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.

October

Okay before you start reading, you have to go here and have it just playing in the background.

You're welcome.

(I always hear this song playing in my head whenever we go hiking.)

So back in October we went hiking in the Blue Ridge mountains during Columbus Day weekend.  And by "hiking" I mean "walked along a well-defined and relatively easy 20-minute trail uphill and then back down."

the view from Stony Man Summit

Oh Shenandoah...

Andy, human mountain goat

it was so cold and windy!  I never remember to dress warmly enough for this summit.  I spent most of our time up there hiding from the wind in this little hollow

hitchin' post makes an excellent barre!

the dryads get a little bigger every year

motto: No Rock Left Unclimbed!

little trooper made it most of the way himself, but occasionally just Couldn't. Walk. Any. More. (he suckered Miriam into carrying him uphill -- mean ol' Mom refused until we were heading back down)

about a week away from peak color, but still lovely

two roads diverged in a wood...

there were never such devoted sisters...

"Miriam laughs at anything, even when I just breathe -- watch!"

Worn out boys means this hike was a success!

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There was THE most amazing rainbow in October.  The thing stretched across the entire sky, and it was absolutely brilliant.  There was a double rainbow above it, and rainbow echoes below--I counted six (none of which could I capture on film).   Why are rainbows so hard to photograph?

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Katie found a shirt that she just HAD to get, as it perfectly expresses her love for her two favorite fandoms:

I don't know if you can see it, but Epona's cutie mark is a triforce

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Andy's birthday came towards the end of October.  We had a small family celebration on his birthday.  He got to choose all his favorite foods for meals, and play video games (almost) as much as he liked. 

He really, really wanted a party on Halloween, so for lunch we had friends over for a little costume party.  I love having friends with big families too -- you invite one family over and suddenly there are 12 kids in your house!  Instant party!

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Speaking of parties, one morning Mr. Pickles came downstairs and found this little scene:

Summer days, driftin' away...

Now that fall's here, it's time to talk about summer!

this was supposed to be our nice, calm, month "off"

Belated Spring Photodump

Picking up from the last photodump...

March

Happy First Day of Spring!

poor confused Camellias

Krazy Kitty likes the snow (it makes him much easier to spot)

tfw...

...almost all the schoolwork is done, the standardized tests have been taken, there are no more recitals/performances coming up, all summer plans and camps have been arranged, all doctor appts have been scheduled, and everyone has clothes to last the summer.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Also, I feel totally lost.  What the heck am I supposed to be doing with myself now???  It feels very unnatural to be able to sit on my deck and sip iced tea and read a novel in the middle of the morning! 

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So, what are we up to?  This week, blessedly not much.  This is the first week of our sort-of summer break, inasmuch as those who haven't finished all their schoolwork yet have a much lighter load, and there aren't any places that people need to be driven to (at least until the camps start).

Fall Photodump

So here's a post that's been sitting as a draft for a few months.  I originally subtitled it The traditional "I'm too lazy to do individual posts" seasonal post.  There will most likely be a few more of these before I'm done. :)

October

Ahhh, brotherly love.

note strangle hold.  also, blurry because li'l boys can't hold still for 1/30 of a second

when you store your soft serve ice cream in the freezer

siblings "helping" Miriam keep her concentration

Seriously, Miriam could keep playing through an air raid and barely even notice.

 November

new quilts!  made by Uncle Dave's mil.  she picked patterns that were perfect for their different personalities

Nicky liked it too!

Hm, how do I make this thing work?

almost... there...

ta-daaa!!!  SO proud of himself

according to Katie, it's been scientifically proven that messages on coasters will come true.

some perspective on these hilarious shoe sizes: Katie, age 12; Joseph, age 8; Daniel, age 6.  (shortly after this, however, we updated Katie's size to a 4, so it's not quite as ridiculous any more)

everyone is very motivated to help with the raking if a giant leaf pile is involved

can you spot all six children?

favorite fall sports: Andrew-tossing...

...and pile-diving!

That pile of bagged leaves in the background was much larger by trash day, I can assure you, and this is why:

see all those lovely trees?

the leaves from half of them end up in our yard

Thanksgiving

Daniel is very enthusiastic about feasts

messy but delicious (the fruit filling never gelled)

the kids love watching Daddy exercise (especially b/c it involves a glowy screen)

 December

So our dining room chandelier kept shorting out on us.  We would suddenly see a blue flash from the light switch and then the lights would go out.  After spending way more money than we really wanted to replacing the switch -- twice -- we decided to look at that one flickering bulb on the fixture.

gah!

We're very grateful that singed wire didn't burst into flames and kill us all during dinner one night.

time for a new one!

I never liked that chandelier -- it was NEVER clean -- and looked way too pretentious for our humble home.  I like this one much better:

ahhhhhhh...

Finally, a little bit of random backyard wildlife:

a Cooper's Hawk -- very striking with his slate gray back, gray barred tail, brown and white striped breast, and RED EYES

All the other birds and squirrels were noticeably absent during his visit.