Before bed cuddles. Lucas could care less about the show Eli is into and would much rather be playing. I know this isn't a zoo picture, but it was our bedtime pic after our exciting day with the animals.
Wonder what they are telling the goat? 
All my monkeys. Lucas loved the zoo!!
All lined up, but I am not sure what they are looking at. If I wasn't posting this 6 months later I might would remember!
This year my nephew, Eli, turned 5. Unbelievable, to say the least, that 5 years have past since this vivacious little man entered our world. He wanted to have a dragon party and this was the fabulous dragon cake made by his super creative mom. 
Some of the kids at the party pausing from the festivities to admire another one of Aunt Noelle's crafty projects...a backyard pond. Nope, there aren't any dragons in there, but there are some pretty fascinating gold fish, a teapot fountain and all the pecan shells a kid could want to launch into the water. 
This dragon had special powers and laid eggs. The kids had fun with a dragon egg hunt.
Lucas eats the marshmallows because, well, Lucas will just about eat anything.
Hunter roasts the marshmallows. He doesn't like to eat them.
Sitting together one fallish afternoon by the fire. As the weather started to get cooler we built more and more fires in the evening while we grilled or cooked dinner. As portrayed in the pics above the boys enjoy the marshmallow roasting and we enjoy watching and helping.
Merry Christmas Cowboy. For those of you who don't know, he was one of Abby's puppies. He was right in the middle of all the action, exactly as Abby would have been. In some strange way he presence was comforting...even with all of his grumpy growling.
The aftermath.
Mom and Dad getting ready to open their new TV!
Hugs from Aunt Jenny. This year I took Hunter Christmas shopping to pick out presents from he and Lucas. I must say he did a fantastic job!
Some inside joke dad and David have, I think.
Lucas playing with his new barn from Santa.
Yay! A kitchen to help me cook.
Perfect gift for Chloe, aka Taylor Swift.
New bike and helmet!
Let the present opening begin.
Making Christmas cookies. We have done this every year on Christmas eve. This year was the best ever. Hunter was really having a great time despite the sour puss look on his face!
All the kids headed to the living room to play with TOYS!!! Getting ready to exchange presents and celebrate Christmas with Aunt Susan, Uncle Kenneth, Jodi, Chris and Shelton.
Snuggling on the couch after dinner. Hunter is MIA in this picture, but he is kicked back on the couch by himself on the opposite side of the wall. I couldn't fit all of them in the frame.
Such a wonderful group of children. They are all so sweet and play well together. We mis you Knox family and wish our kids could play more often!
Gaga and Papa got each of the grandchildren a Christmas book where they are reading the story. This picture captured Hunter's surprise when he recognized the voices reading the story. This was our family's favorite Christmas book the rest of the season! 
So happy!
I guess I didn't need to post 3 pictures of this moment, but it was so sweet I couldn't help myself. Hunter was just taken away that their voices were recorded throughout the book.
Hunter and Chloe were our little elves. They did a great job distributing the presents.
Patiently waiting to open, I think?
Lucas playing the piano with Nana. Lucas loves his Nana!
First place finisher of the crab crawl!
The crab crawl. Mom and I went to watch Chloe participate in the winter x games held at the elementary school. It was fun and pure chaos. With so many kids, we did a lot of waiting around for her events. She is a natural when it comes to athletics. I can proudly say she won all 4 of her events!!
Beautiful dress! She was so cute wearing this dress all throughout the winter.
Hard to believe this little girl is 6 years old. Where does the time go?
Making a wish and blowing out the candles.
This year Chloe wanted to have a princess party. It was a fun party with many of her friends and family.
Our sweet Chloe was a Pilot Mountain cheerleader this year. I couldn't imagine a more cuter cheerleader than this precious little girl. We all went to North Surry HS to watch her cheer for a game. She did a fantastic job!
How sweet is this?
Chloe and Chloe Ann taking good care of Lucas before the game.
First day of Kindergarten!!! Yahoo, what a fun day for Chloe!! It is official, she has started big girl school. Mom, Aunt Susan, Hunter, Lucas and I all waited in the pick up line after her first day of school. Honestly, I don't know who was more excited!
Getting ready to go to school!
iCarly backpack and ready to go.
And....to top off this exciting morning she looses her first tooth! 
She is such a wonderfully happy child that has added so much to our life!!! Much more of her to come as I work my way through the rest of this catch up year and catch up blog!!