First Day of School - 2012

A little late, but still better than never. Ellis' first day of Kindergarten this year. Of course, Ms. Stella needed to get in on the pics. Ellis started at a new school this year, actually attending Ridgewood Elementary. If we stay living here, she will go to the same Jr. High and High School as I did - a little bittersweet for me. :)

 

And, of course, we ended the day by getting ice cream with my parents and brother Reggie. It is a tradition my mom used to do with us each first and last day of school. I love living near enough to my parents to continue these traditions.

Bow Hunting Skills...

This past September, Loni had the opportunity to refine his skills in bowhunting (queue the Napoleon Dynamite reference...bow-hunting skills...) on an actual HUNT. All the boys in my family headed over to Eastern Washington at the gracious hosting of my Uncle Blaze and Aunt Josie to go out and prove their manliness by hunting for deers. Unfortunately, the only thing they got to shoot was a water bottle in the river, but it was still a very fun time by Loni and the guys. I believe this may be a new annual tradition.

Loni actually became very good at shooting his bow. Leading up to this expedition, all the guys would get together to practice bowhunting. Seeing as how this was the first time he really ever shot a bow, he did exceptionally well and eventually became very skilled at it.

Ellis also found a love of bows. She is a self-proclaimed Merida and now wants to shoot bows everytime we are at my parents house. My dad's dream of raising a tom-boy is slowing coming to fruition. Luckily for me, she really enjoys ballet and princess still. :)

Aruba, Jamaica, Ooh I Wanna Take Ya....

Last January we took a cruise to the Western Carribbean with the girls and my parents. We took a red-eye into Miami (horrible choice), but went to Key West, Grand Cayman Islands and Jamaica. We had the time of our lives - below are TONS of pictures of the cruise - I will go back and add captions as time permits. Enjoy!