Merry Christmas!

This year has been so much fun.  We’ve had a lot of visitors, short and long term, and we’ve loved sharing our home with them all.  We’ve grown a lot and made lots of family memories.

We started off the year welcoming Chris’ brother Adam home from his mission.  He spent two years serving a mission for our church in Portugal.  We had somewhat of a mini family reunion with Larry and Stephenie and quite a bit of Welch’s staying with us for a week or so.  It was so nice to celebrate his safe return and hear all the stories and fun times he had while he was away.

In April Larry was hired by a company in Monroe, WA which meant they were headed back “home”.  They had just a short while to pack their things and hit the road.  They drove across the country and were able to visit many family members along the way.  By the end of the month they arrived at our place where we welcomed them with open arms.  It’s so nice to have them close again.  I will admit it was a long two years having them so far away.  They stayed with us while they made arrangements for their home in Georgia to be rented and found a place here.  They are now up in Woodenville in a cozy apt.  closer to Larry’s office.  During their stay we also welcomed Adam back from BYU Idaho where he attended school, and had a visit with Kevin who returned from Iraq in late June.  Bryon had fun with this, and whenever he called he would ask if there were any vacancies at Hotel Welch.

In mid October Kevin came to stay with us and became Max and Parker’s roommate.  It’s been so much fun having him here.  We all enjoy his company and his help around the house.  He’s preparing to leave in April to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.  The hike will take about 6 months.  It starts at the tip of Mexico and goes north all the way to Canada.

Chris and I have been keeping busy and have enjoyed watching our kids grow.  I find myself saying this every year, but I can’t believe how fast the time is going.  We took the kids on a great camping trip this summer and visited some National parks along the way.  It’s nice that they are starting to get a little older and can handle longer trips.  I also left my children for the first time in October to see Julie and her family in Arizona.  They were so kind to fly me out and I had a wonderful time.  I loved the warm weather and visiting with them.

Parker is 10 this year and is preparing to be a boy scout.  He is in the 5th grade and has joined the choir and band this year.  He plays percussion in the band and prefers the drums to the bells.  He played soccer this fall and once again really enjoyed being on the field.  Parker is an all around happy kid and we love his enthusiastic attitude.

Max is 7 and is in the 1st grade. He loves school and really enjoys his teacher this year.  He often brings her homemade goodies from the kitchen and was nicknamed the “muffin man” in class.  His generous actions became contagious and his teacher said that hardly a day goes by that she doesn’t receive an edible gift from one of her students.  He also played soccer this year and his coach said he was the fastest runner on the team.  He loves to run and seems to never get tired.  He has grown a lot this past year and is becoming quite the young man, although he still can’t resist teasing his little sister!  He is very entertaining and keeps us all laughing.  Max is very well liked and we love having him in our family.

Wendy is 3 and her favorite activity is dressing up.  She loves the Disney Princesses and anything associated with being a girl.  She wears dresses so often that she gets comments when she wears a pair of jeans.  She played soccer this year too and it was so fun to watch her on the field.  I think she kicked the ball once the entire season, but she could tell you everyone’s name and what they were wearing after each game.  She held hands with the players and was even caught giving a teammate a wet willy during a game.  She loves arts and crafts and is learning to write her name.  She has learned to use the computer and loves it.  Wendy brings a lot of spunk to our family.  We sure are glad to have her.

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.  We are so grateful for our savior and the many ways we are blessed because of him.  We have many things to be thankful for.

Chris, Amy, Parker, Max, and Wendy

Golf camp

I had lots of fun at golf camp. I learned lots of things. We did mini golf,par 3 and BBQ. We also earned golfballs I got 6. We did driving range,chiping and putting.

Max Reviews 3D Roller Coaster Rush

Go Seahawks

Wendy: Mom, can I wear my blue dress today?
Me: Sure, but only if your white shirt is clean to wear under it.
Wendy: Blue doesn’t go with white. Blue only goes with Orange!

It’s so stinking hard to be a Seahawks fan amongst all these Bronco lovers.

Bronco Busters! Go Seattle!

Stake 25 Anniversary Celebration

It was a fun day to visit with friends and celebrate 25 years for the Kent Washington Stake. The Kent Stake was formed when I was 8 years old. Good times.

Having Fun at the Splash Park

Uncle Kevin is Here

Visitors

Last night Grandma and Grandpa Morgan came to visit. It was fun to see them.

Ouch

Looks like Parker might need a little more training before teaching knife safety. Both him and Max are recovering after slicing their fingers.

What’s for Dinner?

Looks like we’re having Hobo Stew. Here’s a shot of the ladies getting the food ready. We’ll also be having some clams that we all dug up at the beach. Digging them was a first for Chris and eating them will be a first for Parker, Wendy, and I.