Year in Review

Yeah, yeah, it's been a while.  With both the kids in school now (for at least a few hours a week), I had visions of how great I would be at documenting our lives and recording how great they are.  But then school started and I just never got around to it.  So here we go:  a paragraph for each month I missed (unless nothing notable happened).  There aren't any pictures.  I don't really feel like finding the camera right now.

October 2011
Mike and I took a fabulous trip to San Francisco for a weekend.  We went to see the Utes play Cal (they lost, so I'm not going to spend any more time on that).  We went to all the touristy spots and then to the Berkeley campus.  We had a great time and I think the kids enjoyed staying with my parents as much as we enjoyed leaving them with my parents.

November 2011
Mike hadn't been super happy at his job for a while and had finally had enough the first week of November.  I finally convinced him to just have some faith and be done with it.  So he quit.  And was a lot happier.  He got a job offer a couple of weeks later, but it wouldn't start until January.  It was really nice to have some unexpected time off, especially over the holidays.  He was even able to pick up some consulting work which more than made up for his December paycheck.

December 2011
Christmas was great.  We finally realized that Ally doesn't really like toys.  She's never really been into dolls or stuffed animals or play sets or... anything.  So she got a new MP3 player (her last one was completely full of audio books), and a Nintendo DS.  Crit got 50 new Hot Wheels cars.  Yes, 50.  No, I don't know what Santa was thinking!  And I got a Kindle Fire, but the kids play it as much as I do.

January 2012
Mike started his new job at FL Smidth in Midvale.  Good commute.  Good coworkers.  Good job.

February 2012
Ally turned 7.  Really?  7?  Where the time went, I have no idea.  But her birthday was good.

March 2012
Nothing exciting.  I think.

April 2012
We took a trip to Moab.  We went to Canyonlands and Arches and had some seriously sore legs from all the hiking.  We also painted the living room, hall and entryway and replaced the lights in each room.   So we no longer live in a carton of vanilla icecream!  Yay!

May 2012
Happy 9th anniversary to us!  We looked at our savings and decided it was time to do the kitchen.  Yay!  I (yes, me, while Mike was at work) spent several days ripping out 600 square feet of stapled  (not even nailed) awful wood floor (I even got a three-foot crowbar for Mother's Day!).  Since my parents had a slow week at work, they opted to come down here to help everyday instead.  Thank heavens!  We demolished a wall, put up a new one, tore out cabinets, ripped out the bathroom, moved the appliances, painted, painted some more, and got things ready for the new (and greatly improved kitchen).  And to his credit, Mike did come home and help every evening.  Except for the 10 days he was in Australia on a business trip.  Yes, he did have a fabulous time there.

June 2012
Mike had outpatient surgery to remove a cyst in his thigh.  It went well and only took a few days to recover.  We also had tile put in.  LOVE IT!  The cabinets came a few days later, then it was time for the granite, backplash, and moving back into the kitchen.  Thank goodness we have a completely dysfunctional, poorly designed kitchen in the basement.  Crit also turned 4.  Yes, really.

July 2012
Mike got a call from a guy he worked with several months before with a new job opportunity.  He spent a few days going back and forth wondering if he should take it.  He'd just started a new job a few months before, but this was a great opportunity.  He decided to jump in and go for it.  So he started job number eight in the nine years we've been married.  That sounds crazy, doesn't it?  You have no idea how many insurance cards we've collected over the years.

August 2012
School.  Glorious school!  Ally started second grade and Crit started preschool 3 afternoons a week.  And everyone is happy.

September 2012
I started helping in Ally's classroom on Tuesday afternoon for 2 hours.  It's good to help out, but it's also good to come home after just 2 hours.

October 2012
Life is still good.  Even if I got another year older.

Today
Mike and I got home from Seattle last night.  We left Friday morning and had a great time.  We went for the Utah game again.  And they lost.  Again.  We're beginning to feel like we're bad luck.  The trip was fantastic and we enjoyed getting away for the weekend.  And the kids enjoyed spending the weekend with Grammy.