I have yet to talk about our amazing neighbors - I will get to that eventually because they deserve a post all their own. We are surrounded by good people and the loveliest of friends that you can imagine; people that have no problem hanging out with us in public.
Hazel was blessed with an amazing teacher last year. She adored Mrs. Beam and has really impressed us with her ability to work hard and do so well in school.
Rocket is a smart dog. This is where he sits every time Ezra is in his chair. When I get Ezra out, he promptly eats everything stuck to his rear end, then what is left on the chair, followed by anything dropped on the floor. How is he not fat?
I have spent a lot of time in the last year or two marveling at how we have arrived at the place that we are in history. I approached the election in 2016 in complete disbelief of my options-how in the world did we arrive at those choices?! There was a day leading up to the election that I had a moment of clarity that allowed me to vote how I felt was right. And that was about all I could've hoped for.
I love this picture of Hazel because I have such clear memories of the years that she spent sitting on my feet and cheering on her older sisters at their booster runs. It was fun to be there and cheer for her as she ran her little heart out. Go Gators!
And then Ezra turned ONE. Every new stage means the end of an era for us and its a little bittersweet. He is a crazy, adorable, sweet boy. My Mom has always said that the way a baby approaches their cake is very telling of how they approach life. That made it even more unusual that the first time we tried to do his cake he just cried. Having the whole thing in front of him made him sob. It wasn't until attempt number 2 that we realized all he wanted was a smaller piece. Interesting - apparently Ezra will attack life piece by piece, step by step :)
Family pajama party...still my favorite day of the week. If they remember nothing else, I hope they remember how much we loved to be together.
Oh my. On this particular morning we were early enough to church that Jonah was asked to be the "reverence child" example on the stand. I was sweating bullets as I watched him stand there...after a minute he started to shift, then wiggle, then bend. At one point he was leaning so far over the rail with his arms still folded, I was sure he was going to just flip right over onto the ground. Then when the Bishop stood up and thanked him and told him he could sit down, he took his place next to the counselors on the stand. That boy. He has my heart.
Jonah was one of the lucky ones in the family to get his tonsils and adenoids out at only three years old. He also had tubes put in because of his constant ear infections and horrible pressure that builds up every time he gets sick, which is often because he also has pretty bad allergies. Every 6 weeks or so during the winter he gets a runny nose, that turns into a cough that almost immediately sounds horrid and a few times he gets a build up of pressure behind his ears that is excruciating. We finally saw a doctor that did more than put him on antibiotics. A few chest x-rays later he was diagnosed with reactive airways so we left a little wiser on how to ward off these episodes before they come on.
I think the tech that got him to stand still long enough to snap an x ray deserves an award.
Dirt=Jonah's happy place. Mulch works too.
Should I lose my mind and be committed or fall into a sudden comatose state with no warning, let it be known that this is what has driven me to it. I live among professional mess makers. There are no awards for that...just tv shows where they find dead cats under piles of things taller than your head.
Mia started the flute at school this year and I love it. I love hearing my kids play their instruments and I am happy to have the flute as part of it. Rocket was riveted...also, he was waiting patiently to be stroked.
Ah the dentist. I love taking my kids to the dentist. I especially love taking all my kids to the dentist at the same time...one foul swoop, that's the way to get it done. Also, I think some of them are getting a little too tall for the pediatric dentist chairs.
Crazy hair day...sometimes I am actually prepared for things...
A fun visit in November from some of our favorite people. We are still getting used to this whole area and what we are supposed to do with visitors but we have fun showing them around and doing what we like to do...that is eating hot donuts, watching the bridge go up, walking in the woods and visiting the beach.
And then more fun visitors! We had Heber and Gentri and their cute kiddos join us for Thanksgiving as well as Mo and Papa. With only a couple of days to play we shot off rockets at the high school, rode a ferry, visited Jamestown (and the decapitated livestock), joined the militia, had hot chocolate in Williamsburg and basked in their company.
I don't believe any explanation is needed for these photos. It is no secret that I love family pictures. I would plaster the walls of my house with pictures of my family. In fact, its a tragedy that I have no wall space left for more because I have years and years of pictures that I would surround myself with.
Ash & Bean did a beautiful job working with such a large group. I was so pleased with what she was able to do.
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