Merry Christmas!

(this was a total spontaneous family photo, but it works)

I hope everyone has had a year that was filled with fun adventures. I know that our year sure was full of excitement. (click the highlighted words to read the blog posts.)

We went to Cascade for birding/swimming, Wahooz for a BofM reading reward, City of Rocks for more birding, Idaho birding observatory for, naturally, more birding, and to Utah for Halloween and a cousin's baptism.

Kyle is in the 3rd grade this year. He turned 8 and was baptized. He played soccer, joined cub scouts and had his first derby car. He is a great kid and all boy. We love having him around.

Anne is in the 2nd grade and is full of life. She got glasses this year and has blossomed in school. She created her own business and like us all, loves a good adventure. She is a self proclaimed turtle and loves to take her time in everything.

Victoria is in Kindergarten this year and loves it! For her fifth birthday we threw her a fun fairy princess party. She loves to sit on our laps, pose for pictures, and when you catch her in the right mood she is a good helper.

Claire is a ball of fun. She is constantly amazing us with what she says and does. She has recently started sounding out her letters and it won't be long that she will be reading words. She is a fun little gal who loves to laugh and tease. She is great when we go to the school and help in the classes. All the kids love her and she loves them.

Robert is still working with Suncor and RC Willey. That will be true until the end of this month. Suncor will be selling there home building side to another company. No worries, his job is secure. But because his work has been so slow he spends a lot of time working on this and sometimes this. He still loves his birding. and we have gone a few "adventures" as a family so that he can feed this addiction. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary this year. I feel so blessed to have such a great man by my side. Robert is the choir director in our new ward and also an elders quorum teacher.

I have been a busy mom. I teach art in all of the kids' classes. I also help out in the class when I can. It is a lot of work, but I enjoy it. I have been painting (#1, #2, #3- painting blogs) a little too. I have been in a little sewing group and that has been a lot of fun for me. It has helped me be more confident and make a lot of great stuff. I turned the big 3-0 this year and I hate to admit it, but it was a little tough on me. I feel old and my body is falling apart. I really enjoy my kids as they are getting older, so I guess if they get older then it is inevitable that I get older as well. I just got a new calling as the second councilor in the Primary. I will miss my little nursery kids, but am excited for the change.

We moved, back in May, to a home up at Avimor. (Robert's community) We love it up here. The kids love to explore and Kyle loves being a boy out here. It is really close to school, so it makes it nice for when I go in and help. We love our new ward and have made some great new friends.

We are looking forward to our new adventures for next year and hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a safe year to come.

With Love,

Robert, Jessica, Kyle, Anne, Victoria, and Claire