Well, it’s truly hard to believe that 2011 is coming to a close. It has been a wild and crazy year just like so many others, but we are definitely blessed beyond belief!
This year Travis and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! 10 YEARS! Wow…what a milestone! So much has happened in those 10 years. We took a trip (by ourselves!!!!) to Charleston, SC for a week or so. My Mom and Dad and Krista and Isaiah took care of our kids for that week. For that we are so grateful! They all had such a blast and I think my family enjoyed some quality time with the kids. I know they would say that now at least maybe not back in April when we picked them up! haha! 
We had a wonderful trip to the beach. The condo we stayed in was on the beach in a little beach town. The view was gorgeous, the weather was gorgeous and it was a blessing to get away from reality for a few days with just the two of us!
Zane finished out 1st grade with a bang. He loved his school year and his 1st grade teacher. It was a great experience for him and we are just thrilled that he loves school as much as he does. He turned 7 in May. During the summer he went to a basketball camp where his second grade teacher was the coach. That definitely made this momma a little more confident about the upcoming school year! He also took swimming lessons. and passed again. He loved summer, but was excited to go back to school in August. He’s now a big second grader! He has a young male teacher this year and loves him so much. The whole classroom is a sports theme and his teacher lets them do fun things like listen to Disney radio while they do their work! Again, we are so thrilled at how much he loves school and how well he is doing considering he is probably the youngest in his class or close to it. He loves reading and math. His teacher had only good things to say about him at his conferences which is not surprising to us at all. He is a sweetheart, a great helper at home and a wonderful big brother.
Tate finished out preschool in May. He loved preschool last year and made lots of nice friends. After much thought and prayer, we decided to let Tater do a 3rd year of preschool so he could be 6 when he started Kindergarten. He actually was so indifferent about doing more preschool and is such a homebody that I think he kind of liked having a year to hang out and spend most of his time at home. He turned 6 in June and continues to be such a little fire cracker! He’s so funny, and witty and smart that sometimes he catches Travis and I off guard and we find ourselves speechless. He did tennis this summer and passed his swimming lessons as well. He learned to ride his bike this summer in about 2 tries once he decided he wanted to take his training wheels off. After a fun summer, Tate was ready to start Kindergarten. We hoped and PRAYED that he got the right teacher who could appreciate him and his strong personality. And God answered! Tate’s teacher is wonderful and Tate loves Kindergarten. He is doing really well and we are very happy that he enjoys school so much! He is still a fire cracker like I said, but is sweet to the core and really is a great big brother even though he gets annoyed at times!! ha!
In August our baby girls turned 3! It’s hard to believe! They have grown into such sweet little girls…not so much toddlers anymore. They still spend all their time at home with me which I love! They loved all of our trips to the pool and the park this summer and are so easy to take almost anywhere now. Nadia still has a strong personality and likes everything her way. She loves when her sister is preoccupied with something else so she can play by herself or pick which tv show to watch. She prefers Travis and I over anyone and often the other three kids will be off playing and she is hanging out with us while we make dinner or talk. Travis always jokes that she thinks I am her BFF and I am pretty sure that is the way it is in her head. Her and I are BFFs and Kinzey can be Daddy’s favorite! haha! She is incredibly vocal and has no trouble letting us know what she thinks about any situation. We often see hear her talking to her stuffed animals and singing made up songs. She and Kinzey spend hours a day playing tea party and babies and just playing pretend. Nadia is so sweet and funny and talks like she is about 12. She tends to keep everyone in line including the adults and dogs. We have to be careful how we talk because she will repeat almost anything. She definitely keeps us on our toes!
Kinzey is probably the most easy going of all of our kids. She is independent and quiet and entertains herself really well. She is a total Daddy’s girl and will not be told she can’t do something the boys are doing. She follows them around the house and if ANYONE is going outside, she will get herself dressed and will be out the door with them in no time. She is as sweet as they come and has such a fun sense of humor. She laughs at herself all the time which is just adorable! Another thing that is so sweet about her is that she tends to think out loud. When she goes to say something often times she’ll start saying something and then stop and giggle and then say, No not…. and then tell what she was meaning to say. She is a great calm presence at our house which is usually much needed!! It’s been a lot of fun to see her personality develop as she has grown! Kinzey loves to play with her sister and brothers or sit with Daddy in his chair.
Travis continues to stay busy with work and his hobbies.Last January he started guitar lessons from a local teacher. He enjoyed it through the year and has learned a lot. This year he went turkey hunting, to the boundary waters, and on a deer hunting trip. He also enjoys spending time playing video games with the boys and loving on the girls. He keeps busy with the normally daily stuff around the house like feeding kids and putting them to bed along with cleaning and all those other fun things that parents and adults do!
This was a big year for me as I earned my Master’s of Education from SDSU here in Brookings. It was sure a great relief to walk through the graduation line and to get my diploma in the mail. It was about 4 years of hard work that paid off. I am still home with the girls looking for some online teaching work or hopefully will land an adjunct job here soon. I am not really in a huge rush as I know these years with young children at home go so fast! I have loved the extra time I have home with the girls since the boys are both in school full time. I am not sure they love it as much as I do though as I hear often, “is it time to get the boys now?” It was definitely an adjustment for the boys to be gone all day. This fall I started doing a Bible study with some mom’s I have met through my kids. It has been such a fun time getting to know these ladies and to spend some time studying God’s word with them.
Last week we had a wonderful Christmas at home with our four little ones. I think Christmas this yer was the most fun it has been since having four kids. There is something so magical about 3 year olds and celebrating anything. The kids got leopard geckos along with other fun toys from us. So far the consensus is that the geckos are the best gift! That was all thanks to their Dad! haha!
This year was stuffed FULL of God’s blessing in our lives. I just barely skimmed the surface here with some updates over the last year. We are so thankful for the memories we have of 2011 and now we will look forward to what God has in store for us during 2012!
