January through May

 Brendan started the new year off by getting braces!  The orthodontist expects them to stay on for about a year and a half.

Snow!

Friends - Hannah and Jane

All dressed up for Junior Prom

The whole family ran the Valentine 5k

Brendan turned 15 - happy birthday my favorite teenager!!

Checking out the drone service working with Walmart

Flying his own little drone

Trying out the new bike he bought

We got a new trampoline - fun fun FUN!

Waffle breakfast with Tom & Kay

Emily participated in the math counts competition that took place at the U of A

Checking out the new animal shelter in town

Trampoline fun

Easter dinner

Handsome boy

Emily cheering at the Naturals baseball game

School friends - Natalie and Hannah

Art by Brendan inspired by the book "Scythe"

Volunteering with Compassion International at a For King and Country concert on my birthday

End of 6th grade party

An award for excellence in math!

Band concert - she's come so far since she began only 8 months ago!

A visit from my aunt Marilyn Gates and cousin Ronda Gates

Color day at Little Bellas Mtn. biking

 

December 2022

 December 3rd dawned sunny and clear with below freezing temperatures.  It was also the day Emily and I signed up to run the Freedom Frosty 5k race.  Yikes!  But running in the cold temperatures actually proved enjoyable and I ran my best race ever.  Didn't hurt that I had my new fitness watch that Steve and the kids surprised me with after Amazon Prime holiday.  I ran the race in 31:27 and placed 14th in the 45-49 women's division.  Woo hoo!  Emily came in at 28:13 and placed 9th in the 0-14 girl's division.  Wow!

Prairie Grove holds a civil war battle reenactment biennially and this year we decided to attend.  It was very interesting and not really what I had expected a battle to be like.  

For Christmas, my gift from Brendan was a 3D printed cookie stamp.  He gave it to me a couple weeks before Christmas, so I was able to go ahead and make cookies and use them as gifts for friends and neighbors.  They turned out so pretty!

One of Emily's Christmas gifts from her Aunt Lorna was bunny harnesses.  How adorable is this?

On the 27th we were invited to Kristie's for a Christmas dinner.  We dressed up, and Emily tried out her new curling iron.  We ate an amazing meal until we were stuffed, then walked it off admiring the animals on the farm.