reflecting on 2011

They say no news is good news...well at least that's what my ob/gyn's office always tells me as I walk out the door and I'd say the same is true when it comes to us reflecting on our past year. For the most part 2011 was an uneventful year! No major illnesses, family additions, or job changes to report. I continue to hold down the fort at home while Jack continues to hope that the majority of America will continue with their coffee addiction into 2012. haha! Really the only newsworthy things I can think of that took place were that we had to have a couple important "talks" with the boys.

So a couple months ago Connor came home from school clearly bothered by a conversation that had taken place during lunch with some girl classmates. Apparently these girls had approached Tyler, him, and a few of their friends asking them simple questions. (e.g. Do you have a garage?) Each response was accompanied by giggles from the girls. Finally one of Connor's friends approached the girls to find out what was so funny and learned that the terms being used (garage and Ferraris) actually were code for other things (male and female anatomy). I vaguely remember this analogy as a kid. I was so happy that my boys felt comfortable coming to me immediately to discuss this conversation but at the same time felt sad that my sweet innocent boys are growing up. Afraid of what could be discussed at school at a future point I decided it was time to dive right into "the talk"! Aside from Connor stating that he "never wanted to have that talk again" and asking "why does God make us do such terrible things to get kids?" I'd say the talk was a success! ;)

A couple weeks later we found ourselves having to have another talk... the talk about the Man from up North. (Looking back it sure seems funny that our boys were old enough to understand the birds and the bees while still believing in some man that travels via sleigh and has a bunch of flying reindeer...) Unfortunately Santa and Mrs. Clause haven't always been as careful as they should be. We knew it was just a matter of time as to when the boys would connect the dots and ask the big question. Well, right before Thanksgiving we returned home from dinner out with friends to a couple skeptical boys. They had clearly been discussing amongst themselves some events that had taken place over the past couple years and wanted to lay out for us some of their thoughts. I took this to mean they already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from us. At the time I told them we'd discuss it in the morning as we had company over and it wasn't the right time. The next morning I found myself anxious to have the talk but looking back I'm pretty certain I could have just forgotten about it and they wouldn't have thought another second about it, possibly buying me one more magical Christmas for them. As it turned out, I did pull them aside and had "the talk". They were absolutely blown away and completely shocked when I shared the news. Ty even shed a few tears over it. Lesson learned: Play along for as long as you can. Christmas just isn't the same after they know. Thankfully the magic of Christmas is still alive and well with Sage!

So the major headlines for 2011...Santa and Sex. Well, it only seemed appropriate to also bundle all the other holiday tales into one conversation while reiterating to the boys that never would we be coming to them discussing with them the validity of Jesus Christ, our savior. I was reminded a year ago from a friend that her main worry about confronting her children with Santa, the Easter bunny, tooth fairy, etc. was that her children would also see God as falling into the same traditional tale. Indeed there is a larger, more amazing miracle that is represented in Christmas and hopefully now the boys will pay closer attention to that miracle rather than getting caught up in the magic of Santa.

On a lighter note, we spent a portion of new year's eve up Snoqualmie pass playing in the snow. I love that less than 30 minutes from home we are greeted by ski slopes. Unfortunately we keep all our ski gear in UT and truth be told Snoqualmie isn't known for it's incredible snow but the kids never get tired of sledding and playing out in the white stuff...well at least until Sage marked her territory...




After a few hours up in the mountain we returned home and spent the evening with friends at our place, celebrating the new year! We are indeed blessed. Happy New Year!

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...three Apple ipads, two Apple itouches, one Leapster leappad...and an empty checking account!!! What can I say, it was the year of electronics!

So this year we set out not to plan any family vacations during the month of November or December because in years past it has felt like we missed out on part of the holiday season (and shopping season) doing this. Lesson learned was that it made no difference. I still found myself frantically shopping up until Christmas eve even though I've had 365 days to prepare...

We always kick off the season with our annual photo with Santa at Belle Square. Again we enjoyed next to no line, a few free wallets that they throw in for spending the obscene amount they charge for the 5x7 and stuffed animals for the kids. (And yes, our two nine year olds still get excited about the stuffed animal!):



Next it was on to figuring out which photo we'd use for our Christmas photo. You'd think between a couple cruises and a trip to Utah that we could come up with at least one good photo of the family but no such luck. This resulted in me screaming to the kids one day after school to quickly get dressed in some sort of button up shirt and meet me down by the tree...



Each year I tell myself I will capture just as great a photo as a professional would and each year I am reminded there is a reason I could never charge for my work...

Next it was the countdown to the soon to be full house which would include my parents and my brothers Steve, Paul, and Sean! The kids could hardly wait and I'm pretty certain that from Thanksgiving on they asked me daily how many more days until their arrival. Mom, dad, Sean, and Paul flew in on the Wednesday before Christmas with Steve arriving the next day. Unfortunately they all had to take off the day after Christmas but thankfully Steve was able to stay a full week which helped with the empty nest withdrawals. We missed not having Gary, Kelly and the boys but understand how difficult it can be traveling with small children for the holidays and we also missed not having Teagen and Chaz around but unfortunately they were at their mom's for Christmas this year. There is never a dull moment when you have Jack as the head of household. He kept the boys busy (and in shape) going golfing, playing in a couple basketball and football games in addition to some wiffle ball and speed mitton.

Some of the other activities going on with some or all included a trip to the Space Needle and Snoqualmie Falls, a trip to Jack's office to taste test all sorts of hot cocoas, a shopping trip with mom to update her wardrobe, a Seahawk/Niners football game, Christmas day church, opening presents, and of course lots of eating! Mrs. Clause spent most her days making certain Santa had plenty of toys purchased and wrapped, food on the table, a clean house, and all other loose ends tied... (Santa will be taking Mrs. Clause on a trip to make up for all her hard work in the coming months...) haha! Here are a few shots from the week:




Sean taking dad to his first NFL game on Christmas eve, a Seahawk/Niners game...hmm, wonder who they are rooting for?!?



A few of my favorite men... (minus a couple others)



Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse...



And finally the BIG day had arrived...



Jack and the boys cooking breakfast...



The traditional photo on Christmas morning...



And finally at around 11:30 a.m. we began ...



I'm always so happy to see the kids so appreciative for the gifts they receive. Ty continues to always want to have something for Sage and Connor. This year he picked up something at the book fair for Connor. He had also purchased something for Sage but she had done something to disappoint him so he decided to keep it for himself. A couple days before Christmas when we were at the Falls gift shop, Sage was crying because she wanted a bag of these special polished rocks. I refused to buy them but Ty begged to buy them for her for Christmas. That's our Ty...always looking out for his brother and sister. Sage had also been very thoughtful spending many afternoons drawing pictures for everyone and wrapping them up. Connor continues to show his love by his kind words which we cherish just as much!



Always love looking down at the family I've been blessed with...



Enjoying presents...



This year we had a nice prime rib and New York roast on the menu and of course the meal ended with our traditional after dinner gifts...



And the three women who probably put the most effort into making the day a success... :)



What a fantastic Christmas it was. A special thanks to my family for flying out to spend this holiday with us. We feel so blessed to have such a fabulous family, good health, great friends, and of course our faith which allows us the opportunity each year to pay a special tribute to our savior. We hope 2012 turns out to be another year we can look back on and be proud of! Happy New Year!