Signing the Declaration of Independence...and Chelsea

Last week we made our own ink out of berries and used feathers to make our own writing quill! We even pretended we were part of the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence agreeing that we wanted to be free of that pesky king across the ocean.

Oh, and yes, Chelsea is still hanging in there :) Still not sure what happened that one night last month when I thought she was a goner, but she's back to her her 'ole self. And yes, I mean old. At 15, she's not as spry as she was just a year ago, but she still does the stairs and runs along the fence barking at our neighbor's dogs. And she still puts up with the girls who always want to play with her :)

Even Dad got in on writing with a feather! We cut the tips off at an angle, cleaned them out with a tooth pick and cut a slit in the tip to help control the ink. Our homemade berry ink was pretty red (too many strawberries and not enough blueberries?), but surprisingly it was gray when it dried.

Here, Olivia was proud to show off her own "John Hancock" on a copy of the Declaration of Independence for her notebook.

In spite of Olivia's choice of footwear, we do NOT have snow here...yet! It is chilly though!

Chelsea, being a good sport!