favorite faces: september

here we come

daaaaaaad!

do we have to say goodnight?

we're really going to miss you, baby girl.

kapria kisses

spinning...a new way

taking a break

packing

get me, daddy

megara

today is another pretty sweet holiday because it's my aunt's birthday. here are just a few of the reasons i love you so much, meg:

• you have a contagious laugh.
• you wrestle with your kids. and anyone else.
• you like to do fun, spontaneous, crazy things.
• you make life exciting (see above).
• you have a great sense of humor.
• you share your testimony with me.
• we have good discussions. i know i can say what i'm thinking with you, no matter what.
• you are beautiful. ( i guess i would love you if you weren't. but you are, so i don't have to decide.)
• you love me (and who can't love someone who loves them back?).

happy birthday megara!

ps. someday I'll get that book done...i'll shoot for your next next birthday.

pps. i will call soon. promise.

ppss. stef - i stole your picture. i hope you don't mind. it's a good one!

every girl needs one

new view

She loves doing this all the time now.

a taste of italy

Jenna and Maggie went to Italy and brought Kapria this flower hair pin. We feel like world travellers just looking at it.

Kapria now loves eating out of a bowl. She holds the spoon the whole time, even if she doesn't always use it.

See: we're cultured and refined.

don

It's a triple holiday today, as you may have noticed. This is cause for triple celebration. Because it's such a unique holiday, everyone had to have their own post. Don must have his own post. But he's like Trav...and my brothers...and my dad: not overly sentimental. So I'll keep it short.

• I wish you vertical calm (no roller coasters).
• I wish you time to paint something new.
• I wish you easy-to-write books.
• I wish you a warm, sunny day of fishing.
• I wish you continued music to your ears.

Happy Birthday, Don!

Sidenote: I was lucky enough to work with Don at two different companies. We were even able to work on a book together at Imagine. Pretty much he's an amazing artist. Click here to check out his website. Here's a peak:

cheryl

Eight years ago I was hired by a software company as a tester. I was nervous to start a new job and scared of meeting new people. Would I like my job? Would my job like me? Would there be people I got along with? Would I be happy there?

My worries were silly, I just didn't know it. Because when I started I didn't know that one person by the name of Cheryl worked there too.


She was smart. She was funny. She was witty. She was beautiful. She was willing to help me figure the job out. We worked together for I think about a year. Due to the nature of our job, we were able to talk...a lot. I learned. I laughed. I smiled. I worried. I confided. I dreamed. I cried. In short: I found a friend.


Cheryl is still smart.

and funny.

and witty.

and beautiful.

and she is still one of my most amazing and cherished friends.

Happy Birthday, friend.

mckenon

Today - September 24 - is another grand holiday. Today is my baby brother's 19th birthday. Happy Birthday Mckenon!

A fun memory I just thought of: all your squishy baby rolls.
Here's another one: you always wanted us to scratch your back. even at 2 years old you were a massage-mooch. (and we all loved to make you happy.)
And: "Mckenon, who's your favorite?"

Side note: One of the things that makes me most sad about leaving for college when you were 9 was that we didn't get to "grow up" more together with all 5 of us in the house. It probably would have been hard. But I missed not seeing you and Shawn through junior high and high school* on a daily basis. *Maybe I should talk to Mom & Dad. They might say I was lucky. he he he.

In keeping with birthday wishes, here are mine for you this year:

• I wish you many awesome sports days without injury.
• I wish you some hot dates too, since you can use as many as possible before the drought.
• I wish you song muses as you write, sing, and play your guitar.
• I wish you sunny days at the beach (I want some too).
• I wish you a good job that will earn you lots of dinero.
• I wish you fun and lots of laughs.
• I wish you strength and the spirit as you prepare for your mission.

Love you, bud.

animal sounds

found the stash

kyndra

September 14 is one of my favorite holidays of the year. What holiday, you ask? Why, my youngest sister's birthday. This year she turned 17. I wish we could have celebrated with you, Kyndra. But at least we got to talk and laugh, and I hope you felt loved and spoiled and loved some more.


Here are my birthday wishes for you:

• I wish you a fun school year with good friends and good times (I remember my sophomore year was really fun).


• I wish you continued muses as you write (you are an amazing writer and an example to me of dedication).


• I wish you many fabulous hair days. I drool over your blonde bombshell hair and how fast and thick it grows.
  
• I wish you hot dates with hot (good) guys. All girls can use a hot date now and then ("hot" can include being in a group, since...ahem...isn't that how it's supposed to go until college or something?)


• I wish you here with us to visit.


• I wish you to know how beautiful you are. Truly.


• I wish you lots of happy days.

Love you!

all by myself

Wednesday, September 10

moose hugs

to all of you

that girl

For Kapria's birthday party, Mom helped with the games. We played "Parachute," "Duck-Duck-Goose" and "Bean-Bag-Toss." She played them all with us and was as energetic as the kids. The littlest kids liked the games well enough. But the oldest kids - Evie and Triston (nearly 4 and 4.75) - loved them. And they loved Kristen even more.

Later in the evening, Allyson told me about a conversation she had during the party (Al, let me know if I get it wrong).

Conversation:

Evie: Where did that girl go?
Al: What girl?
Evie: The one in the green shirt.
Al: You mean Kapria's grandma?
Evie: Yeah, that one. I want her to play with me.

Later On:

Triston to Kristen: Will you come to my birthday party?
Kristen: I live far away. I'll come if you have it in Arizona.
Triston: Oh.

Don't tell Kristen, but I think we could easily bribe her to visit one little granddaughter (and said granddaughter's friends) sometime during the month of January to help meet those requests...

Conclusion:

Kapria sure is lucky.
Who knew she had such a popular grandma...er...I mean girl-ma?

new shoes, grooves, hooves with moves

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