march means milestones

In the past the month of March is always a whirlwind and this one was no exception.

Joy and I kicked off the month with our shared birthday.   For some time Joy has wanted to get her ears pierced,  but just never really nailed down a time or age that she would find the courage to do it.   After her younger cousin got her ears pierced for Christmas she decided that her 8th birthday would be the day.  After school Grandma,  Joy and I went over to the local mall and I proudly watched my oldest daughter experience this rite of passage.     She didn't wimp out,  or even shed a tear (even after I told her she could)   The crying and whining was to follow a few weeks later when the novelty wore off and she still has to clean her ears.

Next up that month was a trip with our beloved small group to Great Wolf Lodge.    I have a terribly old camera that uses a thumb tack for a shutter button!  Unfortunately,  that caused me to miss out on a lot of good pix on this trip.  Thankfully,  I have talented friends with great cameras to capture the moments!
here's a sampling...

Oh,  I'm not done yet...
We celebrated the birthdays and the life of Chase turning 12 and Naomi is now 1.   Family parties and plenty of fun.   The only thing missing was Dan.  He was working away out of state (more on that in a later post). 

I might have to do a whole post on what it means for me for this gal to turn one year old.  

Stay Tuned.

Apparently the rule in this house is that you get a friend Birthday party when you turn 8.
This was Joy's year!   We wandered to the local bowling alley and she and 11 of her school friends bowled and giggled,  created plenty of drama for a Friday afternoon.   It was a fun time and it's always special to see your kid in her element.  

 Joy with her Grandmas- I was so thankful to have them there!

 Grandma H. and Dewey take a break from all the girl power.

Despite all the fun, there were many menial as well as challenging moments in March.    At times when Dan was gone --if I didn't laugh I would most certainly cry during particularly overwhelming times with the fantastic 5.   We survived and thrived March 2012 despite what this last photo implies...

Juliet's beauty shop.