Amery volleyball

Amery is on the volleyball team at her school. She has played since 5th grade and really enjoys it. She is also having a few private lessons and is improving her game lots this year.

Family Picture Day

Time again for the Abel's annual picture day. It is always a delight, or is that just in my dreams? Reality is so crazy and stressful. We usually just have a friend take pictures of us. This year we decided to hire a professional, so I was extra stressed. When we are paying so much money for a picture, and who knows when we might hire one again, they have to be great!! Of course, the whining begins as soon as they find out we are getting pictures (I didn't give much notice because I didn't want to hear about it for days). Many of them are threatening they aren't coming, they don't want to wear the clothes I bought them, they are hungry, she is looking at me, etc, etc. After we get to the location, we realize at least one of them has no socks and most of them have filthy hands and faces. I guess this is the real Abel family. As soon as we get out of the car Jim proceeds to tell the kids it will only be a couple of pictures, so that is all they want to take- 2. I proceed to tell them we will be taking tons of pictures and bribe them with rewards after, "the better you cooperate, the quicker it will be over". After many attempts with bunny ears behind the heads and many silly faces, our skilled photographer managed to actually get a few good ones. After all this - I aged 10 years and put on at least 10 lbs, imagine how good I looked before this.

If you want to get a better view you can click on any of the pictures.

Leaf Raking

The very first week we moved to Spokane we participated in the annual leaf raking service day with the Catholic Charities. We always bring our whole family, even the babies. The first time we did, I think some people were surprised. Now, after seven seasons, they know us there and even use pictures of our kids on their web site and fliers. Others have started bringing their kids too. It is a neat experience to help out older people who are not able to do it themselves and don't have the means to hire someone. There are several people we have gotten familiar with when we have been sent to their homes many times over the years. Our children are big helpers most of the time. They also love it when they can have a few minutes to play in the leaves. Their favorite part of the whole thing is the chili lunch we are served afterward at Gonzaga. Here are some of the fun pictures we took this year.