And a Very Merry Christmas To Me!

After almost 13 years of driving the van, I have a new car! I love my new Honda Pilot.

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie...

Brandon magnificently read I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie for us after our Thanksgiving dinner. Perfect ending to a wonderful meal.

Map of Venezuela

Abby has worked hours and hours and hours on this map of Venezuela for school. Here is the finished product.

Go Lobos!

Jared's first appearance as a Lobo!

First Day of School

Well - look how they've grown. From the first day of 1st and 4th grade to the first day of middle and high school, respectively. (In this year's picture, Abby is dressed to go to tennis.)

Caribbean Creatures

Here are some of the animals we saw on our cruise. I also included some towel animals that our cabin steward made. We had a different animal waiting for us each night after dinner. Abby and I went to a towel folding demonstration and learned how to make an elephant and a dog.

Cruise Fun

We had an amazing time on the cruise! We saw some beautiful places, ate lots of yummy food, and came back very relaxed. Now...three more days of summer for me and one week of summer for the kids.

More Loopin'

Here are some more video clips that give you a better idea of how steep it is, the elevation and the grandeur of the ride!

Riding the Alpine Loop

Jared and John rode the Alpine Loop - 52 miles! - on their bikes today. It took them 12 hours almost to the minute. Here are some video clips.

Hey Macarena!

Abby, Machelle, Rick, and Barbara doing the Macarena at the wedding.

Peaches and her favorite

Peaches and Brandon really hit it off.

Peaches the Donkey

This is Peaches, the donkey who lives at Cactus Ranch. :) She especially liked Brandon.

Sunday Clothes

Abby's 5th grade show choir performed this song at their competition.

The Wedding

We had a wonderful time in San Antonio at the wedding. Great to see everybody!

Cactus Ranch

Flip flops and swimsuits

To properly welcome summer, Abby wore her pajamas for two days straight and baked a swimsuit and flip flop cookies. Summer is here!!!!

Abby's 5th grade awards

Abby had her 5th grade awards assembly today. She got quite a few awards including the All A's Honor Roll for all A's in every subject, every six weeks and the Presidential Scholar Award. We are very proud! :)

8th Grade Awards

Outstanding Boy

Jared received the "Outstanding Boy" award for 8th grade at Foster Middle School. The teachers and administrators selected five boys and five girls from the 8th grade. I didn't get them announcing his name but did get him accepting his trophy from the school principal.

We Go Together

Here is a little clip from Abby's dress rehearsal. No footage from the "real thing" because we decided to just watch and enjoy. The rehearsal was an amazing 4 hours long and her dance was toward the end. So....her hair is coming down a bit.

Dance Recital

Here I go!

This is my first foray into blogging. I can't promise creativity or entertainment. I plan to use this mostly to share pictures and video that are too big to email....but we'll see!