15. 15. Yes, 15.

 Somehow this girl is 15.

She can get her permit.

She is in high school.

She is so grown up.

We are so proud of her!  

She was scared to start at a new school this year, but she did great.

She has met a great, sweet group of friends.

I haven't heard a word about transferring to where her old friends go to school.

She has maintained her old friendships too.

She is loyal, kind, and smart.

Politics and the future are important to her.

It is so fun for us to watch her grow up.

Her uncles came to visit from CA this weekend and totally surprised her.

We are so grateful for our Meggie Moo!

The Dominican Republic

We had a great winter holiday in the DR.

We went with all of Andy's family.

It was relaxing and a pretty way to get away.

Exams and Holiday Fun

 Natalie's Girl Scout troop went to a place where you make signs, start to finish.  She was very pleased with her sign!

 We did one of our Sommer friend group dinners last night. The sweetest group of girls!

Meagan has made a great new group of friends in high school.

She has been surprised, I think, at how much she is enjoying it.

Now, exams, not so much.

Random Stuff

 We went to the FOMO Factory downtown with Lise and the kids.

They had a blast.

 Matthew was excited to go shopping for his Chanukah gift from Uncle Brian and Uncle Brian.

Art is definitely his thing!

Matthew is 9!

 Matthew turned NINE this weekend!

We went to Dallas to Bulloween to celebrate.

Matthew has had a great year.

He has grown up quite a bit and is doing well in school.

He loves art, baseball, and video games.

He still has the two same best friends.

He loves his teachers this year.

 We have had record rainfall in ATX. 

That has brought about flooding.

The flooding brought about a boil alert.

That is a big pain!

 Meagan getting kisses in the kissing booth at Bulloween.

Matthew's artwork.

Eyes are his current faves.

Our Second Teenager! (Natalie turns 13!)

This sweet girl is 13.

That is very hard to believe for many reasons.

She is still our quirky, funny girl.

She works incredibly hard at school and has maintained all As for a year and now another six week grading period.

She LOVES animals, all animals.

Even bugs.

She is still best friends with her sister and brother.

She now is able to babysit Matthew.

She is responsible and kind.

 My coworker and friend Jennifer shares the same birthday as Natalie, so this is our 2nd annual birthday photo!

 She did homework on her birthday. :)

Part of her gift was money to spend at the pet store.

Andy and Natalie share a love of fish.

Party and dinner with grandparents this weekend!

More Colorado Joy

 One of our Colorado traditions is to go to Clint's Coffee House in Breck, get breakfast to go, and sit out by the river.  Perfect.

I grew up very close to my Aunt Jean, so I love that my kids feel the same way.  We love going to Colorado with Aunt Jean and Uncle Steve!

 Andy and I love this photo because it is ironic.  It looks like Matthew is having a blast at the 4th of July parade, but really he pretty much hated it.  I do think this photo is sweet, though. :)

Another Breckenridge tradition is to head up the Gondola to see the snow!  Kids have a blast seeing the only snow they have ever seen.  This year they went on the Alpine Sleds for the first time as well.

Each morning Andy, Matthew, and I took a walk. We discovered an easy hiking area that we liked quite a bit right by our VRBO.

 We got to hang out with Matthew's best friend in Breck!  The boys were so excited to be together out of town.  We went to a gold mine, to dinner, and on an old fashioned train ride.

 Just a funny picture of Nat.