Track champs! That's right, this picture is from almost 7 months ago!
Lots to remember, celebrate and document, but what about the time to get it done???
It's pretty much been forever since I've taken the time to record any sort of anything and I am so far behind that I'm afraid there is just no catching up, so in an attempt to not dismiss more than 6 months of our lives, I spill hundreds of pictures and a few captions to try to fill in the GAP!!
Easter fun
There is a group of friends that have become among my dearest in all the world.
We run together in more ways than putting one foot in front of the other on the road. On any given emotional day, I would describe the love from these women and their families through tears. On a non-emotional day, it would likely me much the same. :)
We gathered for a pre-race meal together, spear-headed mostly by one of the most generous and creative women I know! Laurie so graciously planned and coordinated the whole thing as she has done many times previously, but we moved it to the church hall rather than her home largely in part to the sheer number of us! Well-done!
The Lincoln Half Marathon at the beginning of May was super chilly. We started our morning taking advantage of the lack of lines at the long row of toilets.
We also had the privilege of running this year's race along with Bishop Conley. This is part of the representation from St. Teresa's!
May also sports Tim's birthday. He is just on the other side of the 40 year milestone. How is it that we can be older than our parents were when we were as old as our children are? 41 is the new 29!!
This is Tim's kind of birthday steak!
We also decided to live on the edge and take advantage of having a spacious and beautiful home that was begging to have warm bodies in it again. As of Tim's birthday, our house on the acreage had sat empty for almost 10 months. We had begun toying with the idea of moving back into it for the summer and tested the waters by hosting a little celebration with dear friends!
Mathilda's volleyball team enjoyed a fun season and if you asked them, they may tell you that they enjoyed the end of the season ice cream party just as much!
Last day of school 2013!!!!
Day-after-the-last day of school breakfast…our new tradition since we couldn't make it to Valentinos after the last day of school.
Husband and wife…Ross and Carol…Ross was one of our godteens from our first group of kids! He was a freshman when Jakob was born…now he's getting married!!
Ross's sister…Sister Amy Marie…she was taking care of our babies when she was just a little one…what a great wedding, reunion, celebration...
…and as always, there is never a dull moment when we're around…the little boys were playing at a pile of rocks and suddenly there was a broken window in this shiny red truck! After a little investigation, we learned whose truck it was. Any guesses?
The grooms! Oh my!! The boys had to go tell him what happened and apologize. "Congratulations!! Carol, nice to meet you! We're so happy for you…however…" :) Ross has three brothers, so he did a great job rolling with the news. Not sure what Carol thought about us after that!!
The next weekend, we braved the wedding scene again. This time Kelly and Brian. Kelly was one of our godteens in our second group of kids. The kids were all part of the wedding, so it went without saying that we prepped them beginning with "no throwing rocks!!"
Miss Hoeller to the rescue to style the girls' hair! Somehow I missed out on the gene that offers the ability to style hair!
Seriously cute!
The boys were in heaven hanging out with the big boys! I wonder what the conversation was?
Lot's of fishing stories I'm sure!
Beautiful bride…beautiful little girls!
There were no broken windows…or anything else. Just a grand wedding, wonderful reception, superior company!
From wedding duds to camping gear...
our annual camping trip with friends.
Despite the colder weather, the kids still ventured down to the water. It didn't last long but was fun all the same!
Mass with Fr. Maclean.
Tallest to smallest…I think there were 40 kiddos!!
Milestone b-day for big brother...
Aunt Lexi came to visit for a week...
We packed a lot into a short time...
…and we had such a great time "dragging" her around to all that is part of our typical day.
We were able to sneak in some sister time and several late nights of priceless conversation.
The timing of her trip was perfect to allow her to watch each of the boys play baseball…Thanks for visiting Auntie!! Come back soon please!
One last hurrah at the acreage! That's right, 12 months later, we still owned it, so we took advantage and served ice cream one last time! What a blast!!
We will miss this, but…the celebration was two-fold…one because we love the company of our friends and two, because we finally sold it!
We worked pretty hard to sell our home, so we didn't want traffic in and out, therefore we had two porta potties dropped off...
The aftermath...
…and the fun after we cleaned up. Our own last hurrah as a family at the only home the littlest three ever knew. Lots of great memories made there. We will miss it, but life unfolds in very interesting ways…I will explain more in a post that gets it's very own title...
In the 14 months that we weren't living at the acreage, we made lots of great ones in our little house on J Street.
Jakob disassembled, sanded, stained and reassembled a play structure for the little kids. What a great addition to our back yard!
One of our biggest highlights of the summer was having a marker made for our littles in heaven.
…summer job…Josh detassled for the first time. Early mornings!!
Summer fun at Matt and Shannon's...
A week at the end of the summer back in western NE.
I love going "home" for our vacation. Kids love learning and grandparents love teaching!
We were able to sneak in a quick trip to Denver to see Cash and Annie's new home!
…we ate a big breakfast with them, went swimming in the river outside REI...
…played Frogger over the interstate...
…and ate ice cream at Little Man. YUM!
We were able to spend a day at the lake with friends too…the kids had a blast. Motorized water fun isn't something that they get to experience very often.
Conversations with cows…LOVE those little purple work gloves that she wears so proudly!
Leadership Camp...
Wow…I guess all summer long I may not have realized how big these boys are getting! They're young men! I love this camp more than anything my boys are part of. I may never have words to express just how FULL this makes me feel!
Camp happened before our end-of-summer vacation, but somehow I could not get the order of the pictures right!
And then it all starts again. The beginning of the school year is always super exciting, but even more so when there is a brand new milestone. Millie started preschool this fall.
I may cry every time I look at this photo…at very least, I will remember her excitement.
Pre-K, 1st grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 6th grade, 8th grade and 10th grade!
Mathilda's birthday helps mark the beginning of the school year and the end of the summer.
I reserve the right to remember more later and add at liberty. We have packed so much into 2013 and I still need to finish out the events of the last four months of the year! What a ride it has been. My resolution for 2014 (One of them…) is to make sure I don't fall behind in posting like I did this year. Happy NEW Year! More from 2013 and keeping up with 2014 very soon!
Lots to remember, celebrate and document, but what about the time to get it done???
Easter fun
