Sunday after church Ben Paul; his wife, Eileen; and our pastor, Michael came over and Ben gave us a carving and sharpening lesson. He is a Tlingit artist and was very kind to share a bit of his knowledge with us. He showed me how to sharpen my tools and showed me the tools he uses and how he uses them. If you want to see some of his work, here's a link to where you can:

http://www.alaskanativeartists.com/ben_paul.htm

Thank you, Ben!

I'm trying to make up for lost time - two posts in two days.

These are just some pictures of Ryan and Jessie, who are becoming fast friends.

Carol's Mother's Day - Bridal Veil Falls

Our Mother's Day was a very full day with church, a Smith gathering at cousin Jake's house, and then a Posenjak/Caplinger gathering here at our house. It was a good day, full of family. Since Mother's Day was going to be so busy, thoughtful Toby made Saturday my Mother's Day and chose exactly the right present: a hike in the mountains. We went to Bridal Veil Falls near Index on Steven's Pass and it was very fun. Here are some pictures:Ryan and Jake waiting for us on the trail after running ahead.

Toby and Ryan at the waterfall. They went all the way up to it and touched it.

Toby carried Jessie most of the time - I only carried her a few minutes so Toby could carry Emma on his shoulders a little. This is our only picture of Jessie, though.

Emma by the big leaves.

Ryan and Emma under a large rock.