After Christmas and NYE

The Dolan's and Mishlers came out for a visit a few days after Christmas.  We had a nice time hanging out, eating, playing cards and celebrating Christmas and New Year's. 

 

Christmas

We spent Christmas at home this year with just our sweet little family. It was (I was going to say quiet, but when is it EVER quiet at our house???) relaxing, fun and casual.  The kids let us sleep in until 8am on Christmas morning which was nice!  We opened stockings first and then dug into the presents.  We took our time and ooh'ed and aah'ed over each one.

 It's so easy to get everyone to cooperate and smile nicely when there are presents involved.

 The boys loved their new R/C helicopters!

 Josh gave Jeff a wood pen that he carved out of a block of wood in Applied Tech class.  Very cool!

 Alex "Tebowing" (yes, we still do it!) on his new long board

 My beautiful new ring!!!

 Mattea and Daddy checking out their new iPods!

 Self-timer family portrait... Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve

The kids were desperate to open one present on Christmas Eve, so Jeff came up with a GENIUS solution.  He had picked up three of those metal puzzles made up of two pieces that you have to figure out how to get apart.  They were in tiny little gift-wrapped boxes.  So, after we toyed with the kids for awhile and let them eyeball all of the larger presents under the tree, we pulled out those little boxes and told them they could each open one.  They all opened them at the same time and were like "okaaaaaay... what are these?".  Jeff told them that in order for them to open one more present, they had to solve the puzzle.  It was hilarious!  Since they were so determined to open another present, they all set to work on their puzzles.  Alex was the first to solve his puzzle, but we made him wait until the other two figured theirs out.  I'm telling you, we had SO much fun with these puzzles.  I loved that it slowed things down and we were just hanging out as a family with no TV, no iPods, no cell phones, etc.  It was nice.  Jeff gave Josh and Mattea a few hints to help them with their puzzles and pretty soon, Mattea got hers apart!  She was so proud of herself.  This, of course, frustrated Josh to no end and so he began trying to force his puzzle apart.  I think that was even more funny.  Finally, he used his brain and some patience and got his apart as well.  Yes... success!  The kids opened another present and all was right with the world. 

Note:  Here comes a flurry of pictures from Christmas Eve... I had a hard time choosing... you've been warned.  Also, I'm fully aware that Mattea has on the wackiest outfit with clothes that are obviously too small (and ripped) and that Josh doesn't match at all.  I have gotten past the point of having everyone look perfect for my pictures... just happy to get them in some pictures these days.

 I just realized that Alex is as tall as Mattea when he's on his knees!!!  Kinda cute.

Reflections

People are out hustling and bustling around trying to pick out last-minute gifts and hitting the grocery store for supplies to make an amazing Christmas meal. Kids are trying their best to be patient and well-behaved, but really they are going crazy with the anticipation of what they will find when they finally get to open their gifts on Christmas morning.

As I reflect on the highlights of this past year, I realize how blessed our family has been.

Here are some of the highlights of 2012...

· Mommy turned the big 4-0 and declared 2012 to be the “Year of Tracy”

· Mommy started going to CrossFit and quickly became hooked (and started to drive everyone crazy with her need to talk about CrossFit, go to CrossFit and watch CrossFit on TV!)
· Mommy took a trip to California to celebrate her college roommate Lisa’s, 40^th birthday leaving Daddy and the kiddos home in the midst of a huge blizzard that dumped almost 20 inches of snow!
· Mom and Dad took a trip to Vegas with friends to celebrate Mommy’s birthday
· Alex played in his first piano recital
· Josh turned 11
· Jamie, Lindsey and Jaelynn Hawkins came for a visit and everyone was mesmerized by Jaelynn’s awesome, cheesy grin!
· Mommy and her friends rocked out at the Kelly Clarkson concert!
· Our amazing, sweet and loving dog Indy passed away on Mother’s Day
· Mattea and I spent a weekend in Estes Park at Girl Scout Camp where we enjoyed crafts, hiking, horseback riding and time with friends
· We officially have a teenager in the house (ahhhh!) as Alex turned 13!
· The Jacobsen’s came to Colorado for a visit!
· The kids got to spend time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends in Iowa and Illinois for 4 weeks during the summer!
· Kelley Semens moved in with us for 3 months while she did her clinicals
· While Kelley was here, we took her on all sorts of fun Colorado adventures like hiking in Estes Park, Steamboat Springs and downhill mountain biking at Keystone Ski Resort with Terry
· Mommy and Daddy took advantage of being kid-free (and having a live-in dog/house sitter) and met up with Aunt Julie & Uncle Kevin for a fun trip to San Diego!
· Daddy advanced one year closer to HIS 40^th birthday, but continues to remind Mommy that she is older than him!
· Mommy and Mattea attended the Kellogg’s Gymnastics Tour of Champions!
· The Bachman’s drove ALL the way out to Colorado to hang out with us
· Daddy decided to embark on a new adventure and began planning sessions with his friend, Chris!!!
· Mattea turned EIGHT… how can our baby be that old???
· We flew to Iowa to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends
· Daddy worked really hard and was rewarded with a nice bonus
· We were lucky enough to have money to spend on nice gifts for our children

While I remembered all the magical moments in our lives, it was hard not to reflect on all of the tragedies that struck in 2012. There are plenty of people in this world who are not as lucky as us. There are people right now that probably aren’t looking forward to the holidays like we are because they know that they will be celebrating without some of the people they love. I would like each of us to be aware of our many blessings and to be thankful for each and every day that we have with each other.

In memory of those lost in 2012…

Oikos University

Doris Chibuko

Sonam Choedon

Grace Eunhea Kim

Judith O. Seymore

Lydia H. Sim

Bhutia Tshering

 

 

Aurora Theater

Jonathan Blunk

A.J. Boik

 

Jesse Childress

 

Gordon Cowden

Jessica Ghawi

 

John Larimer

 

Micayla Medek

 

Matt McQuinn

 

Veronica Moser-Sullivan

 

Alex Sullivan

 

Alex Teves

 

Rebecca Wingo

56 others that were injured

Hurricane Sandy – Sandy killed at least 125 people in the United States. That includes 60 in New York; 48 of them in New York City; 34 in New Jersey and 16 in Pennsylvania. At least seven people died in West Virginia, where the storm dropped heavy snow. Sandy killed 71 people in the Caribbean, including 54 in Haiti.

 

Sandy Hook Elementary

Charlotte Bacon, 2/22/06, female
Daniel Barden, 9/25/05, male
Rachel Davino, 7/17/83, female
Olivia Engel, 7/18/06, female
Josephine Gay, 12/11/05, female
Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 04/04/06, female
Dylan Hockley, 3/8/06, male
Dawn Hochsprung, 06/28/65, female
Madeleine F. Hsu, 7/10/06, female
Catherine V. Hubbard, 6/08/06, female
Chase Kowalski, 10/31/05, male
Jesse Lewis, 6/30/06, male
James Mattioli , 3/22/06, male
Grace McDonnell, 12/04/05, female
Anne Marie Murphy, 07/25/60, female
Emilie Parker, 5/12/06, female
Jack Pinto, 5/06/06, male
Noah Pozner, 11/20/06, male
Caroline Previdi, 9/07/06, female
Jessica Rekos, 5/10/06, female
Avielle Richman, 10/17/06, female
Lauren Rousseau, 6/1982, female (full date of birth not specified)
Mary Sherlach, 2/11/56, female
Victoria Soto, 11/04/85, female
Benjamin Wheeler, 9/12/06, male
Allison N. Wyatt, 7/03/06, female

Dolan Friends and Family

· Our beloved, Indy – aka Indy Roo, Indy Boo, Boo, Bindy Boo Boo, Boo Boo, Wendy, Dumas, Shitter

· Anna Weitz – aka Anna Banana – the sweet and loving 5-year old daughter of our friends Mike & Krista and sister to Noah & John

Catching up... again.

Yeah, I have fallen behind again.  Bollocks!  Since everyone was just blessed with our (sick, feverish, coughing, exhausted) presence, I'll give myself a break.  By the way, our sincerest apologies to Kevin, Pete & Carol who are all sick now.  Kevin has exactly everything we brought with us... fever, bronchitis, sinus infection and an ear infection.  YIKES!  I heard from Jeff that Pete & Carol were under the weather too, however, one of them is puking which i will NOT take credit for.  There was no puking while we were in Dubuque.  ; )  I truly hope everyone feels better soon.  Please don't take it out on us when you come out here for Christmas!  Pretty please? 

Anywho, I was looking through some recent pictures and found some to share with all of you.  Enjoy!

Steamboat Springs in September

Picture Retake Day at school

Girl Scouts Halloween Party

Cupstacking Tournament

Florida for Fall Break

We were fortunate enough to escape the craziness of everyday life to head south for fall break.  Luckily, we just missed Hurricane Sandy.  The beach outside our hotel was underwater for the first few days of our trip, but we just drove south and found some different beaches to visit.  The kids had an absolute blast hunting for seashells, jumping the waves, doing cartwheels & handstands in the sand and riding their boogie boards.  Jeff and I enjoyed playing in the water with the kids as well as just relaxing on the beach and watching them play.