Our Nixie is Nineteen!

 

I failed in documenting her momentous birthday, but I blame this guy.  Annika's birthday fell 2 weeks post-surgery, but she begged us to take a whirlwind family trip to VA to see Tim (and his family...but mostly Tim) for her birthday weekend-- 2 days of traveling for two days of visiting.

We're suckers, I guess.

The ten-hour drive down took about 13 hours, and it made me realize that trips such as this are not a more than once-a-year option for a large family with young children and middle-aged parents. 

John's parents timed their visit to Nashville with our visit so that they could see Annika on her birthday.  We drove down separately and left at different times, yet he still managed to meet us on the road.  Do you see that black truck blowing by us?! That's Dude and Grandma Owen. That man did not want to join us in a 13-hour drive, and his exhaust in our faces proved it.

                        

While we were there, four of the girls stayed with the Vernots, and they graciously hosted the rest of our family in an airbnb owned by friends from church.  It was a new and memorable experience for the children. Ezekiel and Susannah each GOT THEIR OWN ROOM! Cadence and Aidan slept IN THEIR OWN SPACE! Thankfully, no one expected this luxury to continue once we got back home.


And there was the bonus of affable cows and early blossoms next to the house, too. 



                                            



                                            

                                                         

            

                                                




On Annika's birthday, we were on our way to the Vernot's house to see the birthday girl when John stopped in at a comic shop. A black truck pulled into the space behind us. You guessed it-- we happened upon another unplanned family reunion. 

Those are all the phone pictures I have from Annika's actual birthday. She got home a couple of days after we did, which was a few days before Easter, and we had to cram her family celebration into two separate days. We had waffles with the works for breakfast one morning and a Greek feast and fruit trifle a couple of days later with family.

And all I have to show for it are these pictures from Millie's phone. 

This post somehow seems symbolic of all the larger changes occurring right now, but the truth is we love this girl, we cherish this girl, and we are happy to celebrate her in whatever cracks we can. <3