Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009 II

So here is the second installment and these photos are not cohesive or in any order nor will they make much sense because there is something wrong with my web browser and it is not cooperating with blogger and really, I don't have time for this kind of temperamental behavior.


This is in Michigan, check out the stroller in the water, this is how Rosemary enjoyed the water-sitting in it in a stroller.



I can frequently be heard to tell the children to run to the mudroom to put on their shoes. Before Rosemary could walk, this is how she would respond to the command.





These are the petoskeys we found in Michigan. If you are walking the beaches of the northern lower peninsula and you aren't looking for petoskeys, you just aren't living.



The sailboat named "The Norah".



More beach.



Lulu's birthday at Challenger. Check out Rosemary's tongue. People always ask me if it fits in her mouth.



Beautiful Lulu on her birthday.



One of Brad's clients gave him first row tickets to the Jazz game last Saturday that included the Jazz club 100 buffet. I don't really know anything about the Jazz, but I do know a little bit about free (expensive) buffets.





We spent a lot of time walking the paths of Thanksgiving Point's garden this summer.



We also took the kids to the They Might Be Giants concert. So so fun. STOMP YOUR FEET!



The pines in Michigan.



At the zoo on a cold day.



A way too docile lynx.



A very undocile praying mantis taking down a grasshopper in my garden. That praying mantis was my hero.


More Thanksgiving Point.



Our traditional breakfast Christmas morning: crab Benedict.



The kids and Brad walking to the concert.




For a joint mutual activity we took a fun private tour of the state capital. Remember when they were renovating it to make it earthquake proof. Well I guess these are the earthquake proof parts. They are like giant slinkys (that was the professional description that our tour guide gave us and since he was the chief of staff of the speaker of the house, I believe they are giant slinkys).



Abram's birthday cake. It's my first decorated cake and I ran out of black gel, but Abram didn't seem to notice and thought he had entered cake heaven.




These girls came into town at the beginning of August. We were all roommates, worked together, saw each other through some serious break-ups, make-ups, heartbreaks, and laughter. We also all served missions:Japan, Hong Kong, Nova Scotia, and Provo. We now have 15 children between us.



There are many gaps and missing pages, but that is the way it feels. It's been a Tasmanian devil of a year. But I will miss my boy being two, and my baby being a baby, and Norah's little teeth, and Lulu taking naps. I'm hoping that 2010 will be the last that I ever see of Abram's diapers.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Just in case you don't get it in time...

or ever...because you really can't expect me to go out in this snow storm and please don't say that I've had like 21 days to mail them already.



Thursday, December 17, 2009

2009 Part 1

The past 12 months have been intense ones for me. When I envisioned my life as a mother I saw peace and quiet and of course, I never yelled. And although I have whittled my life down to the bare necessities, it is still a mad dash. Between schools, therapy, YW, a husband who owns a busy law firm/title company, and now my early morning trainings-I've left most of our life unwritten.

So I purpose to do a pictorial recap--nothing fancy, mostly pictures that have sat lonely hoping to see their day in the sun. Maybe there will be some slight explanations-mostly for my memory.

(These will be in no particular order)



So I think this may be from the 4th of July, whatever it was it was awesome.



Let's take some Michigan. As a child I remember finding plenty of tree frogs among this myrtle. I don't find that I like to adventure among the Myrtle like I used to.





This photo pretty much sums up the essence of my year.



I never wrote about my grandfather--or about how extraordinarily large my hair was in Michigan-XXL.







My dad is a "subtle" fanatic.








Lake Michigan water is cold, but I consider myself incredibly lucky to have contracted skin cancer on that beach and in those waters.

Well, that's all the reminiscing I have time for today.

If you are really lucky, you may be able to view another installment.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Family Pictures...


Since we like to make it a nail biter...we waited until this last Sunday to have our family Christmas card photos taken by my sister in-law Kate. Taking family pictures with a bunch of little children is always something special.






But this year, it wasn't so horrible.




Kate is good at what she does, and my children were promised suckers, so I suppose you cannot go too wrong with a sugar incentive.






It has been ridiculously cold outside so because of our profound procrastination, we now have inside photos.







This is one of my favorites because only 2 of my children have their tongues sticking out. Score.




But oh my beautiful girls. I promised them sound of music hair.










You know, the family photos I love of my youth, are not the ones where everyone is perfectly positioned and behaved (as if those even exist), the family photos I love to look at are the ones that make me laugh and remind me of my siblings' young personalities.



So maybe family pictures aren't something to stress over,





maybe they should just be enjoyed.






And if all else fails we always have the photo below to beautify our 2009 Christmas card.