Wednesday, December 30, 2015

2015 in 12 Photos

We did it! We made it through the fall months that (for me, anyway) are the most stressful time of year. Now all that's left to do is sit back and watch the ball drop, and take a look at the year that came before.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}


Let's hit it.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

Holy cow, January dumped 34" of snow on us. Our kids played outside twice a day from January until March, and we didn't lose a single one of them all winter. I'd say that makes us pretty good parents.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

Since it was cold and tundra-like outside all winter, it was constantly a mess in our house. Then there was that rotten February break from school when all the kids who don't ski just wreak havoc at home for a week straight. And oh yeah, we tried to combat the water leaking through our roof with ladies' pantyhose and my post Why I Make My Kids Go to Church went viral with over 85,000 pageviews in two weeks.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

As you can imagine, all that snow melting in March caused some problems. You'd think this was a pond or small lake of some kind, but no, it's our driveway. The blog moved to its own domain name and I published my first piece on the Huffington Post.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

In April my preschooler discovered how to "take pictures for her blog," so from this point forward 60% of the memory on my camera was occupied by blurry pictures of the dresser and weird upside-down selfies. We also replaced a car stereo and totally failed at Easter egg hunting in a timely fashion.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

Phillip and I managed to get away for 6 days in New York City in May (that's 5th Ave in the background.) I was a little shell-shocked when we got home and saw with fresh eyes how nuts our daily life really was. In other ridiculousness, our toddler camped out in our bathroom for most of the month, and I got this semi-flattering email suggesting I'm some sort of style expert. (If you're new here, trust me, I'm the opposite kind of blogger.)

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

In June my toddler showed us that sometimes you're so tired that you Just. Can't. Even. My kids FINALLY got out of school and we spent the summer drawing with sidewalk chalk on the driveway, going to the beach, taking a fake trip around the world, and not doing the summer reading program at the library.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

July was a beautiful month for hiking, running 5Ks (for Phillip, not me, silly), and more going to the beach. A friend took our family out on his boat and I accompanied Phillip to a fancy-pants awards dinner at work that only had one bug in the food.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

August was the month when the oldest two kids jetted off to visit their grandparents, we took the littles to a kids' amusement park, camped with friends by the ocean, and went sightseeing in Washington, D.C. for cheap. Lest this sound too glamorous and perfect to be true, I'll mention that there was some amount of projectile vomiting as well.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

For the blog's 1-year anniversary in September, Unremarkable Files got a facelift and the world's ugliest birthday cake. The older kids started back to school and I learned that I was pregnant with Evans #6.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

In October the toddler and the preschooler took full advantage of my pregnancy-induced exhaustion and made enormous messes all around the house. (If anyone needs to know how to get Turtle Wax out of EVERYTHING, just email me.) I fully intended to make Halloween costumes, but luckily Phillip's mom saved the day by doing it herself.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

In November we lost a national treasure, and by that I mean my daughter's pet crayfish Flippy died. I'd actually begun to wonder if it was immortal, since it lived way longer than I'd hoped it would expected it to.

2015 in 12 Photos -- From surviving a blizzard (and not losing any kids in the snow) to birthday parties for inanimate objects, 2015 was quite a year.  {posted @ Unremarkable Files}

We may have dropped the ball at observing Advent and our gift-wrapping skills leave a little something to be desired, but all in all December was good to us. We saw the Nutcracker, baked a bunch of cookies, and startled our toddler by sneaking in a tree and decorating it while he slept.


Looking back at your year makes you realize that all the craziness is worth it, and that time your toddler figured out how to use the water dispenser on the fridge and flooded the kitchen is totally funny in retrospect. Happy New Year!

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15 comments:

Unknown said...

I guess I've been following you for almost a year, since I recognize many of your stories without having to go back. It's funny, sharing our lives through blogging makes you feel more like a friend than a stranger. Like a modernized version of pen-pals. May God bless you and yours in 2016!

Anonymous said...

Wow, sounds like a busy and awesome year!!

Anonymous said...

You let them go outside?? You are AWESOME parents!!
Love this whole review, which isn't surprising, considering how much I love your daily blog!
Happy New Year!!
Melinda

Think Positive and SMILE! said...

Congratulations on being pregnant with #6! Congratulations on getting your own DOMAIN! Congratulations on getting a piece published in the Huffington Post! Congratulations all over the place! (Like the water from your fridge in the kitchen.) : )

Queen Mom Jen said...

That snow!! Holy cow! We are experiencing a cold snap. It is low 60's during the day. Yes, feel sorry for us. Great photos BTW. What would we do without our kids? Happy 2016!

Unknown said...

My kids are totally jealous of that snow! We haven't had one like that in our part of CO in long enough that over half of them can't remember it. We can also commiserate with being the non-skiing family. When Spring Break rolls around, my kids will be out helping with calving. Luckily, they think it is a blast.

Lynne at The Sweet Midlife said...

DC is wonderful and cheap and awesome!! And Turtle Wax. SO sorry. I love your blog. Rock on.

Jenny Evans said...

I've never thought of it, but it is like a pen pal. Happy New Year to you, too.

Jenny Evans said...

Thanks Melinda, you too.

Jenny Evans said...

ALLLLLL over the place. Everywhere.

Jenny Evans said...

Life would definitely not be as interesting, that's for sure. Happy New Year to you, too.

Jenny Evans said...

I don't even know how to ski and that's the way I like it! I think I waterskiied once and that was a disaster...

Jenny Evans said...

DC is great, we definitely plan to go back someday.

Erin said...

This is such an awesome way to document the year - love the year through photos idea! My toddler had also become a master of grabbing the water dispenser (and everything else just above his head that is now within reach!) EEK! I mean they sell tons of "baby proofing" products but what about the TODDLER?! Happy New Year!

Jenny Evans said...

Ever since he learned he could reach just about anything by pulling up a chair and standing on it, he's been unstoppable.