Christmas Pictures!

We were obviously running out of time to get our Christmas cards sent out.  

I had to cancel our studio appointment when Gracie came down with the flu. 

When she got better, we couldn't get in for an appointment. 

So, what were we to do?  

Get dressed up and head to the park to take them ourselves.  

Ever try and get eight kids to stand still for a photo?  

Actually, these were taken at the end of our photo shoot and I asked them to run around like crazy.  

Since we were all dressed up and nowhere to go we headed out to one of our favorite restaurants for lunch. 

Albasha

We had our own little private room all decorated for Christmas.

  

Gracie wanted the lemon from my water.  

Ooooh

Sour!

She went right back for more though.

A good lunch was had by all.  

Hopefully your Christmas card will arrive before Christmas if not soon after.  

Goings on and Birthdays!

Lots of stuff going on down here this month . . . 

Grace is getting bigger - walking everywhere now.  

And she gets a kick out of markers.

Sisters!

Alyssa took and survived the ACT test.  

We also had a couple of birthdays to celebrate.  

Brian turned 40 and Alyssa turned 14. 

These two like pie and ice cream for their birthday. 

Brian got a nice new toy.  

Alyssa went shopping and picked out about six new outfits.  

Grace has a duckie bathrobe.

She likes it.  

Here's a little preview of what else we've been up to . . . .

Stay tuned for all the details!

Grace Goes to Chick-Fil-A

A couple of weeks back Gracie and I met Brian for lunch during the week.

She was excited to get out of the house. HA!

  

Life is good!

She munched a little bit

And then got a taste of peppermint shake from Daddy. 

She liked it.  

You can see her cute little teeth in these pictures.

What a sweetheart!

Told ya you wouldn't want to miss it.  

Zoo, Boys, Grace and a Drink

Some weeks ago we headed down to New Orleans and the Audubon Zoo for a field trip with several other home schooling families from our church.  

We ended up being a small group compared to our trip two years ago.  I think the cool temperatures scared off a bunch of people, but we ended up having a great day.  

Andrew spies a white Bengal tiger.

Peter - not checking out the elephants.  

Jon selfie.

Grace was having fun on her first trip to the zoo.

Baby alligators in a tank in the gift shop.  The kids could stick their heads up through the tank.

Hmmmm.  

I think the baby alligators were scared.

I think if he reached over he could have grabbed one.

Brian found a cool walking stick in the gift shop as well.

Some ninjas we encountered along the way.

Alyssa and Matthew hanging out.

Bunch o' kids.

Peter.

In other news . . . 

The boys got dressed up fancy for dinner.  We were having bowtie pasta.

Grace is adorable and is walking now.  She has taken up to 18 baby steps in a row.  I know because at least 6 people are watching and counting her every step.

And finally, 

Andrew makes the best glass of ice water in the lower 48.  Just the right ratio of ice to water.  

Stay tuned for Grace at Chik-Fil-A -  you won't want to miss it.