Swimming!

On Sunday afternoon we went swimming at Mike and Robin's house with Eli. I got to use the big water gun. In the picture is my big twin. Dad likes to dunk me.

My Tadpoles and I

Thursday was a fun day! I got to go with the 2nd graders at Minnie Cline for Park day. Then, Mom picked me up at 1:30 and we went to the Conservation Dept for a homeschool event. First, we played a game about watersheds to learn how trees help prevent flooding. Next, we got a net and a bucket and got to explore what was in their pond. I loved this so much, and Mom finally had to make me leave--we were the last ones there. I caught six tadpoles, two dragonfly nymphs, one creature we didn't know, and insect eggs on a leaf. It was a nice day, and I can't think of a better place for a boy to go than to get to explore a pond! In the last picture, the Conservation Agent is looking at my treasures!

Chocolates!

I learned how to mold chocolates. We made them for the graduation party we are having at church for all of our graduates. At first, Mom helped me and melted the chocolate, but by the end, I was doing it all by myself. First, I melt the chocolate, then I pour it into the mold. Then, I tap them to get all of the air out; then, I put them in the freezer for 7 minutes, and then I un-mold them. Then, I put them in the container (since Mom won't let me eat them all). In this picture, some of them look funny because of the way the light hit them, but they actually all looked the same--they look like chocolate! Someday, I hope that my Aunt Stephanie opens a sweets shop and hires me!

Look at her Little Face!

This is one of our nine kittens. She is about four weeks old. Isn't she cute? The kittens like me, and they are starting to come out of their cat house to get to me so that I can hold them.

Goslings!

One of the fun things about living in the country in the Spring is having the goslings hatch. Every year the same pair of geese land on our pond into the nesting box we have there and the female lays her eggs. We have to watch closely because they only stay a couple days with the new babies (they hop out of the box and start swimming) before they all leave and if we aren't paying attention, they leave before we know it. After they leave, we don't usually see them again until next year (and only the mom and dad). They are so cute swimming out on the pond behind their mom. This year, there are four goslings, but they are hard to see in my picture (they are behind the mom).

Applesauce!

Grandma Dixie makes the best applesauce! She brought her food mill with her when she came to visit and taught me how to make applesauce. Just call me "Chef Caden".

Piano Recital

On Sunday afternoon, I had my piano recital. I played two songs: "Trumpet Song" and "Let's Boogie." I was nervous because this was my first recital. Both of my grandpas and grandmas were there and Donna and Eli. One of the pictures is of Becca, my teacher. When I am dressed in my pants and tie, everyone thinks I look just like Dad!

It's Fishing Season!!!!!

Even though I like hunting a little bit (Dad and I went this morning), I don't like it nearly as much as Conrad does. But, I LOVE fishing. I ask Dad EVERY DAY if we can go fishing. We got to go on Saturday and Dad said I was old enough (after I begged and begged) for him to teach me how to clean the fish and I got to do one.

Lemonade and Uh-Oh!

We went to Aunt Stephanie's garage sale on Friday and part of Saturday. I sold a few toys and Jake, Austin, Conrad and I had a lemonade/hot chocolate/cookie/Rice Krispie stand. Aunt Stephanie showed me how to make Rice Krispie treats--I had never made them before. It was fun! Thanks, Aunt Stephanie!
At first, we didn't plan to have hot chocolate, but it was so cold that people did buy it. We had a lot of fun and split the money--some people just gave us money as a tip and didn't even want a treat. I got $4.50 for my part of the lemonade stand. Whenever I wasn't at my lemonade stand, I was riding the scooter---it was SO MUCH FUN, but I ended up with scrapes under my nose, on my fingers and on my knees even though I had on a helmet.

Unexpected Science Experiment

Mom said that we could make cookies to sell at the garage sale we were going to do. We also needed two dozen for the recital. I was so excited that I woke her up at 6:45 am on Thursday to make them. Since she wasn't ready to get up, I went ahead and got out all of the ingredients. When she did get up, I made one batch of beautiful cookies, and then we decided we needed another batch. I made this batch, too, and when I looked in the oven at the first pan of them baking, I said, "Oh no! Mom, something is wrong". We figured out that I had put in 1 1/4 cups of flour instead of 2 1/4! I added more flour and the rest turned out good (and I ate the bad ones). The bad ones were brown on the outside and all doughy in the middle (but I still liked them). I didn't know how important flour was! I did my Science experiment on which kind of flour to use, and now I know that whatever kind of flour, you have to use it!