All Things Growing.

Such a fun moment to see Bella with our very favorite Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Kirch. Yes, the saintly teacher who taught all three of our kids. And it was so fun to see Bella reading in front of everyone.

An aproppriate moment to focus on how very quickly kids grow -- the theme of their little show was just that, growing and changing. As a mom, I'll will concur that growing up happens way too fast.

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All Things Family Camp

Alex's boy scout troop does a family camp every year and although the girls and I elected not to stay overnight, I think next year we just may. Look at their sweet faces when Ken and Alex put up the tent. My resistence to NOT CAMPING EVER may be caving in.

Boy Scouts are handy creatures. They set up things like swings so little sisters and brothers will have something to do. Bella didn't want to let go or to leave for that matter.

Alex recieved his Tenderfoot rank. Not bad considering that he's been in scouts for a little over 8 months.

And here's a picture of Alex proudly pinning Ken with the rank pin. I made Ken go up and participate mostly because he truly earned it by attending Boy Scout Summer camp with the troop this year. I still haven't gotten over the sheer volume of dust they brought back with them from Camp Fleishmann.

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All Things Roll On You Bears

Such a fun day for Alex and Ken -- they got to see Cal play UNR. And Alex wore his Cal shirt proudly when the band called him over to get a pic. Gotta love my alum mater's band. Everyone remember The Play? Yeah, I was there. Coming back home to the dorm after getting my haircut in San Francisco and wondering what all the hubbub was about. No, Ken cannot forgive me for that. Well, not entirely.

 Of course, UNR's mascot was a good guy.

But in the end...the winner was clear. Roll on you bears. I'd love to take Alex to a Cal home game. Perhaps, one of these days we'll make it a priority.

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All Things Level Up

It's that time of year when we level up in ballet. Always an exciting time mostly because of the new color of leotard that signifies the next level.

Remember when you moved up? That glow of excitement always says it all, doesn't it?



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All Things Jazzy.

He's really not shoving this alto sax up his nose; he's just excited to learn how to play it. We went through a long list of potential instruments, some of which I negated  based on their Migraine Trigger Factor. Violin or strings in general -- no. Tuba -- nope. Drums -- yeah, no, no, a thousand times no.

At some point, he mentioned a sax and I thought, huh, yeah that could work. Many thanks to Grandma Sandi for sponsoring the instrument. So here's to jazzing it up a little.

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All Things Just Us.

Party of five, please.

It's an odd number, but one that works well for us.

We never quite fit into that family package for vacations, hotel room bookings or even a booth in a restaurant (now that Bella doesn't fit into a high chair). And yet, look at us, we make sense. Don't we? Well, at least we do to us.

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All Things Seventeen.

Seventeen years ago, we didn't even dream about these three smiling faces. We were too busy enjoying our honeymoon in Walt Disney World. Ah, that beach in front of the Grand Floridian is so gorgeous, but I wouldn't trade it for those three smiling faces. Or for that frosty margarita pictured below.

On every one of our wedding anniversaries I reflect back on the past year as well as the previous ones, and while we've had our share of ups and downs, I have to say that overall life is pretty darn good.

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