But first, let me take a selfie

I have been sorting through pictures from this year. Every few weeks I notice some selfies pop up. I am, obviously, not against a selfie. Especially when it is clearly documenting a good hair day! This is the common thread I've observed in my selfies. I always want to remember my hair looking awesome. I even have a hairdresser, after years of searching, that understands the deep connection hair has to my mental well being. She and I discuss how my neurotic tendencies will be affected by whatever cut I am proposing. And wisely, she usually just gives me a trim ;)

After all, life isn't perfect but your hair can be.

Back to school 2015

Wants to be a pro athlete, coach, lawyer, or psychiatrist.

Wants to work in law enforcement or be a pilot.

Wants to be a pro lacrosse player or a forensic scientist.

Wants to be a voice over actor or own an ice cream parlor.

Back to school and the real reason this blog is getting any attention. The blue clothing color scheme was not planned but does look quite nice all together. My guys are all out of the nest this year. The oldest at a medical charter school and the younger three at a charter school in Boise. They had a good first week and made sure to tell me that it is way better than home school. Well then!

Year 11

Hi blog friends! I am at it again. Doing my best to post on the blog and catch up on the marriage series I started. My year 11 reflection I posted is here.

I love looking back over the years we have been married. I am hoping this format is not too confusing to read. There is a tiny tag under each post that says "mawwiage" you can click on to see some of our journey together. If you are not into the links, just enjoy these Halloween pics from our past. (Yikes!) 

Cousin Meet Up

The month of August started off with a bang. The Canadian Archuletas made the 16 hour trip down to states for a two week summer vacation. Kelly and Kirsten brought home their Haitian daughters, Kloe and Kinna, in January. We were all anxious to meet them as well as Konnor, born in October. They have six kids!

The cousins all get along remarkably. We did activities everyday. Play-doh, Legos, Hot Wheels, and marble towers were a few things we tried. I had anticipated a need for tactile activities due to a huge language divide  but the girls now speak English fluently. I am so proud of all they have learned!

Koen and Kace had a fun big kid sleepover at our house. Sno cones, movies, dance party, and a campfire made for good times.

Konnor was just a joy for all of us. He is the perfect baby, squishy and sweet. He was a trooper and let everyone love on him.

Pool fun every day. The girls particularly loved swimming and improved greatly over their time here.

I loved having nieces to color with, paint nails, or rock out with in the car. They kept requesting a "girl sing," only wanting to listen to songs sung by females :) 

Not bad for trying to get all 10 kids in a photo!

Finding appropriate entertainment was challenging. We watched Inside Out in the theater together, that worked well. Megamind and watching American Ninja Warrior were two other screen time successes.

Parker, now taller than Kelly! (we checked under all that hair)

We were sad to watch them pull away. So many new memories made, too many things to list here. But I have been treasuring them over the last couple weeks. My boys all said it was the highlight of their summer.

Sister Trip

My sister flew me out to Seattle last month to explore the city with her. We ate, drank, and walked our way through sunny streets all weekend long.

Tamales at La Carta de Oaxaca in Ballard.

Brunch at Cafe Pettirosso in Capital Hill.

Coffee at Bedlam in Belltown.

I always have a great time adventuring with her. It's good to have a sister and as far as sisters go, she's the best. Not a lot of pictures but memories made in abundance.

Year 10

Hi y'all! Remember me? This blog? This marriage series I started? 

Good news! I left off on year nine of marriage and blogged about almost every year after. I am tip toeing back into the blog, trying to share here as well as Instagram. 

I posted about year 10 here and then we went off to Seattle to celebrate, those posts are here.

Year 15

Sheakespeare's Sonnet 15 in light of our fifteenth year of marriage.When I read the cliff notes it had this to say:  life is transitory and ever-changing. Even the youth's beauty will fade over time, but because the poet knows that this metamorphosis is inevitable, he gains an even stronger appreciation of the young man's beautiful appearance in the present time — at least in the present time within the sonnet. Ironically, then, the youth's beauty is both transitory and permanent — transitory because all things in nature mutate and decay over time, and permanent because the inevitable aging process, which the poet is wholly aware of as inevitable, intensifies the young man's present beauty: Generally, the more momentary an object lasts, the more vibrant and intense is its short life span.

 I thought that was fitting. Year 15 had a few major transitions. Another house, new school options, and a new job. A lot of reminders that youth is fading, we are tired!

Not a lot of romantic things to say, I blame our teenagers. I'll wrap this up with a quote I found;
"A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance, and tenacity."

(I am working to catch up on the marriage series I started, we left off on year 9.)

Reno

Parker's JV lacrosse debut! He is playing for Centennial High School and enjoying a new position on attack. The year kicked off with a tournament in Reno. 
Matt and I were up for some one on one time with Parker while Grandma Ellen took the other 3 boys for a fun weekend of their own.

(real reason for the road trip)


He played so well all weekend and scored more goals than all of last season. We stayed an extra day to sleep in and check out the outlet mall in Sparks. And one more meal at In and Out before hitting the road.



Parker is the best company, I joke that I gave birth to my best friends. Also, you can almost see in the picture that he is now taller than his dad. That seems noteworthy to me and it is still so bizarre that we have a child in high school!

8

  Our sweet, enthusiastic Collin turned eight last week! We had dinner with friends at Dave and Buster's. (So much fun apparently, he couldn't even button those pants!) He also had blessed individual time with grandparents. And he received thoughtful gifts from Auntie and Uncle in the mail. (Is there anything better than finding out that UPS has something for YOU?)
  Collin is spirited and creative and bold. He is loving life and making optimists of us all. His joy is boundless and his smile gets him off the hook for just about anything. We love you, baby boy!