Gotta Get Back in Time (Part I)

I often think about why I blog. Who exactly am I doing all of this work for? In the early days, it was clear that I was trying to keep in touch with friends and family. We moved so often and were miles away from many people that I loved, I longed for a way to stay connected and help others see what we were up to. But the blogging world is far different today than it was eight years ago. It used to be so trendy (well...at least in Provo, among newly-weds), I had dozens of friends who blogged regularly, and I regularly read up on those blogs. Eight years and a plethora of new social media platforms later, and I literally can only think of two friends who now consistently keep up their blogs.

At this same time, blogging has become monumentally more challenging for me. I used to have photos from exactly one source - my digital camera - to upload onto the site. Now I have to sort through all the pictures on my phone, on Jacob's phone, AND the occasional digital camera shot, plus anything friends have sent me that I want to include. It is tedious and annoying and, in general, I hate it. I often refer to blogging as "the hobby that I hate".

So why do I do it?

Clearly I no longer do it for anyone else. Sorry, folks, but I am just not willing to do all this work for you. Wait, who am I even talking to? I would be shocked to discover if there's anyone still reading besides my parents (and if there is...hello! You are super dedicated. Good for you.) The truth of the blog is that I read it. A lot. I love browsing through it and re-living these cherished moments. I hope to share it more with my children as they grow older, too. So while I hate the work that goes into it, I love the outcome and therefore always come back to it, time after time.

Which brings me to the topic of today's post. You may recall that there was a pretty massive gap in blog posts from roughly December 2015 until about May 2017. The reason, of course, is because Thomas was born, Jacob was promoted at work, we bought our first house, and life has been a chaotic mess ever since. I am constantly, ALWAYS behind on EVERYTHING. It is very difficult for me to prioritize blogging when I am swamped with housework and paperwork and every other type of work there is out there. However. I find that I have really regretted not keeping up with it. There's this big chunk of pictures and narrative missing. So, believe it or not, I am going back in time to catch up this blog!!!! What follows is four posts on those missing eighteen months of our lives. It will mostly be pictures. I can forgive myself for that because...well...because I am the only person reading this.

Here goes, folks, beginning circa December 2015 and going forward in time:

Two-year-old Abigail takes on a dinosaur

Ahhh, the bliss of family nap time. (Back when Abby still took naps. Regrettably, this does not happen anymore.)

Back when the tricycle was new and cool, we used to pack snacks and a doll friend and go riding on the bike path near our home. Such precious memories from those summer days!

Blackberry picking in July 2016:

It is pretty rare for us to go on dates these days because it's too expensive to hire a babysitter. But when I started dating Jacob in 2006, I promised myself that if I ever had the chance to take him to see Riverdance, I would do it because I knew he would love it. Here we are at Wolf Trap during intermission in the summer of 2016. It was so amazing, even better than I remembered it.

We found this road sign in West Virginia one day while out looking at houses. It cracked me up!

Some pictures from Orrville 2016:

Difficult to see, but that's Abby sitting on Jacob's lap in the back of the boat

Abigail and I paddle-boarding together

You can do it, Thomas! Swing!

We joined in for flat-foot dancing at the Club nearby

On the way home we stopped at Crabtree Falls

This family selfie ended up being on our Christmas card last year because it was the best family photo we had for the entire year. And that really says something! I don't think I had showered for like three days.

Then the kids and I headed out to Utah. Jacob joined us a few days later. I had SO MUCH anxiety and trepidation about flying alone with the kids, but they were amazing. I was so relieved. I had a LOT of love for them after that flight!

Selfie on the airplane!

Swinging with cousin Aubrey

We saw Uncle Philip perform in The Little Mermaid. Abigail sat, mesmerized, through the entire show. And afterwards we met Ariel! I'm pretty sure Abigail's face shows what she thought about that.

Here I am, once again proving that I occasionally do pretty things with Abby's hair.

Lots of pictures from the Davis County Fair (still while visiting Jacob's family in Utah).

And the kids just slept the entire flight home. They were worn out!

Then we had some quiet days at home before our next adventure...

Sleeping Beauty in her castle

Together at Medieval Times!

It was the end of summer and I was just congratulating myself on making it through without any major scrapes when Abby lost control of her tricycle, rolled down a hill, and got this pretty little cut.

We inherited a plot at a community garden when the owners abruptly moved to a different state. It seemed like a good idea but...alas...it was a lot of work with exactly zero vegetables!

In early September 2016 we took a quick trip to Philadelphia to attend the Open House of the new LDS temple built there. We went a day early and Abigail and I went to the children's museum (the Please Touch Museum) while Thomas and Jacob checked into the hotel.

This was an amazing museum! We loved it!

Painting the roses red in the Queen of Heart's garden

Dressed up like Alice, visiting with some Alice in Wonderland characters

And this is Abby being a snot on the steps outside the Museum. She was mad that we had to leave and refused to turn around so I could take a picture of her in front of it.

The next morning we went to the Open House, which was stunning and beautiful and totally worth the drive.

Standing on the rooftop garden of the Visitor's Center, next to the Temple

Then we felt that the kids had behaved themselves for long enough and needed a place to go run around, so we visited Smith Memorial Playground. That was pretty amazing, we stayed there for hours.

This is a merry-go-round; see Abigail desperately holding on to the pole in the middle?

There was this huge wooden slide that you could go down on burlap sacks. Abby did it DOZENS of times.

And then we headed back home.

And that's enough for tonight! Tune in next time to hear about all the holidays last year, more trips we took, more things accomplished!