School lesson.  

We spent the rest of the day making Chilli and cookies and had a really lovely day - one of the best Sabbath Days I have enjoyed in a long time.  Isn't snow great?!

Geography Fair

Jacob and Kathryn participated in a Geography Fair last week.  Kathryn learned about Germany and Jacob learned about Morocco.  Kathryn interviewed James since he served his mission there and made German Butter Cookies for the other students to sample.  She received several compliments from parents on her cookies - they were DELICIOUS!  Kathryn especially enjoyed learning about all the beautiful castles in Germany.  Jacob couldn't decide what country to study so James assigned Morocco to him.  He wasn't too excited about the assignment until he learned that the big off road race 'Paris to Dakar' runs through Morocco.  He made Moroccan Moist Cake all by himself - it was really good.  The Geography Fair was a lot of fun and we all learned a lot and will be participating again next year.

Sarah's Quail

We have started a new adventure of hatching our own quail.  Actually it is Sarah's project.  Our quail eggs arrived a week ago and are safely in the incubator staying nice and warm.  They should hatch in 14 days or so - Sarah is remembering them in her prayers so we are hopeful for a successful hatch.  These pictures show the tiny size of the eggs.  The hand is Sarah's and the thumb is James'.   They are about the size of a quarter.  We'll keep you posted.

By the way, the meat chicken experiment went well and we are enjoying delicious chicken thanks to James' hard work.  We do not plan to eat the quail - they will be Sarah's pets and perhaps a way for her to make a little money for her future.

New Driveway!

Hurray!  We have a new driveway!  Goodbye dirt, hello blacktop.  It is terrific and we had a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate, with an inaugural bike ride back to the house.