Thursday, December 31, 2015

ode to twenty fifteen


photo by lindsay salazar photography, august 2015

well 2015, we came, we saw, we survived.

highlight reel!

bryan, you'll remember, began working for an exciting new company, arivale, in the middle of this year. he still finds time to cook dinner for his family three times a week and enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and dancing. (am lying about the dancing.)

emily, you'll remember, ran a grand total of three times this year: once to practice, once to complete a 5k, and once to shave four minutes off said 5k. now she's tired. in her free time, she's usually sewing something, buying something, cleaning something, or hiding in the pantry eating cookies.

summer has thoroughly enjoyed being a red head these past few months. she's kind of over it now, though, and we're working diligently on returning her to her naturally hued hair, so stay tuned. she still loves school and people of all sorts and sharing with her siblings (weird, i know). she is becoming quite the pianist and quite the artist and quite the connoisseur of fine chocolates. (am lying about the chocolates.)

afton is also a talented artist and almost always drawing something. she loves fashion and has notebooks filled with her designs. she also loves sparkles and organizing and has eaten more vegetables this year than in all of her previous years combined. afton's first grade teacher is a match made in heaven for her, and she's really coming into her own at school. she hates playing games even though she's wicked good at them and almost always wins.

caleb has been in constant motion since the year began. he made his first friend (hi gabriel!) and has been really digging preschool lately. he continues to weasel his way out of discipline using his dimples and/or pouty face and is known by name by almost all of our small community because his mother shouts it in exasperation so often. caleb is affectionate and kind-hearted and huge. also, if you happen to find him out wandering the streets without a guardian, please return him to our home forthwith. many thanks to the friends and neighbors who have already done so this past year. 

dallin's dream come true is being a baby. his favorite things in the whole wide world are his mama and his blankets. he loves snacking and napping and saying "see you!" his vocabulary is booming, and his favorite word is definitely, definitely "no." he loves music and coloring and cereal and horseback riding. (am lying about that last part again.)

wishing you laughter, love, and *lots* of noise,

wheelers (and 2015) out.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Saturday, December 26, 2015

christmas day in the morning


"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

--Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!


Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

caleb at the mall


not crying, just soaking it all in.

Monday, December 21, 2015

a few more baptism pics

december twelfth was a cold and rainy day in the pacific northwest, and we were glad to have so many family members and friends with us to support our summer sunshine.




when i was a little girl, i was baptized in a beautiful white swiss dot dress that i loved. a few years before summer's baptism, we started looking through family trunks and closets for the dress to no avail. also, nowadays, for practical reasons, most lds baptisms are performed in thick white (non see-thru) jumpsuits.

i decided to merge the best of both worlds, and after i finished summer's white and gold chiffon dress, i had (barely ;) enough time to sew her a beautiful white (double-thick) swiss dot jumpsuit for her baptism. that she loved.

and which i hope to see my granddaughters in some day.









summer girl receiving a baptism gift from the primary the following sunday.




Sunday, December 20, 2015

Saturday, December 12, 2015

when i am baptized


summer is such a joy and a light and was so, so excited for her baptism today!

announcement design: west willow designs