Fort Worth Zoo

When Grandma Wade came down from Tennessee to visit, we took a Saturday and went out to the Fort Worth Zoo. It was a nice change of pace from the Dallas Zoo that we normally attend. Tammy was very sweet and invited Jon and Jenna as well. It was a party at the zoo for sure.

Smiling at the Cheetahs! The kids sure enjoyed seeing all these animals live instead of just from a book.

Here is Emeri enjoying running free in the kids area. Love that smile.

Cuddles with Grandma Heath!! We love you Grandma!!

This was a tornado sampler. It got up to 80 mile an hour winds inside of this container. Colton really wanted to try it and so did all the little kids. They all thought it was really cool, except for Andrew. He freaked out.

January Fun

Austin and I took the kids to the Herd museum to see all the dinosaurs and animals. At the end of the museum is a place where the kids can dig for dinosaur bones. The boys dug right in but Miss Emeri would have none of it. She hated the feeling of the sand on her feet, so much so that she lifted her legs every time we tried to put her in it.

Our ward was having a food drive for the prosper homeless shelters. I thought it would be fun to get the kids involved so I had them help me pick out the food and drop it off at the bishop's house. They enjoyed participating and getting to choose the foods off of the grocery shelves.

This is just a funny picture of Emeri and a good demonstration of what our daily life looks like. LOL I just love that tummy combined with the piggy face smile.

When Lanae was in town we tried going to Bonkers but it was so full that we decided for a park instead. This was a park in Lewisville that we had never been to and it was great! Isaac was drawn to this climbing web the whole time. After a good 15 minutes of effort he was able to make it to the top. I was impressed that he wasn't freaking out from being scared. Big Boy. 

Family Pictures

We finally got our family pictures done. We had to reschedule 3 times because of bad weather. Brother Duenos in our ward did them for us and he did a fantastic job. 

Ground Breaking

Austin and I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Right now the ward we are attending has more then 600 people in it, which makes it very crowded. Of course we love it though, we get so excited the more people move in. Well, these two pictures are of the long awaited ground breaking that was postponed because of bad weather. There are members of the city and leaders of our church breaking the first piece of ground for where our new building will be built. The best part is that it is only 3 minutes away instead of 15 where our current building is at. 

This would not be an LDS gathering without dessert at the end. My mother-in-law made and decorated the three cakes and they were fantastic. She truly has a gift, both baking and decorating wise.

Jon and Jenna's Big Move

Yay! It really happened! They are here, they are here! My big brother Jon and his family decided to leave beautiful California and move to good old Texas.We are so excited to create lots of memories and traditions with them that will carry on with our children. Plus, I wouldn't mind more visits from Grandma and Grandpa Ralph too! 

New Church Classes

We have made a major change this year with our family regarding church classes. These next few photos are of Isaac on his first day of CTR 4, Andrew on his first day of Sunbeams, and Emeri on her first day of Nursery!! It has been crazy dropping the kids of to different classes and then picking them all up again afterwards. -Tear.....they are just growing up so fast.

 The boys looked darling in their suits and Emeri definitely liked nursery better then sitting on moms lap for the last two hours. 

Christmas 2013

This year was our first Christmas together with just our little family. It was quiet, peaceful, and simple. The night before we all slept together in our bedroom. The boys on the floor, us in our bed, and Emeri in our closet. Austin and I both liked that tradition growing up so we wanted to keep that one going. Once all the kids were awake, Austin ran to turn the lights on and grab the video camera. When he was ready I led the children out to the front room to see the tree. It was so fun! Isaac was super excited and couldn't stop talking about the newest addition of presents. Andrew pulled a good one on me. The night before I had cleaned the front room and moved the coffee table out of the way so that the kids could have lots of room to play with their new toys. On camera, the first thing Andrew said when he saw the room was, "It's so clean!" I was not expecting that, but I guess it was true. You think he would have noticed the pretty lights and the presents, oh no, the first thing he noticed was that mom actually cleaned up. HAHA Silly boy. 

Here are the kids getting into their stockings. The chocolate oranges are a tradition in my family and I think were a hit with our kids. They liked the idea of smashing a ball of chocolate and then getting to eat it.

Santa ate the cookies we left out! Which were quickly finished off by the boys.

 Thank you Grandma Heath for the monster trucks.

I loved this. Emeri just sat down next to Andrew and watched him open his present. She didn't try to touch it or grab it, she just sat and watched like a sweet little sister.

Once it came to Emeri's turn though she was all game. Look at that focused face, she just loved ripping the paper and seeing what was underneath. 

Thank you Grandma Heath for the Mermaid doll! 

The boys loved their superhero gifts!!! Thank you so much Aunt Susan!

Isaac got his first pair of roller blades for Christmas! Ninja Turtle Style!

After a cinnamon roll breakfast the boys put their boats and space ships together with Dad. It was fun to see them create something and then get to play with it afterwards. Great gift Daddy!

Brothers!

Finished product!

Emeri enjoyed some sour cream for lunch that day. Actually it was plain Greek yogurt. She devoured it.