Out with the old, in with the new

January makes me happy. I love Christmas, but I love putting it away too. It could be that perhaps our Januaries are often mild and sunny. Or that it means the Stock Show, Valentine's, St. Patrick's Day and Easter are lined up on the horizon. Or that it's a new year with new possibilities. Or all of the above.

December ended on a fun note. One evening I met up for dinner with a bunch of girls from my single days. We still keep in touch, despite being spread between three states. I turned the dinner into a surprise baby shower for my dear friend Wendie, who is expecting her first baby - a boy - in April. So much fun to celebrate her and her baby! I made blue velvet cupcakes for the occasion, which were phenomenal and oh so pretty.

We had a fun pre-New Year's Eve get together with my dear friends Kristie, Elizabeth and Paula and our families. It was much fun, as always-
and it's especially fun to see our darling little daughters playing together and becoming good friends too-

Isabel wanted to show grandma the outfit she wore (thanks for the gift!)-

On New Year's Eve we had a early party with the children, which basically consisted of a family toast to the new year with amazing fizzy citrus fruit slushes-

and then we left the children with a sitter and an early bed time and headed to a friend's house for a couples game night. This was a blast! Such a good time. And we actually made it to midnight to ring in the new year. I love game nights; they always remind me of how smart and funny my hubby is.

2011 was a year of milestones for us. Connor turned 8, was baptized and started Cub Scouts. Mason turned 1. Lucas turned 4 and started preschool. Isabel started kindergarten and turned 6. Brian and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.

And now we are in 2012. I believe in setting goals, not making resolutions. I think it's no secret that Brian really wants/needs to get out of the newspaper industry and into something with a more promising and stable future. He's had a tumultuous year work-wise, and we've been on the search. So, our main goal for this year is an employment change. There are other goals. But none consume me as much as this one. I've been searching everywhere for that darn crystal ball, and just can't seem to find it anywhere. But I do hope a change is somewhere out there.

So here's to a new year! I hope y'all will continue to make blogging one of your goals. I do love it so.

New Year, new milestones

"I took my love, I took it down. Climbed a mountain and I turned around. And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills. Til the landslide brought me down..." I don't know everything the great Ms. Nicks had in mind when she penned this tune, but it definitely has at least something to do with getting older.

With the advent of 2011, I've been feeling a bit... I don't know the right word - pensive? reflective? sentimental? Perhaps all of them.

We had a quiet New Year's Eve/Day. New Year's Eve was a family pizza, malt and game party. On New Year's Day Isabel and I saw Tangled (loved loved loved it! I'd go again tomorrow and see it again it was so fun), and the rest of the day we spent organizing, watching football and eating Brian's chili. Every year since we've been married Brian makes a bit pot of chili on New Year's Day; some years he invites some guys over to have a bowl and watch a bowl game, some years we lay a little lower and it's just us. This year was just us. It was good.

I was thinking back to New Year's Eve 10 years ago, which was less than 2 weeks before I got engaged. It was spent with many friends, a lot of whom are still my dear friends today. Monique and Wendie, do you remember this?:Amazing what 10 years can do. As I look ahead to 2011, I realize how many milestones my little family will celebrate. Brian and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage. 10 years of ups, and downs. Of laughing, and crying. Of blessings, and trials. Of living, and loving. Of bringing four precious spirits into this world. And now, we are entering a new phase in life, in which our family is complete, and the focus is on raising those children to be happy, well-adjusted people who contribute to the world in a positive way. It's most certainly a new chapter. One that we are looking forward to.

"But time makes you bolder, even children get older. And I'm getting older, too. Oh, I'm getting older too."

Other milestones we look forward to this year:

This one starts playing on a basketball team, turns 8 and gets baptized, and starts Cub Scouts.











This one starts kindergarten.
This one becomes a Sunbeam in Primary and starts preschool. He was so excited to start Primary today, but church was canceled just as we were walking out the door, as a result of a power outage. Hope he can maintain his enthusiasm another week!












This one turns 1, and slips quietly (or not so quietly) into toddlerhood, leaving babyhood far behind. I am happy about this. I am sad about this. Time is measured differently as your last child grows, don't you think? I think that's when it really starts to run away from you.





So here's to 2011. I think it's gonna be a good one.

Christmas and New Year

We are having a great Christmas break, although I am somewhat disappointed at how few pictures I have been taking. Here's a re-cap:

Christmas Eve
It was just the 5 of us, and we had a fun evening. We had our traditional appetizer/finger food dinner, during which Brian read us a beautiful talk by President Faust called "A Christmas With No Presents." It was a great reminder of all the things we truly are blessed with that are not tangible. The kids each got to open one gift from grandparents. We read and acted out the Christmas story from Luke, and then watched "Twas the Night Before Christmas." The kids put out cookies and chocolate milk for Santa and carrots for his reindeer - I am not sure where this came from, but they insisted on it. Lucas was super excited about his stocking, and I asked him what he thought Santa was going to put in it. He thought for a moment, and excitedly replied, "His foot!" We laughed about that all night.

Christmas morning
Connor was up at 4:45 a.m., but we managed to keep him laying low until a more reasonable hour. Not many good shots from the morning, but we got some of the gift opening action. It was chaotic but fun.
Isabel got her Easy Bake Oven (thank heaven for grandparents), and she enjoyed her first cake creation.
My favorite Christmas morning quote: As Connor first peered into his stocking, he excitedly exclaimed, "there's not even anything bad in it like rocks or coal!" Guess he was worried.

We lounged for a good part of Christmas playing with the new goods (Remote control car! Star Wars Legos! Dollhouse! Games! Thomas the Train sets! Hello Kitty lotion/bath set! Thomas the Train play tent! Barbie dog and vet care set! Books! Makeup! And more!). In the afternoon we had dinner with Brian's family at his grandmother's house.

Our baking efforts this year (subdued, but still good stuff: cookie dough truffles, toffee, Spritz cookies and popcorn balls)-

New Year's Eve
We spent New Year's Eve with our good friends the Harts and the Nelsons at the Chadwick's home. Pizza, lots of kids and lots of playing, adults playing Apples to Apples, lots of talking and laughing. The kids loved the noisemakers I brought, and went wild with them. Isabel called them Happy New Year's Makers, and Lucas called them New Year's Blows. Connor got the name right.

New Years Day
Our new nephew was born! Brian's sister Kelley and her husband Leo welcomed a new baby on New Year's Day (her due date to boot!), a sweet son named Parker Henry. What a way to start off the new year!

We took down Christmas decorations, Brian and the boys spent most of the day re-organizing the basement (I pretty much married him for his organizational skills), and Isabel and I went shopping all afternoon. Pretty good deal to me! She is a RIOT to shop with. She thinks the cosmetics counter at Dillard's is pretty much heaven. She loved looking at everything in Gymboree; when she'd try on a cute purse or bracelet or shoes or whatever, she'd say, "why yes you may have this dance, handsome prince!" What a hoot. She wanted to smell everything at Bath and Body Works. And check out every department at Target. And this all with such enthusiastic superlative exclamations (this is darling! love this! sooooooo cute! isn't this fabulous mom?). I may have a shopaholic on my hands.

The rest of break
We've been sledding, swimming, out to lunch, doing playdates, getting together with friends, Connor lost his first tooth (see previous post). The break has flown by.

Much as I love Christmas, I am always happy with January's arrival. This year I am especially looking forward to the start of a new American Idol season, our annual trip to the National Western Stock Show, the return of a schedule and routine when school resumes on Jan. 7 (we have a long break), and my ultrasound (Jan. 21!!!).

Here's to 2010. Hoping it's fabulous!