Birthday Sleepover

This weekend, Avery had four friends sleepover to celebrate her birthday. The girls made gingerbread houses, watched the movie "Elf", ate junk food, and stayed up way too late. They had a lot of fun, and we loved having them here. We're so lucky that our kids have such wonderful friends!

Making the gingerbread houses:



The finished products!





The dessert pizza, as Avery requested (with a sugar cookie crust, chocolate icing for sauce, white chocolate as cheese, tootsie rolls as black olives, licorice as pepperoni, and sliced gummy candies for peppers):



Watching a movie:




And dancing the night away:

Eleven!

Avery turned 11 today. Somehow we feel like time has passed in the blink of an eye but also like we've been parents forever. I know that Bill and I both consider ourselves extremely lucky to have such a wonderful girl to show us the ropes of parenthood. She is growing into such a passionate, thoughtful, and caring person, and we like to pretend that we had something to do with it. In reality, though, Avery was born knowing who she is and what she believes. She stands up for what she thinks is right and she has an insatiable thirst for information and experiences. We can't wait to see what new, exciting adventures she'll find, and we hope she won't mind taking us along for the ride!

Aquarena Springs

Also in November we ventured down to San Marcos with our science co-op to spend the day at Aquarena Springs. We went on a guided tour and saw lots of interesting animals and plants, did some water-related activities, and went for a ride on the famous glass-bottom boats.

Canyon of the Eagles

A few weeks ago, our Thursday co-op group went camping at Canyon of the Eagles. Although the sites themselves weren't ideal for group camping and the water level was very low, the park was beautiful and we had a great weekend.



The kids really enjoyed spending lots of time in nature.




And, as always, the time spent around the campfire is a highlight.





The kids thought it was fabulous to discover an amphitheater and put on an impromptu show for us.



Ollie even participated by showing off his best tricks.



But the very best part was spending lots of time with wonderful friends.