tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52849454769388723512024-02-19T03:11:06.480-05:00the harmon squadjax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.comBlogger484125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-71104633273086431632017-10-18T20:13:00.000-04:002017-10-18T20:14:34.929-04:00blue and gold banquet 2017When we were in Alaska I volunteered with the Cub Scouts; I spent my time as the Bear leader, then moved up to Webelos with Max when he aged up. While wrangling adolescent boys was not my most favorite thing ever, I had the pleasure of organizing our Blue and Gold banquet last winter and I was in heaven! I pretty much coerced everyone into a Knights of the Round Table theme because the possibilities are endless; it turned out fantastic (I may have gone a little overboard though...) and everyone had a great time. I've had lots of questions about it so here's a summary of everything so you can recreate it with your own pack.<br />
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Unfortunately, I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked since I was the one running things. So, I apologize for the lack of detail shots but hope you're able to get a good idea of things anyway.<br />
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To prepare for this I recalled all the details I could from my visits to Renaissance Fairs and Medieval Times growing up, and watched A Knight's Tale several times (with specific scenes over and over) until I got all the details out of it I needed (like phrasing and certain props, etc.). And the basic idea of the night (and things like the food and sword in the stone) came from my friend's mom who was (and is) an incredible Cub Scout leader when I was a kid; thanks Sister Wassink!<br />
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The front of the room had the flags, a chest that held the scouting awards, and the sword in the stone. The smaller flag on the table was the one we used to mark the start of each joust. The theme of the night (aside from Knights of the Round Table) was Bravery, Skill, and Purity. The night revolved around those three tasks: the Joust to prove Bravery, their Scout awards to prove Skill, and Pulling the Sword from the Stone to prove their Purity.<br />
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Each Scout made (at home) armor to wear over their uniforms. They also came up with a "Knight name" to go by for the program. Things like "Nick the Brave" and "Max the Magnificent."<br />
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I used simple, cheap plastic tablecloths as hanging tapestries. They made a huge impact for not very much money in transforming the gym into a banquet hall.<br />
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I had the tables set up (the missionaries came and helped me put it all together) in a big U with all the chairs on the outside (we had some extra tables so there ended up being a row of extra seating behind the U too). Each table had simple white plastic tablecloths and I "set the table" beforehand. We used black and silver paper plates from Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree (I alternated the black and silver on the table) and I found <a href="https://www.dollartree.com/5-ct-Plastic-Water-Glasses/p294146/index.pro" target="_blank">these goblets</a> from Dollar Tree, which I was over the moon about because they were perfect for the atmosphere (as opposed to normal plastic cups). There were no utensils; they didn't use them in medieval times so we didn't either.<br />
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The floor in the middle of the U had plastic tarps we taped to the ground. The night started off with the Feast: we ate all finger foods. We had fried chicken, bread, and had the families bring a side like grapes, potato wedges, one family brought boiled peanuts, and various other finger foods. When they were done with their bones, or shells, or grape stems they would throw them onto the tarp.<br />
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Typically for these types of events things are done buffet style, but to keep the atmosphere in character the leaders were serving wenches and swains. They carried the food out on platters and would dish it out for everyone, or brought out the pitchers of water or juice and filled glasses.<br />
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Once everyone was done eating we pulled the tarps up with all the trash contained inside: easy-peasy! Then I set up the divider for the joust; I used white bunting I had made for my sister's wedding strung between cardboard supports.<br />
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We did do some things in the weeks leading up to the event to prepare; one of them being the coat of arms. I got normal white poster board and cut each into a shield shape, then each scout got to make his own coat of arms. I used <a href="http://www.familytreesandcrests.com/heraldry-symbols.htm" target="_blank">this website</a> to find the meaning behind colors, patterns, and objects and listed it all on the chalkboard for them. Then they chose what they wanted and went to town! I had markers, crayons, and construction paper for them to use. It ended up being the perfect amount of shields so that I could alternate the banners and coat of arms.<br />
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I had so much making the decorations and stuff for this. For the two towers I used cardboard and painted it, then just leaned it against the wall.<br />
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The stone was a little trickier so I used Rob's help with the mechanics. We already had the big Nerf sword, then he found a cardboard tube it would fit into. He stuffed the tube with a bunch of random stuff like more cardboard, fabric, and filter material to make it difficult to get the sword out. Then we put the tube inside a cardboard box, then covered that with <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/GREAT-STUFF-16-oz-Big-Gap-Filler-Insulating-Foam-Sealant-Quick-Stop-Straw-99053938/207050533" target="_blank">insulating expanding foam</a>. Once the foam was dry we carved it to make it look stone-ish, then I painted it. It ended up looking a little more like volcanic rock than we intended, but it was still pretty awesome.<br />
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The invitation to the Banquet. (I've included a link to the printable stuff at the end.)<br />
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One of the traditions for our pack's Blue and Gold Banquets is to have the boys make and bring a dessert, then each dessert gets a fun award. I had fun thinking up medieval-ish awards (those are included at the end too). We always make more than there are boys so there are a variety to choose from; I ended up with 34.<br />
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I am all about dressing up, so I had all the leaders wear a white shift with a rope belt to stay with the serf theme. All the boys sat with their families and we started the night off with the flag ceremony, immediately followed by the Feast. While we ate I had <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/medieval-renaissance-music/id336054903" target="_blank">medieval music playing</a> to help with the ambiance. If we had had the budget I would have loved to get the flickering LED candles to use instead of the overhead lights.<br />
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Once everyone was done eating it was time for the fun to begin! (I'm sorry I don't have pictures of the joust and pulling the sword out of the stone)<br />
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We had all the scouts go out to the hallway to get lined up, then we had the Procession of Champions to start things off. We had the boys line up youngest to oldest, then they were announced (using their Knight name) one by one. <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/imperial-fanfares/id29779314" target="_blank">As a fanfare played</a>, each boy walked along the inside of the U of tables (they were all a few paces behind the person before them) so everyone could admire them, then they lined up at the front of the room once their pass was complete. Once everyone had been announced and finished their promenade the joust began!<br />
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Each boy retrieved his jousting stick and his stick horse (I already had those); to prevent injury we used <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-x-3-ft-Tubular-Pipe-Insulation-R3-1-4-Pack-P20EB/205181982" target="_blank">precut pipe insulation</a> that the boys made a handle for with construction paper (we cut them into semi-circles then wrapped them around the tube). They made their jousting sticks and we rehearsed the joust at a previous scout night. We had a list of everyone already teamed up and when each pair was announced they moved to opposite ends of the divider (on opposite sides) and waited for the signal. Our announcer (one of the leaders who got really into it; he was awesome) would tell them "Stand Ye Ready!" while the flag person took their place in the middle. Then when the flag was raised, they went at it! We didn't do a bracket or anything to determine a "winner." We just had each boy take a turn and then they were done. I also had music playing during the joust, this time from the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/a-knights-tale-original-motion-picture-score/id395579789" target="_blank">A Knight's Tale score</a>.<br />
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Once everyone had finished their joust it was time to pull the Sword from the Stone! Each boy was called in order from youngest to oldest and got to pull it out (it wasn't easy either).<br />
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After that, each boy received his scout awards and was then Knighted.<br />
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Then it was time for dessert! During the joust a couple of the leaders chose the awards for each dessert, and while everyone was eating those were announced. And a sidenote: while we didn't use utensils during the feast we did have them for dessert. I had some of the fancy real-looking silver ones left over from a different event I had thrown so we used those since they were perfect for the theme.<br />
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And that was it! I'm a crazy overachiever so I made myself a dress to wear; a friend snapped this of me at the end of the night.<br />
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<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z19al6p5cc6wb2l/AAAkuCr-mRD11Bv71Eo1ZCaqa?dl=0" target="_blank">Here is a link to the invitation, dessert awards (there is an individual PDF for each one, then a condensed PDF at the end that contains all of them in one document), and the outline/write-up/script of the whole night. </a><br />
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It was such a fun night, the scouts LOVED it, and I hope yours is just as fun!<br />
<br />jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-38175395979515519932017-10-10T21:51:00.001-04:002017-10-10T21:51:45.149-04:00two thousand sixteen part 2<div style="text-align: center;">
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Our glorious Alaskan summer continued with lots of adventures. Laura and I took the kids on one of our favorite hikes out at Chena Lakes. We were devoured by plenty of mosquitoes and despite the flat terrain the kids acted like their legs were going to fall off halfway through.</div>
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I (despite my appearance as everyone likes to point out) am getting older and passed an aging milestone; I need glasses for reading/detail work. I'm thankful that I found a company that makes stylish frames for kids so I don't have to resort to Barbie frames.</div>
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Then my family came to visit! We had them fly into Anchorage and met them down there so they could experience as much of Alaska as possible. While we were down south we visited Seward, playing in the rainforest and throwing rocks on the beach. We had delicious food in Anchorage (hello, Moose's Tooth) and visited the temple - and also saw some moose right outside our Airbnb house! Then we headed to Talkeetna where we stayed in a cute cabin, saw Denali, went for a hike, ate yummy food, played lots, and celebrated Oskar's birthday. Then back home to Fairbanks, stopping in Denali National Park to check out the visitor center and take a little hike. Once in Fairbanks the fun continued with a trip to North Pole to see Santa Claus (and his reindeer!), more hikes, blueberry picking (and making a pie from the spoils), family photos, shaved ice, visiting downtown, hanging out with Nana and Grandpa, playing in the backyard, a haircut for Oskar, visiting the hospital on post that my Grandpa (my mom's dad) designed, and ice skating. It was a fun fun visit and we loved showing off our state!</div>
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At the tail end of my family's visit Rob and Max headed back to NC for Rob's grandmother's funeral. Aside from the sad reason for the visit they had a good time seeing family and doing some North Carolina favorites (like eat at Chick Fil A). </div>
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Then Viggo turned 2! </div>
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Our final harvest, the afternoon before the first frost. We had so many tomatoes so we had to give a bunch away, while ripening as many as we could fit inside.</div>
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As August turned into September I was able to take an enormously fun girls trip down to Anchorage. We squeezed about a dozen women into one RV, went shopping and eating, I took a walk with my dear friends Amanda on the coastal trail, took a nap in the RV after said walk (we went about seven miles!) while everyone else visited Costco, snuck away to a fabric store (one friend accompanied me so she could see me in my element...), and visited Bear Lake where I jumped into freezing cold water and thought I was going to die, then spent the rest of the time in the old school hot tub. On the way home we were rewarded with the most spectacular northern lights show that I saw our whole time up there. </div>
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That fall we spent as much time outside as possible before the snow and cold hit. The dogs and I took one last hike up Wickersham Dome- my favorite hike in all of Alaska. </div>
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Back to school photos! The leaves up Sage Hill were unreal.</div>
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My goobers. They are crazy but I love them.</div>
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We continued to homeschool and this year we got the boys their own computer building kit from Kano Computer. These were their reactions when they hooked them up and they worked!</div>
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In September I went on the Denali Road Lottery trip once again. This time we won our own spot so I took Laura and the boys, the dogs, and my friends Anita and Dori. It was so beautiful and like always, so so fun. Lots and lots of photos were taken!</div>
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Right before winter hit I took a natural dyeing from the garden class up at Calypso Farm. We picked the flowers, boiled them, then dyed different types of fiber. It was my favorite class I've ever taken and the results are breathtaking. </div>
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Max turned 10! We love this sweet kid so much.</div>
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At our Cub Scout Pack meeting he earned his Bear rank and moved up to Webelos. I moved up with him so I could stay his scout leader (I'll take all the time I can spend with him while he still wants to be seen with me). </div>
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What do you do when you have all the cub scouts? Make them do Insanity. I'm still marveling at my genius; they had fun and I didn't have to wrangle crazy boys.</div>
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The boys did swim lessons again! The younger ones had a new teacher this year so their classes were more like playtime at the pool than learning how to swim, but they loved it.</div>
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In October my friend Dori and I shared a booth at the Holly Days Bazaar on post. I debuted my new business Jax Harmon Handmade there; after the new year I opened my etsy shop selling the things I make.</div>
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Then Halloween! This year we had Harry Potter, Jayne Cobb from Firefly, Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle, and Marty McFly from Back to the Future.</div>
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With the advent of winter we spent a lot of time indoors; this is when the number of random photos of everyone increases. </div>
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We love winter though, and would get out in the snow as much as possible. This lady made herself a snow bed in the baby pool and laid in it all time throughout the winter months. </div>
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Viggo had the opportunity to model for my friend's blanket company. We had a lot of fun hanging out in the snow with her cute blankets.</div>
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The holiday party for Rob's battalion was a lot of fun! We saw Santa then got to ice skate; one of our favorite things!</div>
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2016 was a full, good year for us. We learned that fall that we would most likely be moving the next year so tried to savor as much of Alaska as we could. Life keeps flying by, but we wouldn't change a thing. We welcomed 2017 with open arms and were grateful for such a happy year together in the arctic.</div>
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jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-9321650227848239262016-12-16T05:05:00.001-05:002016-12-16T05:05:37.143-05:00two thousand sixteen part 1<div style="text-align: center;">
2016 was full. I didn't realize how full it was until I started gathering all the photos for this post; it's been quite a year! It's the first in two years that didn't involve a move, something I loved (a lot). Fairbanks has become home and life up here offers so much. We're minutes away from adventure, we've found our favorite restaurants and shops, the people are awesome, and we've found our community. To put it simply, we love Alaska and we love life.
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It seems kind of sad to say that our new year started cold and dark, but it did. There's no lack of things to do in the winter though; I kind of wish life would slow down a bit more in the winter, but instead our calendars stayed full. Almost immediately after the new year started my sister Laura had an art show at a friend's studio. It was fun seeing everyone's reaction to her work, and Viggo had a blast running around and eating all the refreshments.<br />
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Rob's St. Barbara's Day ball was in January too, so I got to work on my dress once all the holiday festivities were over. This was the first time I designed my own dress and I loved how it turned out. My friend did my hair and makeup for me and it was fun to be all fancy! Social events are kind of tough for me, but I put up with them so I can dress up. (because how often do you get to do that in the real world??)<br />
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Since I can't just toss the kids out the door to go play on the playground in the winter they can start getting a little crazy. So, we love the children's museum for getting the crazy out! It's smaller than most children's museums, but they've packed a lot of fun into the space (and it makes it easy to keep track of four kids running around).<br />
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The winter light is so soft and beautiful. And when it hits the snow and ice everything glows. We may not have much light in the winter, but what we do get makes it worth it.
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The kids did ice skating lessons all winter and they are getting good! It definitely reinforces the idea that it's easier to learn stuff when you're young; I was on the ice lots too but did not pick up skills anywhere near the rate they do.<br />
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Messy little toddler face. I think the first half of the year Viggo watched his brothers wondering what on earth they were doing, then the second half he just threw himself in the mix with them.<br />
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In February I said goodbye to a dear friend! Marla and I clicked instantly so it was really hard to see her and her family move on. The four of us ladies had lots of fun in the 9-ish months we had together and our kids all did too. We're so grateful for all the wonderful people we've met during this crazy life, but the sting of saying goodbye never gets easier.<br />
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We have our 'Alaska bucket list' and, of course, one of the things at the top is to see a dog sled race. And it happened! We got to watch the start of the Yukon Quest! It runs from Faribanks, AK and Whitehorse, Yukon and the starting location alternates; we got lucky and it started in Fairbanks this year. We stood on the frozen Chena River (I'm not going to lie, I kind of had to take a deep breath before taking a step on there) and got to watch all the teams run by maybe a foot away. Viggo LOVED cheering for all the teams, but the older kids had more fun jumping off a friend's dock into the snow. It was pretty cold so I kept the breath picture in there so you can get an idea just how cold. We didn't stay to see all the competitors since we all started to get a little cold after awhile, but I was impressed how long my kids lasted (especially since they were rolling around in the snow and I'm sure got plenty down their shirts).<br />
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Oskar and Viggo got to do a little bit of modeling! It's always kind of funny to see how the fashion industry's always advertising in the wrong season, but when your kids are modeling summer clothes when it's negative temperatures outside it takes it to a whole new level. Also, I actually conditioned Oskar's hair and brushed out all of his tangles for these shoots and I couldn't get over how pretty his hair looked (he's got my hair color too).<br />
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Viggo got a haircut! Right about his 18 month birthday, so he got to show it off at his checkup. I was so sad to see the curls go (and may have kept some...) but he loved not having hair hanging in his eyes. Viggo is my easy one to take to the doctor; he loves just checking everything out in the room while we wait for the doctor. He cracked me up later when we were waiting at the lab though; he decided to move out of the chair next to me and park it down the row. I keep telling myself it's because he wanted a better view of the tv instead of him not wanting to be seen with me.<br />
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I was on the news! My friend Crystle started a Mom-trepeneurs group here and the local news did a little story on it.<br />
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And the highlight of the Cub Scout year: the Pinewood Derby! Max designed an awesome car (the Half Sodeo) and had a blast racing it and cheering for his friends.<br />
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I put a little photo studio set up in a corner of my studio and had lots of fun taking pictures of the boys (especially since outside shoots are a little tricky when it's really cold out). I really love this series because I photographed them just as they are; snotty noses, wrinkled shirts, backwards shirts, and lots of attitude.<br />
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Viggo got a baby swing to put on the Gorilla Gym for Christmas and it has been a big hit. He's gone to sleep many times swinging in that thing.<br />
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More studio shots. These kids are crazy, but I love them anyway.<br />
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I squeezed in as much crafting time as possible this year! I made some little moccasins (among other things), and tried my hand at cross stitching people (this is my friend Crystle).<br />
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MREs for lunch! A staple for military kids. (the kids have fun trying them, but overall aren't fans)<br />
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Some of what Viggo got up to over the winter; lots of naps snuggled up to me or Laura and insisting on going out in the snow no matter how he was dressed.<br />
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Yula is still loving the snow. She spends as much time as we let her outside, taking naps on the snow. Makes me wonder how on earth she ever survived life in El Paso.</div>
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We got to go ride in a dogsled again! This year we got there earlier so Rob and I could ride too. Another thing knocked off the bucket list!</div>
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I've never been attached to my hair and like to change things up. I like my natural hair color so don't have any desire to go the hair dye route, but after seeing a new friend's awesome hair and finding out hers was permed I wanted to try it too. Thankfully I have Audra to rope into my crazy ideas so I took the plunge and got curly hair! It was lots of fun to do, but I don't know that I'll ever do it again because the process is intense. My hair is really thin but there is a lot of it so it took all day. The results were so fun though; it's been awesome to have curly hair! It is still curly nine months later; it's relaxed a lot, but there's still enough curl that I don't need to brush or do anything to my hair (which is AWESOME). I'm guessing at this point it'll just have to grow out to go away completely because it doesn't seem to be getting any straighter (and I'm not complaining).</div>
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After church shots of these two knuckleheads.</div>
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Our Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet was Star Wars themed this year so you better believe I dressed up! I hope to have a costume for very occasion someday.</div>
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What homeschooling looks like most of the time. I've got kids coming out of my ears.</div>
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Me and the boys in our Easter duds! Don't let our springtime outfits fool you, there was still snow on the ground.</div>
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Just having fun in the arctic; shopping with these cool dudes, and an ER visit to retrieve a bead out of a nose.</div>
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And before I knew it it was time for another hard goodbye. Audra left me too, and I miss my skiing/hair/thai food/party buddy. I'm shy and introverted but she brought me out of my shell and made sure I did lots of fun stuff. We took one last visit to Denali on her way out of Alaska and it was the perfect way to say goodbye.</div>
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Then Rob took command! It was earlier than we were expecting and both of us were so nervous to take on this huge responsibility (I'm the FRG Leader, so I help with the spouse/family member side of things). We became part of a wonderful unit though, and are so grateful for the wonderful soldiers and their families that are in Charlie Battery with us.</div>
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I'm enjoying being able to wear dresses again after so many years of nursing babies!</div>
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I'm also trying to get projects that have been on my to do list for forever done. One of those was making new seats for our patio chairs; I love the fun IKEA fabric! (and the cute Viggo)</div>
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I'm still in love with indigo dye, and the whole dyeing process in general. One of my favorite indigo pieces is the one above; it took about 2 hours to tie the whole piece of fabric up, but it was worth it to get those results! Any time I pull out the dye buckets this is the sight in the laundry room afterwards. Indigo for days!</div>
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Laura entered into another art contest and we had fun going to the opening reception. She didn't win anything this time, but it was fun to see people's reaction to her piece.</div>
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And it was spring! We went to shearing day at a local farm and loved seeing all the animals (and buying yarn...) and the boys loved the mud (thank you breakup). Before we moved to Alaska I'd always wanted BOGS (a type of boot) but had nowhere to wear them so never got any. Well up here they're my no. 1 shoe of choice, and the boys all have some too. Makes the mud a piece of cake.</div>
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The boys and I took a walk at Creamer's Field once most of the snow was melted. It was pretty brown overall, but we saw lots of little buds forming on all the plants.</div>
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Then at the beginning of May we went to HAWAII!</div>
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It was an amazing trip. Words can't adequately describe Hawaii; English just falls flat. We felt enveloped in love the whole time we were there; the people are incredible and the island was incredible and we realized one week there was nowhere near sufficient. The trip started off with a historical tour of Ford Island where we learned so much about Pearl Harbor. Our guide Miss Jessie is probably the most knowledgable person about that day so I just soaked it all up. The rest of the time was full of beach visits, fire dancing, beach lounging, amazing food, beautiful vistas, cliff jumpers, visiting the temple, getting family photos done, shaved ice, making friends, more beach time, and soaking everything in. Oh, and taking lots of photos!</div>
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Right after we got back from Hawaii (like, the day after) I got my wisdom teeth out. Unfortunately, I didn't say anything funny after waking up so no hysterical videos. I slept a lot and dealt with some migraines afterwards (I had an exposed nerve in one of my sockets) so it took me longer to get back to normal than I was expecting. Thankfully you only have to do it once!</div>
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Then Nick turned 6! Birthdays are the best. Nick is the first one of us to have a birthday every year so he kicks off our season of birthdays (we have 1-2 a month from May to September).</div>
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We went for a walk with friends at Creamers Field about a month after the last one. It's amazing the difference a month makes here! This time everything was green and lush and beautiful. The one downside to all the though is....</div>
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The mosquitoes. We welcomed swelling mosquito bites once more. Joy.</div>
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We ended up having a really rainy summer. It got to be a bit of a drag after awhile, but it did mean lots of rainbows! I think we've seen more rainbows in the year and a half we've been up here then the whole rest of my life combined. It's amazing.</div>
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I started a garden this year and it was a huge labor of love. Thanks to Rob's field time I ended up building the boxes myself and hauling all the dirt and and everything. The two photos were taken about a month and a half apart; everything got WAY bigger than I was expecting! I followed lots of advice on spacing from gardening books I have, but they were all written by people in the lower 48 so I've learned that Alaska is a bit different. Thanks to the endless sunlight everything gets big fast. And nothing beats harvesting your own vegetables! We didn't get as good as a harvest as we were hoping thanks to the rain (the last half of the summer saw hardly any sun because it was raining so much) so we savored everything we could. </div>
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We joined a CSA too so got farm fresh vegetables every week to supplement what we grew ourselves. When I signed up they had an option to add on a flower share so I went for it; in addition to our weekly vegetables we got a beautiful bouquet. I loved having fresh flowers in the house all summer!</div>
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Then it was time for one of our favorite summer time activities: the Midnight Sun Festival! Unfortunately it was rainy for it, but we managed to have fun anyway. Our favorite part is the food so we stuffed our faces. And the kids loved these free hats Alaska Airlines was giving out.</div>
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On the solstice itself I went on a midnight hike with some friends. It was rainy for this too, but we loved it anyway. We hiked Angel Rocks and it kicked my tail like it always does. All the photos were taken around midnight/1 am so even with the clouds cover it's still pretty bright!</div>
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Probably my number 1 bucket list item is to be in the Arctic Circle on the solstice and my birthday (the day after the solstice). Unfortunately Rob wasn't able to get off for the solstice, but he got the next day off so off we went to Coldfoot camp on my birthday. Once you're past the Fairbanks North Star Borough (going north) you are in the wilderness; the Dalton Highway that takes you up to the Arctic Circle and beyond is the same road the Ice Road Truckers show people take. The drive was beautiful and we almost got the Yukon River when our car started having some issues. Since we were in the middle of nowhere we decided instead of risking breaking down and potentially getting stuck (there's also no cell signal once you leave the borough) to turn around and go back. It was disappointing, but ended up being the right decision since the car stopped moving right outside Fairbanks. Thankfully after cooling down we were able to start it back up and make it home so prayers were answered (and we met some awesome people; there is still good in the world). It just means we will have to do the trip in 2017 and I told Rob this time we will be up there for the solstice too!</div>
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And that is the first half of the year! Next up is the second half.</div>
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jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-45114743355613355522015-12-24T02:18:00.001-05:002015-12-25T03:34:49.710-05:00two thousand fifteenI was going to begin this summary of our year by saying it's been one of change, but I realized that we could say that about almost every year since Rob joined the Army. I can say, however, that there usually seems to be a "theme" that surrounds each major change we go through and for us 2015 was all about <i>Alaska</i>. We found out right before Christmas last year that instead of staying in Oklahoma like we were hoping to we would be going to Ft. Wainwright, Alaska! We were (and still are) very excited to go someplace we thought was a pipe dream, but the realities of moving OCONUS were a little overwhelming. As soon as our holiday celebrations were done 2015 began with a flurry of preparations for the move (our biggest one yet).
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Since we were going to be moving so far away from "home" on the east coast, the kids and I (and my sister Laura who had moved in with us following her college graduation spring 2014) made a whirlwind trip back to NC and VA to visit family since it is very unlikely we will make it back to the east coast while we're in AK. The boys loved hanging out and Nana's house, and we were fortunate to see as many people as possible while also visiting some of our favorite places (like the bike paths in Reston where my grandparents live.)
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Our last few weeks in Oklahoma were spent between move preparations and trying to soak up as much of it as we could. Max was able to do his riding lessons until the very end, and we spent as much time as possible in the Wichita Mountains wildlife refuge. We also squeezed in as many playdates with friends as possible, knowing that some very hard goodbyes were coming.
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And before we knew it Rob graduated from Captain's Career Course, and the time to leave was quickly upon us.
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One lesson the military life teaches you is that no matter what, Murphy will visit. Rob's truck (which pulls our trailer) had some significant engine problems as soon as we found out we were moving. He was able to put a new engine in it (himself!), and then find and replace a bolt that broke off after the engine installation was completed and had crippled the truck once more. As all of this was happening we were extremely stressed about it since it pushed our leaving back by a few days. But we soon found out that this was a blessing in disguise as a snowstorm hit the midwest right as we would have been traveling, shutting down highways and stranding travelers. We were so lucky that we weren't caught in it, and glad that we had given ourselves extra time to make it to the ferry in Washington so that the extra days in Oklahoma didn't harm our timeline. (and so so grateful for wonderful friends who let us stay with them so we didn't mess up the just-cleaned house)
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(Colorado Springs, CO)
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(Coeur D'Alene, ID)
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(Kopachuck/southern Puget Sound, WA)
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Before we knew it we were on the road, and were fortunate to be able to see and stay with family and friends on the way to the ferry. We traveled north to Kansas, then west across Kansas to Colorado, then north again through Wyoming and Montana, then west again through Idaho and Washington.
We tried to do something fun everywhere we stopped, and loved seeing the landscape change the further we traveled.
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And though it felt like we did a lot whenever we stopped, most of the two weeks it took was spent driving. I got to know really well what the back of our trailer looked like as I followed Rob for most of the trip. There were good things and bad about driving two cars up; since there was no one to relieve us both Rob and I drove the entirety of the way, but Rob was able to take the two older boys with him in his truck while I had the two younger ones and Laura. My car is an awesome road tripping vehicle (which we already knew), but the truck and trailer really earned their stripes this trip. They made it through many miles and many mountain passes!
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The very last stop in the lower 48 was Bellingham, WA, where we caught the ferry. We spent several hours waiting in line with all the other cars and trucks to be loaded onto the ferry, so when it was finally our turn it was very exciting! We traveled on the Malaspina along the Alaska Marine Highway from Bellingham, WA to Haines, AK.
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We all went up to the deck to watch as we left the continental US. It didn't take long for us to cross into Canadian waters, where we stayed for the next two days until we reached the southernmost point of Alaska.
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This was our first view of Alaska, as the ferry made our first (Alaskan) stop in Ketchikan.
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We loved seeing the landscape change as we made our way north. The beautiful green of the Pacific Northwest soon made way for mountains and snow and glaciers. We did not see any whales like we had hoped to, but the scenery more than made up for it.
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It wasn't all exciting, though. We were on the ferry for four days so we had to keep ourselves (but the kids, really) entertained. There was the cafeteria where we ate all our meals, a little play area, a movie "theater," the decks, and lots and lots of corridors to explore. We were also able to go down to the car deck whenever we were in port (or on the longer stretches, they would have a "pet call" where we were accompanied down while the boat was moving) to check on the dogs and walk them around. Since having kids I get motion sick easily so I was taking motion sickness medicine religiously and spent a lot of time with Viggo, lying down in my bunk with a book.
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This is what our cabin looked like (stuff heaped about and all). To the right of the door to the corridor is the door to the tiny bathroom. We had two cabins right next door to each other, and the other one was pretty much the kid zone. We were really lucky to get ones with windows; I loved being able to watch the scenery while lying in my bed.
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It was pretty exciting to finally disembark in Haines! This was the view we were greeted with as we drove off the boat. We then left Haines to make the two day drive up to Fairbanks.
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The drive through Canada was my favorite part of the trip. We went through a small part of British Columbia, then the rest of the time was spent in the Yukon. We knew from research before we left that this part of Canada was sparse, but it is still surprising when you actually experience it. From Haines on there were no chain anything, anywhere until we entered North Pole (just ten miles shy of Fairbanks). Gas was bought at mom and pop shops, that usually doubled as other things too. The buildings were all like stepping back into time, but the people were amazing. We stayed in Destruction Bay overnight, a "town" of only a few buildings, right on Kluane Lake. I don't know if I can adequately describe how beautiful and foreign the winter landscape was on this drive, but it was absolutely breathtaking. We're talking Lord of the Rings type vistas, epic mountains and lakes completely frozen over. It was the sort of thing I only thought I would see in movies, not actually experience. Had we not been trying to finally reach Fairbanks, and there actually have been a shoulder, I would have stopped frequently to take pictures. The handful I managed to get with my phone while either driving or stopping for gas do no justice to what we saw. I spent the whole drive wishing that everyone could see this amazing place, while being glad at the same time that so few do so that it remains unspoiled.
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Our very last day of travel we crossed back into the United States, and the landscape gradually changed from mountain vistas to rolling hills covered in forests of pine and birch.
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By the time we reached Fairbanks we were exhausted and so ready to be settled. The first day we were there were spent mostly taking it easy and trying to catch up on some sleep. It was mid-March by then and we loved the two to three feet of snow still on the ground. We wanted to live on post, but there was a wait list for housing. it was projected that we would have to wait 3-6 months for a house to open up, so after a week in the hotel we found a little house in North Pole to rent until that happened.
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Despite not being able to move-in quite yet (and feeling a little in limbo as a result) we fell head over heels for Alaska pretty quickly. We were able to witness a show of the northern lights within a few days of arriving and it took my breath away. The pictures do not do it justice (especially since I didn't have my tripod yet), nor has anything I've ever seen truly replicate what it is like. They really do dance above you, pulsing and moving unpredictably. The norm is to see just green, but this very first show we saw had bits of purple in it too.
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We were also able to see a real, live dogsled team not long after arriving, and Laura and the boys got to go for a ride. We had missed the beginning of the Iditarod (it usually begins in Anchorage, but because of lack if snow there it was moved to Fairbanks) by only a day or so, so this was amazing.
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Despite not being in our house and having the bulk of our stuff, we still threw ourselves into life up here. We made friends faster than we expected, involved in church and on post. Laura even entered an art show and won second place.
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After several years in the desert, and then a bit on the prairie, we loved going for walks and enjoying an Alaskan spring. I especially loved getting to put jackets on the boys, something that wasn't necessary for very long in El Paso.
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And then after only two months we had a house! There were three options we could have ended up with, and we were fortunate enough to get our first choice. I was a little disappointed for a few minutes when I realized it wasn't on the side of the street that backed up to nature, but quickly realized that backing up to a playground was probably even better for us.
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And oh it is! The kids spent most of the summer outside, playing. Most of our neighbors have boys around my kids' ages so Max and Nick were in heaven. Oskar and Viggo are still too young to go out there without a parent (or Laura), so whenever they did go outside of the fence was the best day ever as far as they were concerned.
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Fort Wainwright from the top of Birch Hill (which is probably about the same height as Mount Scott in Oklahoma. It's funny how perceptions change depending on the surroundings. In flat Oklahoma it was a mountain, in rugged Alaska it's a hill). It is a pretty small post, something we have discovered we prefer. That is the airstrip on the other side of the river, there are lots of helicopters up here and we love to see them flying.
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We tried to go on as many adventures as we could while it was warm, including this hike up to Angel Rocks. I love seeing my little mountain men climbing rocks.
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We are far away from the ocean up here in the interior, but managed to soak up some sun spending the day at the lake with friends.
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There is a Hawaiian shaved ice hut here and we made sure to visit often. The boys love blue raspberry mixed with banana or boysenberry; my favorite was blackberry and boysenberry.
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We may not have the awe-inspiring mountains and glaciers of the coastline, but the birch forests up here are amazing; I don't think I will ever get tired of walking through them. I was fortunate enough to have a couple photo shoots within the birch trees this summer and they make for a magical backdrop. The summertime up here also means lots and lots of light. At the solstice, despite the sun setting for a couple of hours, it never got dark. Sleep is harder to come by since you lose track of time, but it doesn't seem to matter so much when there is so much to do and enjoy outside.
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And as much as I wish time would slow down, this little boy has grown so much since we left Oklahoma. He's gone from a baby to a little boy right before our eyes. His sweet nature and excitement for life (plus those blue eyes and dimples) have us all wrapped around his tiny finger. He also throws himself into whatever his brothers are doing, so when we got a little trampoline he took to it just as much as his brothers (even if he wasn't walking and jumping on it yet).
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Alaskan summers tend to be a bit rainy, and we ended up not minding it at all. It helps when there would be giant double rainbows following a storm.
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I know most people are scared of the cold up here, but the trade-offs are worth it! The climate and landscape are just what we like; not too hot, and lots of plant life. (basically, the opposite of El Paso) We loved finding berries growing in the wild; we went berry hunting with friends and even though we were unsuccessful this trip, we had a lot of fun. But berries were found all over, in giant berry patches, to random plants in the most unlikely places. They, of course, taste ten thousand times better than store bought berries. Blueberries are even growing on me now, something I never though would happen.
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One of the prevalent plants up here is fireweed. It's a tall, pink flower that grows everywhere during the summer. You'll see huge fields of it, small patches on the side of the highway, basically anywhere not cultivated. It is beautiful to see it swaying in the wind, and it's passing signals the start of winter (the saying is that after it all "cottons out" snow is only two weeks away). A friend and I took our kids out for a little photo shoot in front of the fireweed before it all disappeared. I have very few photos of all four boys together, so my mama heart loved catching these.
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We didn't make it out to camp as much as we had hoped to (unpacking and setting up the house took up much of our summer), but we did go to our ward camp out in August. We're used to August being the hottest month of the year, but as this camp out proved, in Alaska that is not the case! It was in the 40s the whole weekend, making us very grateful that we rented a cabin and that it had a wood stove. The kids didn't mind the cold so much though, and had lots of fun hanging out by the fire and participating in the activities.
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Summer in the Harmon house means lots of birthdays; all of ours fall between the end of May and September. (we eat lots of cake in the summer!) This little guy had a special birthday though, turning ONE! He loved being the center of attention, and after experiencing all the other birthdays before his, knew what the cake and candle meant.
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With September came the start of school. We decided to continue homeschooling up here in Alaska, which means we can stick to our Hogwarts timeline of starting September 1st and going through the end of June. Alaska is a very homeschool friendly state (I suppose they have to be with so many remote towns and villages) so we have a wonderful homeschooling community here. Like most other parents of school age kids I make sure to take start of school photos of my kids too. Max started 3rd grade, Nick Kindergarten, Oskar Pre-K, and Viggo mischief maker.
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We loved spring and summer in Alaska, and fall was just as amazing. The golden forests made for gorgeous breathtaking views.
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The kids spent the fall in swim lessons, and are proving to be little fish. Oskar made quite the (good) impression on his teacher, which made me happy since his boisterous personality isn't always appreciated. It was so cute to hear him bellow "OH-TAY!" whenever he was given instructions and have it echo around the arena.
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Unfortunately fall is brief up here, so we spent as much time as possible soaking up the sun and waning warmth before winter set in. Even the dogs seem to sense that change was coming and sun bathed as much as possible.
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And just like that, snow! We had our first snowfall at the end of September. Much to the kids' excitement it was the perfect snowball snow (once it gets really cold up here the snow turns to a powdery consistency) and they had a blast playing in it. This initial snow did end up melting, but by the end of October the snow was here to stay.
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Along with the snow came the darkness. We had an even amount of day and night during the equinox at the end of September, and from there on gained more and more darnkess everyday. By the winter solstice (right before Christmas) we only have about 3 1/2 hours of sunlight, and then we make our journey back towards the sunlight. We don't mind the darkness though! Despite only a few hours of sun a day, there is twilight for a couple hours before and after the sun rises and sets, so it is not the pitch black we were imagining. And with the dark returns the aurora, which is worth the short days to us.
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Halloween ushered in the holiday seasons, and I had a lot of fun making their costumes again this year. Max was Star Lord (from Guardians of the Galaxy), Nick Hiro Hamada (from Big Hero 6), Oskar Hiccup (from How to Train Your Dragon), and Viggo Finn (from Adventure Time). They all looked so cute and loved their costumes, which makes all the hours slaving away on them worth it.
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I was able to go to Denali National Park with a friend for the road lottery. The road into the park is about 90 miles long, but the general public is only allowed to mile 15. From there you must take a bus into the park, but even that doesn't go the full distance. Once a year the park opens the full road to those that won a spot in the road lottery, and my friend that won one invited me to come along. We traveled the full length, taking all day to see the beautiful vistas and lots of animals. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see Denali itself since it was a snowy day and the clouds obscured it, but I'm hoping I will on my next visit there. The park did not leave me disappointed though, the beauty of the tundra is obvious.</div>
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Since we found out we were moving to Alaska we have had comments about how much our arctic dog is going to love it, and none of them were wrong. Yula loves Alaska more than I thought possible, spending lots of time outside lying in the snow. Saoirse loves the snow too, but she doesn't have the same tolerance for the cold. When it dips into the negative temperatures she will go outside and do her business, wanting in as soon as she is done, while Yula will take her time and enjoy being outside for a little while before wanting back in.
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I was a little apprehensive about the winter in relation to the kids' energy levels though. There are times where I wish I could just send them outside for a few hours like I could in the summer, but with a little creativity and planning we are doing ok. We have a membership to the children's museum, and there are lots of other indoor areas for kids to play. Cub Scouts has been great for Max, and Nick was even able to tag along for the tour of the Blackhawk helicopters a friend's dad flies. They've also moved on from swim lessons to ice skating lessons. We also invested in a gorilla gym, which hangs in the doorway like a pull-up bar, only it has attachments like a swing and a rope ladder and a trapeze, etc. Unfortunately the boys are not super into crafting like I have always hoped they would be, but they do indulge me every so often. They also love to go out in the snow when we have warmer days (20 degrees is considered warm in the winter here), with sledding a favorite. Overall, we are finding the winter not so bad, although by the time March arrives we may be ready for some warmth and outside.
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I have never been apprehensive about the winter where I am concerned; I have too may hobbies to keep me occupied indoors. I really love the snow too though, and have picked up cross country skiing. I'm still slow, and manage to fall pretty much every time, but I love it and I love being outside in the cold. We got Oskar some little skis and I'm hoping he will love it as much as I do.
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We do not mind the cold so much, but that is only true as long as we are dressed properly. I love the quote "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." because it is so true. Long johns are our best friends, along with wool socks and lots of layers. I had Rob snap this picture of me when we went up on top of Sage Hill for a reenlistment ceremony. It was about -15 degrees and, while we were only outside for a few minutes because of it, we were all bundled up and survived just fine.
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My favorite part of the day right now is right about noon, when the sunlight hits the tops of the trees before dipping back below the tree line and buildings. </div>
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Life has taken us in quite a different direction than Rob and I first thought when we got married, but (almost) every day we marvel at how amazing our life is. We have our challenges and frustrations like everyone else, but we are so blessed that the good outweighs the bad. The past year took us across thousands of miles and hundreds of degrees, a baby turned into a boy, and we grew and learned so much. We have big plans for 2016, and are looking forward to not moving for the first time in two years, but 2015 will go down as an epic year in the Harmon book of life.
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jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-82749685635273153622014-10-21T00:40:00.000-04:002014-10-21T00:40:13.725-04:00our viking baby.<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="427" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" src="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/14968550464/player/" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br />
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Viggo Edgar Harmon joined our family August 27th. We are so in love, if a bit sleep deprived...jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-52512740257789297692014-04-14T18:37:00.000-04:002014-04-14T18:37:19.486-04:00please excuse the silence.<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="342" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" src="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/13858197273/player/" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br />
I'm growing a baby.jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-71577532783588991762013-10-15T14:22:00.000-04:002013-10-15T14:22:14.100-04:00time keeps marching forward.No matter how much I want life to slow down it keeps laughing at me and speeding up. Before I know it all my kids will be grown and gone, leaving me in an empty house. Although I'm not going to lie, I am excited by the prospect of that empty house being <i>clean</i>. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(and not having to share my food...)</span><br />
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Like most of you, I find myself in that weird place where I'm simultaneously excited for the future and missing the past. I look at photos of my sweet hours-old infants and yearn to be snuggling those little blobs again. But at the same time, if I never see another dirty diaper again I will be quite content. I'm not the only one who feels this way, right?<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/10295684904/" title="jaxharmon_door by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_door" height="444" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7344/10295684904_c4b625569d_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(yes, that is a little people car he is holding with his mouth. Apparently their big heads make great grips)</span><br />
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And speaking of experiencing conflicting emotions simultaneously, this little booger has me feeling this way every day. On the one hand I just love him so much I want to squeeze him... And on the other I just want to pull my hair out as he unfolds all the clean clothes right after I folded them. Or I find him trying to climb onto the top bunk. Or pulling everything out of the bathroom cabinets. Or pushing the screen door open and trying to escape. The fun never ends with this one...jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-17258281806213641822013-09-27T07:00:00.000-04:002013-09-27T07:00:06.276-04:00one year later.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9960324173/" title="_MG_8307 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="_MG_8307" height="900" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5509/9960324173_d3d6d2ee0c_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
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Still the cutest pirates in this desert.<br />
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<a href="http://www.harmonsquad.com/2012/09/it-can-be-handy-having-bunch-of-pirate.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;">Here is last year's photo.</span></a>jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-77649131881232479592013-07-19T08:00:00.000-04:002013-07-19T08:00:11.417-04:00wanderlust.<div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Not all who wander are lost." J.R.R. Tolkien</span></div>
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There are pieces of my heart all over this planet. It is a bittersweet existence, with heartstrings pulled in multiple directions. But the end of this journey will result in a culmination of events and experiences and memories I can pull out and savor when my life is in it's twilight. </div>
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This way of living may contradict the human urge to settle and put down roots, but there is such beauty in every place we wander to. Whenever one heartstring pulls harder than the others it is difficult to see the worth in where I am, but in time the pull slackens and the clouds part and I am once again in awe of how lucky we are to have this world.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">North Carolina</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273787404/" title="jaxharmon_home_8 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_home_8" height="900" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5349/9273787404_e0605ba5a9_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271009911/" title="jaxharmon_home_2 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_home_2" height="900" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5339/9271009911_6ecc665f1d_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9319183914/" title="jaxharmon_home_9 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_home_9" height="900" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7341/9319183914_bde6872c51_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Oklahoma</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273789188/" title="jaxharmon_home_7 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_home_7" height="900" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3694/9273789188_fe53ed9679_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271005535/" title="jaxharmon_home_6 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_home_6" height="900" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7329/9271005535_a9d25c0a4c_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">New Mexico</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271006435/" title="jaxharmon_home_5 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_home_5" height="900" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7444/9271006435_3e33bef46c_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271008909/" title="jaxharmon_home_3 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_home_3" height="900" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7421/9271008909_eab4e1a84d_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271008125/" title="jaxharmon_home_4 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_home_4" height="900" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/9271008125_087811ae8e_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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I'm excited to discover our next home(s) in the future.</div>
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jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-19150705075118571352013-07-17T08:00:00.000-04:002013-07-17T08:00:01.149-04:00paige + geoff: the wedding! | fort bliss, el paso TX wedding photographer<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304639298/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_1 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_1" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3744/9304639298_af0c1d43ee_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301858657/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_2 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_2" height="900" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7453/9301858657_71f043f54f_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301857855/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_3 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_3" height="400" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7386/9301857855_89f4654968_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304645890/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_4 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_4" height="444" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5546/9304645890_1c85c8f5f5_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304645524/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_5 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_5" height="444" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3694/9304645524_0377afe71e_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304638332/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_6 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_6" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5525/9304638332_112c06edef_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301865209/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_7 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_7" height="444" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5447/9301865209_da6b79f964_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301857775/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_8 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_8" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3827/9301857775_59e7f8e2cd_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304645568/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_9 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_9" height="444" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3744/9304645568_95f3890361_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301856407/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_10 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_10" height="900" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3808/9301856407_c16a718ee4_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304645606/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_11 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_11" height="444" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7460/9304645606_437e2657f9_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304644636/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_12 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_12" height="444" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3801/9304644636_a446af0e07_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304635716/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_13 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_13" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3720/9304635716_ef933a35fc_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304634722/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_14 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_14" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5337/9304634722_8e4f208b34_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304634282/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_15 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_15" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5466/9304634282_cc341ac227_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304632952/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_16 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_16" height="900" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7312/9304632952_590255ae2a_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301864421/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_17 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_17" height="444" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7444/9301864421_843a6acc3c_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304632054/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_18 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_18" height="400" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2839/9304632054_a48895462d_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301864247/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_19 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_19" height="444" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3764/9301864247_63c094648a_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304631408/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_20 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_20" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3681/9304631408_9a9d19b4ed_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301850649/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_21 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_21" height="400" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2858/9301850649_1c9dc630dc_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301864479/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_22 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_22" height="444" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5327/9301864479_cc4406da5b_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301863529/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_23 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_23" height="444" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3831/9301863529_89b4ae2bf3_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301850055/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_24 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_24" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5337/9301850055_0e4a925ecd_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301863749/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_25 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_25" height="444" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5479/9301863749_a6da87b97f_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304643122/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_26 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_26" height="444" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5473/9304643122_355540b14b_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301849497/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_27 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_27" height="900" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3753/9301849497_df5a7c926f_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301863099/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_28 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_28" height="444" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3833/9301863099_325c5cf5ac_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304626952/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_29 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_29" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3749/9304626952_e0f4d64a8d_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304643798/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_30 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_30" height="444" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7319/9304643798_c6e010bc5e_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301846593/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_31 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_31" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5449/9301846593_5ae036df06_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301845365/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_32 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_32" height="400" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2886/9301845365_eec502e14b_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301844619/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_33 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_33" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3798/9301844619_36c53bc796_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301863229/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_34 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_34" height="444" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2842/9301863229_17c1a6bf3e_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304624342/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_35 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_35" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5459/9304624342_e83928b358_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304622644/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_37 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_37" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3666/9304622644_fec656e0f0_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304642496/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_38 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_38" height="444" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3828/9304642496_92691b7e1f_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304642756/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_40 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_40" height="444" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2843/9304642756_b0fff84c50_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301840431/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_42 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_42" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5490/9301840431_4911b8e9d6_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301838885/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_44 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_44" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5502/9301838885_9f5a0e10a7_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301861671/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_45 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_45" height="444" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5504/9301861671_db7fd9e966_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304641638/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_46 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_46" height="444" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2857/9304641638_3b71d1c4bf_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301837957/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_47 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_47" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5325/9301837957_ac1a46bc87_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301860689/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_51 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_51" height="444" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7390/9301860689_88b1794406_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304615802/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_52 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_52" height="900" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3747/9304615802_2701079274_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301860423/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_53 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_53" height="444" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3819/9301860423_731e47514a_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304640512/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_54 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_54" height="444" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5530/9304640512_ce39eb3ae2_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304615050/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_55 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_55" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3788/9304615050_cab74e6eb2_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301859823/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_56 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_56" height="444" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5333/9301859823_3451c0180c_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301859561/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_57 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_57" height="444" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3714/9301859561_12f06c74c2_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301833845/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_58 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_58" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5332/9301833845_267be8f8a5_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301833777/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_59 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_59" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5539/9301833777_c621e47b5e_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301833097/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_60 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_60" height="900" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7293/9301833097_67bea2cc0c_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304611018/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_61 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_61" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5526/9304611018_0a4fd27399_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301830879/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_62 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_62" height="400" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7369/9301830879_bdf4166583_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301830549/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_63 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_63" height="400" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2854/9301830549_24b6c998ce_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301830125/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_64 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_64" height="400" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2846/9301830125_3c017fb066_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304609258/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_65 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_65" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5476/9304609258_9100c74bdc_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304639440/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_66 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_66" height="444" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7367/9304639440_1442e19730_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9301828149/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_67 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_67" height="900" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2868/9301828149_2b8723086f_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9304606720/" title="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_68 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_washingtondctemple_68" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3673/9304606720_f819a77ae8_o.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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My sister is a married woman! Pretty much the entire wedding was planned and executed in the few weeks leading up to THE BIG DAY (which made for a crazy few weeks) but we pulled it off and (in my opinion) it was a beautiful event!</div>
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Paige and Geoff got sealed together in marriage at the Washington DC Temple of <a href="http://mormon.org/" target="_blank">the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints</a>, and an open house was held at my parent's house in Greensboro, North Carolina a couple of days later. Her wedding day ended up being rainy, but we got lucky and the rain held off while we took photos after the ceremony. They say rain on the day you get married is good luck, so I hope it is for them!</div>
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As always, the DC Temple provided a GORGEOUS backdrop for pictures. There is nothing quite like witnessing the very beginnings of a marriage, so to be able to photograph it is always such an honor and joy. Add your sister into the mix and you might find yourself a little emotional too...</div>
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Paige's dress was made by a family friend, as was her bouquet. For her hair she wanted to follow the Irish tradition of having braids and wearing a crown of herbs and wildflowers (made by me on the drive to the temple using fresh herbs from the grocery store and flowers picked behind my grandparent's house). We found her shoes on a hunt through DSW; our youngest sister Laura is responsible for spotting them. The belt is from Target, and her earrings are little W's (her new last name starts with W) she found in a local shop. Geoff was very dapper in a grey suit and had yellow suspenders and a green and white striped skinny tie. Paige really loves stripes (so do I) so his socks were grey and yellow striped too. </div>
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The idea for the open house was to keep everything simple and summer-y. We made white bunting and hung white ribbons from the trees. Paige loves succulents so we cleared out Home Depot and decorated with them, as well as a couple of wildflower bouquets from the farmer's market. Yellow provided the pop of color; the same family friend made a few gorgeous bouquets to decorate with that incorporated her colors of green, yellow, and white with traditional flowers, wildflowers and succulents. My Nicola (Max refused to participate) painted the letters, and we had plenty of engagements photos, candles, and all the plants and flowers on display. The painting Laura made for the happy couple was displayed as well (she is insanely talented). Their invitation was made by me and was so 'Paige' we framed it for her to hang in her new house (and displayed it too). We served barbecue sliders, potato salad and coleslaw, a berry salad, sliced peaches, watermelon, a cheese tray, and fresh vegetable and dip, with a white grape peach juice punch to drink.</div>
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Now for the cake! Paige's favorite type of cake is angel food so that's what we did. She also really loves dinosaurs, hence the cake toppers. (there were also little dinosaurs tucked away in pots) We left it the way it is since she doesn't like icing, and had strawberries and blackberries and whipped cream to put on top once it was cut. Having angel food cake made for an entertaining cake cutting; instead of a graceful cut they had to saw through it (with Paige holding on to the cake topper so it didn't fall off). </div>
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A couple weeks before we were all talking about the backyard open house and my dad joked that it would end up like George Banks' daydream in Father of the Bride. We all laughed, but upon reflection I think it actually ended up pretty close! It was very low-key and simple, and we even served barbecue. Now I'm going to have to watch the movie again just to see how similar...</div>
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A big thank you to everyone who helped out and who came! I know this was the start of something beautiful and lovely and I can't wait to see how their new little family unfolds through the years. I love you Paige and am so excited to have a new brother-in-law! Next up are some nieces and nephews... (no pressure) </div>
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jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-74569389899942322592013-07-15T08:00:00.000-04:002013-07-15T08:00:05.473-04:00paige + geoff, bff's forever! | fort bliss, el paso engagement photographer<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273812560/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_1 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_1" height="400" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5517/9273812560_15c1e2eb0d_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271027395/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_2 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_2" height="900" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5321/9271027395_eb8265f42e_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273815070/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_3 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_3" height="444" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7337/9273815070_b0206e7b79_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271026289/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_4 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_4" height="400" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2846/9271026289_d5f9145b35_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271025919/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_5 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_5" height="400" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2808/9271025919_2929ef5075_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273810074/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_6 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_6" height="400" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2842/9273810074_19a41c8822_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271030329/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_7 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_7" height="444" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/9271030329_51376ea227_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273809526/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_8 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_8" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3685/9273809526_3363c67503_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271024019/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_9 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_9" height="400" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7312/9271024019_2d910b40a0_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271023331/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_10 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_10" height="400" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7382/9271023331_4b3b8df6b1_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273814850/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_11 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_11" height="444" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7339/9273814850_3f4477c88f_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273807364/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_12 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_12" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3755/9273807364_c9a950a720_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273814334/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_13 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_13" height="444" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2874/9273814334_c3772b57ff_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271022171/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_14 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_14" height="400" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7401/9271022171_2f0a1a9896_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273814550/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_15 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_15" height="444" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5328/9273814550_6f4dac6642_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271021285/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_16 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_16" height="400" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2879/9271021285_faa99e0cf1_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273813254/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_17 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_17" height="444" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5331/9273813254_979b5be07f_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9271028555/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_18 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_18" height="444" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2862/9271028555_e519f52b17_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273805550/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_19 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_19" height="400" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3824/9273805550_3cfe87cf3c_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/9273805236/" title="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_20 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="jaxharmon_pilotmountain_20" height="900" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7358/9273805236_84e842f1d7_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
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I mentioned before that my sister was getting married, and it's been long enough that now she's getting ready to celebrate a month of marriage! I'm not going to lie, the few weeks leading up to the wedding were chaos but everything got completed and it was beautiful. Her (then) fiance Geoff flew in a few days before the wedding so we drove up to Pilot Mountain to take some engagement photos. I'm not sure if having your soon-to-be sister-in-law that you've barely met do an engagement session with you is the best way to get to know each other better (you get to show lots of PDA on demand while also hearing things like "Move your hand over there!" or "Tilt your head more towards me!" or "Kiss her! Now hold it!" Look like you mean it!" etc.), but he was a good sport and humored my sister and I.<br />
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On the drive up there we were all tired and pretty worn out (wedding planning is no joke) and wondering "Why are we driving ALL THE WAY up here?" Then we arrived and remembered why we drove all the way up there. Rocks and mountains are the perfect backdrop for love; after all, to many of us they were our first love. <span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: x-small;"><i>"What are men compared to rocks and mountains?" Jane Austen</i></span><br />
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Next up are the wedding photos; I can't believe my little sister is married!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(the title of the post is an inside joke; they do not really refer to each other as 'BFFs')</span>jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-21704704956000210182013-05-31T00:37:00.000-04:002013-05-31T00:37:08.664-04:00breathless.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8898388130/" title="Harmon Family42 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="Harmon Family42" height="797" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/8898388130_ca504f494f_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
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Heart stopped. Eyes welled up. Breath taken away. With one image.<br />
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Thank you <a href="http://www.jonathancanlasphotography.com/" target="_blank">Jon</a>, you have given me such a precious gift.<br />
<br />jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-62016305971749669752013-05-18T02:09:00.000-04:002013-05-18T02:09:35.369-04:00i do love a good fart joke.<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/84iPv9IZjhg" width="560"></iframe>jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-63886300642574917842013-04-17T13:35:00.000-04:002013-04-17T13:35:32.325-04:00time needs to slow down!<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8657500507/" title="_MG_0293 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="_MG_0293" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8112/8657500507_aff112bb0a_z.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
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This little guy is growing way too fast.<br />
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He is sooo close to crawling; he's at the get on all fours and rock stage. While it's adorable and exciting, inside I'm mourning the passing of my itty bitty baby.<br />
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He is teething AGAIN. He's already got four teeth (the top two and bottom two), but a fifth is trying to make it's appearance (one of the teeth right next to the top teeth).<br />
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He eats solid food like a pro. He is not picky AT ALL and shovels in whatever I give him. However, about half of his food still ends up on the floor so Yula's favorite place in the house is right beneath the high chair.<br />
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This kid has so. many. clothes. The combination of keeping everything from Max, plus all the extra stuff I bought Nick ('cause baby clothes are cute!), plus the stuff I've bought just for him (because I'm sorry, but baby fashions change too. And six years is an eternity in the fashion world). Paige, you better pray your firstborn is a boy because you'll be set.<br />
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I'm his absolute favorite person in the world still, thank goodness. Nothing compares to the way his face lights up when he sees me. Granted, this can be a pain too if I'm trying to get stuff done or, heaven forbid, need to use the bathroom. He does not like me out of his sight.<br />
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While I'm his favorite, there is no denying how much he loves his dad, brothers, and Yula. And vice-versa. He is surrounded by love.<br />
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He has to be the center of attention at all times. And when we go out he usually is. But there have been a lot of babies born recently and he does NOT like them getting any of his attention. Not at all.<br />
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His eyes are most definitely blue. I love it.<br />
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Unfortunately, he is not a red head. I was hoping so hard, but he's a brunette with a reddish tinge in the sunlight.<br />
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I can't get enough of his cheeks and thighs. Such yummy goodness.<br />
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He is such a love and I can't believe I got so lucky to be his mom.<br />
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And like it or not buddy, you'll always be my baby.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8658606236/" title="_MG_0295 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="_MG_0295" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8112/8658606236_c13f4bfb21_z.jpg" width="600" /></a>jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-81740062156220532032013-04-09T15:48:00.000-04:002013-04-09T15:48:36.709-04:00so good.<br />
This is awesome:<br />
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<a href="http://reasonsmysoniscrying.tumblr.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Reasons My Son Is Crying</span></a><br />
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Every parent can relate.<br />
<br />jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-35873064596796624722013-04-05T17:23:00.001-04:002013-04-05T17:26:07.941-04:00what's been going on around here.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8622021047/" title="_MG_9718 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="_MG_9718" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8386/8622021047_d0c3655457_z.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8623124756/" title="_MG_9711 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="_MG_9711" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8537/8623124756_4352295c2f_z.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(having fun with their pom-pom pets, courtesy of <a href="http://www.kiwicrate.com/" target="_blank">kiwi crate</a>.)</span><br />
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Presented in bullets.<br />
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-My children are growing like weeds. Not only do they consume an insane amount of food given their size, they also keep growing out of their clothes. This makes me very scared for when they are teenage boys. (<a href="http://youtu.be/3f6kSsjPKzI" target="_blank">I keep picturing this scene from 17 Again.</a>)<br />
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-I am the new FRG Leader for Rob's company since most of the leadership is single. It's crazy and I don't know what I'm doing, and has been very time consuming recently between taking the necessary classes and the fact that before me the FRG has been pretty much non-existent so I'm having to start from scratch. BUT I got a good response at our first FRG meeting so it should be good!<br />
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-Oskar has been teething hard core. Which means lots of fussing, lots of drool, and lots of rough nights. But on the bright side, on the nights he does sleep he doesn't wake up until around 5! That's like 7 hours straight people!!<br />
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-Thanks to an awesome tax return (sometimes having to dig a new well at a rental house the same year you have another child pays off.) we got our backyard landscaped! We still need to finish a few things, but once it's all complete there'll be pictures. It's kind of crazy what a difference a little bit of concrete and a lot of rocks makes.<br />
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-Does anyone else's baby fight sleep? Every time I put Oskar down for a nap he cries like I'm shattering his heart into a million pieces and he'll never recover from it. When I know he WANTS to sleep since he was falling asleep on me but couldn't get comfortable. Babies.<br />
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-I got a new calling at church (a calling is what we call assignments we are asked to do), I am now the Relief Society music director. So I get to stand in front of everyone and direct the music. I love it. It is prefect for me at this stage in my life (it's very low-maintenance). And it allows me to pitch in where I'm needed for activities and stuff since I'm not consumed with other duties.<br />
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-The past week I've been doing great at keeping the living areas of our house picked up. (knock on wood) Now I need to shovel out all the bedrooms and keep them clean and I'll be good to go.<br />
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-I'm failing miserably at most of my goals for this year. At least the monthly ones (like sew something every month and shoot a roll of film a month). Oh well. I'll have plenty of time to focus on that stuff when the kids are grown.<br />
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-My sister is getting married!!!!! It's kind of ridiculous how excited I am, but hey, I've been the lone married/child birthing one for NINE years (by the time she gets married). I think I'm allowed to be excited. But it's killing me to be so far away while she plans the event, there's so much I could help with (like sewing her wedding dress) if I were there!<br />
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-When we aren't having sandstorms the weather has been GORGEOUS here! We spent so much time outside in our new backyard Wednesday and it was glorious.<br />
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-It's kind of funny how different my parenting style is now compared to when Max was a baby. I've always been very chill, but it's crazy just how much more so I am now. Forget spoon feeding Oskar special baby food, here's a pile of spaghetti noodles. Or a pizza crust. Or peas. And he just goes to town. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(disclaimer: he did get spoon fed for a couple of months, but as soon as he was able to grab things and get it to his mouth and had a few teeth popped out I started letting hom feed himself. He is not at risk to choke, but even if he did I'm right there the whole time)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
-Yula is one-ish (from what we can tell since we don't know her actual birthday) and crazy. Well, I say she's crazy but she's really pretty good. Just very energetic. And spoiled rotten. But she is so fluffy it makes me so happy and has to tolerate me burying my face in her fur all the time. I also keep the fur that gets brushed off of her and plan on making things with it. (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crafting-Cat-Hair-Cute-Handicrafts/dp/1594745250" target="_blank">I bought this book and it has served as my inspiration.</a>)<br />
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-Rob goes to the Captain's board this month (or his stuff does, he doesn't physically go anywhere) and it'll be a few nerve-racking months until we hear if he makes it or not. Fingers crossed and lots of prayers that he does!<br />
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-I've come to the conclusion that we can get stationed anywhere, as long as there is an IKEA within an easy drive of where we are. (like 3 hours or less) Being so far away from one is torture.<br />
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-Lastly, I started doing the Brazil Butt Lift workouts! They're awesome, but I stink at them. I have no rhythm so I pretty much just fling myself around my living room hoping I'm working something out. And praying I get my Bum Bum out of it! (that's what a gorgeous Brazilian butt is called. Pronounced "boom-boom")<br />
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So that's what's been going on around here! I've left stuff out since I forget everything these days, but I've covered the important stuff I think. What's been up with you guys?jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-51475631327067735582013-03-28T08:00:00.000-04:002013-03-28T08:00:01.139-04:00updated.Thanks for the "pep talks" on the last post! This week has been better, and I ended up with a free afternoon/evening yesterday so that helped a lot. The very long naps two of the three took yesterday afternoon were awesome too.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8597317846/" title="facebook_cover by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="facebook_cover" height="237" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8520/8597317846_8fd8c8d62c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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I took advantage of finally having some "free" time to do some long-overdue updating of business stuff. Of course the plan was to have this done with the new year, but life got in the way. So here we are almost into April with it done! <span style="font-size: x-small;">(well, most of it. I still need to update the blog, we're missing two members of the Harmon Squad outside of the posts)</span><br />
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First, I finally updated my pricing!! I worked soo hard (with lots of tweaking over the past few months) to get it where it is, and I'm hoping it means seeing more faces through my lens. To see 2013's pricing you can go to <a href="http://jaxharmon.com/information.php" target="_blank">the information page on my website</a>, find it on <a href="http://www.harmonsquad.com/p/jax-harmon-photography-design.html" target="_blank">the Jax Harmon Photography + Design tab here on The Harmon Squad</a>, or find it on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jaxharmonphotography" target="_blank">my facebook page</a>.<br />
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Speaking of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jaxharmonphotography" target="_blank">the facebook page</a>, it got a complete facelift and now hosts a lot of information. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jaxharmonphotography" target="_blank">Check it out</a> to see all the new tabs, and if you are so inclined please like it! I'm no social media genius, but I'm slowly getting better at using them. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(although I still haven't taken the twitter plunge. It still confuses the snot out of me)</span><br />
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And that's that. SO exciting, I know. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(that's sarcasm)</span> At least for you. I'm beyond excited to finally complete some things that have been hanging over my head for months!!<br />
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Now to tackle some more things on my to-do list...<br />
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(insert my children laughing)<br />
<br />jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-35918141551903845802013-03-26T08:00:00.000-04:002013-03-26T08:00:12.415-04:00trying to find balance.Life has been a whirlwind lately. There is always so. much. to. do. And as much as I try to keep all the balls in the air, a few always get dropped. <br />
<br />
Recently a friend posted on facebook about how life with three kids was suffocating; between school, after school activities, homework, housework, cooking, etc. there wasn't really any time left over for dates with friends or leisure activities. And I can attest that's pretty accurate. But while she said suffocating in a positive-ish way, a lot of the time I feel suffocated in the negative way.<br />
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Everyone has needs. The kids all have their needs. Rob has his needs. The dog has needs. <i>I</i> have needs too. But no matter how hard I try I can't meet them all. So I feel spread thin a lot, and feel like I'm failing at my job. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-king/stay-at-home-parent_b_2558642.html" target="_blank">I read this article toady and found myself tearing up because it describes my life right now so perfectly.</a><br />
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Thankfully this is not everyday. I do have good days where I get lots accomplished and everything seems to go smoothly. But the days I feel like I need everyone to go on vacation and just leave me at home alone so I can get stuff done have been happening a lot recently.<br />
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I should point out right now that I am not depressed (don't worry!), just overwhelmed. And everything that fills up my time is good stuff, nothing to worry about there. It's just as an extreme introvert too much human interaction can feel suffocating. (that includes interacting with my children) Perhaps that's why I'm a night owl; I really relish the time when everyone else is in bed and I can work without anyone bothering me. But at the same time too many conversations with a six year old and a two year old makes me a little desperate for some adult interaction. There's always that battle between child vs. adult conversation and people vs. alone time.<br />
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And since it doesn't look like things are going to be letting up soon, or maybe even ever (I have a feeling this is just what happens as your children grow), I will keep on seeking that ever-elusive balance. I know I may never find it, but it's all about the journey, right? <br />
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I think wishing for more hours in the day or the ability to run on little sleep will never stop though. It would make things so much easier.<br />
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Anyway, hugs to all of you out there struggling too!<br />
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I do know enough that if someone looks like they have it all together they are probably just really good at hiding the crazy. We're all in the same boat.<br />
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Right?<br />
<br />jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-177750227538791042013-03-20T00:58:00.000-04:002013-03-20T00:58:17.369-04:00this is what a trip to Costco looks like.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1jkZTelCZQatxxaDmZ8EuMK_exAfM-fyDvWaQgoBnvehgjbd6QzfgmCHF1y5eScGhclTIZE7DyyX80O81es5YBDXUq4nul6IZ5HbFDkSdpzeq6b8NI3Ug8yeYUnwJCCHosRdDgknrj0/s1600/IMG_5506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1jkZTelCZQatxxaDmZ8EuMK_exAfM-fyDvWaQgoBnvehgjbd6QzfgmCHF1y5eScGhclTIZE7DyyX80O81es5YBDXUq4nul6IZ5HbFDkSdpzeq6b8NI3Ug8yeYUnwJCCHosRdDgknrj0/s1600/IMG_5506.jpg" /></a></div>
Well, what the trips I have to get diapers look like. I'm glad I snapped these a couple months ago; I'm sure I'll get a kick out of them once my kids are grown and out of the house.<br />
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Also, Costco cookies are the best. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvRkyZq_2zZN4jSCMtVL5RRiCQs3VgdIorc3P0oFezWC_JQgqbT1FcRNkV6hXliK_olkJNzM56AeL9NpYnemLTfwpVnoLBnCj0fHcwbwWUBvWY4yhV3EexIJ6aRJqEtSpCJ9vDd0ucjk/s1600/IMG_5507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvRkyZq_2zZN4jSCMtVL5RRiCQs3VgdIorc3P0oFezWC_JQgqbT1FcRNkV6hXliK_olkJNzM56AeL9NpYnemLTfwpVnoLBnCj0fHcwbwWUBvWY4yhV3EexIJ6aRJqEtSpCJ9vDd0ucjk/s1600/IMG_5507.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-46136410167925313352013-03-18T23:32:00.000-04:002013-03-18T23:32:19.296-04:00oh, man.I think I may have overdone it today.<div>
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It began with my monthly trip to Costco. The one where I have Oskar strapped to my chest, the other two boys sitting in the cart, and then our month's worth of groceries in the back of the cart. I'm sure it's a sight to see me pushing that (way-overloaded) baby out of the store and to our car. (like, our cart was creaking whenever I had to turn kind of overloaded)</div>
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But I didn't stop there. We're finally gearing up to get our backyard landscaped, so in preparation all the holes Yula has dug need to be filled and all the dirt blown to the back of the yard needs to be hauled back to where it came from. So this afternoon I tackled that. </div>
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I'm gonna feel it tomorrow.</div>
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And I'm already feeling the blisters forming on my hands. </div>
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One of my goals for this year is to get strong. I've never been particularly athletic and my weight has never been an issue, so instead of the typical weight loss goals people make I just want to get strong. </div>
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I think today definitely counted. Manual labor is not for sissies.</div>
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jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-24230046390826385682013-03-14T16:53:00.000-04:002013-03-14T16:53:03.154-04:00i will miss you google reader.<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4952577/?claim=k2s8ptadrsz">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></b></span><br />
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<br />jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-9954545014294910162013-03-12T13:02:00.000-04:002013-03-12T13:02:38.924-04:00i bit the bullet.I've been working hard these past few weeks to update all my business 'stuff,' and since this blog is part of my business I decided it was time to look a little more professional from the get-go.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So The Harmon Squad is now found at www.harmonsquad.com.</span><br />
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Never fear, if you use the blogspot address you'll just get redirected to the new one, but if you're OCD like me go ahead and update it in your reader or bookmarks or whatever.<br />
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And I'm a little behind when it comes to all this social networking stuff, but I'm also taking this opportunity to let you know you can become my google friend! The little box is down on my sidebar, so if you do that sort of thing feel free to follow me! <span style="font-size: x-small;">(no pressure though. I like blogging because I'm an introvert so I can make friends from the safety of my house, not because I feel the need for followers. So if you've been reading I'd love to get to know you!)</span><br />
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That's it for now! I'm sorry for the spotty posts, it's been a little chaotic but I'm hoping things settle down soon. I can tell you my introvert alarm has been going off a lot recently so some down time is really needed.<br />
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I hope everyone is enjoying the sunlight in the evening now! I'm so excited we're starting the journey back towards the sun!<br />
<br />jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-4868440101238070122013-03-04T12:20:00.000-05:002013-03-04T12:20:07.671-05:00season of sickness.Well. Three kids (and a dog) has me overwhelmed pretty much most days. But when you throw illness into the mix all I can do is try to survive.<br />
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Last week was full of puke and poop. Lots of it.<br />
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Thankfully we are all better and I'm hoping and praying we stay this way for a little while.<br />
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I remember sometime towards the end of January I stopped for a minute and reflected on how things were going. "Life's been pretty good recently; I've been productive, the kids are being good, we're all getting along, the house is staying in a reasonable state. What's the reason for this?" (usually life is kind of chaotic around here)<br />
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Then I remembered we hadn't been sick since Christmas. Oh yeah, being healthy is awesome.<br />
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But not long after ruminating on that we came down with the horrible cold that lasted two weeks.<br />
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Then we had a lull for a week or so before coming down with a stomach bug.<br />
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So February, I will not miss you. You were rough on me.<br />
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And March, please let your coming mean the end of our sickness. <i>Please.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-88686373595281577972013-02-26T08:00:00.000-05:002013-02-26T08:00:15.416-05:00why do they grow so fast??<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8508553729/" title="DSCF1489 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="DSCF1489" height="450" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8101/8508553729_4f0ab4c459_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Max.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8508553303/" title="IMG_2995 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_2995" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8522/8508553303_8ec68d220a_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Nick.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8509660490/" title="IMG_8366 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8366" height="900" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8505/8509660490_018f383890_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Oskar.</span><br />
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I absolutely adore the newborn phase. So much. Looking at these makes my heart want to explode. I know I'm biased, but I think Rob and I make some gorgeous newborns.<br />
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I guess it's a good thing Oskar is still waking up a few times a night so I'm not tempted to have another one.<br />
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<br />jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5284945476938872351.post-5838115277735130672013-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:002013-02-25T08:00:05.418-05:00sunday best!Well, since we cannot seem to go very long without getting sick (boo) we stayed home yesterday and kept our yucky stomach bug germs to ourselves. But since I didn't share the week before's outfit here it is today! Unfortunately, it is very hard to stay put together when you have a nursing baby. I looked very polished before we left the house (I never get ready in time to take pictures before church though), but by the time we got home I looked a little disheveled...<br />
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<b>sweater:</b> Old Navy<br />
<b>top:</b> Old Navy<br />
<b>skirt:</b> New York & Co.<br />
<b>belt:</b> Forever 21<br />
<b>hose:</b> Target (got them for Valentine's day!)<br />
<b>shoes:</b> DSW<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8506526434/" title="sundaybest_21713 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="sundaybest_21713" height="444" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8247/8506526434_5599a1dde1_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
I would have also loved to wear a necklace since the neckline was calling for it (at least in my opinion), but until Mr. Oskar stops being so grabby jewelry is out of the question (it's tough enough having hair).<br />
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Speaking of Mr. Oskar, I went ahead and snapped a bunch of photos of us just because. I love that I have a blue eyed boy; I never thought I would. But I love that all three of my boys have different colored eyes.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxharmon/8506526470/" title="sundaybest_21713_2 by jaxharmon, on Flickr"><img alt="sundaybest_21713_2" height="296" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8100/8506526470_da59e89761_o.jpg" width="600" /></a><br />
And yes, that is a zit on my face. 27 years old and I'm still plagued with bad skin. Jeesh.<br />
<br />jax from the harmon squadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17520741726138853596noreply@blogger.com2