There and Back Again

The family (sans Eden) drove to Boise to celebrate Thanksgiving with my parents. A much needed break ensued. We watched a healthy dose of sports (any for us is a lot), went jogging, raked leaves, played games, went shopping, ate turkey, went to a movie, saw family, took naps and ate turkey again.

This is my Mom and Dad.
They are alway good sports about the food we eat and the mess we bring.

These are the lego racers Evan and I built.
In spite of the wings, mine basically rocked over his.


Hailey and Tracy at the gaming (kitchen) table...
Ticket to Ride is serious business.


Like a good son and grandson, we helped Grandpa rake leaves in the front.
Like typical knuckleheads, we forgot to do the back.

We capped off the trip at the airport. Eden arrived home from India.
Covered in henna. Craving cheeseburgers. Gifts for all.
She took tons of photos... maybe she'll let me post some here.

I could still do way better on the photo front...
This new camera isn't the magic wand I thought it would be.

New Era

Evan turned thirteen on the third.

This isn't a tongue twister, it's a mind bender. We don't just have one teenager, we have three. It's like the perfect storm. How did this even happen? It's all a biz fuzzy... I do remember getting married... I think we did some stuff and probably said some things... I think we may have even been naked at some point. And now here we are. It's not all bad though. When things aren't super difficult or expensive, they're funny and perfect. There are also some unexpected perks to having Evan finally turn the corner toward adulthood.

His birthday cakes no longer require sprinkles.

He became able at the same moment I became unwilling.

He can stay home alone when we go out.
We can stay home alone when he goes to scout camp.

He's finally discovered the obvious connection between a package of rubber bands, my drill, Tracy's thread and his tub of Legos.

We sorta hate to see him grow up. Fortunately, for now, he's still the same funny, good-natured, inventive kid he was a month ago. We can't imagine our family without him.