Marley

After we had the dog, Sup, for a few months, Jayne decided to help us out and take him off our hands.  Having Sup was such a traumatic experience that we decided we would never have a dog again, and that we are just not dog people.  

Someone recently suggested that if we get a dog, that would help one of our children that was sometimes sad and lonely. We would do anything for our children, and so....

Meet Marley:

 Joe decided we needed to get a poodle mix dog because they are hypoallergenic and smart dogs.  We first looked at labradoodles and goldendoodles, and went and visited a few.  Problem was, they were either not hypoallergenic or not calm.  My biggest thing I wanted in a new dog was a calm quiet dog. I was really hoping for an adult dog.  We found this breed- the bernedoodle.  It is a cross between a Bernese Mountain Dog and a poodle.  Someone in Arkansas breeds them and was willing to meet me halfway.  We brought home Marley on Tuesday.  She was born on December 13, 2016, making her 11 weeks old.  She weighs 17 pounds.

 So far she is the sweetest dog.  The whole ride home she sat quietly on the floor of the van, not moving much or making a peep.  Since then, she is generally really quiet.  She likes to be around us, and will follow us around, but she also likes to sleep.  A lot.  She likes to play, but then she calms down.  She doesn't jump on you or bite.  I really hope these characteristics stay.

This photo was taken with a fish eye lense- her nose is really not that big.

We plan to train her well and keep her for her whole life.  Welcome to the family!

Michael Robotics

Michael chose to do robotics as his extra project in pre-ap science this year.  Since Adam did it for two years, Joe knew how to help him to do it very easily.  His teammate was Kael, so that helped a lot because they were already good friends.

  He did well.  His first round he got 4 points, but his second round he got 8.  We didn't stick around for the finals so we don't know how he would have done if he had stayed.

Alamo Classic and Girls Weekend

Ellie got to compete in San Antonio in the Alamo Classic meet again this year, but as a level 5.  Since we had just gone to San Antonio as a family a couple of weeks before to go to William's baptism, just Ellie and I went.  We made it into a girls weekend.

 First of all, she did great!  She only competed in three events- floor, beam and vault.  She got 2nd place on beam and 3rd place on floor.  Really great for her first meet at this level!

 On our weekend, we also got our nails painted...

 and did some outlet shopping!  We had a great time and Ellie really made out well too!

Ellie braces on

 The day after Adam got his braces off, we took Ellie in to see if she needed braces.  I had hoped since her teeth look so straight that they could fix the one or two teeth that were slightly misaligned and we could skip braces.  No!  Her jaw needs to be moved a small amount, so that is probably the biggest thing she needs with braces.  Here is her before picture.

 After braces.  I posted both pictures on facebook, and a lot of people wrote how great her teeth looked and congratulations for getting her braces off!

Because a picture this crazy needs to be saved.

 She decided to do selfies after her braces were on.  Then she changed the home screen on my phone to this.