16 April 2023

Gibson is taking Wilderness Survival this term at school. His teacher told his class that the first person to start a fire using a bow drill they made themselves would get an A for the class. Gibson practiced starting fires in our backyard until he was confident he could do it in person for his teacher. He was the first person to successfully complete the challenge and could take his A without doing any more work for the term.

But Gibson likes Wilderness Survival and enjoys the projects. Here is his next backyard creation: a water filter built from a plastic water bottle and layers of materials like rocks, sand and charcoal. Gibson used it to filter water from Jackson Creek which runs near our house. The water looked clear after being filtered. Gibson wisely did not drink it.

Becky was a last minute hire for school this year, and her classroom furniture choices were limited to whatever could be cobbled together from leftovers. Her principal asked her for a shopping list of things she would need for the classroom. A top priority was bookshelves. Seven and a half months later, a bookshelf was finally delivered. Brandan came to school before work on Wednesday to assemble it. Becky appreciates the extra storage space that keeps books easily accessible. Maybe there's hope the other items she requested will arrive as well! 

Gibson is a newly licensed driver! Brandan and Gibson tried going to the DMV two weeks ago, but the DMV closed about 100 numbers before their number was called. This Thursday they got in line for the DMV an hour before it opened. This time they were 5th in line and got in and out in no time at all, unless you count the hour they waited for the DMV to open. After driving over 100 hours with Gibson in all kinds of conditions, we are confident he is ready to drive on his own.

Here's a photo of Gibson driving away on his first solo drive.