Avery, Mom, Autumn December 2013

Getting our Christmas Tree at Santa's Village.  We all went to pick out the tree.  It was a nice, warm day.

 

 

 

AVERY'S 5TH BIRTHDAY:  It starts with breakfast in bed:  chocolate chip waffles, hot chocolate,

and lots of whipped cream!

 Avery's "friend" birthday party.  Her sister, Brianna, 

made her birthday cake for the party. 

 

Avery and her niece, Evelyn.

The Birthday girl's crown.

 Birthday time is also pumpkin time for Avery and Aaron.

Avery got a princess "tent" to read in. (Or for  playing Legos, dolls and 

and for when she wants to have some space from her active brothers.)

 

Avery's birthday cake.  She decorated it herself. 

 This is a picture of Aaron and Avery the week they were both 5.  

October 2013

Wilson's Arch, Utah.  Summer 2013

 March 2013 Spring Break

White Sands, NM

We took a trip south for Spring Break.  We were hoping for some "summer sledding" at White Sands, National Monument.  It was so windy that the sky was white with sand.  We had a good time sliding down the sand dunes until we were tired. 

 

Summer 2013

 I (Janet) drove the kids to Southern Utah for a school activity that Aurora was involved in.  On the way we drove past Lake Powell.  Aurora had a deep desire to visit a piece of beach where an episode of Dr. Who was filmed.  Unfortunately, it was not a stretch of beach that was accessible by 15 passenger vehicles with 2 wheel drive.  A very kind ranger pulled us out of the sand (twice.)

 Lone Rock beach at Lake Powell

 Everyone jumped in.  It was very refreshing after our half mile hike through sand after the ranger rescued us.

Lake Trip - Navajo Lake 2013

 Avery likes being the flag person.

Sampling beverages at the camp site

(Avery, brother-in law Dustan, Alisa)

 

 Rachel and Avery on the boat

 Stephen, Aaron and Avery playing on the tubes at the beach

 munching on a juice box straw

The fam: Autumn, Madie, Brad, Alisa, Janet,Aurora

Avery, Aaron, Stephen, (Angel- dog)

(We took the picture as we were breaking camp- we missed Brianna and Rachel,

they were already on the road.)

Winter Spring 2012-2013

 Spring 2013 at the Albuquerque Zoo

Easter egg coloring 2013

 

 December 2012

This is December 12 (2012) Making mudpies in the back yard!  

It was a nice day for wearing pjs outdoors.

 

This was just a month before our dog, Atlas, died of a stroke.  She is a great culinary assistant in the "Terra" kitchen

 

Aurora and Avery: two beauties!

Avery and Aurora being "tricky"

August 2012 In our back yard

Navajo Lake 2012.  Avery is sporting some lovely pink sunscreen.  Gorgeous!

September ~ levitating girl!

Mom loves to hear these two singing and plinking away on the piano.

September ~Apple picking time.  We spent an afternoon gathering up windfalls for cider.

Madie, Aurora and Avery

Halloween 2012.  The Caveman family

Happy Birthday Aaron and Avery. For one week every year they are the same age.  Avery is wearing her special birthday shirt that makes her eyes oh so blue.  In this picture they are both AGE 4.

Avery asked me "Why do I have to tell Santa what I want for Christmas?"  Hmm.  I thought about it. " You don't have to tell him.  He is friendly and is making conversation."  Was that a good answer?

Avery frosted two "Christmas trees" and licked all the frosting off of them at the Primary Christmas activity at church.

Christmas Eve.  The Pageant!  Avery is a wise man.  She is wearing the "moo moo" that Madeline sewed for her.

Christmas Morning.  Everyone on the stairs waiting to go get their stockings.

Avery last week.  January. Wearing a tutu from her friend, Prisca's, ballerina birthday party.

Utah!

 These are pictures from our trip to Utah to visit family! I can only estimate how many miles Avery cranked out running around the yard.  She played on the swings and the slide and threw rocks in the irrigation ditch.  We slept in our tent in Grandma's back yard.  Her brother Aaron said the first night: "Mom, Thank you SO MUCH for letting us live here!"  A week was just too short.  We look forward to next summer!

Every time Avery wears this shirt she points out that it has a butterfly and that it is her favorite.   Avery is an aunt now.  (For about 4 months)  But every time we talk about her being an aunt, she indignantly insists that she is NOT an "ANT."  "I am a butterfly!"

This is a case of "bop til you drop."  We had so much fun playing with cousins and running around Grandma's back yard.  A little nap is always a good thing!  Even if you sleep standing up... Her sister Autumn is amused.

Aunt Karen helping Avery with her gingersnap S'more.  MMMMm.

Summertime...and the livin' is easy

gluten free cupcakes! mmmmmm...

 

 Avery got a haircut.  She didn't really want her hair cut, but the ends were really uneven.  She has only ever had a trim and only rarely.  It seemed time to even it up.  Rachel cut it in a cute chin length bob.  Every sister exclaimed as they came home from work or play: "You cut Avery's hair!"  Every one was unhappy with me. They were afraid her curls would  be gone.  By the next day everyone was raving about how cute it was and how much they liked it. It still curls around her face.

 

  We got back early this morning from Zion National Park in Southern Utah.  We camped for a couple of days inside the park.  The first day we hiked up to the narrows.  The kids loved playing in the Virgin River.  They were chased by squirrels and found lots of different colored rocks.  (Which we didn't take home.)

 Avery didn't like hiking as much as she liked playing in the river.  We hiked to weeping rock and she complained that her legs were tired the whole way there and back. (It is a very short hike.)  So we went back to the river where we saw tadpoles, frogs, water striders and minnows. We also went to the nature center for kids and learned about rangers, fire fighters, sedimentary rock and colored pictures of native animals.  At the end of the day we drove to Springdale and got some icecream.  Avery ate a tiny tub of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia icecream all by herself.  She loved sleeping in a tent and playing in the dirt.  Deer walked right into our camp and we caught a crawdad in the stream next to our campsite.  We watched it walk backwards back into the water when we released it and she thought that was so funny.

Looking out over the Colorado River and the Vermillion cliffs before Page, AZ.