2012 in Review

I think I will stop apologizing for not posting and just post when I get around to it.  Thanks if you still bother to look at this.

What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
Lived in Virginia and Colorado.  There's not anything more exciting, unfortunately.

Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I have no idea if I made any.  Usually I am just trying all the time to improve.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
I did!

Did anyone close to you die?
No.

What countries did you visit?
Just the US of A

What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
Stability.

What dates from 2012 will remain etched in your memory, and why?
April - we made a big decision and moved across country within 3 weeks of making it
June - we found out that Beckham might be really sick
August 25 - Beckham was born, and he was perfectly healthy

What was your biggest personal achievement of the year?
Dealing with moving twice while pregnant and having a baby in a brand new state while living in a hotel

What was your biggest failure?
Not being patient enough.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing serious.

What was the best thing you bought?
A piano

Whose behavior merited celebration?
My family.  My mom, dad and sister all sacrificed a lot to be able to help me while I moved to Colorado without Brett.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Many.  But you all saw those things on the news too.

Where did most of your money go?
Moving expenses

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Being able to move to Denver and the fact that Beckham is perfectly healthy

What song will always remind you of 2012?
Good Life

Compared to this time last year are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
Happier, slightly fatter, and richer

What do you wish you'd done more of?
Sleeping

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being on the computer

Did you fall in love in 2012?
Beckham came into our lives, and we fell in love with him

What was your favorite TV program?
It's always Doctor Who, but Brett and I have enjoyed watching Elementary, Awake and The Firm

What was the best book you read?
See my next post for a detailed account of the books I read this year.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Country music.  I've grown to like it.  Or at least much of it.

What did you want and get?
To move to Denver and to have a healthy baby

What did you want and not get?
Nothing that I can think of

What was your favorite film of this year?
I honestly can't even remember what movies I saw.  I really enjoyed Wreck It Ralph though.

What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
I turned 27.  We didn't do much because that was right around the time of the big decision.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not having to be hugely pregnant in Virginia summer humidity.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
Maternity clothes

What kept you sane?
Brett.  Always Brett.

Pumpkin Patch

We ventured to a pumpkin patch last week, and paid some exorbitant prices for pumpkins, but we had a lot of fun in the process.  The first thing we did was the kid maze.  They had a 20 acre maze, but we thought the kids might get a little tired with that one.  We enjoyed it though, and the kids had a blast.

 

 

 

Of course, we had to do the face cutouts.

 

 

 

Beckham even got in on the action.

 

 

The patch had several play areas set up too.  Kennedy and Noah loved that they got to play.

 

 

I saw pictures of my friend Rachel's daughter playing in this awesome pit where there were dried corn kernels instead of sand.  I thought that was so cool, and they had one at the patch we went to!  Kennedy and Noah played and buried each other.  Beckham, on the other hand, wasn't too sure about it.

 

 

 

We spent about 30 minutes right before the patch closed picking out the perfect pumpkins.  Kennedy was thrilled that we got to use a pumpkin wagon.

 

 

Then we snagged some people to take our first family picture since Beckham was born.  I love building memories doing fun things as a family!

 

 



3 months, 3 kids

SO much has happened since my last post in July.  Here's a quick run down.

 

 

I got a new phone that has a forward facing camera as well as the standard.  Kennedy and dad had a good time playing with it.  We also moved to Denver!  My mom drove me and the kids out early while Brett finished up his school.  He ran a 5k while we were gone, and tried to trick us into thinking he had won it by sending this picture.

 

 

Before Brett got here we had some fun in Denver.  We went to a Mexican restaurant where Kennedy was asked to dance by a little boy at the next table.

 

 

We went to the Disney Store and played with the stuffed animals.

 

 

We also checked out the children's garden.

 

 

Before Brett got to Denver, he graduated from the training program he was attending in Virginia with the highest grades in the class.

 

 

 

Once Brett got here, we took a trip to Tiny Town.  It was cute and the kids loved riding the train and seeing such little buildings.  As well as playing in them. (PS - that's not some crazy person smiling in the back of our picture.  That's my sister Christine who came to stay and help me while Brett was still gone.)

 

 

 

Of course, the biggest thing that happened was that Beckham came into our lives!

 

 

He spent the first 7 hours of his life in the NICU since he had some possible complications and took a couple minutes to breathe when he first came out.  Being 3 weeks early, his lungs weren't perfect and needed a little push to get going.

 

 

They kicked him out though, and he came to see me after a while, looking much cleaner and happier.

 

 

A week later we moved into our new house,

 

 

Brett was able to greet Air Force One and meet President Obama,

 

 

and Beckham turned a month old.

 

 

Then Kennedy started preschool,

 

 

Beckham got blessed,

 

 

and Noah decided that he's still the baby.

 

 

The kids have been loving the new house, been playing a lot, and really have just been all smiles.

 

 

 

 



Washington DC, Part Deux

Last weekend we went up to DC again to visit Brett's aunt and uncle.  We started the day by heading to the National Zoo, where we were promptly rained on.  And I have to tell you, Kennedy walks amazingly slowly under an unbrella.

Although we didn't stay long, we got to see the pandas, birds (including Kennedy's favorite, the pink flamingos), elephants, and some zebras playing.

It was obviously enough to wear a certain someone out.

He was dead to the world for about 2 and a half hours.  But we were able to have dinner with Brett's aunt and uncle, and take a tour of the mosaics that his aunt Dianne has created.  She's very talented.  The next day, after saying our goodbyes, we headed to church.

But we went to see the temple first and walk on the grounds.  It's even more impressive in person than in pictures.

Based on the care that the baby needs, we've decided that the kids and I are going to head to Denver next week and have Brett join us later once his class ends.  So, the blog will probably be out of commission for a while, but here's a sneak peak of the little baby bub we are waiting on.



Busch Gardens

We planned to use our free military passes to Busch Gardens on Saturday.  Unfortunately, we picked the worst day possible to go.  But we had fun anyway.  The day began with Noah waking up and coming in our room.

Brett isn't often home in the morning when the kids wake up, so they love to play when he is.  Noah was taking the opportunity to head butt Brett.

When we got to Busch Gardens, early, I started the day off right by forgetting my military ID in the car.  So Brett ran back to get it while approximately a million people walked into the park.  Once we got inside, Brett ran to get on the new roller coaster before it was too crowded, and I took the kids into Sesame Street land.  The thing is, I was sweating already from just sitting in the heat.  And it turned out that Kennedy and Noah are still short enough that they couldn't really go on anything without an adult.  But I couldn't go on anything.  So they went on the one ride they could.

They seemed to have fun, but it was kind of a lame ride.  Then we went to the Grover roller coaster and walked right on.  Noah and I couldn't ride, so Kennedy was very brave to try and go on it herself.  She was SO excited!

Unfortunately, at this point, the staff got a weather warning and had to get everyone off the ride.  Kennedy was so sad.  Brett called and said he was coming back to meet us.  When he found us he said they were shutting down all the rides and outdoor shops/attractions.  He was next in line for the coaster when the weather warning hit, so he didn't even get to ride.  We went and saw a sub par 4D movie while we waited out the rain. 

Please excuse my pregnant-ness.  I was so swollen from then heat and humidity it isn't even funny.

Then we ate lunch.  Then there was another weather warning.  Finally we were able to get the kids on the rest of the rides in Sesame Street land.

Brett really wanted me to get a picture, but this thing was moving way too fast.

Noah got to meet Elmo and Big Bird.  Kennedy, who is terrified of these costumes, wouldn't get anywhere near them.

On our way to the Italy area, we stopped at the splash bridge for the water ride.  We got soaked!  Then we walked to the Italy area, stood in line for a ride only to find out that Kennedy was too short to go on.  We got in line for another one and guess what, weather warning again.  This time though, we could see the clouds.  We tried to wait it out in shops, but it was pouring, and thundering, and there was lightning everywhere.

Needless to say, after about an hour, we left.  Getting even more soaked in the process because we were on the complete opposite side of the park when the rain started.  We missed almost everything there, but we ended up having some fun anyway.  And I was able to get a picture of Noah's awesome hair after the splash bridge.