Lately: Books, Bread, and Some Painting

We've been busy lately! Here's some of what we've been up to for the past week:

Henry is such a good little reader! He is finally at the point where he will pick up a book and read it on his own. He can even read chapter books like Junie B. Jones, but he still prefers us to read those longer books to him. 

Gene has been baking up a storm, as usual. I asked if he could make a 100% whole wheat sandwich bread to replace our store-bought loaves, and he found a delicious recipe (from King Arthur Flour, of course!).  

We are so spoiled. 

Will and Gene had a Cub Scout workshop to attend on Saturday, so Henry and I decided to head out to the Arboretum for a hike. It was a gorgeous day -- 70+ degrees and sunny.  

 This kid is pretty amazing. He walked 3 1/2 miles without complaining at all.

His reward at the end of the hike was some playtime at the Arboretum's playground. 

Gene and Will worked really hard on Will's Pinewood Derby race car for Cub Scouts. At Saturday's workshop, they cut and sanded two cars and then came home and painted them. 

The Derby's coming up in a couple of weeks, so I'll post more pics of the finished cars.

And finally, Will is working on a big school project. Each child had to pick a Caldecott-winning book, copy his favorite illustration and then do a creative presentation. Will chose Snowflake Bentley, which won the Caldecott medal in 1999 and tells the story of the life of Wilson A. Bentley. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Bentley photographed snowflakes in Vermont (which is where we first heard about him) using a microscope camera. He is a fascinating figure and it's turning out to be a fun project so far.

Will's favorite illustration shows Bentley using his camera.

I think he did a really good job!

Guess who else likes snowflakes? Henry and I have been perusing Bentley's book, Snow Crystals, which is quite spectacular.

Our weekend was jam-packed, as usual!