2017 Highlights.

 January.  We got a foreign exchange student from Germany (holding the banana.) Nele' stayed with us for 6 months.

 

 Trip to Utah to meet Janie, Avery's new niece.

Pizza party at Dion's for Brother in Law, Sam's, graduation celebration.

 

Avery made a hat for the new nephew arriving in April.

 

Coloring eggs for Easter.

Trip to Rio Grande -first warm day in early spring day. (L to R Alisa, Nele', Avery, Madeline, Stephen, Aaron)

Family dinner.  Avery is at a stage where she loves to pull faces.  You'll see what I mean as the post goes on!

Hiking to the top of the Petroglyphs in Boca Negro Canyon.

 

Tree hugging at the plaza in Santa Fe. 

 Brad and Avery reading a bedtime story.  They started Harry Potter.  They are planning to read the whole series.

 Mom (Janet) went to Utah when nephew, Bastian, was born.  Mom mailed them a game to play when her stay was longer than planned and they were missing her. They don't seem super thrilled though.

Family hike to the top of the slot canyon at Tent Rocks National Park.  Rachel, her husband, Dustan, and niece Janie came too.

Avery is Janie's best friend.  They play together every day.  Avery takes charge of mothering her and lets us know anything Janie needs.

  Avery is a baby magnet. This is new nephew, Bastian.  We went to Utah in July for a visit.

Hanging out at the place we stayed when we visited Utah.  Avery, Aaron and Stephen were always in this hammock.  They only came in the house to eat and sleep.

This is a trip to the library.  We are heading home and Avery is practicing book balancing on her head.

Scout service project.  Avery sometimes is an honorary scout since mom is a den leader.  We held the snacks while the boys cleaned an empty lot.  We did a good job of not sneaking any snacks.

Playing with Bastian

Avery's beautiful smile.

Here is where we can't get Avery to smile for the camera.  Maybe it is a dramatic stage.  We have to be sneaky to get a bona-fide smile.

We went camping in the Gila  National Forest for a week.  It was beautiful and quiet.  We hiked to a pond (called a tank) where wildlife come to water.  We played card games, read books, and made exploding chili.  That's what happens when someone puts an unopened can of chili in the camp fire to heat and it explodes and flies 20 feet in the air and spews hot chili.  We will never do that again!

S'more aficionado

Dutch oven cooking - much safer than exploding chili!

Teaching pronouns to her stuffed animals.  (Can you guess what shirt is Avery's favorite this year?)

Aaron and Avery's 9 year old picture. (Both nine for one week.)

Pictures of the kids who are home.  Autumn returned home from Nicaragua in July.  L to R Madeline, Stephen, Aaron, Alisa, Autumn. Front Avery.

Avery and Janie. 

Avery bought this hat and wears it to bed.  She loves it because it is fleece inside and very soft.  She is becoming a hat expert.

Avery decorating her birthday cake.  A Fackrell tradition. 

Avery's birthday

Our three October birthdays having lunch at Red Robin together to celebrate their birthday.  It is the tradition.  Red Robin in October!

Hanging out with the sistas!

 Halloween time!  We tried on lots of ideas for costumes.  Avery settled on Rey from Star Wars.  (She won a Star Wars Costume contest at the library on May 4th, 2018- May the Fourth!)

This is my favorite picture of Avery.  Alisa is practicing photography and she got these great pictures of our sweet girl!

Fall leaves!

Target practice with Dad and brothers.  Shooting cans with a pellet gun.

This is the shuttle bus to a bubble show at Pope Joy Hall at UNM.  Homeschool field trip.  In the seat in front of Avery and Alisa are Rachel and her husband, Dustan.  Homeschool field trips are great because everyone in the family can come!

Walking the dog.  Madeline, Avery, Napoleon (the dog), Alisa, Autumn.

Being silly at home.

For Christmas we made cookie trees instead of gingerbread houses.  Brianna, Avery's oldest sister, has a famous gluten free sugar cookie recipe that we put to good use.

Avery playing with her nieces.  She is a good mother hen.

Christmas pageant.  Avery is a wise man.

Christmas morning picture.  Every year. This is everyone except Brianna's family (who had Christmas morning at their own house.)  At the top are Aurora and Rachel's families. 

Avery got a karaoke machine for Christmas.  Everyone sang all day.