Catching up...

I was looking through old posts and realized that I missed a few things this year.  Christopher turned 12 this year.  He is officially a Boy Scout.  He went to scout encampment this year and had a great time.  He did archery, rifle shooting, rode a zip line and hiked. 

Valerie turned 20 in June.  She was living away from our home for a while, but is back now for a few months. Our garage is full of her furniture right now, but I like having everyone home again.  The biggest problem is that we have 4 dogs...they take up A LOT of space in what I thought was a home sufficient for our needs!

This one is Precious...she's 10 months old...she eats everything!  My shoes, the walls, the furniture and she digs really deep holes.

This is Zeus...he is 3 weeks younger than Precious and very smart.  He thinks he's the alpha male, but actually he is third in line behind Toby and Jax.  He doesn't eat as much as Precious...I think he just gets into trouble for lack of other things to do.

This summer we also had a visit from my mom.  We went for sushi...Chris is really the only one who eats actual sushi.  This is my mom's version of using chop sticks.

Gabe got stitches this summer...the day my brother and his wife came to visit.  Four stitches on the back of his leg from a knife carelessly thrown away by his mother :(   He had a great doctor and actually liked the whole experience.

All caught up.  Now we're into school full swing.  Christopher is playing soccer.  Valerie is working a new job learning to be a bartender.  Yvette is making her way through the first weeks of her freshman year and Gabe is happy to have the same teachers and classmates as last year.  And Chris and I are just trying to keep up with it all!

Gabe's Birthday



Gabe at 11




Gabe at 3



And they just keep growing....
Last week Gabriel turned 11.  The picture with the crown was his 3rd birthday.  They made the crown for him at preschool.  I think that was the year Grandma Rosie gave him the mechanical spider.  This year he wanted a remote control helicopter.  Some things never change.  Gabe has had a great year.  He's moved into 11 year old Boy Scouts and is very excited.  He has grown so much this year.  He is 5' tall and wears a size 10 shoe (at last measure).  He is very funny and is really coming into his own.  He loves all things Pokemon and video games.  He also loves science and on the last AIMS test he scored excelled in Math, which I am told is difficult to do.  His brother is still his best friend.  He is a big help to his parents around the house and he loves to tease his dad so he can wrestle with him.  We love you, Gabe!

We went to Kona Grill for his birthday.  Here's a great picture of the kids sharing the red velvet cake they gave him...it's that HUGE white thing in front of Gabe.