ToT: 2012 Year in Review

ToT is back people.  Back and better than ever.  I hope I can commit to staying on schedule, or writing at all.  Things started to fall apart at the end of the year last year, but I'm back on the wagon.  The topic for this Tuesday is to write about our top 10 memories from 2012 and some of our hopes for 2013.  It's going to be hard to narrow things down to a top ten list.  I feel like our family was very blessed in 2012 with new experiences, exciting travel adventures, and milestones. I'm going to give it my best shot.

1. Walt Disney World Family vacation.  We were able to go to Walt Disney world in March of 2012. It was such a great trip.  The most amazing thing was seeing how truly magical this experience was for my kids and for me as a parent.  My mom was able to come with us, which really helped us out, but it also allowed her and I to share in an adventure we didn't get to take when I was growing up. 
2. Mediterranean Cruise: As part of my husband's job, we were able to go on a cruise that left from Barcelona and traveled along the Mediterranean to Italy and France.  The stops were Barcelona, Naples, Rome, Florence, Cannes, and Marseilles. This was the trip of a life time. I'm glad we had the alone time together.  I've written about it in this post.
3. Dance Class and Baseball.  My daughter started dance classes this past spring, and she loved it. The first time.  Unfortunately, at her age, there is only one set of classes available, so she had to take the same set of classes twice, and she did get a little bit bored with them the second time around.  She is asking to go back, and now that she's older, she can move into a different class . Yippee!  My son loves baseball. The past couple of springs and summers were filled with baseball.  All he wanted to do was to play baseball.  He even hit me square in the face and gave me a black eye, but we still played baseball.  It doesn't matter if it's backyard baseball or little league.  He just loves it.  He played two rounds of little league baseball. One was in the spring and then again in the fall.
4. Boating on the lake.  My family has always lived on lake Webster in North Webster, IN. Growing up, I would spend many a spring break and lots of time in the summer visiting my grandparents at the lake.  We would fish, go boating, and go tubing.  When my grandpa could no longer care for the speedboat, they sold it.  My family went quite a few years without a boat on the lake.  It's amazing how much of a difference that can make.  A few years ago, my father and stepmother moved up to North Webster to be closer to my grandparents and help them out. They purchased a speedboat this past summer.  It was such a heartwarming experience to be able to share some of the things that I loved about the lake with my dad and my kids.  It was nostalgic and new at the same time.
5.  Martha's Vineyard. We are so blessed to be able to visit this great spot once a year.  When I say visit, I mean for an extended period of time.  My in-laws have a home on the vineyard.  We spend close to a month there in the summer.  This year was a little bit different because we had to go a little bit earlier than usual due to school starting earlier. I absolutely love the island.  I can't explain it, but I just do.  My kids love it there, too.  My son attended a few days of the day camp program offered through the local museum.  It was so much fun to listen to him talk about all of the things he learned about the ocean.  Imagine, my little land locked kiddo giving me a lecture on lighthouses, pirate treasures, slipper shells and sea gulls. The weather is usually pretty nice there.  We can actually be outside instead of couped up in the house because it's too hot to be outdoors. It's also the one time of year my kids get to play with their cousins. They are all very close in age, and usually get along really well.
6. School. My son started kindergarten.  Boy was it a challenge.  He did not adjust well.  He is in a full day kindergarten program.  He was such a different kid for about the first month.  He was tired and cranky.  He threw temper tantrums.  I was at such a loss.  Getting him to even get on the school bus was a trial each and every day.  Finally, he adjusted to the new routine.  He loves it.  He is doing so well.  I can't believe all that he is learning.  It's amazing.  I swear he is doing math and reading that I was doing in first and second grade.  I am continuously astounded.  My daughter also started going to a mother's day out program.  I knew she needed some socialization with other children and some time away from mommy during the week.  She has done really well with this change.  She is so proud of herself each time she goes to "school."  The teachers always tell me she entertains them with her singing.
7. Columbus OH Marathon. I ran my first (and last) marathon this past October.  It was actually on my birthday.  I really enjoyed the training, up until the long runs started to climb past 15 miles.  Running the marathon was such an eye opening experience.  It really showed me how strong willed I can be.  I had to dig down very deep to finish the race. It truly was such an accomplishment, and probably one of the hardest things mentally and physically that I've ever done. I met my goal, which was to finish the race in under 5 hours.  My time was 4:30:55. I remember passing the half marathon finish line area, thinking to myself how easy it was to run 13 miles, and that I'm a half marathon runner at heart.  It was an amazing challenge, but not one I will soon strive for again.
8. Chopping down the Christmas Tree. So, when my husband reads this, he will probably shake his head and laugh.  I really did not want to chop down our own tree.  The day we went to pick out a tree was misty, gray, gloomy, cool, and just crummy.  We looked at the trees in the lot, which I will admit were not the best I've ever seen, but my husband didn't want any part of them.  So, much to my annoyance and grumbling, we climbed aboard Santa's tractor and rode down to the field where you can cut down your own tree.  This also happens to be the field where they grow the pumpkins for the fall.  So just picture in your head a muddy, wet, field filled with rotten pumpkins, and misshaped Christmas trees.  I mean, there is a reason why the pre-cut trees were sad.  The trees in the field were sad.  My kids were whining.  I had to carry the little one with her muddy boots and all.  Then we had to use a (when I say we, I mean my husband) saw and yardstick to measure a tree and cut it down.  This thing was so freakin' heavy, and all the while I kept saying, "Don't drop it or drag it.  I don't want rotten pumpkin and mud on this thing if we are going to put it in the house."  Finally, Santa came back with the tractor and we took the tree home.  Once we put it in the house, we couldn't stop laughing.  First, it was not as tall as we thought.  It wasn't really short, but just not as tall as we usually get.  Second, it was the fattest stinkin' tree you ever saw.  I have to admit, this made me love it even more.  I love how it filled the room, and how it gave us a story that we will always have.  One of the best things about that day was that I didn't have the camera.  So, instead of trying to take pictures to help us memorize the event, I actually got to help create a memory that will always be close to my heart.
9. Christmas. This past Christmas season was just special for me.  My kids are both old enough to really get the magic of Christmas.  I feel like we really tried as a family to not let the secular holiday overtake the religious focus of the season.  My son learned all about Advent in his Sunday school class. We lit the advent candles every Sunday, or if we weren't together as a family, we waited until we could light them together. We have a tradition of making coffee cake on Christmas morning, and this year we put birthday candles in the coffee cake to celebrate Jesus' birthday.  It was the start of a new tradition for us, and it was kind of neat to put the focus back on the true reason for the season.  Even though they had some illnesses, the kids still enjoyed Christmas day, and so did I.  It was also nice to have my family in town from Canada.  It was nice to be able to spend some time with them.
10. Sharing. This isn't any one particular event, but looking back through all of our photos, I think the one thing that comes to my mind as a good memory or memories are those times that my husband and I have shared things that we love or grew up loving with our kids.  Watching our kids bond with their family members, be it grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins, or aunts and uncles has also been a real treat.  I love the memories that we have created taking our kids to places that have meaning for us, such as Chicago, the Lake, or the Vineyard.  Some of the best memories were made here at home visiting with family or just being silly together.  We've started having movie nights when we all sit down as a family with a bowl of popcorn to watch a movie. I just love spending time together, watching the kids grow, loving each other, learning from each other, and just enjoying our life.

Okay, okay, I know it's supposed to be 10, but looking back through my photos, I can't believe I left out ELLEN! I had the fantastic, wonderific, awesome opportunity to go to the Ellen show this past Feb.  The show aired on Feb, 17th. The guests were Reese Witherspoon and Nathan Lane.  It was so much fun.  I went with my friend and neighbor, Mike.  We had a blast.  I can't even describe how excited I was to go, and how it met and surpassed all of my expectations.  Amazing.

Maybe I will save hopes for 2013 for tomorrow's post. These pics will be the "pics of the day," Check out the 2012 highlights from the other ToT ladies as well.