Remember how on Friday I wrote about it being spring here? Remember how I worried winter might overhear and not like it one bit? Ha! The VERY next morning I woke to this:
Oh Winter. You little trickster you.
Ah well. Spring-like weather is rather lovely, but I welcome you and your snowy ways all the same. My kids need to get more use out of their new sleds anyway.
Is it just my imagination, or did I just post a picture of my husband and kids riding their bikes the other day . . . in Utah . . . in December? Yes, I believe I did. We’ve had no more than a tiny sprinkling of snow this season (which probably isn’t great for Utah’s occasional drought concerns), but it has been kind of lovely outside. Cold off and on, sure, but also . . . very . . . not cold. My kids did indeed spend most of their Christmas break out riding their bikes. We even had a record breaking 57 degree day. All in all, it feels much more like the early beginnings of spring than the throws of winter. Typing that made me suddenly feel a bit nervous, like maybe winter overheard and is plotting a mid January revenge. In the mean time: early January 2012:
I won’t pretend that I don’t oft times go overboard on photo sharing here. I know it. But how can it be helped?
I realized the other day that my blog has evolved quite a bit since I started it back . . . oh, whenever I started it. And that makes sense because I’ve evolved too. Initially it was more just for the fun of writing. I do enjoy writing and I think my posts were often meant more to entertain others or simply to ramble something fun than to keep memories. However, as I’ve stacked my little printed blog books one after another up on my mantle, I have begun to care more about recording things that I want to remember; things I want my kids to be able to look back at, and, I realize, that many of those things are the very sorts of things that are not really of interest to the common reader (common reader? Huh?), but I don’t mind really. I don’t even mind if blogs completely fade away so long as I keep having a good format to make my little books. (And I don’t know why I am so sure that a printed book will last longer than something on the internet . . . I guess it depends on which I think is more likely a) my house burning down with photo albums, journals, blog books, etc. all caught up in the flames; or b) the modern world ending and all modern things like electricity, internet, etc. failing us. Hmm. It looks like I’m planning on horrible events of a more apocalyptic nature. Or perhaps I just really like flipping through books.)
Anyway, I’ve also learned a fair amount about photography the last year or two, and while I still know very little compared to what there is to know, it has become very satisfying to be able to capture more moments with my kids the way I want to capture them. Which might explain all the overabundance of photos I put on here these days. But, I’ve noticed something that I think is very good for me at this stage of my life. I’ve mentioned that recording little things my kids do, Mike says, etc. makes me appreciate the normal day to day happenings in my existence. Well, I’ve realized that taking pictures does that for me as well. When I was out yesterday watching my kids blow bubbles, trying to snap a photo right as someone reached for or blew the perfect bubble, it felt like magic – having these little people, watching them enjoy something as simple as bubble blowing. And I don’t know if I would have even gone outside to watch them, or watched them how I did if I hadn’t been trying to capture the moment through my lens. I really think it has been another means of helping me in my goal (that is constantly needing to be resolved upon again as I forget and fail) to enjoy now and enjoy the tiny normal moments that currently make up my life.
So, there you have it. I’ll post all the bubble blowing pictures I want to!
How about just . . . ummm . . . five more?
With all that said, I don’t intend to imply that this blog is now solely for recording family goings on. Oh no. I reserve the right to write any ridiculous thing that strikes my fancy at any time . . . simply because I like to.
The End.
they’ll be able to get through the mirror to that room and mom on the other side – the room and mom that look remarkably similar to the room and mom on this side of the mirror.
Today marks Anders’ three month birthday. He gave me his first honest-to-goodness real laughs to celebrate the occasion! I was being so clearly funny, what with my “guhs” and “ohs” and “boos” and my kissing him on his neck right between his chubby cheek and chubby shoulder, that his laugh seemed the completely obvious and natural response. So much so that I had to stop and say, “Hey! Wait a minute! You haven’t actually done that before, have you! That was your first real laugh!!” Then I fell to kissing him rather voraciously again.
Sometimes I still think having a baby is a little hard, but other times I think, “WHAT ON EARTH!!! This baby business is absolutely the greatest thing EVER!!” I’m feeling that way very definitely on this, Ander’s three month birthday!
Side note: when I told Penny that Anders was three months old today, she just said, “Huh? Then why can’t he even talk?” I forgot there was a time when weeks, months and years all meant the same thing to me.
And, this has nothing to do with Anders, but these girls are just so . . . hmm . . . what’s the word . . . CUTE? Yes, cute. That sounds right.
Spent some time getting vehicles stuck in the snow and sledding with Mike’s family at their stake camp.
Discovered I was going to become a mother for the sixth time:
Started reading book four of the Harry Potter series to Abe and Daisy (finished book seven during the summer break):
Attended an awards ceremony for my father just prior to his retirement from teaching English at our local university:
Let the kids get filthy in the melted snow remains at the park across the street:
Watched Abe compete in his last Pinewood Derby:
Celebrated Daisy turning NINE:
Went with Mike to Arizona for a week:
Spent a family night at the fish farm:
After a very cold spring, finally got some truly summer like days:
Saw the arrival of our first batch of hen-hatched chicks:
Visited family graves with my parents:
Celebrated Penny’s fourth birthday:
Spent some mornings running on the high-school track (before the summer heat got to much for that practice):
Had cousin Connor come to stay with us for a week:
Went on the first 2011 visit to “Grandpa’s Farm”:
Checked out the horses and trolley downtown:
Watched Goldie turn seven:
Had family over for a 4th of July barbeque and fireworks:
Picked lots of raspberries at my parents’ house:
Mike and the three oldest kids went to Yellowstone:
More grandpa’s farm:
Actually made the kids pull weeds for Family Night:
Got some lovely late blooms going strong:
Visited the fair, rodeo and Lagoon (trying to get our last fun in before school):
Climbed lots of trees:
Had ourselves a baby:
Woke up to our first snowfall of the season and had our last days of summer weather:
Jesse turned three:
Abe got his arrow of light in cub scouts and turned 11:
Celebrated Christmas:
Celebrated my birthday and our anniversary:
I wouldn’t say that totally summed up our year, rather, it was an occasional glimpse in on us during the year – with many significant events likely left out and many trivial ones left in. Still, I can’t offer 2011 any real complaints. It was a good year and one full of happy memories that I will enjoy looking back on as we cruise along leaving this year as a small dot in time.
