Christmas Photos 2016

(Catch up photos to come later.)

The Puppy Post

I've been wanting a puppy for a long time. A yellow lab was my ideal. So when I saw an ad in craigslist, I had to go for it. This is Zelda. Here she is on the long hot drive home from Los Banos on May 18. She was 9 weeks (two months) old.

Ephraim is so great with animals. This is their first meeting.

Second day home, Zelda enjoys the grass in late May.

 

 

Day three, she naps a lot. 

Getting bigger, having fun in the backyard.

 So many sticks to chew!

 May 25, Zelda visits the vet for the first time and gets her first round of shots.

 June 3, is she growing that fast?

 I'm trying to take pictures of her compared to me for reference.

 

 She likes chewing on the hose.

 She has sharp little puppy teeth!!

 Zelda likes picking blackberries. Yum!

Zelda's first walk down the block. For the first few days, she refused to leave the front yard. I tried to lure her with treats and the kids, but she would sit and not go farther. Then this day I got her to go half a block. People and cars were very scary. After that, she's been super excited when I say "walk."

Zelda discovers ants on the sidewalk.

Best toy ever: the water dish. She constantly tipped it over and would grab it and run around the yard with it like it was the most interesting thing to throw around.

June 19, Zelda meets her aunt Basker.

Chewing sticks together. My dad titles this "Branch Manager and Assistant Branch Manager."

May and Early June

After school with my kindergartener

 After school with my 3rd grader

Chillin'

 My goofballs

Gabriel and Ephraim are in the "volcano."

They are being the lava spewing out.

Ephraim found a red polo shirt, so he wanted me to make a red Link hat to go with it. I was happy to. 

 Ephraim completes kindergarten and poses with his teacher, Mrs. Hernandez.

All on his own, Gabriel wrote his teacher a haiku poem as a thank-you at the end of the school year.

WE GOT A PUPPY!!

 

April at School and Home

At the end of March I got to go with Gabriel on his school fieldtrip to the Oakland Zoo.

 

We took some selfies in the bus.

I made chocolate cheesecake. Yum!

Any position is a good position for reading.

We got a basketball hoop for the backyard for Gabriel. He likes playing the game and wanted to practice to get better. Great attitude!

Ephraim can ride a bike without training wheels!

Dancing fingers to wake us up.

Happy birthday, uncle Mike. Let's play chess.

March Ephraim Turned Six

Ephraim turned 6 on March 16. He wanted a spy-themed birthday party. I was more than happy to jump onto that.

We bought the mustaches first. Adorable!!

Then Grandma and Grandpa Gunn sent a secret agent outfit (jacket, spy watch, voice changer, compass).

 

A couple of kids from his school showed up as well as our friends and family. We had a secret code to crack, laser beam obstacle course (painter's tape), and scavenger hunt with clues.

 John and Julia use the mustaches well.

 Ephraim and his friend Donald from school are so cute.

Grandpa McMillan made one of his famous shaped ice cream cakes!!

I made cupcakes with red laser beams.