closer to home

we started getting on the boat earlier and earlier and meeting other people with boats on the lake. we became boat people.

 the bathrooms started coming together

 we tried out some new restaurants that have come to town, this time at twisted root.

 EM loved the fair this year, lots of time on the merry go round and at the petting zoo. loved the little deer especially.

 at some point in october we moved in.

 EM was robin hood for halloween. margaret and i made her costume. i thinks he had a moment of cognitive dissonance when she first put on her costume. her invisible friend is named robin hood and it is also one of her favorite movies. too many worlds colliding for a 4 year old.

 she used to be terrified of sliding, this time she was cutting in front of shorter kids to get an extra turn.

 fun at a "harvest" festival

 her name, she thought the "s" was as important as her initials so she included it.

finally, her first dentist appointment. she did not like it but was extremely cooperative. here she is holding the watering tool. the hygienist asked her to hold it once and it resulted in her holding it the entire time.

september to remember

my dad celebrated his birthday while he was in china. i wonder if this is what birthday celebrations look like there or if they think that this is what american birthday celebrations look like. i don't think i have ever seen a bowl of apples or sweet potatoes fried in honey at any party i've ever been to. also that hat.

abalone candy. nope.

 we got countertops!

 jeremy and i hadn't traveled all summer because of the house so at the last minute we decided to go backpacking in the tetons. really beautiful, so fun, always a little fear of the grizzly.

 and when we got back, we were increasingly behind on finishing our house that we decided to buy a boat. this was our first time out, jeremy jumped in and em wanted to get in too.

 the local news invited me to do a fashion segment on one of the day time shows. it was fun, i hope the people in the nursing homes liked it.

when doves cry (die)

em was jeremy's retriever, they sat in lawn chairs in front of our house. classy.

 things started to come together, this is the kitchen area before installation

 life changing moment, who knew EM loves high school football games.

 our good friend jacob who makes jeremy look like a christmas elf.

this is all getting a little foggy

we moved out at the end of august. it felt a little sad, and then i pretended i was felicity moving out her senior year.

 em learned how to balance on her bike! it is weird that as soon as kids can ride this bike, they don't need it anymore. she said she will ask santa for a pedaling bike for christmas.

 we moved in with margaret and jerry. it was pretty fun, save the pressure of using this tiny chipped knife that margaret's mother gave to her.

 fun eating sandwiches in austin!

helpfulness blues

jeremy and i celebrated our 4th anniversary in june and went out to eat. lester was there unexpectedly and wanted to be included in our "happy four years" photo.

 this photo wraps up the echols in a nutshell: a little obscene, a little awkward.

 EM got up the courage to sit on her own and get her hair cut!

 fourth of july, we had a fun day at the parade, hanging out with friends and watching fireworks.

 the gum of my childhood which i bought for em. i sometimes think the desire for children is often a function of our own narcissism.

 she wanted a dog party this year, i made this out of two circular cakes. i was a little scared that she wouldn't even know what it was. jeremy thought it looked very professorial. interestingly, the piece with the monocle went uneaten.

trying out her gift from her cousin, evan 11.

 we are packing up, getting ready to move out. my first house, our first house as a family. it will be bittersweet!

the clay pit

marcy and caylan came to visit, i wish i would have gotten a picture of them. she did take a picture in austin of these two nuggs right before one of austin's worst floods in history.

locked and loaded

house is coming along, drywall and texture are complete. i am excited about this wood burning stove, one of our first purchases for the new place. i saw one of the chefs from famed restaurant, joe beef, cook foie gras right on top of it. for now, we will just work on getting it hooked up.

 this will be the giant pantry that jeremy thought of, perhaps to make my life easier and also perhaps to ensure the flow of tasty food.

 flooring will arrive this week, a south american pine.

 oh and i got one of these.

may showers bring june flowers

well, this blog may be dying a very slow death. but not yet!

not my proudest moment. em was about to get in bed and jeremy needed something from home depot. em: no shoes, in pajamas, wet hair. rke: house shoes, sweatpants, headband. we are asian but we definitely do some WT things. i'm glad she's not old enough to feel embarrassed of me yet.

 jse's birthday was a couple of weeks ago, we made him a spice cake.

 the decorations are from a stash that margaret saved from when he was a kid. the pile of sprinkles at the front...well, you know where (who) those came from.

 loves elephants!

 house photos! dry wall is almost all up, we have planned out the kitchen and picked out tile and flooring. we are in the home stretch of what will be a year long renovation, it's exciting...

 jeremy has worked so hard, we are proud of him. to the right will be the pantry and laudry/utility room.

the hallway leads to the master bedroom (used to be the garage)

 em's room on the other side

 what will be the living and kitchen area. i believe the term being thrown around these days is "open concept".

 playing hide and seek behind drywall.