2010 Recap

2010 was a year full of adventure for our family. Since all our family lives out of state I pointed them here to my little corner of the internet for an update on what we've been up to the past year. For all my blog friends, feel free to read along too!

Last winter was of record proportions here in Baltimore! We got 80 inches of snow. That may not seem like a lot but typical snowfall is 18 inches and almost all of it came in 3 separate blizzards, 2 of them back to back in February. The entire state shut down for over a week, including the kids school and my work. It was more snow than I had even seen in Denver since 2006. I thought by moving to Maryland we would be blessed with a shorter, easier winter, last year that wasn't the case.

After we defrosted from all that snow, March brought an exciting event for our family, my sister Andrea was married on March 25, 2010. Her wedding took place at Disneyland and we took a 10 day vacation to California. We spent 3 days exploring Disneyland and California Adventure and then ended our trip visiting friends and exploring San Diego. It truly was a great trip and the wedding was perfect!

April held Cub Scout activities and the spring Cub Scout camping trip at Patapsco State Park. We got to hike with the boys and do all the normal camping stuff. It was cold but fun.

In May Phoenix had her first dance recital. She takes dance class through the county recreation program and learned both ballet and tap. She was completely adorable during her performance.

We spent Memorial Day weekend camping and rafting with a big group of friends at Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania. That was the first time I had been white water rafting in 4 years and Nate was even the captain of our boat. It was quite the adventure!

As most of you know, I work as a nanny to twin 1 year old girls. Their parents are teachers so I get summers off to spend with my kids. We had a lot of fun this summer but also spent a lot of time relaxing and the kids just playing with their friends from the neighborhood. We are blessed to live in a neighborhood full of kids.

4th of July is always a big deal in our town. They host a huge parade and fireworks show and we host an annual BBQ (or cookout like they call it here). It was nice to spend the day with friends and to celebrate.

I started running in March and ran my first race in July, the Pikesville 5K. It was so amazing to set your mind to a goal you don't think is attainable and to stick with it. Running is something I never thought I'd like but truly love. It really is a passion of mine now.

The kids and I also took a road trip in July. Nate didn't have any more time off work after our California trip in March and upcoming Colorado trip so he stayed home. Despite being managing 3 kids alone and being the only driver, the road trip was a blast! We started out driving about 3 hours south to Colonial Williamsburg. Williamsburg, VA was the colonial capitol of the U.S. and is set up like a living museum. Almost all the buildings have been restored and all the people that work there are in costume and in character. It was so cool to see that part of American history come to life. After we left Williamsburg we headed to Willmington, NC to visit with my friend from Colorado and her kids who live in North Carolina now. We spent lots of time talking and catching up and spent an entire day at the beach. My kids can't seem to get enough of the sun and sand. After we left Wilmington we headed to my dad's house north of Charlotte, NC and spent a few nights with him. We visited and spent a day at this really cool park with all these amusement type rides. It was nice to be able to visit with my dad. The drive back from my dad's to our house was 7 hours straight but we survived. My kids are great travelers and do really well for long car rides and long plane rides. I am really blessed.

August brought us to Colorado for a whirlwind visit with our family and friends. We packed in a lot of fun activities and got to see all the people who are most special to us. We celebrated Nate's birthday while we were there by touring the New Belgium Brewery which was a lot of fun! We were also able to celebrate our friends Chris and April's wedding while we were there, which was really special to us.

September brought a new school year and all the busyness that brings along. Both the girls played soccer again this fall and did great. Phoenix dance started back up at the end of September too.

In November Nate ran his very first race, a 5k, and did fabulous! I am so proud of him for running with me and sticking with it. The following week I ran my first ever 10k and set two personal records, 1 longest distance run in a race, and fastest mile pace in a race. I love the group I run with.

This was our first Thanksgiving without extended family but it turned out really nice. We went over to the house of some of our couple friends, Jodi and Brett, and had a nice low-key Thanksgiving celebration. Brennan took his first solo flight to Colorado to visit with his grandma on his biological dad's side.

Brennan just started basketball last week and is having a lot of fun so far. He is a pretty tall kid so basketball seems like the perfect sport for him.

To finish out the year, Nate and I are taking a ski trip to Colorado without kids and my mom is coming to visit for two weeks over Christmas.

2010 was a busy but fun year for our family and full of adventure, just how we like it!

I hope 2011 brings lots of joy and blessings to you and your family as well.