100th Day of School

It's a big day for both girls to celebrate this landmark day. Sophie brought in 100 beaded necklaces and Abby brought in 100 markers. They had a lot of fun with the day of counting and learning about being 100 days smarter.

Daisies go to Lou's

The Daisies took a field trip to Lou Malnatis to "make your own pizza". They learned how pizzas were made, got to taste ingredients, experimented with their own pizzas, and got a tour of the entire restaurant. The best part, of course, was eating their creations!

Abby is a Daisy

Abby is a new Daisy in her KINDERGARTEN troop now... as opposed to being in the first grade troop with her older sister. She is very excited to "Make new friends" and be a leader in the troop to show them all what it means to be a Girl Scout. She is still going to play double duty and attend some of the meetings with Mom and Sophie... but we know she's also excited to be doing something special on her own too!

More ski photos

Ski Trip 2017

MLK weekend 2017: Ski Trip with the Duker family to Boyne Mountain. The kids just loved to be together. All four of them continued to improve as skiers also.

Abby spent day one skiing with Rodger. She was very hesitant at first and needed to hold on to a pole. But by the end of a four hour day, she took the express lift up and make her way down all by herself. She was a rockstar! On day two she was really rocking the mountain with confidence and was all smiles all day.

Sophie had such enthusiasm for skiing both days. She forgot from the previous year many skills so spent the first day remembering how to stop and control herself. Our biggest challenge was on day two when we tried Ramshead--- and it was a big awful challenge--- but after skiing the back of the mountain with success she skied Ramshead successfully a second time. She learned how to be confident in scary situations and she did great!

At the house, the kids had a blast hanging out, watching movies, and singing Hamilton songs together. Abby was crying at the end of the trip because the didn't want to leave. She just loves it up there so much. So do we!

Abby's kindergarten artwork

I have always tried to drill into the girls that they will always be each other's best friends. So, it makes me happy to see that Abby understands that message and drew this picture at school.

Skating pals

Nora and Sophie are all smiles on the ice... apparently because they just watched Rodger wipe out as he tried to take a picture of them!

As this new year begun, we have signed the girls up for a few new activities. Sophie is taking ice skating lessons. Abby is trying indoor soccer. Both girls are back in swim lessons but at a new facility. Let's hope they continue to enjoy these as well as all of the other activities they continue to do!

Three cousins

Sophie, Xander, and Abby at the Jaskowiak family Christmas party 2016

Happy New Year 2017

After our long car ride home from Florida and a brief stop in Percy for a holiday party, we made it home in time to make it to the Ahlfeld's New Years Eve party to ring in 2017. We look pretty good despite our lack of sleep and showers!

Just another day at the beach...

It's so sad to say goodbye to the sunshine and beach... but this was our last day there for this trip. We went to watch the sunset, with a bottle of wine, some snacks, our cousins... ahhhh! Good times!

Bye Bonita, until Spring break....

Coconut Jack regulars

Rodger's favorite place to go in Bonita Springs is Coconut Jacks.... need to go for the conch fritters and mango bango sauce!

Cousin Party

It's always a party when there are six cousins hanging out poolside!

Everglades Airboat Ride

On this perfect Florida day, we took a family airboat ride in Everglade City. The ride was surprisingly a lot of fun! We did not see any alligators-- just a few birds and raccoons and the very interesting maze of the mangrove trees. It was a fun ride and we would recommend it to others for something fun to try in southwest Florida.

Christmas on the beach

Nothing better than quality family time... well, how about quality family time on Christmas Day on the beach?

Rodger hit the jackpot finding interesting sea creatures--- first, a living starfish, and then, a horseshoe crab. He had a lot of fun showing off the animals to the girls and others on the beach.

Christmas Presents

Sophie and Abby definitely were on the nice list this year as Santa brought them a bunch of really great things! The girls received new headphones, long underwear for skiing, Wellie Wisher dolls, Wellie Wisher socks, smart Justice shirts, Emoji sticker books, dance bags, new underwear, boots, Lego sets, and books from Santa. They loved playing with the gift from Grandma and Papa which was the Wellie Wisher playhouse. It was the hit gift of the season. And the gift that Sophie is MOST excited about are the tickets to go see "Hamilton" with Mom and Dad. Abby is thrilled also, but Sophie is counting down the days. All in all, it was a great Christmas if watching the girls open their gifts and enjoy each one.

Merry Christmas

Evidence that we did indeed go to church on Christmas... here are the girls showing us that Jesus is born and is in the manger with Mary and Joseph. The girls enjoyed singing Christmas carols and Sophie was particularly excited to share her knowledge of Christ Jesus that she has learned from RE.