July 31rd

It has been a really long time and for that I apologize. I’ve been bugging Alixa for weeks to do a write up of her trip out to Utah with the kids and she can’t seem to be bothered. But she can find time to watch OITNB. So I guess I’ll just put some pictures in and you can imagine what story is behind them.

 This is the greatest picture ever taken. Bo had fallen asleep on the toilet in primary. 

Some days he needs a nap.

So what has happened since we last spoke? Jenna turned 5, America turned 238, and Jarom and Alixa reached the 10-year mark of their marriage. Jazz continues to become part of the family around here. She is currently making the transition from inside cat to outside cat. This is a little more difficult with her because she is already  1 and has never been outside, so she is still pretty nervous. But she gets better every day. She plays very well with the kids, who love to chase her around and give her hugs. Except for Emmy. Emmy likes to follow her around, but doesn’t like to be closer than 2 feet. So she will often follow the cat into another room and then realize she is alone with the ferocious animal and start crying until help arrives. Jazz’s favorite pasttime is playing with Alixa’s ponytail holders. She steals them from Alixa’s bathroom counter and will bring them to you in her mouth and then wait for you to throw them across the room so she can fetch. It’s hilarious. It’s also funny to hear Alixa complain about not having any ponytail holders.

She's not a skinny girl

 Jazz with her traditional prey

 All three kids personalities really come through in this picture. Don't mess with Emmy.

July in Texas means lots of heat, and lots of heat means lots of swimming for Lix and the kids. So most of the month has been spent in the pool. Jenna is getting ready for Kindergarten and has started taking piano lessons. Bo is Jenna’s shadow and will definitely miss his buddy when she goes to school. But I think it will be an easy transition for him to become the followee instead of the follower, and Emmy loves Bo more than anyone else, so they’ll do great. Emmy is a travelin’ gal, walking and running everywhere. She loves shoes and is constantly asking people to put them on her or change her current pair for a different one. She, like her siblings before her, is incredibly loud. She had a doctor visit recently and her weight has come down out of the stratosphere, so much so that the doc was a little concerned. It’ll be sad to not have super fat Emmy anymore, but this is basically the same trajectory that the other two followed.

This is Bo's attempt at telling a joke at the Holderness Reunion. "Why did the banana flush the toilet? Because it was his banana peel!" Trust me, it's hilarious.

Alixa is still trying to find a volleyball league that she loves. She just finished one that is too far away and has some team members that she wasn’t thrilled with and has just started one that is much closer but not nearly as competitive. That might be a good thing. She says she enjoys being the one that everyone looks to as the expert. We’ll see if this one’s a keeper. She keeps getting faster as she started her half marathon training, which is bad news for Jarom. He has a lot of work ahead of him if there is any chance of him keeping up. And since they are already doing the training they’ve decided to fly out to Vegas in November to participate in the Ragnar race there with some friends. Fortunately Jarom won’t be running against her in that one.

More jokes from Bo. This time he is speaking spanish. 

 Celebrating cow appreciation day by getting free food

 This photo is a point for Utah

After a painstaking process that went through 3 kitchen tables before finally landing on the one Alixa wanted, she found another one that she actually wanted. So Jarom gamely took apart the current table and drove it back to Costco and got the new one and put it together. It is slightly smaller than the old one without the leaves, which is good, and it comes with 8 unpadded chairs, which was the biggest selling point. Jarom has also moved onto a new team at work, which means that he had to move his desk for the 4^th time since November. Still the same hospital, but a new boss working on some new stuff. He’s been at it for a couple of weeks and so far, so good.