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.
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| Table decorated. She spray painted the fake fruit and everything. |
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| Rachel made this cake. I'm impressed. |
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| Ready for her friends to arrive |
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| 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!
I completely understand how your Evelyn (your first born) has a special place in your heart. Our first born (you) has, and will have a special place in our hearts too. It's amazing how mature a 10 year old can be. Sometimes we don't give them the credit they deserve. Sledding looks fun, and nice job on the picture of the dam. It's beautiful.
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