5 years old!

This crazy boy had a birthday this week.

We did a lot of our celebrating on Monday, but tried to make it a Yes Week for him all week.

I let him pick where we ate for lunch one day - and he chose

Jack in the Box where he ordered a huge breakfast sandwich!

He really loves those eggs.

Since my oven is still out of commission, we decided to get the turkey cake Peter has been asking for all month - at least every time he sees it at the grocery store.  We thought it was appropriate since we definitely do give thanks for our Peter :)  

This is the first time we've had a store-bought cake for any birthday around here... the consensus was that there was WAY too much icing!

And of course, we had time for presents!

 Lots of Legos and Superheroes and dinosaurs made their appearance this year.

We were lucky enough to celebrate again on Thanksgiving Day with cousin Josh whose birthday is a few days after Peter's... this time with yummy homemade cupcakes and just the right amount of icing :)  

Thanks Grandma!

Peter is such a smart kid - he is always coming up with interesting animal facts to share with us.  He has a huge imagination that keeps him busy for hours when playing with Legos or animals, but sometimes results in some intense dreams so we have to be careful of what he sees in movies or on TV.  This little man loves to read and learn about dinosaurs or science.  He will start school next year, but he already knows a lot of basic math and reads as well as a 1st or 2nd grader so we are working on a plan to keep him engaged and interested.  Peter is a sweet boy who is always ready  with a hug or a kiss (especially for his mom!) and he's a huge help when it comes to keeping Eli out of trouble.  We do love this boy and are glad he's a part of our family!

I leave you with one final image...

 Here's hoping our Green Lantern turns out a little more well adjusted than Dr. Cooper!

Zilker Botanical Gardens

Our ward met this morning for a service project at the Botanical Gardens.

We helped them plant daffodil bulbs and mulch the azalea bushes.

It really was a great service project because even the kids were able to help.

After working for a couple of hours, we had a chance to explore the gardens.

They really are beautiful, even in the fall when a lot of the plants are in hibernation mode.

The picture above is a "dinosaur" in the children's garden which the kids loved

and I could have spent the rest of the day in the rose garden which was full of lovely blossoms.

 

It was a lovely way to spend a beautiful fall morning!

Longhorn Fans

An occupational hazard

Cousins!

My brother blessed his baby on Sunday and there was a great gathering of cousins!

Poor Archer was a little overwhelmed by all the chaos I think...

but I have no doubt that he will enjoy adding to it very soon :)

All the cousins on the Bardo side of the family were able to be there - 

We were especially glad that my brother's family made the drive from Tennessee

and brought a birthday celebration with them as well!

We partied at a fun park in North Houston...

pizza, cupcakes, candy, fun games, and

miniature golf!

We might need to work on his technique a little.

Daniel and the Lion's Den

 

 When Leah turned 8, she was able to start attending Activity Days - a program our church created for girls ages 8-12.  There are only two other girls this age in our ward so they were thrilled to have Leah join their ranks.  I absolutely LOVE these girls!  They encourage each other to read their scriptures and share their testimony on Fast Sunday.  I will take quality over quantity any day!!

So... the point of this post is to share the culmination of almost a year of hard work on the part of these girls and their awesome Activity Days leader.  Since just before Leah joined them, they have been working on a puppet show of Daniel and the Lion's Den.

These amazing girls made the rod puppets (including paper mache heads), wrote the script, and came up with songs to turn it into a musical!  Then they performed it twice for the Primary and again for the Young Women and other assorted ward members.  They did a wonderful job!

I'm posting a video of one of their shows here for those who are interested.  Be forewarned that it is about 10 minutes long, but it is very enjoyable.  I apologize in advance for the shaky camera work in the middle when Eli decided he needed to sit on my lap.

In case you couldn't tell from the video, Leah was the voice behind the Daniel puppet.

She had such a great time working on this project!  

I can't wait to see what they come up with next...