2010 in Review

This got a lot longer than I thought it would. It's also a lot longer than it probably should be since all of this is already documented. It's also going to really disjointed. Oh well. 

2010 was the fastest year I have ever experienced. Seriously where did it go? We were blessed with health but not enough wealth LOL! Of course our health and safety is what is really important.

In 2010 I fell deeper in love with my husband than ever before.

We continued our tradition of completely over doing and over decorating for even the smallest of holidays. 

We reaffirmed the fact that you can take the girl out of California but you can't take California out of the girl. I just feel better and happier when I am there. 

In April I discovered that maybe it didn't matter what coast I was on as long as I was on a coast and not in a land locked state. I fell head over heals in love with New England. I would even go so far as to say that I was born to live on the east coast. (Of course I am making this declaration after only being there for a week in the spring time) Now I just have to wait for that dream of mine to come true. At least I know where I want to live when I grow up. 

My son made me feel like a superhero for making him this silly cake for his 9th birthday. 

We explored more of Utah than we ever have before. We found Maddox where the peach pie is to die for. 

We discovered the beauty of Bear Lake

Went to the falls on the Provo River

Had the best burger in Utah in Kamas at High Mountain Drug. 

Finally got both kids up to the waterfall near our house. 

Emma really grew up this year. She graduated from grade school.

Reluctantly went to girls camp and ended up having one of the best weeks of her life.

She started junior high

 and then turned 12.

She got her first cell phone and became a texting machine.

 We tried taking the kids on a city vacation

and saw amazing and wonderful things but...

quickly realized that they are happier just playing in the sand and water of Lake Michigan. 

However shopping in a big city was pretty cool. 

We experienced snow during the last week of school. 

Then played in the sprinklers just a couple of days later. 

I got be part of a stake youth conference which was amazing. I can't wait until my kids are old enough to go.

I gave in to a new addiction.

So did Andrew.

Spent more money on home improvement than travel. As much as I've enjoyed the changes I think I would rather ditch the house and travel more.

Tried many new recipes. Some delicious, others not so much. 

 We chased Tillamook around Utah and then partied when we realized more of their products (some of our favorites) were now available. 

We introduced grandma Fern to photobooth

We cultured the kids a little more than they maybe wanted to be thanks to Paul's humanities class and my love for musicals. 

We grew a fairly successful garden.

Made many trips up to the canyon, some more successful than others. This one was obviously a fail.

I had to say goodbye to a dear friend. Rees we miss you.

I got to go where most people never get to go. Thanks again Julia. 

We continued some of our favorite family traditions like going to the pumpkin patch. 

I had fun dressing everyone for Halloween. 

We got to welcome two new family members thanks to Mere & Matt and Tom & Katie.

 Had a fun family filled Thanksgiving in St. George.

The kids and I got season passes to Lagoon where Andrew still dominates at this game.

Worked my butt off to make the Christmas season memorable and had a great time doing it. 

Experienced my first freezing fog. It was too cool. 

Rang in 2011 in SLC at Eve. 

 In 2011

Andrew will enter the double digits

Paul and I will celebrate 15 years of marriage

I will be closer to 40 than 30

Emma will become a teenager

Shhh, don’t tell but I am thinking of doing project 365 again. So far I haven’t missed a day ; )

It may be the year I go back to work : ( but I'm not sure. I feel almost ready. I want a different house and this is the only way that will happen. In reality though it still might not be enough. 

Whether I'm working or not I'm looking forward to all the new possibilities and adventures that lay ahead in 2011. 

Resolutions to come but the list is going to be smaller this year.  

1-1-11

What do you do when New Year's Eve is suppose to be the coldest night of the year? Go to an outdoor party of course! 

 

Paul and I dropped off the kids with grandma and grandpa and headed to Salt Lake City for Eve. This was our second year going. We were excited to be there but not excited about the forecast. After much deliberation we decided to start the night with dinner at the Blue Iguana. We loved it! I have been a big fan of Red Iguana for a long time but after going blue I may never go red again. 

Look at the cute cactus glasses. The salsa was really good plus they give you A LOT. We didn't even make it through the whole bowl. The service was super fast too. I mean super, super fast. 

Check out the enchiladas. I think I will be looking for excuses to go back to Salt Lake. By the time we finished dinner the party was started. There were bands and as if the cold wasn't bad enough there was snow. 

We decided to see what was going on indoors. The grand ballroom in the Salt Palace was full of...balls. And kids, tons and tons of kids. We didn't stay long. There was an unfortunate accident with a giant ball that was coming straight for Paul and I. It also involved a little boy that bounced off of said ball, and well, we were pretty much the cause of it so we thought it was best to leave, quickly. Ooops. 

We went to check our Eve Air. It was awesome. We got our swag and then went back up to our room to drop it off and thaw. 

We caught the train and headed over to a comedy club where they do improv. It was hilarious. We went last year and had a blast them too. It was the same actors and similar material but still totally fun. I kept myself occupied while we were waiting for it to start by playing with my camera. 

When we came out it was still snowing.

The plan was to catch the train again and go to the planetarium where they were doing laser U2 and laser Pink Floyd INDOORS but everyone had the same idea. Every show was sold out. So we stood in the snow waiting for our train to head back to Eve Air and our hotel.

We watched some more of the snowboarding and then decided we needed to warm up again.

Do I look cold? I was cold! When we got back to our room I got to take off several layers so you could actually see my cheap but cute sparkly party shirt I bought at Forever 21 just for this occasion. 

We got ice for the grape juice and ate some M&M's and beef jerky. Aren't we classy?

We headed downstairs for some Starbucks. Their peppermint hot chocolate was amazing. Paul got a caramel hot chocolate that was good too. We also go the last peppermint brownie which I inhaled. Yum!

We  met a really nice couple and talked to them for a long time by the fire in the lobby. A little after 11:00 pm we decided it was time to go back out. We started off indoors. We went back to the ballroom where there were less kids but way more people. I got to meet Field Moseley from channel 2 news. I've always thought he was way cute so Paul suggested I get a picture with him. Don't we make a nice couple? 

Outdoors we found some ice sculptures. I told Paul this is the size of diamond I need next ; )

We sat in an ice chair. 

Just being silly so we didn't think about the fact that we were slowly freezing to death.

There was a dump truck made into a praying mantis. ? I can't explain. I won't even try.

The ski jump was right by where the firework were to go off so we stayed there the rest of the night. Luckily we were near a heater at this point. 

The next thing we know it's midnight. It's a new year! We made it through another year. 2010 was fine, not as good as 2009 but we have a lot to be thankful for. I am anxious to see what 2011 has in store. 

Want to see how cold it was? 5. It was 5. Do you know how cold 5 is? It's cold. It took me a really long time to warm up. It was funny because it was just my thighs that were cold. Everything else was double layered and warm but my thighs were icy cold for at least an hour. 

We woke up at 10:30 am to crystal blue skies outside our window. 

We got showered, ordered room service and had to be out of the room by noon. 

Overall we had a really great time but just incase I forgot to mention it, it was cold. I'm excited for 2011!