Annie Mary Robert Thomas

Introducing our newest family member: Annie Mary Robert Thomas.  They were calling her Annie at the shelter, and after a few days at home we couldn't really think of anything else, and we decided Annie fit her.  Each child contributed a middle name:)

We adopted her the day before Christmas Eve.  They said she is a 1.5 year old sheltie mix.


Leaving the shelter.


Ben had to bring out his crane truck to show her.


Avery is in love with her.  Ben likes her too but sometimes she is like the annoying little sister he never had.



After a few weeks I can say that she has definitely adjusted to her new home.  She is so incredibly sweet, timid, gentle, and loving.  Pretty much the complete opposite of Arthur in every way:)

She is very well behaved except for her little habit of jumping on the furniture.  We try to keep her off but she's so darn cute.  She has definitely figured out that she is always welcome in Avery's bed.


So glad we rescued her and can't wait to see what kind of adventures we have with her!

Kicking off the Season at SDC

We took a quick overnight trip to Silver Dollar City after Thanksgiving.  It was beautifully decorated for Christmas and a great way to kick off the season.  Ben's favorite part was of course the train ride.  The kids also got to visit Santa and for the first time, Ben went willingly and without tears.



It was a great little getaway and something we'll be doing again next year.

Thanksgiving 2016

A Thanksgiving recap in pictures...a beautiful day spent with family.

Avery made her first pumpkin pie with the help of Mimi.

November, Came and (Nearly) Went

I can't believe we're already nearly through November already!! Story of my life...

Avery was excited that the stores already had decorations out a couple of weeks ago...

Avery had a little speaking part in the Veteran's Day program at school.

We were all the way across the gym so unfortunately the video is not great but her line was "they deserve our admiration. "  Avery doesn't usually volunteer (or get chosen) for the speaking parts so it was kind of a big deal!

Ben's class talked about Veteran's Day in their classroom:

For my birthday I got a bike.  So excited for family bike rides now!

Avery also had her last soccer game on my birthday.

To wrap up the day Rob took me to a wonderful dinner.

Avery had her first crash on her bike.  Look at that road rash on her stomach.  

I completed a 5 mile leg of the Route 66 Marathon on Sunday and Rob volunteered his time at one of the relay stations.  

This week we're in the full swing of Thanksgiving with paper pilgrim and Indian hats, lunch feasts, and a short week!

Halloween 2016

Sadly, the (very short) window I had of coordinating the kids' costumes has closed.  We had an Alice and a Lightening McQueen.  As I was unable to convince Rob to be the Mad Hatter, or Ben and Rob to be Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, we weren't able to do a family costume.  We finally decided on Rob being Lightening's pit crew and myself being the Queen of Hearts for a fun costume party right before Halloween.

The kids each picked out pumpkin and the design they wanted carved into it.  As always, Rob did a great job carving the pumpkins.  I'll stick the the seed roasting.

We continued the tradition of the kids trick-or-treating at my office, then headed home to get ready to go out with the neighborhood crew.  The kids had a great time and amassed a ridiculous amount of candy.

After about a week, the Switch Witch visited our house, taking the candy and leaving $5 Target gift cards in it's place.  Let's just say the Switch Witch is NOT a favorite person around our house.   Avery has all sorts of plans for thwarting said witch next year including:
hiding her candy in her room
setting the alarm
locking the doors