Four Kids in a Tub

Bathing the kids at my parents house was easier than normal because I had a few extra hands to help me.  I could throw them all in, spray 'em off, and hand them off in a warm towel to the highest bidder. 

 Joel took one look at these pictures and said, "Four kids in one tub is too many."

I think James was inclined to agree with him!  The little guy has not yet seemed to enjoy baths, even when he doesn't have to share the water with any other kids.

Family Photos 2012

Whew.  I don't think I have ever gone this long without posting.  The summer flew by, which is probably because (due to scheduling difficulties) the kids and I spent the majority of it in Utah.  Joel spent the majority of the summer at home alone, working, and sweating in a terrible, sweltering Iowa heatwave.  We all missed him a lot, but I missed him the most out of anyone.  The morning after he arrived in Utah for a quick visit, we stopped at the Mount Timpanogos Temple for some googley-eyed sentiment.

Joel and I were married in that temple.  We were officially engaged in the park across from it.  More specifically, we were engaged under the boughs of this tree.

It is majestic, and bigger than any other tree in the park.  

The ancient trunk is massive.  It is wide and stately, its great limbs reaching heavenward, a mighty sentinel.  Many weathered blemishes give it wizened character.

This tree is our real-life family tree.  When I see it each year, I want to embrace it for what it symbolizes to me.

Instead, Joel and I gather our little brood and clump together along its feet.

Some day I will compile a book of our annual family tree photos.

I imagine I will look at this photo and remember the days when I could never keep up with the fingerprints on my windows.

Everett took this photo of Joel and me.  I only wish that I had realized our bags and Ashley's stuffed cat were behind us.

Still got it!