January: Jordan celebrated her 9th birthday, and it was a memorable birthday because she was so sick! Despite getting the flu shots, Cole, Regan and Jordan all got very sick and spent most of the month recovering. It seemed especially hard, as I was pregnant. Ashton and Jordan both started their winter seasons of Wildcat basketball, and Regan played Dad's Club basketball for the first time.
February: As my pregnancy progressed, I started to get more and more uncomfortable and it really just became survival at this point. I was having a lot of contractions and just hoping to make it to my due date. We played a lot of basketball and had a lot of fun at the NGBA tournament. Steve and Cindy came up and spent that weekend with us. I was able to continue coaching Ashton's team (mainly from the bench!) We celebrated Valentine's Day with classroom parties and fun. Ashton participated in her first Solo Festivel for violin, and Meg and Jeremy and their girls came up for a wonderful visit that same weekend. Tod completed his 2nd year as Bishop of our ward.
March: We continued to have cold weather and even more snow! The kids and I attended a Big Brothers/Big Sisters class at the hospital to prepare for our big event. Cole celebrated his 4th birthday. Tod and I took him to Chuck E. Cheese and we had friends over for dinner. He didn't want a friend party. We had spring break, and all I did was try to get through it. I felt bad that we didn't do anything really fun, but I was so uncomfortable and ready for the baby to come! We enjoyed a fun, simple Easter at home. Jordan started learning to play the viola.
April: My wonderful friends threw me a baby shower during the first week of the month. And just a few days later, the biggest and most important event of the year was here...the birth of our Luke Angelo on April 8. We were so happy and relieved to finally have him here. We spent the month enjoying our "big" baby, adjusting to our new life style, enduring endless rain, and enjoying visits from Steve and Cindy as well as Aunt Katy. Spring soccer also started up for the girls.
May: It was such a busy month with so many events and a newborn baby sprinkled in the mix. Jordan's softball (with her dad as coach) was in full swing, along with soccer, field trips, orchestra concerts, Regan's dance recital and other end of the year events. Ashton "graduated" from 5th grade. Jordan finished up 3rd grade, Regan completed kindergarten and Cole finished his first year of preschool. We all enjoyed my Mother's Day gift...a trampoline. We worked hard in the yard and were so glad to see our front grass finally growing!
June: It was a fun birthday month. Ashton turned 11 and had a mini-golf party. Regan celebrated her 7th birthday on Father's Day and had a swimming party. We spent lots of evenings at the ball park watching Jordan's softball team and Regan's coach pitch team. Ashton and Jordan held their "summer preschool" for neighborhood and church friends. We also went swimming a lot with friends and all 3 girls participated in the Wildcats Sports Summer training program.
July: We spent most of the month in Utah and had such a wonderful time. A highlight was blessing Luke in the Bountiful 14th ward and spending time with family and friends. We also spent a week in Park City at the Anderson/Harris family reunion. The government workers officially began their "furlough" of having one day a week without pay.
August: I turned 37 and celebrated with a trip to Nauvoo. We loved our annual ward trip to the River Bandits baseball game and also went boating with friends. School began very early this year, and we ventured into new territory as Ashton started middle school. Jordan started 4th grade, Regan started 1st grade and Cole started preschool each afternoon. The corn was so beautiful and so green this year, and I took many pictures of the Iowa views. Steve and Cindy left for their church service mission in Utah.
September: I took a wonderful trip to Virginia with Dad and Pat and it was great to see my old mission area. We slowly adjusted to a busy school routine. We loved watching the girls play fall soccer and enjoyed spectacular fall weather. We took a day trip to the Maquoketa caves with friends and loved hiking around. We attended a few high school football games and got to watch Regan as a junior cheerleader. Jordan played double headers once a week in a fall softball league. Ashton continue to thrive and really loved middle school. Cole tolerated school and spent every other spare moment playing outside with his neighborhood buddy. We had our primary program at church- it was my 3rd one as the music leader. I continued to enjoy my calling as the Activity Days leader, especially since Jordan and Ashton are both in the program.
October: Uncle Jed popped in for a weekend visit which was awesome. The government shutdown was in full swing and added some stress to our lives as we wondered about the future of Tod's job. Thankfully, it was short lived for the moment, although the uncertainty remained. We took the trip of a life time to the Wisconsin Dells and had an amazing time together as a family. We enjoyed all the Halloween festivities including trick or treating in the rain.
November: Basketball season was in full swing again for Ashton and Jordan along with trying indoor soccer for the first time. Regan started taking weekly tumbling lessons which she loves. Tod and I went with friends to the BYU versus Notre Dame game in Indiana. My dad and brother and nephews met us there and then Dad came home to Iowa for a few days. Tod turned 37. We spent Thanksgiving at our dear friends the Despains home with many church friends. That weekend we also got to have a visit from Megan and Jerimy and the girls.
December: A busy month full of all things holiday along with lots of sports. We loved going to Ashton's Christmas orchestra concert and Cole's preschool program. We really enjoyed the music of the season and the addition of Luke to our family this year for his first Christmas. Of course girl scout parties, the ward Christmas party and making gingerbread houses are always fun. Our Christmas Eve was made memorable by our trip to sing at a local retirement center, as well as dinner with neighbors. Christmas Day was a wonderful time to be together enjoying new gifts. We invited several friends over from church for the evening. We loved relaxing over Christmas break, especially sleeping in and staying up late and having a break from all lessons and practices. We felt thankful for a wonderful year...a year with some challenges but a year full of many, many blessings.
1 comment:
Wow, sounds like an impressive year. You do a great job balancing. Miss you all.
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