Capturing Memories

I have a terrible memory. Awful really. I'm not just talking about the busy days with three little kids when I could not remember if I had brushed my teeth or what I had eaten for lunch...if I had eaten lunch. I mean long-term memories. The important things in life that you never want to forget. For example, I have no idea where we went on our honeymoon. I know it was a short cruise...but no idea where. I have no memory of my high school graduation...now granted that was a long time ago...but I can't remember my college graduation either.
Now this has always been a weakness of mine. I can remember in high school my friends and I joking about how terrible my memory was. It is not so funny now. I kept diaries from 6th-12th grade and religiously wrote in them knowing one day I would not remember my teen years. I have also journaled since having Lydia. I did not journal when Joshua was born because I thought that the memories and details of something as momentous as having my first child could never be forgotton. I was wrong. His first 22 months are a blur. Another strategy I used was taking photographs. This is where what we folks with psychology degrees call Obessive-Compulsive tendencies kick in. I have photo albums for every year of my life since 1985 (I started young...like when I was one or something...). Anyway, you can ask me for a picture from any month between 1985 and September 2010 and I can get the album (labeled on the outside of course) and turn the the pictures for that particular month. They are in chronological order categorized by events. Many are individually labeled with the names of folks in the pictures and the event (I wanted context...not just pictures).
This has developed into a love of mine. I am in somewhat of a dilemma in the age of technology as I have all of my digital photos stored on my computer, on Snapfish, and backed-up with an online company call Carbonite. However, there is just nothing like holding a photograph in your hand or flipping through an album and reliving all the memories. Somehow the thumbnails on my computer (also stored and labeled first by year, then month, then day, and tagged as well) is just is not the same.
In our new house the albums are more accessible so my children love to look through them and ask questions and hear stories. It has been time well spent. And although I can't tell you where we went on our honeymoon, I can look up June 2000 and find the pictures!
With all that said, here are some memories that will be logged in the October 2010 pages! Our family at the annual B. Family pumpkin patch...

The B. Family grandkids!

Dinasaur World with some great friends...