2011 Review

I thought I would do a post on some of the moments that stood out in 2011. We had a blessed and happy year, with lots of growth and learning.

And now... our year at a glance!

I included some pictures, but you can click on the links for the full posts with details about our year.

-Walker and I were co-stars in a tiny local commercial production.

-We had the snow storm of the century hit our house, and spent days digging out.

-Del decided that he was off carbonation! For the month of February. The shortest month. It didn't last! Ha!

-Walker was released from physical therapy for his Torticollis with a clean bill of health!

-Wally turned eight and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, by Del. Both sets of grandparents were able to travel to Chicago to be here for the big event.

-Del took our good friend Jared to the Bulls vs. Jazz game, thanks to the generous Christmas gift of excellent seats  from his employees

-Del and I went on a trip of a lifetime to Costa Rica with seven of his employees and their guests for the first company rewards trip! It was beyond amazing! I am ready to go back any time now! My very patient sister Lauren, and her husband Christopher came to our house to watch our kids.

-The local farmer's market became my best friend. Our city market was voted the best in the state by the way! Del laughs at me because I come home with small gifts from the vendors at Holiday times. He says they must know me pretty well. I would say yes, considering the lady I buy eggs, chicken and pork from is now making personal deliveries to my street for the Winter! Loooove it!! Oh, and I gave up carbonation. Nine months and counting!

-Walker started going to the Nursery at church for kids 18 months to age three. That means Mom and Dad are kid free for the last two hours of church! No more chasing a little terror around the church!

-Well I was kids free for a few months, until I got called to lead the music in the children's primary. Now I am with 30 plus kids for two hours. Just as exhausting, but still a lot of fun!

-We attended the Clark Family Reunion, here and here with my Mom's side of the family right here in good ol' Illinois! It was completely surreal to have so much of my family on our local stomping grounds. We toured both Chicago and Illinois, and it was a treasured experience!

-Our power went out after a thunder storm. For AN ENTIRE WEEK! Now we are not unaccustomed to the power outages in the area. Over the past seven years we have been dealing with their annoying frequency on a regular basis. But this was beyond anything I expected! It was SO stinkin hot!!! Taking humidity and heat into consideration, Chicago was reading the same temperatures as the Amazon Rainforest! Our house was boiling, we had electrical cords running all over the main level of our house from the generator to whatever appliance we were using at the moment. We made toast on the kitchen floor, ate mostly fruit for a week, slept in the guest room/Del's office in the basement, and listened to the hum of generators up and down our street day in and day out. Del had to shut down his office for a few days because they did not have power there either.The power went out on laundry day, so we finally had to make the big trip to the laundry mat, because we were leaving for Utah the next week. I ran into several friends while there, doing the same thing, and we all stood around and talked about the misery that was a Chicago Summer with no power, while we folded clothes and our kids ran around the laundry mat like wild things. I got more than a few stares and several comments about the amount of laundry I was cramming into my car while I loaded the clean clothes up in the parking lot. Several of the people we go to church with can't flush their toilets without power because they are on a well system, so it was getting pretty desperate! I am a baby, I know many are out of power for weeks after hurricanes and such.We left town grateful for the relief and returned only to have the power go off again for two days when we returned! I guess I can take that as a sign that I have not yet perfected my patience with the power situation. So I better make sure the generator is ready to go in 2012, while I repent of my bitter ways.

-We made our Summer trek West to Utah, here, here, and here, for a visit with family. We always have fun with cousins and Grandparents! Our kids live for this trip!

-We stopped in Denver to visit our friends Bryce and Christy, and to give Del time to do some work.

-We learned the hard way that I ave a major fear of mice.

-Del went to Texas to work. While he was there he went to the BYU vs. Texas game at Texas Stadium. Oh, and he met Ty Detmer.

-Del ran in his first Warrior Dash with one of his reps in Missouri. They had a lot of fun, and got VERY

 muddy!

-We spent the year chasing Walker, cleaning up mess after mess that Walker made, listening to Walker scream, laughing at Walker's silly antics, flushing our pet fish we had for two years after Walker dumped the entire bottle of fish food in the bowel and killed the fish, and just plain being worn out, entertained, and falling even more in love with our crazy, wild, mischievous and sweet two year old.

-Our friend Jared took Del and the kids out on Lake Michigan for some fishing. The trip did not disappoint! They came away with a massive king salmon. Georgia and Ella were not fans.

-We went on a family vacation to Disney World where we stayed at the beautiful Grand Floridian Hotel, and wore ourselves, and our kids out, visiting the parks for five days of fun.

-The kids looked positively Medieval for Halloween

-2012 birthdays brought new ages for our kids that can be recited with a cheer..."2, 4, 6, 8, what do we appreciate? Sleep, sleep, SLEEP!!" Hopefully we will see more of it in 2012!

-We kept busy with the kid's activities. Georgia started gymnastics at a new gym, and took a ballet class, all three older kids started swimming lessons, and the boys both started in a basketball league. In addition to the therapy Wally and Walker were receiving at the beginning of the year it has been a feat of master scheduling to keep it all straight! I think this is a common story for most families like ours!

-We spent the Holiday season close to home this year. We enjoyed time with friends, and enjoyed reflecting on the life of the Savior Jesus Christ. Christmas events post coming soon!

We are excited about the prospects of 2012! Happy New Year!