Azaleas - A retrospective

The azaleas in our yard are in their full glory right now.

And it. is. beautiful.

I love when this happens every year...like an announcement: Spring is here. To stay.

It will soon be so hot that we won't want to be outside...unless we're in a pool.

But right now...right now it is fabulous. And we're outside alot. Eating multiple meals a day and doing some school outside.

I caught the kids last night right before we all headed inside for the night.

I love getting their pictures in front of the azaleas every year.

Here are our 3 cuties in 2008.

In 2007, we only had 2 cuties. And I was so enthralled with their cuteness, I didn't actually catch much of the azaleas.

Here they are in 2006. Ahhh...simply adorable.

And here is our first cutie - back when she was our only cutie - in 2005.

I just want to pinch those cheeks!

Looking back at year-over-year pictures like this always makes me wistful...teary even. My babies are growing up. I know that. I see it every day. But retrospectives like this always make it so obvious.

And while I wouldn't go back to that time even if I could...it still makes me wistful.

(For those of you observant enough to notice that we don't have any 2009 pictures, here is the explanation/confession: We pruned our azaleas at the wrong time that year, and they never bloomed in Spring 2009! Boy, did these non-green-thumbers learn our lesson!)