2013 Review Extravaganza--Part 3

Once again I am linking up with Emmy mom for the 2013 Review Extravaganza--four posts over four weeks dedicated to reviewing my blog entries, one quarter at a time, for the entire 2013 year. I look forward to this every December, because it gives me a chance to reread all I've written about my family over the last year and remember.  Here's Part 3--July-September 2013.

July

 We inherited nine chickens, and Hyrum bonded with Elizabeth.

The monsoon blessed us with an absolutely beautiful storm.

Ben was a member of the Aida ensemble and rocked the dance moves.

Evie finally got over her fear of drowning and learned to swim.

And we all spent some time in southern Idaho with my family.  I love Idaho. Micah stayed behind and spent a week being spoiled by my parents--my fifth child to get this royal treatment.

I closed out July by acknowledging how hard it was to work on my resolution while traveling.

August

I spent the first five days of August seeing Long Island through the eyes of my missionary son.  I will never forget this trip--the people I met and the love they have for my son.  It is one of my favorite memories from the whole year.

I took all five kids shopping for our our traditional back-to-school kickoff.

Then I sent all five of them off to school. 

I had to catch up on a few neglected pictures from the summer, and this picture of Ellie is one of my favorites from the whole year:

And this one of all five of my boys on the dock at Dierkes' Lake in Twin Falls.

And this one of Grandpa's tent set up in his backyard for a cousin sleepover.

Lily got her head stuck in a fossil, and I got to share Herrett's Museum with my children.

I celebrated my 44th birthday with a week of posts dedicated to what I'd learned over the last year:

Photography

Reading the Old Testament start to finish

And taking up yoga

Then, on my birthday, I made a big announcement:

I was returning to school--for a master's degree in gifted education. It's been a ton of work, but I have loved almost every second of it.

My bestie's youngest son left for a mission, and we reunited all four boys.

Brad and I took a quick weekend trip to Rexburg where we squeezed the grandkids, I met a longtime blog reader (Hi, Kesa!), and we just happened to run a half-marathon.

I changed my ACT goal from one of perfection to goals toward improvement, and this mindset changed my approach to acting for the rest of the year.

September

Then, it was September.  Whew.  September.  

Tucker and Karli moved back to Provo to resume school.

And I showed photos of our soon-to-be cabin in the pines of Pine, AZ.

Heidi made a big announcement:

And Ben taught me an important lesson about taking responsibility for your actions.

I posted a few pictures from Tucker's engagement photo shoot:

And then it was the wedding.  I posted a last letter to my son before he became a husband--as long as I'm living, my baby he'll be.

September 20th--the biggest day of the year for the Sanatorium.  The day Karli Joyce West (after seven years of waiting!) finally became Karli Denton.  It was a beautiful day.

I hosted the wedding dinner with my clever game/center pieces about the newlyweds' favorite movie quotes.  It was a hit.

Three days after the wedding, Evie did this to her hair:

 It was one of my most popular posts all year.  Although many tears were shed at the horrifying cut, it turned out to be a blessing, because her pixie cut has become as much a part of her persona as her big blue eyes.

 

Don't you love it?  Instead of letting it grow out, I've actually had it recut into this same style twice since that fateful day.

September was an overwhelming month, but I found myself reflecting on my goal and I began to recognize how I'd changed over the past nine months.  And I was pleased with what I saw.

Only one more link left, then it's time for a 2014 goal.  I've been thinking about it for a month now, and I'll be excited to share where I'm headed next year!