Easter

We had the annual EASTER EGG HUNT at our house again and it was a lot of fun!

 The kids played on the (work in progress) swing set

had a sack race,

 a three legged race,

another sack race,

 then the egg hunt...

the race to find eggs,

high and low 

Everyone eating their treasures found in the eggs while watching a movie together.

a Trip to the Zoo

After years of living in Houston we finally choose a beautiful and PERFECT day to visit the zoo

Spencer was working and visited with us for a bit with his partner and ambulance

we met cousins before they moved to Korea for a few years

First stop....monkeys...

 

ducks and lunch

elephants...

deer (licking the window)

a BEAUTIFUL eagle (who had broken a wing by poachers & couldn't fly)

feeding the giraffes

great weather with even better company!

One Year Older and Wiser Too...

Happy Birthday to you....

Happy Birthday to you....

Happy Birthday dear Avery (11), Robyn, and Joshua (4)...

Happy Birthday to you!!!

December

Our Annual Family Pictures are so much fun.  This year we had a great photographer and the kids did such a better job than the past years.

 Since the girls were both taking ballet this year I thought they'd like a trip to the Nutcracker.  It was put on by a local ballet studio and it was great to see younger kids dancing.

Spencer worked on Christmas Day so Santa came a day early to our home.  Christmas Eve was also our Christmas day. 

Our afternoon was spent at Grandma & Grandpa Allreds home with the rest of the family.  We have an early dinner and then white elephant exchange for kids then adults. 

 Cousin love!

During the holidays we had a visitor for a week.  His name was Cash and he's Jasper's BFF.

 it wasn't 24 hours later from Cash going back home that Spencer brought this guy home. He's a 9 month old Boxer.  We tried naming him Chief but it just wouldn't stick.  We finally decided on Cooper.

 Jasper loves having a brother.  Now the challenge is to break his stubborn streak.  Luckily for Cooper, he's a fast learner! Welcome to the family Cooper!

From August to November

Before school started for the kiddos we went to the Museum of Natural Science.

We went to the butterfly area and it was so beautiful.  The kids loved it! 

 We had a scary few minutes after the butterfly area.  Josh wanted to ride in the elevator and snuck away when our backs were turned and I noticed him just as the doors were closing.  He was all by himself!  Spencer ran the three flights of stairs as quickly as possible and finally found him. It was a lesson we all learned to watch out for each other. 

They loved looking at the bug collection.  I'm certainly glad we don't have some of the huge bugs the kids are looking at in this drawer.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE!

Jake turned another year older and another year wiser.  I can't believe he's 9.  He's such a great boy and I'm so glad he's in our family!

 I think he had a great birthday!  He got a lot of cool scout "stuff" including a BSA knife. He also got a bigger bike since he's growing so much. 

 HOMESCHOOL Year 1

I felt strongly over the summer to homeschool the kids.  Avery asked to finish 5th grade so that left Jake, Emily, and Josh.  It's been a lot of fun and we've all really enjoyed it.

 For one of our homeschool experiments/ activities Jake and Emily made a volcano and we made it erupt.

 HALLOWEEN

Josh was Batman. Jake dressed up as Harry Potter.  Avery wanted to be Emma Swan from Once Upon A Time.  Emily was a cute little cheerleader. 

It was a fun time at our ward Halloween Party and then trick or treating in our neighborhood.

 THANKSGIVING

We had a smaller than usual group this year and this was one of our group picts!  Love this Allred family in Texas!