in utter defiance: a whole booty-load of photos

i just figured you wanted to see every picture i've taken since the last post.

so prepare thyself.

my wonderful sis came into town.

we celebrate when she visits.

so we headed off to a family fun day.

--complete with getting to use aunt sissy's big fat camera.

these boys felt like a big deal.

the weather here in texas has been the norm...you know...79 one day, 35 the next.

one day, the temp dropped 10 degrees in one hour.

a fire and book were absolutely wonderful.

i got to take asher and his school friends on a field trip to a local landmark.

we had a great time.

i know i'm a weirdo, but i tear up a little every time i get to go do school things with my kiddos.

i know.

--the blessing of getting to be a part of stuff like this is not lost on me.

i am so thankful.

so i cry a bit.

don't judge me.

gabe turned 9...NINE.

so i'm an old lady and he's growing too fast.

we took the kiddos to a fun trampoline park.

the kids had a blast!

and i'm not sure if i've told you but the hubs is so stinkin' obsessed with jiujitsu, it's crazy.

here he is doing yet another move on one of our children.

and you can see how into it judah is.

jiujitsu again, dad? really?

--and he keeps eating his ice cream cone.

(no children were hurt in the making of this photo)

baskin robbins has a flavor of the month. and february is the best kind.

love potion 31.

it ROCKS my face off.

so naturally we went weekly.

(BR, if you want to supply me with ice cream for writing this awesome review, just tell me. i'll take it.)

*yum*

little miss had a court date and such recently. she's from out of town so we went to stay with family.

the boys learned how to play chess during our visit and have been fans ever since.

the weather was terrible so we had tons of time to play games.

it was a blast!

we're almost done with all my pictures. hang in there.

i grew these flowers in my yard. and i feel like i've got mad skills.

and by "grew them in my yard," i mean that they grew there because they were planted by the previous owners and i get to pick them and smell them and it's wonderful.

in addition to being really into board games lately, the boys have also been developing their tree climbing skills. and so now if you look thru my phone, i have at least 10 pictures of each child climbing.