Ten years ago Evelyn changed our lives forever. June, 2007. Father's Day. We had just moved to a new house in Cleveland, Ohio and we were starting to find our way around the beautiful tree-lined streets. I was scheduled to start dental school in about a month, and was eagerly anticipating the upcoming academic challenges. Rachel had secured a job with an interpreting agency, and was nervously excited about her debut into community work. Life was good- but not yet complete.

June, 2007. Father's Day. We found out that our family would never be the same. Evelyn was on her way.

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Ever since she was born, Evelyn has totally rocked my world. She is my little girl- and as my first, she will always hold a very special place in my heart.  Being her dad has been a privilege that I sometimes wonder if I deserve. Her fierce independence, quirky sense of humor, and vast stores of creativity are constantly surprising me. In many ways I look up to her, and I feel like she teaches me as much as I do her.

Also, in the last ten years, I can honestly say that Evelyn has become a very good friend. We love doing things together, and have both had some very open and vulnerable moments with one another. Sometimes I have to remind myself that she is "only" ten years old because her maturity seems well beyond her years. 

In short, she is awesome. Happy birthday, Ev.

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Speaking of Evelyn, here is a picture of her hair this morning (which is actually like, a week from when I actually started writing this blog post).

Happy Dr. Seuss Week!

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For her birthday party, Evelyn totally took control. She was given a budget, browsed Pinterest, sat down for a 30 minute planning session with Rachel, and then went for it. In her haste, she forgot to make invitations for many of her friends from church. She feels terrible about it, but things turned out really well nonetheless. The theme was Greek gods and goddesses.

Table decorated. She spray painted the fake fruit and everything.

Rachel made this cake. I'm impressed.

Ready for her friends to arrive

Let's Party!

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In other news, our "unseasonably warm winter" came to an abrupt end when we got a snow storm a while back. I have to admit, I was a little bit disappointed. The silver lining is that the sled hill by our house is great right now! Also, we finally got our season passes to the ski resort. They will last all the way through 2019. So, I guess winter isn't all bad.

Sledding is fun...

...Except for when it's not

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One other silver lining of winter is that it is incredibly beautiful where we live. Here are some pictures I took on a walk I went on last week:

These first two were taken within minutes of each other. The sky was already pretty moody and dramatic...but then it exploded into fire. And then it was dark. What a show! Also, those boat slips look like they are excited for summer.

Here is my actual destination: the dam down the street. Check out the ice formations from the mist! Pretty cool. Also, I have to congratulate myself on this picture. Well done, Logan. Well done.

This one was taken the next day as I dropped Addy off for gymnastics. There is quite the contrast between the mountains and river on the South side of town vs the Prairie farmland on the North. I like both of them.

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Have a good week!

This is my Maren:

She is a beautiful girl who makes friends everywhere she goes and is an extremely thoughtful little lady! She has a good pinch of sass and spunk that gives her a unique and fun personality that keeps you guessing. She has really grown into herself this year, and it has been fun to watch her mature.

Happy Birthday Maren!

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Over the weekend we decided to drive down to Rexburg and visit Grandma and Grandpa. Griffin also came up with his kids, and we all had a good time catching up with each other.

These pictures are from the "dinosaur museum" that we went to in Idaho Falls. The "skeletons" are actually made out of metal, and most of them had cables and pulleys that visitors could use to make them move. There was also a play room where the kids spent most of the time dressing up and climbing on things. Good times.

On Saturday night we got a babysitter and the adults went to a barbershop concert at BYU-Idaho- because who doesn't love a good four-part-harmony? It was actually an incredibly enjoyable night, topped off with milkshakes at the local college hang-out spot.

Of course we had to have a birthday party. This is a pretty special little girl.

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Finally, here are some pictures from the camp that Evelyn went to last week. She had tons of fun and is already looking forward to next time! One thing I don't see in any of the pictures is snow. It's been a weird year.

Have a good week!

We are loving the early spring weather. This week we went on a walk by the river and did some exploring.

One person you will not see in these picture is Evelyn. She spent Friday-Sunday at a camp with her friends. I don't have any pictures yet, but she said that she had a lot of fun. Stay tuned and I'll include more information when I get it.

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Eric Johnson. Since I first heard "Cliffs of Dover"- probably sometime when I was in high school- I have been dazzled by his music. He is easily one of the best and most respected guitarists in the world. Earlier this year he got together with his original band, picked up his old 1954 Strat, and decided to go on tour.

What a night! We sat close enough to watch the hypnotic movement of his fingers as they wove their way up and down the fret-board. I was utterly transfixed for the entire show. He played through his entire debut album that made him famous, threw in some of his other hits from later albums, and then added some new music that was recorded specifically for this tour. Each composition was better than the last, and I am still in complete wonder that such talent can exist in the world. Wow!

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On one rainy day we decided to go swimming. No story here. Just a nice afternoon with the family.

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On Sunday, Rachel and I watched the Superbowl. The kids had their own party at home with Jackee, their favorite babysitter. Rachel and I, on the other hand, went out and cheered our voices dry. It was a lively and entertaining time, and we came away satisfied with both the game and the outcome.

Have a good week!

A picture I took using water-drops. I imagine that with the warmer weather just around the corner, this is what Rachel's dreams have been looking like lately. Training season has officially started.