josette's blessing gown

These are out of date pictures- but I still need to post them.  Here is Josette at about six months old in her blessing gown made by our friend from our Tacoma ward, Sandi Pickering.  So lovely!

g'ma janine's summer visit

We have had a great, two-week visit from Grandma Janine.  The girls love her so much and will miss her when she flies home on Thursday!  (In this pic we have Josy pouting on the side even though I had asked her to sit on G'ma's lap...!)

pioneer day festival

Provo held a fun and fairly well organized Pioneer Day festival on the 24th of July.  My girls tried almost every single booth there and had a lovely time!

multitasking

Josy can go potty and practice the synthesizer at the same time!

(And she can even do it with her eyes closed!)

myka krystianna gary

Happy Birthday Myka!  We love you.  You are an amazing nine-year-old; a one-of-a-kind girl.

Can you see how quickly she dropped the expensive ice cream cake for her new Warriors book?  I don't want to say 'Nerd Alert' about my own child, but geez!  We have got an avid reader here!

anna karenina

 I have been re-reading this lovely, epic novel by Tolstoy; a new film version starring Keira Knightly and Aaron Johnson comes out in November.  And it strikes, me as I read, that it is very masterfully written.  The characters are each intricately described so that the reader has a clear psychological profile of why they do and say the things they do.

At times I identify with Anna, in the way that she longs for her freedom in love with Vronsky and also in her tender feelings for her son.  But I actually best identify with Konstantin Levin; in his constant over thinking of situations and meanings of what people say and mostly with his longing to find meaning in life and for personal inner-peace.  

 So, I am wondering what this new movie will be rated-?  I would really like to see it- it looks to be filmed a little more theatrically than a straight forward story.  Keira Knightly can totally handle Anna, I think, and Aaron Johnson ... well he looks spectacular- so- heh, heh- I can't wait!

(Although----Anna is described in the novel as having a beautifully curvacious figure with round arms and a full hourglass stature, and Miss Keira, try and she might, can't fill out any corset.  But, she is good at what she does, so I will let that slide...!!)

 (Sophie Marceau actually has more the figure that I imagined from Tolstoy's description of Anna-)

('oh Keira--it's OK, we still like you, but that figure isn't going to turn any heads!')

girls, girls, girls!

 I wonder if Aaron, in his younger years, ever pictured himself surrounded by so many girls...

(This group shot will have to be tried again- we got half of Josy's face, a pouty Haily and Aaron is not looking at the camera----lovely)