free to be three

dallin is three years old!

his birthday was yesterday, actually, but it's being celebrated today as we're in the middle of having every single wall in our house painted and so #fourthchildproblems.

here's to you, dally woo!

the most perfectly toddler toddler that ever there was in the world.

ski!

after missing a couple of winters, summer and afton (and bryan) are back on the mountain. expect a full report on their downhill adventures (but so far, so good!) come february.

a sunbeam!

dallin moved up to sunbeams a wee bit early (his birthday is january 30th), but as he was going to be the only one in nursery for six months and just barely missed the birthday cut-off, the primary decided to give it a shot. (fingers crossed emoji)

moving to nine o'clock church was a "less than smooth transition" (only summer and her father managed not to burst into tears at some point during the morning), so it seems that sundays will be holding all sorts of new and exciting adjustments for the wheelers. wish us luck!

more sunbeams here, here, and here.

and a happy new year

mes chers amis, 

there we are: wheelers 2016.

we jumped out of the car, set up the tripod, and took a series of shots in five minutes (in the freezing cold) before anyone had a chance to melt down (momma included!), then we went home, changed back into our pajamas, snuggled under warm blankets, and fixed the children delicious hot chocolate that all of them wanted and half of them didn't drink.

and...that pretty much epitomizes the wheeler family happenings this year. 

we've been busy doing what everyone else has probably been busy doing: trying to get things done, trying to figure things out, trying to appreciate the moment, the day, the phase. trying to teach, trying to learn, trying to get it right (on at least the third or fourth try). trying to be kinder, more patient, more forgiving. trying to help others more and to hurt others less and, of course, trying to enjoy this incredible ride.

wishing you all the love and laughter on your many varied journeys, friends! you got this!

wheelers out.

(sooo...tell us how you really feel about taking family pictures, caleb...)