March & April

Sixteen. The age at which I was so thrilled to be able to finally date. My life up to that point seemed like an eternity. It took SO long to finally turn 16. I was a kid forever. Or, so it seemed.

So, it would stand to reason that any given block of 'sixteen years' in my life would seem to last as long as those first 16. Right? 

Wrong. 

On March 7, 2014 Richard and I celebrated 16 years of marriage. I'm not sure how it worked, but those 16 years with Richard were much shorter than my first 16 years of blissfully carefree existence. Maybe it was our five children that just started coming and gradually sucked years from my life.?

Or, it could just be "mom brain" memory lapses, in which case I am just forgetting (er...blocking from my memory?) entire chunks of my married-with-kids life. (I think Richard may concur with this theory...) 

Either way, it's a safe assumption that my kids are to blame. 

To celebrate our marriage for 16 not-so-long years, we spent our anniversary in a lovely hotel across the beautiful snake river from the place we were married 16 years previous. The Idaho Falls Temple. Sealed for time and eternity. I figure if we can last 16 years, eternity will be a breeze. 

Who wouldn't want to be married in a place as glorious as this?

Skip to April. Marianne's birthday. She turned 14 on Apr. 9! I remember being 14 and feeling and looking very awkward. But, just look at this beauty? No awkwardness here. Such a lovely young lady she is - inside and out!

Grandma Dixie made her this beautiful SOFT blanket. I was jealous.

I am sure they were all just taking pictures of Marianne opening her presents...

Thanks for being such an amazing daughter and example to your family, including me. I really look up to you...almost literally. Almost. We love you Marianne! 

One night when Richard and I were at a rehearsal or concert of some kind, Marianne did this. As a mother, this is probably one of my greatest dreams come true. Especially when arriving home late at night, tired and wanting so badly to just go to bed. What an angel! Loved this. (Oh, and cookies were perfect! Can't go wrong with "too big" and "too many chocolate chips". I mean, honestly!)

Richard was practicing one afternoon and James decided to join him. One of those moments I just couldn't resist capturing.

In the fall of 2013, Marianne joined the Idaho Falls Youth Symphony. Thomas joined in January of 2014. They traveled to Idaho Falls in a carpool every Thursday night and rehearsed for two hours. These pictures are from their spring concert. Richard and I also were able to play with them on one or two numbers as part of the "side-by-side" concert with the Idaho Falls Symphony. I even had the privilege of being Marianne's stand partner. 

If you look closely, you can see Thomas' head poking up in the 4th chair spot. He may or may not have only joined so he could perform the "1812 Overture" by Tchaikovsky. It is a thrilling piece, and the kids did a great job!

Richard with his student, Sam Shumway. Sam won the concerto competition and was able to perform the 1st movement of the Tchaikovsy Violin Concerto with the orchestra. He did a FABULOUS job! I was so proud of Sam and also Richard, for being such a great teacher. 

Here is Richard with Sam and a couple other students, Ryan and Kaden Anderson. These are the kind of good boys any parent would want their daughter to marry!

We managed to sneak a shot with our own two kids too. We all had a BLAST! Literally. (If you don't know what I mean, go listen to the "1812 Overture".)

Sometimes, I get crazy ideas in my head. These crazy ideas generally come from the five little people who call me 'mom'. Why do I let them get into my head? Why? "But, they are so tiny and fluffy and cute, mom! We have to get some!"

Well, they are pretty cute. Why not add a few more to the flock?

Here is Sarah with one of our new little chicks and Peter. Please, tell me we have enough pets now!

Thomas auditioned for and was accepted to play at All-State. Since it was held in Boise this year, we decided it would be a good idea to drive there and visit family and listen to him play! I feel bad that I completely forgot to take my camera to the concert, but the orchestra sounded great, and Thomas had an awesome experience there.

Every time we go to Boise, we ask ourselves why we don't live there. Maybe it's the nice people we know there. :) Here are some of the clan sneaking in a game of Monopoly on Sunday afternoon.

Jeff and Nicole were such great hosts. It happened to be Easter weekend, so we got to spend the holiday with their family, and Jeff made us an excellent Easter dinner. Despite the fact that I did have my camera at the Aldous home, not many pictures were taken. I guess I was just having too much fun to think about it.

Richard and I played a violin duet, "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" in their Sacrament Meeting at church. It was truly a lovely weekend in every way. Thanks, Jeff and Nichole!