The Pickles: A Year In Review

I think 2020 is over... which would make a year-in-review appropriate, although I'm not 100% sure we're not just stuck in the vestibule of Hell from the Inferno.

At any rate, here is a summary of what we did last year (assuming it was actually a year ago). Surprisingly I have remarkably few pictures. I guess we weren't very busy for some weird reason.

January

The year began as usual, with the disembowling of the gingerbread ~~monstrosity~~ house.

this would be Day 2.

A lot of time was spent horsing around in the basement. This indoor bounce house has been a great blessing.

incidentally, can anyone recommend a good source for boys' socks that don't develop holes after one week?

also a necessity for houses full of testosterone: the one-man trampoline

We celebrated Twelfth Night with the usual silliness:

what's Epiphany without Christmas crackers, paper crowns, groan-worthy puns, and itty bitty toys that get lost after the first night?

Later in the month almost everyone succumbed to some delightful intestinal bug that worked its slow way through the family one by one. Thankfully there was always one person just well enough to entertain the others. The living room was a sick ward for days, and we went through gallons and pounds of jello, rice chex, and ginger ale.

February

Proof that they can be civilized when they choose:

March

Bath night!

for some reason Daniel didn't take to Mr. Pickles' suggestion of making use of the bird bath

Ah, siblings.

In March, all Heck broke loose. The advantage for Miriam was that she actually had enough time to practice her crazy hard piano pieces. And who doesn't want to listen to Prokofiev for 2 hours straight?? (Daniel, reading over my shoulder: "Me.")

that is a lot of notes

Discovering the joys of Insta together.

"How many Pickles can fit on one easy chair?" Five, apparently

It took nothing short of a global pandemic to get Nicky finally and completely potty-trained. When you can't drive anywhere, you're actually close to a bathroom at all times!

Mickey Mouse underpants were the secret. And promises of McDonald's french fries.

In March I purchased, and then used, 25 lbs. of flour. (The giant bucket-o'-wheat is for bread only; we use this for quick bread type things like pancakes and cookies, which apparently we are eating a lot of.)

March also brought the first of the family birthdays of the year, starting with Birthday Week!

first little gherkin to survive to adulthood!

when you have 3 birthdays in a row, something besides cake is often welcomed

I always feel bad for Mr. Pickles. There is felt within the household a certain lessening of the enthusiasm for celebrations by the time we get to his birthday. We are still very grateful you were born, Mr. P!

April

Spring! Despite the unreality of everything else, we did have glorious weather. Winter was mild that year, so the kids were able to spend a lot of time outside, which was a saving grace. Spring was lovely.

having a pow-wow with the neighbors across the street

Like many others, I did a massive Spring Cleaning. Windows, curtains, baseboards, upholstery -- the house practically sparkled.

can we all just take a moment please to appreciate the fact that there is not a speck of dust behind the TV. This was quite an accomplishment.

We also painted Daniel and Andy's bedroom a lovely bright sea-green.

They were actually very responsible painters, and only got a minimum of paint on the hardwood floors.

Even though it didn't feel like Lent ever ended, Easter did actually arrive, and Traditions were Upheld.

does the smell of vinegar immediately transport anyone else to Holy Saturday? no? just me?

the required silly shot

After Mass we went to some friends' for Easter brunch and an egg hunt, and everyone amassed even MORE candy, just what we needed.

we can tell which jellybeans are NOT the favorite. (query: does anyone in the world with functional taste buds actually LIKE licorice jellybeans?)

getting in all the snuggles they can...

About this time Miriam had massive amounts of schoolwork she was trying to finish up. I think she was starting to feel the strain.

haha JUST KIDDING Miriam doesn't drink please don't report us to CPS her desk just happens to be very convenient to the dining table

May

Warm weather!!!

you're NEVER too old for the kiddie pool

May also brought the first of Miriam's graduations. Yes, graduationS.

the traditional cap toss!

June

Busy month!

First, Miriam and Jojo had their spring piano recital, via Zoom. I'm so glad their teacher found a way to have the recital still -- her students are so good it's always like attending a concert.

all the senior girls wore their prom dresses, so pretty!

Next came yet another of Miriam's graduations! This was the graduation for students in our extended homeschool group.

the traditional cap toss!

Somewhere in this month we squeezed in Daniel's 10th birthday.

TWO whole hands old!

we got Super Smash Bros. for his birthday. all the young male contingent were very happy.

We usually make a big deal out of the first double-digit bday. Since he wasn't able to have the big party at a local venue that he wanted, we'll save that for when all the restrictions have been lifted, and whoop it up then.

Then, as mentioned earlier, Katie received the sacrament of Confirmation, and was anointed and got a sword and shield and gifts and fruits and all kinds of Holy Spirit swag.

Finally, June ended with Miriam's last graduation! This was one we were looking forward to especially, as it was very personal for each of the families.

everyone's caps were too pretty to toss, so here's a shot of just the mortarboard

officially gradumacated!

July

School's out! yaaaayyyyyyyy

This is pretty much how I spent the summer (and my birthday):

airing out couch cushion filling in the background. see mega spring cleaning, above

And this is pretty much how the boys spent the summer:

Fourth of July! Our nextdoor neighbors always buy a ton of fireworks too, so we like to combine and put on a fun little show for the neighborhood.

I can't decide which other photo to include here so I think I'll just make another whole post about it. There!

Requisite birthday picture:

(we didn't have enough candles -- so this was the creative solution to that dilemma)

Also in July Miriam got to go to homeschool prom. Some of her friends came over to get ready together, so the upstairs smelled wonderfully like Girls' Products. Well, I think it smelled wonderful. The resident males might have disagreed but who cares what they think. Look at the result!

Apparently prom was oodles of fun; I think the kids -- sorry, young people -- were just all so happy to be with each other again.

just some gratuitous prettiness

August

Someone turned 5 in August!

that would be 100% Nicky

Another huge event that occurred in August was Miriam's senior piano recital! Many of the seniors in her piano teacher's studio give a personal concert at the end of the school year, showcasing the many amazing things they've learned through their high school years. After months of trying to figure out how to make one work for Miriam -- so many churches with good pianos were not open yet -- we were finally able to arrange a recital at the local Jordan Kitts store. Even better, the A/C in their recital room wasn't working, so Miriam got the pick of the showroom pianos! Thank you Jordan Kitts Music of Fairfax, VA!

soooo pretty! I want one.

Obvs we weren't actually allowed to invite anyone else there, so it had to be available online. Unfortunately we were having horrible trouble with the livestream on Youtube, so we just ended up using Zoom the whole time, which worked beautifully. I recorded her performance in two parts (except for one little bit where I forgot to start recording). I saved it online, so email us if you want the link. (There are images of family and friends on the video, so I don't want to make the links available to the general public. You're welcome, family and friends!) Also unfortunately the sound isn't fantastic, but we did the best with what we had at the time. Now we know all about the fancy zoom settings to make music sound better.

Also, WHY did I not take a shot of Miriam AT the piano??

The last big thing that happened in August was that Miriam left for college! *sniff sniff* Mr. Pickles drove her and all her stuff out, helped her move in, and then left her to her own designs! It took me a good 6 weeks to adjust fully to her being gone. But she loves it at Franciscan, and we couldn't be happier with her being there.

And life moves on....

September

Okay, so I feel really bad about this. In early September Mr. Pickles and I decided that everything was horrible and the world was going crazy and we were about to go insane and we needed a vacation. So we went to the beach...

...without Miriam.

Sorry, babe.

We stayed in a teeny tiny apartment a stone's throw away from the shore.

the boys' room was... cozy

It actually was threatening to rain the whole time we were there -- of course it was -- but there managed to be enough sunshine for us to go swimming every day. All the rain meant was that our swimsuits and towels never, ever dried out. (They all got a thorough bleaching when we got home.)

That was a nice break, and gave us the stamina we needed to get back to work and school.

October

Speaking of school, in October we all went to visit Miriam!

someone did not want his picture taken

It was so good to see her and give her lots of hugs again!

The primary reason we headed out to Ohio that particular weekend was because we were invited to attend a family reunion/birthday bash with our family in that area, in honor of my godparents' 70th birthdays.

Aunt Terri and Uncle Jim have been such a blessing in my life. They were my second home while I was at college. And they have always been such a beautiful model for true hospitality and charity, as well as a happy married life.

what a great family!

Plus it was lovely spending a weekend with normal people!

Next, Halloween! There weren't many trick or treaters out -- many neighbors we went to were so happy to see our kids because we were the first people they'd seen all evening. As a result, our kids got piles of loot since the neighbors were trying to get rid of their candy. :)

we had several friends over for the fun. back row, L-R: Rey, Zelda, pirate wench, Cap'n Barbossa, Ninjala character, ninja, and... a bag of laundry. front l-r: cat, fairy princess, construction worker, Cap'n Jack Sparrow, and a monkey. (not pictured: Christine Daae)

Katie's costume was pretty epic so here it is again

No fruit, no flowers, no birds, no leaves:
November

Speaking of epic, Katie had a big birthday: Sweet Sixteen!!

cupcake-in-a-cone cake

For her super-special-sweet-sixteen gift, I took her to a *real* hair salon so she could get this:

ta-daa!!

the brotherly reaction

It really looked awesome and lovely. We would touch it up about every month to keep it purpley. She did opt to let it fade out eventually though -- I guess we're going with blue next?

Another great thing that happened in November was that Miriam came back! All the classes moved online a couple weeks before the end of the semester, so Miriam opted to come home early and finish the semester at home.