This is going backwards but oh well. There is a girl that was in our ward before they split that gives riding lessons. Carol signed the girls up a while ago, but we had to cancel. We signed up again and the girls loved it!. Emmett wasn't part of the lessons but Alex let him take a short ride any way. I think he liked it!
Here is Maren riding. I believe the horses name was Selena, which Maren just informed me Selana starts with a C. She is learning to read, but I don't think she has fully grasped the nuances of English phonetics. Still she is one smart cookie.
Here is Jessica. Look at that form. If she let go of the horn, she would look like a champ!
Cora is having a blast. The arena was indoors and was quite dusty.
Cora was also nominated for Class President. She and her best friend and one other student all gave a short speech on why they should be class president. Her best friend won, and she came in second, so she is VP.
This is dated, but a couple of weeks ago we went down to Fort Hood to see Abe and his family while he is stationed there for about a month. The base has some cabins that are pretty nice and not very expensive. The kids loved seeing their cousins and playing on the playground.
Taylor was not at all excited about sharing her swing with the boy.
Emmett liked this circle ladder, but I think it freaked his Mom out every time he decided to go up or down!
This swing was just outside of the cabin. It took several tries just to get all of the kids looking in the right direction.
There is also a lake on base with a beach area. Carol is helping the kids make a sandcastle.
The kids loved the beach and swimming as always. It was great to get to hang out with Abe and Meredith. It is awesome to have so much family in Texas, even if they are several hours away. We can't wait to see everybody again. Meredith says it is Carols turn to plan the next outing, but I think the next one is going to be Thanksgiving, so sorry, but we hosted last year which means it is Leah's turn. (Unless Abe is going to be working, then we might want to come down there.)
Also, one of the reasons that no posts have been made lately is that about the same time we went down to Fort Hood, I finally got a sample size large enough to finish my dissertation. About a week after that I found out that I had roughly 4 weeks to finish it and turn it into the graduate school. As a result I have been devoting almost all of my time for the past month trying to get done. My defense is scheduled for the 25th, and as long as that goes well I will graduate Dec. 16th. I would appreciate your prayers, if you remember, as I prepare to defend my disseration. Thank you!
This pic isn't very clear but there he is waiting to be hooded.
We had such wonderful support!! Thank you Steve, Cali, Abe, Meredith, Zeb, Leah and kiddos for coming and showing your love and support!! We are so grateful you could come and share with us in this great triumph.
It is finished!! Yay!!
Cora was also nominated for Class President. She and her best friend and one other student all gave a short speech on why they should be class president. Her best friend won, and she came in second, so she is VP. 
This is dated, but a couple of weeks ago we went down to Fort Hood to see Abe and his family while he is stationed there for about a month. The base has some cabins that are pretty nice and not very expensive. The kids loved seeing their cousins and playing on the playground. 
Taylor was not at all excited about sharing her swing with the boy.
Emmett liked this circle ladder, but I think it freaked his Mom out every time he decided to go up or down!
This swing was just outside of the cabin. It took several tries just to get all of the kids looking in the right direction.
There is also a lake on base with a beach area. Carol is helping the kids make a sandcastle.
The kids loved the beach and swimming as always. It was great to get to hang out with Abe and Meredith. It is awesome to have so much family in Texas, even if they are several hours away. We can't wait to see everybody again. Meredith says it is Carols turn to plan the next outing, but I think the next one is going to be Thanksgiving, so sorry, but we hosted last year which means it is Leah's turn. (Unless Abe is going to be working, then we might want to come down there.)
This is Mrs. Jones. Maren's kindergarten teacher. We celebrated Maren's b-day with cookies in the classroom.
this pic is of the kiddos right before Maren's friends arrived for the festivities. We had a pajama birthday party.
Chocolate Oreo cupcakes. Mmmm, I didn't eat one of these, but they smelled delightful!
This bow and arrow set is pretty awesome! I don't know who has played with it more. Josh or Maren. Sorry this post is so quick. Life is pretty crazy.
Here are some pics of Jessica's very first birthday party with her friends(for the past birthdays, we just have a small celebration with family and maybe neighbors. But this year we went "all out". We had a french themed party with crepes instead of cake. It was a little crazy with 13 girls running around. But Jess had fun and was so excited to share her birthday with her friends from school and church.
We were also honored to have two "real" frenchman join us for the festivities. Aren't they the most handsome frenchies you have ever seen?
Maren, her first day at Kindergarten.
I thought that this was so precious. (left to right- Cora, Emmett, Jess and Maren) I love that Maren wore shorts with her pink cowgirls boots!! I know that it doesn't match and that she will oneday ask me how and why I let her out of the door wearing that outfit. But sometimes you have to pick your battles. And clothes are usually not a battle I am willing to pick.
Well, I officially have three children in all-day school! It was so nice to be able to run errands today (one of which was a dr. appointment) with only one child to keep track of......oh, so nice!
