A January Johnston contribution!

 I forgot to post in November! (I take the Kinast blogging responsibility for myself as I, Cassi, thoroughly enjoy writing and Dave thoroughly does not.) 😉

In reflection, this was a year of growth and trying new things. Ava picked up an interest in cooking and has been very helpful in the kitchen when we have busy nights! This summer she began piano lessons and is already a natural. She played Spiderella in Spiderella the play, along with Ollie and Adelynn picking up roles as strong ants.

She was also the lead role in Dolly The Polkadotted Llama And The Mackindoo Zoo. Ollie was Speedy the Tortoise in that show and did an amazing job with his lines! I don't believe we have seen the last of him on stage. 

Both girls and I hosted one of the stops at the Spookwalk this October. 

Ava had a lot of fun in Moana Jr, even more fun in Elf the Musical, and is preparing for SpongeBob the Musical in a few weeks! Shameless plug: let me know if you would like tickets for the show Feb 16-19!

Ollie graduated Pre-K and entered Kindergarten! He is one of 12 boys and 4 girls in his class. Bless his teacher! (She's also 45 and pregnant). He's enjoying math and is starting to read. 

He had his first summer of participating in camps! He enjoyed Zoo camp, Love Hutch, Dillon Nature camp, swimming lessons, and a season of T-ball. 

Adelynn graduated 5th grade! CCS does a really cool transition into middle school in 6th grade. Although they are in middle school, they still have one homeroom teacher, but they have lockers and are responsible to walk themselves to their other classes - music, PE, library, lunch, etc. She plays her flute in the school band and is in her 11th year of dance! (Which is wild since she's only 12). The dance photo below is posted outside her dance studio! If you look, you can see her smiling face when you drive by! She joined Ava for a short Play in the Park this summer too. 

Our friend Alice lived with us for a few months before she got married in July 2021 and on June 13, 2022, her daughter Amaris was born! Outside of blood-relation, I have never seen Dave voluntarily reach for a baby - but we love Amaris and her parents! 

Our vacations this year were to KC and California! In California, we got to experience Universal and Disneyland. We don't currently have one planned, but are usually counting down the days to our next Disney vacation.

Overall our zoo is doing well. Sundae & Meatball are still slobbery and cuddly. Leroy and Moxie still silently rule the roost. Our red betta fish, Flash, got a new roommate. A blue snail named Seabiscuit. 

We lost our chickens to some terrible raccoons in September. We hope to get more in a couple months - with a plan in place to protect them from nasty raccoons who dig under fences. We will hopefully have eggs for sale when school starts. 

The biggest addition to our herd is the guinea pigs! The one pictured in Dave's right hand is Dawn, who belongs to Adelynn. The one in his left hand is Reese, who belongs to Ava. The girls are responsible to budget for and care for their guinea pigs from their allowance. They even wash their reusable bedding twice a week.

I keep pretty busy with being in leadership for Hutch Moms, hosing my Turquoise Table in the summer, volunteering at school and participating in Lasagna Love. I've taken approximately one lasagna per month to families who need a little bit of help over the last year. My friend Jamie and I recently cooked and assembled 12 lasagnas, but they won't last me half a year because, since I have them available, I keep signing up to deliver more! 

A few weeks ago we lost my Grandpa. My Dad's dad, Charles, passed away when he was 17. My Grandma married Frank, and he passed away when I was young. She married my Grandpa Marlen 30 years ago, when I was 5. Although he had 22 biological grandkids, he always claimed us as his own. The kids knew him the same as his bio grandkids - as "Pampa". Thank you all for your love and support as we said 'goodbye'. 

We hope 2023 is a year of more growth and trying exciting new things for you all as well!