thirty

"today you are you! that is truer than true! there is no one alive who is you-er than you!"

dr. seuss

grace shall be as your day

at anna's baptism, july 27, 2013.

left to right: clarissa, matto, auggie, afton, emily, summer, bryan, caleb, danton, owen, anna, mere, grandma jacquie, elder le, elder boyle.

a return to raspberries

we put the kids to work in the fields yesterday harvesting delicious, fresh, and local northwest raspberries.

eighteen pounds later, and with many thanks to bryan and uncle schmatt, we have yet another year's worth of homemade raspberry jam.

ps - that was probably the only raspberry that afton picked, being not such a big fan of "dirt" and "work" and such. caleb, for his part, contributed only by eating another eighteen pounds of raspberries (in addition to a few yummy leaves he managed to get his hands on). whilst summer, ever the eldest, busily and excitedly went about plucking as many plump berries as she could, pausing her efforts occasionally to share her bounty with the littles.

aloha oe

we celebrated afton's big four with a backyard pool party and luau.

the girls went out and got island-worthy pedicures (a perfect compliment to their new flip flops), matto made his famous coco lopez virgin pina coladas (puerto rican, i know), everyone was decked out in leis and grass skirts and floral accessories, and mere prepared a delicious dinner of afton's favorites with yummy beachy cupcakes for dessert.

aloooooooha!

afton turns four

dearest afton,

you are the pizzazz, you are the POW!, you are the "je ne sais quois" in this little family of ours.

you are brilliant, imaginative, eloquent, impassioned. and very, very afraid of bugs.

you make up songs and dances and words and rhymes. you have the best names for your stuffed animals (like sbeetle and owl-tyne), and you come up with the most creative ways of expressing your emotions (like when your foot falls asleep and you say it's "buzzling" or when you're tired and you say your eyes are telling you to close them, or when you get pushed at the park and scream at the perpetrator that she is NOT the most beautiful girl in the world).

you feel everything (ev-er-y-thing) so deeply, so fully, so much.

you are the little girl with her hands over her ears in sharing time because those songs are just too darn loud, the one refusing to participate in gymnastics class because you hate being told what to do (or maybe because someone accidentally bumped in to you), you are the preschooler throwing a dangerous tantrum (again) in the middle of the parking lot because who-the-heck-knows-why?!!

we love you. you are unyielding, inimitable, and unapologetically yourself.

you have strong feelings about justice. about equality. about right and wrong. and you are just beginning to discover how best to handle yourself when life does not go exactly as planned (it's been a rocky road, but we are getting there!)

and all of you power and oomph and might comes wrapped in such sweetness and is tied together with this broad, beautiful smile. you are our sunshine. bright, and fierce, and warm.

happy birthday, afton!

shine on.

love,

mom

boom boom pow

how cool is it to live in our town?

a first rate fireworks display right in our own backyard.

let freedom ring.