If I could put time in a bottle

It is said that the march of time waits on no man, and it is true. The time has sped by and three-quarters of a year more or less has passed since Foxhaven has posted any news. Well...no more. Liesl can relax and I'll catch up the backlog, after a fashion (and I am sure that she's having a good laugh over the amount of relaxation she's getting from me catching up the blog...you'll see what I mean). Here is some of what has made Foxhaven the center of all chaos for the last few months. These are mostly but NOT necessarily in chronological order...

Well...first was the moving of the 7 year-old into the 16 year-old's room. Yes, for the first time in his life Kit had to share a room. This circumstance has not been without its drama. You can imagine. I'll leave it at that.

Kit got his driver's license. This was also not without its drama. However, on try three, the State of Alabama lost its saving throw against over-eager teen-driving and now no one is safe. Relatively. If you see this PT Cruiser without a large, bearded man behind the wheel, take shelter. I'm sure that the fact that the county closed the office he received his license from is just coincidence. Mostly.

Kyle finished his basketball season and his first try at team sports. From the number of tackles he racked up we decided to try him at football this fall. Silly us, we settled on flag football where there is no tackling. But that is another story and it is progressing. Hopefully, you will hear more about that in upcoming posts. Hopefully, good things. Hopefully.

Kinneret and Cordelia had their dance recital. It was actually quite enjoyable. Plus they are adorable (that never hurts)! Cordelia (on the right in the purple in blue) danced to "Hot, Hot, Hot" and looked quite bubbly. Kinneret (below on left) had two numbers, one jazz and one ballet (with a costume change for the ballet number). I know Liesl was thankful for the summer break from dance. Interestingly, Cordelia remains in dance this year, but Kinneret has opted for gymnastics. Hmmmm...

I graduated from the University of Alabama with a Master's in Library and Information Studies in August. Is there anyway I can start over? Please?

We went on vacation. I would be remiss if I didn't mention this because according to Kinneret, four days at an indoor waterpark/resort in North Carolina and a day and a half in Tennessee going to an aquarium and Dollywood equals "the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!" Did I mention this occured over Kinneret's birthday? Oh yeah.

Great Wolf Lodge was indeed an unforgettable experience. And the rest of the trip went well, also. But we were some tuckered Foxes when the week was over!

Cordelia realized, one day after finding out that Kyle got a haircut, that she desperately wanted a haircut herself. Finding a pair of scissors and hiding herself in the playroom where no one was likely to look, she boldy went from long tresses to pixie cut. Liesl's discovery of Cordelia's new look was heard at least two blocks away. After a professional tiding up of the damage, it could have been worse. Several people have told Cordelia how nice her hair looks short. Have you ever wanted to STRANGLE complementary people? I know I've had the urge whenever Cordelia gets that self-satisfied, little smile on her face when some well-intentioned person dotes on her "cute haircut." I swear if I hear "she looks so darling with that cute haircut" again, I'm gonna take scissors to THEIR hair!

School started back, with Kit becoming a junior, Kyle a 2nd-grader, Kinneret a 1st-grader, and with poor Cordelia all alone as the only non-school kid. But they seemed happy enough to go back. Relatively. Heh.

My brother George got married, and Kit and I went to the somewhat unpublicized nuptials. I'm not sure what my new sister-in-law sees in the goober, but I wish them many years of happiness together. All in all, it worked out nicely that it also meant I got to see my sister Janey and her husband Aaron's new baby and other family (Garry!, Wendy, Mom...various nieces and nephews) AND it coincided with my fantasy football draft weekend in Joplin, Missouri (where George lives). Bonus!

The greatest trial/change in our home lives has been the remodeling of the house. We had to create a new septic system that went up the hill to the back of the property with a new drain field. This part was mandated by the county health department. Then we had both bathrooms completely redone, the hall painted, the foyer completely redone (down through the floorboards) including a new front door. The basement/garage has gone from garage/storage to a set of rooms including an office (or Kit's new bedroom), a bathroom, a den, a small storage space and a washroom. The basement project is continuing but the others are complete. Dude!

All these things have happened while regular life with its church callings, scout functions, school, extracurricular activities, birthdays, holidays, work, housework, homework, and all the other minutia of daily life continued to grind away. In all that time, Liesl built a loft bed for Kyle, did repairs around the house, PLANNED all the renovation, SUPERVISED the renovation, got the house remortgaged (to pay for said renovations), kept us all going to our various activities, supported me in my schooling, worked full-time, and still worked hard at all the little above details and put up with the Fox family carnival of chaos.

Is it any wonder that Liesl let the blog rest while taking care of the rest of us? Nope. Is she the greatest thing since sliced bread? Yep.