pinewood derby, year two

summer and afton had a blast working with their dad prepping for and racing in this year's pinewood derby. bryan had both girls sketch out a few different car designs on graph paper, pick their favorite concepts, and then supervise his band-saw usage--making sure he kept the finished shape consistent with their artistic visions.

after sanding, painting, weighting, and assembling, they were raring to go.

and bonus! the wheeler girls totally dominated the winner's circle with summer coming in first and afton third (her race times were just a smidge below second).

number 8, quora lightbeam car:

number 47, summer cream:

checking in at the official weigh station:

some friendly competition:

summer and afton had one heat where they raced only each other:

the final race:

announcing the winner:

all of our fantastic racers exhibited such creativity, positivity, and sportsmanship:

i'm pretty sure afton was more pleased with her award for "best paint job" than she was even taking home third overall.

hip hop hooray

another egg hunt is in the books! 

christi, i don't know with whom you've made a pact or what prized possession you've bargained away for it to pretty much always be sunny out on our community easter egg hunts, but i'm not mad about it. thanks for continuing to host such a great event!

wheelers be hunting for easter eggs since 2009. one day, we'll find the last of them. 

where justice, love, and mercy meet

#BecauseofHim

"Today we celebrate the gift of victory over every fall we have ever experienced, every sorrow we have ever known, every discouragement we have ever had, every fear we have ever faced. [...]

That first Easter sequence of Atonement and Resurrection constitutes the most consequential moment, the most generous gift, the most excruciating pain, and the most majestic manifestation of pure love ever to be demonstrated in the history of this world. Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, suffered, died, and rose from death in order that He could, like lightning in a summer storm, grasp us as we fall, hold us with His might, and through our obedience to His commandments, lift us to eternal life.

This Easter I thank Him and the Father, who gave Him to us, that Jesus still stands triumphant over death, although He stands on wounded feet. This Easter I thank Him and the Father, who gave Him to us, that He still extends unending grace, although He extends it with pierced palms and scarred wrists. This Easter I thank Him and the Father, who gave Him to us, that we can sing before a sweat-stained garden, a nail-driven cross, and a gloriously empty tomb:

How great, how glorious, how complete

Redemption’s grand design,

Where justice, love, and mercy meet

In harmony divine!"

--Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, April 2015

eighty-eight keys

summer and afton's spring piano recital:

"Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything. It is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate, and eternal form."

--Plato (attrib.)

third place finish

ask me how many spelling bees i've been to as a grown up at which i have not cried. go ahead, ask me.

the answer is none.

i have been to *none* spelling bees and not cried. 

the weird part is, i'm not even usually tearing up in response to my own child. i had cried maybe five times *total* in my pre-parent life, and now i'm bawling through spelling bees. OVER KIDS THAT ARE NOT EVEN MINE. 

motherhood has jacked me up, man.

but back to this year's bee. 

summer came to me the night before and said that while heretofore, the school bee had been for fun and games, she now wanted to win and go on to the district spelling bee and possibly ascend through the ranks to washington, dc. 

i responded that though i greatly admired her gumption and winner-takes-all attitude (in fact, i had been patiently/impatiently WAITING for it to rear its cutthroat head these past ten years), i was also dubious that fifteen total hours, with most of those spent sleeping, was enough time to get prepped and primed for total domination--especially considering that kids competing at the national level spend upwards of twenty hours a week studying in preparation. 

so she (literally) skipped off to bed and sing-songed, "maybe next year then." 

that's my summer girl.

her enunciation and performance art were on point. she was gracious and poised and well-spoken. her meticulous studying of the word "balloonist" paid off, and she managed to bring home the bronze. 

and like most bronze medalists, she went home happy.

date night

alexander hamilton edition.

!!!

of course, having grown up in the 90s, my first exposure to hamilton and burr was here. 

they came in peace

valentines, 2018

dallin is four

yesterday, this guy hit the big 0-4. he was sick on his birthday, which is pretty much what january birthdays are about (i'm looking at you, cold and flu season), but he still managed to celebrate inching one-year-closer-to-playing-video-games in style.

first up, the king of all cereals: lucky charms. lucky charms is the preferred birthday breakfast of champions around here, and its magically deliciousness also made a special appearance later in the day on dallin's cake: lucky charms rainbow sprinkles cake. of course.

then, spider-man. spider-man, spider-man, spider-man. everything spider-man. spider-man balloons, spider-man pajamas, spider-man books. heck, even spider-man binoculars. (or in other words: how you know you're way too deep in the catalogue of licensed spider-man paraphernalia.) the only thing dallin likes almost as much as spider-man is rainbows. 

we finally rounded out the day with mac n cheese and hot dogs. his siblings tried to convince him that the birthday dinner bar could be set much higher than mac n cheese and hot dogs, but dallin wasn't budging. we feasted like four-year-old kings. 

now, a little bit about the birthday boy: 

unapologetic by nature, dallin feels all his emotions in extremes. he is the happiest little buddy you ever did meet, oozing delight and sunshine to everyone in his blast radius. and also, uh, the opposite of that.

he lives to be doted on by his two big sisters and to spend his days alpha-male-ing with his big brother. dallin is fully invested in being both the family baby and the person who runs the joint. fun fact: he is doggedly polite. 

the only one of my children for whom the "false dichotomy" has not worked, dallin wants what he wants, and he is *here* for a good negotiation. he's not batting a thousand on sound reasoning yet, but let's just say his tenacity shows promise. 

we love, love, love having dallin pizzazz in our family. he's full of joy and questions and chocolate. 

happy birthday, dally woo! may the four be with you.

superhero day at school

more here.

date night

mere birthday edition!

@ ryan hamilton, neptune theater, seattle

twenty-seventeen's final adventure

new year's eve eve saw bryan schlepping his ragtag crew along on an excursion up blewett pass complete with snow hiking, thermos hot chocolate drinking, massive hill sledding, and the very best trip down the mountain that four kids roped to their dad ever did have.

christmas rewind

the decorations have long been packed away, but i love reliving the messy morning hair and matching christmas jammies and homemade gift exchanges that make christmas memories magical.

many, many thanks to our grandparents, great grandparents, and aunts and uncles whose generous gifts of so many fun games and toys and books continue to stoke the imaginations of these little spitfires.

metal mouth

the most adorable set of braces that you ever did see.

and it was on that january day, sitting in the waiting room at the orthodontist's office while her little girl was fitted with braces, that emily realized she herself was, in actual fact, a grown up.

#brothers

there is definitely some magic amidst the chaos with these two.

erin dupree photography