Retrospect

In APRIL, we:

watched the Mesa Easter Pageant for the first time ever

smiled and giggled a lot because Grandma loves us

turned 4 years old

pet a prize-winning cow at the fair

got into a traffic jam

found evidence that the Easter Bunny really does exist

loaded up on candy

made messes...on purpose

celebrated the fact that families can be together forever

saw a rainbow of choices

dyed Easter eggs.

In MAY, we:

had our first birthday party with friends

worked on the car with Dad

saw baseball history

sat in the original seats at Fenway Park

located Paul Revere's home

walked in the paths great men once trod

waited for the signal: "One if by land, two if by sea"

went back East for the first time

stayed in a swanky hotel, ate great food...and paid for none of it

rested assured that our children were in good hands while we were away

rejoiced in alone time with Grandma and Grandpa

wore sunglasses only because Grandpa does

graduated from Joy School - Year 1

caught some rays

In JUNE, we:

got more comfortable in the water

made a run for it

got frustrated because our super hero mask wouldn't stay on

rode horseback

In JULY, we:

discovered games on the iPhone

avoided incredibly dangerous streams of water

modeled

learned what the "great" in "Grandma Great" means

made Grandpa Great smile

smiled for the camera

refused to smile for the camera

took photos with Ollie

hammed it up

quietly contemplated

stared at Ollie, and...

couldn't...

stop...

taking his photo

In August, we:

drummed up some entertainment

held hands

wondered

found joy

examined local wildlife

got serious

waited for the bomb

pondered the mysteries of life

 

said "cheese!"

bonded

tried a new look

 

fished for crawdads

indulged our sweet teeth

hung out

posed

behaved ourselves at church

couldn't wait to sit with Grandpa

had a duel with water balloons

wanted to be a part of the water balloon duel

tried to get a good picture in our new outfits for Grandma

*******

Sometimes looking back helps us move forward.

Listening When We Least Expect It

Tonight, Gavin decided that sniffing loudly throughout our family prayer was better than listening to me go on and on in the prayer about how good an example he had been that day.

As I talked to him afterward and started to teach him a little bit about repentance, we determined that Heavenly Father was probably not too happy with his lack of reverence. With his little serious face, Gavin said to me: "Am I on the left hand of God?"

Oh, and about that last post - geez, people! It was only the makeup! I don't possess any stilettos or fishnets or pleather anything. And if I did, you can be sure I'd save them for a stake president visit at least.

This Always Happens.

Pretend you and I are having a conversation and are reflecting on something amusing that happened in the past. It might go something like this:
Me: "Rememer that time that I thought no one would be coming to my house and I wasn't going anywhere, either, so I decided to experiment with makeup colors and ended up looking like a street walker? And then the missionaries called to remind me that I was feeding them dinner that night? Remember that?? Wasn't that FUNny????"

Yeah. Remind me about the funny part tomorrow.

Family, Fairs, Four-Year-Olds, and Festivities

I'm in an alliterative mood. Fortunately, I won't subject you to an incredibly long post as I try to update the masses on the happenings down here. I'll just start at the beginning and talk about the visits from our family we've had recently.

Courtnee, Taylor and Drew got a crazy notion in their heads to leave the lovely, cool paradise of Colorado and head south for spring break to embrace sunshine and cactus. Cactus, they got. Sunshine and warm weather was much more fleeting. In fact, it was warmer in CO than in Tucson during their visit! They did get to swim a little, but there was quite a downpour on one day in particular and we were all a little stir-crazy. We took advantage of the sunshine while it lasted and went mini golfing and go-cart driving. Gavin's first attempt at golfing was more like a lesson in hammering a nail, but I'm sure he'll get the hang of it, anyway. He just loved being with his two cool older cousins and tried to imitate them every step of the way.

By happenstance, a distant relative just a little north of Tucson was giving his mission homecoming talk in church that Sunday, so we all made the trek and hung out with distant cousins who could technically marry Taylor and Drew with no legal problems. But that's a conversation for another family reunion.

We loved having Court and the boys down here and are just sorry we aren't cool enough to have 4-wheelers or any other attraction but small, darling children. One day we'll be cool, but until then we'll have to piggy-back on the likes of Apples to Apples-playing, water-loving, sunglasses-wearing, balls of hilarity like C, T and D. Thank you SO much, guys, for coming to relieve us of the dry spell we'd had of family! We love and miss you! (I have no idea if they read the blog or not, but bear with me as I send cyber-hugs. They'll feel just a tiny bit warmer inside today - I just know it.)

Swinging

I wish that swinging was as enjoyable for me as it is for my kids, but emotional swinging isn't nearly that fun.

Since this blog has turned into a sort of online journal for me to bear my innermost ridiculous thoughts, I will try to stick to updates on the hap-hap-happenings of the Jacobs Family in the last while in the next several posts. I could re-name the blog, but then no one would visit if I told them it was my personal brain dump - something that I have to do from time to time or I will (and do) explode. I'm sure several of you are sorry you ever did visit in the first place, but with mugs like the above, who could keep you away??