My sweet friend Rachelle came over to us here in the outlier of Caldwell to take some photos of our family. We attempted photos last fall but Jake ended up with pink eye, then another plan and it just didnt work out. Working around schedules of everyone is difficult. Skyler has to be available for his job some weekends. Took a bit but we finally got all the schedules figured out and this is what happened.
Lets start with Brenda, Skyler and Axel......frankly they look like supermodels and its quite annoying. Just kidding they look great.
How perfect is this photo, it was a bit chilly in the shade so his nose was runny but his cheeks were rosey....
So I like to think i was part of making this photo, frankly without me there would be no Axel so there is that.
There is always one being a bit weird...Laura in this one.
Having these kiddos together makes my heart happy. They are amazing and wonderful. Somehow Rachelle always gets some photos that really show the person, i appreciate that about her.
Now some of Shane and I. I love him, he is pretty great.
Last but not least the one i always get, this year there are 2 of them
I would say this one by far is the best!!!!
As always Rachelle did an amazing job. Axel was great as well. Laura is leaving this year so family photos when she gets back (right Rachelle). Laura will be gone for 18 months serving a full time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has worked very hard for this and will do an amazing job. She will miss everyone but to make a decision to leave your family for that amount of time is pretty remarkable. Her mission call will be announced soon, so be ready.
Christmas came and went and i didnt write about it so here it is. We had a surprise visit from a secret Santa who brought us some lovely gifts. It was nice to have someone think of us. One gift was a huge stuffed sloth....yes i said sloth. It proudly sits on Lauras bed. When Axel is over he likes to play with it.
This is our little tree, we have had this tree for quite a few years, its quite lovely. I appreciate the small things. Jake got out the tree and decorated it. It sat in our dining room as there is really no place in the front room for it. Axel really enjoyed seeing it, surprisingly he didnt play with it much which was nice. He loves the lights at our house. I still have my Christmas lights hanging up in the front room,he loves to have them on. Brenda and her family came to the house the Sunday before Christmas. We had a good time with them, Skyler brought us some delicious lasagna. i love his lasagna. He is very talented.
Its been a while since i wrote about Christmas. I am not very good at keeping up with the goings on in our house. Christmas was a great time to be with the kids and have Axel at the house. We try to make it easy on Brendas family, its too hard to expect them to be here on Christmas. They are doing great and Axel is great to have around.
Brendas family got my name and now i have this sweet mouse pad with a wireless mouse for my desk at work. Makes me smile to see his sweetness every day. It was a nice useful and purposeful gift.
A friend at work sent me this photo one day. She was on a trip to DisneyLand and happened to walk by this and thought of me??? WHY?? well you all know i have an affinity for Mr. Jackman. It was nice to know i am thought of.
The City of Caldwell puts up a billion jillion lights so Laura and I went for a walk sometime around Christmas to look at them. It was so nice to be with just her. She is prepping to go on her mission this year, in fact her papers have been submitted we are just waiting for the call to return. Sometimes it can take a bit depending on the situation. Laura has some medical issues so she will have to stay in the lower 48 states to get her medications to her. She is excited and we are all on pins and needles to see where she will go.
Axel was over and Shane decided to play with him. Axel is really warming up to Grandpappy. Its fun to watch Axel with Shane. Shane makes faces at him and now Axel copies him. The other day he found a nerf gun in the house and went to Makayla and yelled bang...there ensued a death match for Makayla for an hour.
Obligatory Axel Hugh Rigby photos.
So the top photos are some of us on the way downtown to get some family photos taken. The very last on is of John. He was leaving work and got hit by another car. John is prone to accidents as he is growing fast, currently in a size 12 shoe. The other person hit him and knocked his shoulder out and gave him a good concussion. He had to have a CT scan and all sorts of fun stuff. Poor boy. My car has some damage but its an old car anyway so no worries. Its also a paid for car so that is nice...now its double paid for as of course the insurance totaled the car.
A couple of weekends ago my Laura did a wonderful thing. She decided to go through the temple. Laura only invited her close family and her "other" mom and dad. Darla and Michael could not make it because of a family emergency and were greatly missed. One of Lauras Young Womans leaders came as well. It was a great. She has submitted her papers for her mission after much trial and anguish. I did not know it was going to be so difficult to just get some help from leadership to get her papers submitted. There were some concerns about her health and if she can sustain through her mission. However we started about 2 years ago working through her medical issues. We finally got her body under control and assured the leadership that she is more than healthy and .....AND can carry out a half an elk on her back behind her dad. I think a lot of people do not know the endurance of my children. Laura and John are my two stocky kids who can endure quite a bit. Finally we got her to go through the temple and it was a special day for us. She was so beautiful. It was nice to have my 3 girls there, you certainly see their true beauty, the 3 of them together.
Mom and dad and our girl
my girls.....Brenda looks like Morticia Addams
AND the finale....my 3 beauties. I love them so much. A few days after this the temple president had Laura come in for an interview, she will be working in the temple one day a week. She is very excited and it will be much needed for her. Her mission papers have been submitted....now we wait........and wait............and wait.........
