Sunday, January 5, 2014

2013 Year In Review

2013 was certainly a great year for us. While we spent half the year with the challenge of Noah being on night shift, we had a lot of highlights......
Our first family trip to Disney World
Tanner playing Beast, dancing with Princess Belle, and kissing Pocahontas 
 
Izzy's Cinderella makeover and then meeting Cinderella in her castle

Our First Cruise

Teacher of the Year
    Noah's 30th Birthday
    Starting Kindergarten and Preschool
     
    10 years together
     
    My student becoming a National DECA Officer
    • Noah's promotion to supervisor
    • Completing residency 
    • Passing Ph.D. Comprehensive exams
    2014......you have a lot to live up to!!!

    Saturday, January 4, 2014

    Christmas Break

    Noah's parents, his cousin, and his grandmother were in town for a long weekend after Christmas. We had a great time hanging out with them and catching up. We love our time with them and the kids always have a blast! On Saturday we went to the Casemate Museum at Ft Monroe in Hampton. It was pretty cool and everyone found something interesting. We played a lot of cards, ate yummy food, watched movies, and went bowling on the rainy Sunday. Overall it was a great visit :)



    A Very Merry Christmas

    This Christmas was spent at home celebrating with friends and family. We were able to relax and be productive so I felt great at the end of winter break! The only downfall this year was the yucky cold we all managed to pass around....but we fought through it and enjoyed all of our time together!! We built gingerbread houses with Gigi and Auntie, celebrated Christmas day with Grandma, Granddaddy, Aunt Amy, Uncle Ray, Uncle Matt, Rowan, Gigi and Auntie Ann, and then Mimi, Papa and Noah's cousin Gaige came to visit the day after Christmas! We had the best time catching up with everyone and the kids are so lucky to have so many wonderful people in their lives. We got lots of great gifts and Santa was certainly generous this year :)





    Monday, December 9, 2013

    Very Very Thankful!

    Our Thanksgiving found us following our normally traditions once again this year...something I just love. I love that we are giving our children traditions that they will be able to look forward to and share with their children. This year we added some new things as well. We spent Thanksgiving watching the parade and packing up for "the vacation house" also known as the timeshare in Williamsburg. We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house with my brother Matthew and Auntie Ann and then we all jumped in the car and headed to Williamsburg to share the long weekend together and relax. 


    We got some Black Friday shopping in, enjoyed the outlets, played lots of card games, did arts and crafts, and visited the Yankee Candle factory store where we saw Santa! We had a great time!!



    This Thanksgiving weekend led up to my oral exams for my Ph.D. This was the final part of my comprehensive exams which is the end of the degree and means you are done with course work. Once you complete the exams you are declared a Ph.D. candidate and are allowed to work on your dissertation. Everyone failed the exams in the spring and I struggled through the written so I was just a little stressed out :) The oral exams were very difficult and I had to send in more information but I ended up passing so I am very relieved to have this hurdle behind me!

    The kids had a blast and I think we all enjoyed spending time together. We look forward to this weekend every year and I'm sure we will enjoy it for years to come!

    Friday, November 1, 2013

    Halloween Festivities

    This Halloween fell right in the middle of my comprehensive exams (otherwise known as a week of hell) so we did not get to participate in a lot of activities, but we did have a great time trick or treating. We went to Aunt Amy's house to trick or treat with Rowan and some of Rowan's other cousins in their new neighborhood. The kids all got along great and I had a fantastic time getting away from my desk (i.e. the dining room table covered with papers and textbooks) and exploring the kingdom with my prince and princess!!

    Cinderella and Prince Charming this year...how many more times will I get away with matching costumes? Some say this was my last year but we will see :)
    Outtakes! I think this picture shows Tanner's personality perfectly!!
    My three favorite kiddos! Next year we may have to work on a group theme but I'm a big fan of little Nemo
    Tanner was on a mission and not waiting for anyone, but Izabel was nice and patient helping Rowan most of the night!


    Friday, October 25, 2013

    A Lot Can Change in 10 Years!

    Today marks 10 years since Noah and I have been together - and known each other since we started dating almost immediately. It's amazing to look back and see how much our lives have changed. We're lived in four places together, have been through school and different jobs and now have a home and two beautiful children. We are blessed beyond belief and even through all the ups and downs we are incredibly thankful for the last 10 years and we are looking forward to the next 10!!



    Wednesday, October 16, 2013

    Izzy Bizzy!

    Izzy Bizzy is now 6 years old! I know everyone says this and I say it every year but how do I have a 6 year old??? Izzy is certainly an energetic, smart, fun but also serious, independent, sassy, wonderful little girl. She can be very stubborn and at times that is extremely frustrating for her always sometimes patient parents....but I love that she knows who she is and what she is and is not willing to do and will stick to it. This is going to be tough on us for the next 12 years but a wonderful trait for her to have growing up and as an adult. I love that she cannot be persuaded by her friends to do things she doesn't want to do. 


    She fights with her brother plenty but at school the only complaint her teacher has is that Izzy talks A LOT! We've been working on ideas to keep her engaged, but she comes by the talking naturally so I'm thinking this will continue to be a problem. She's breezing through her work right now and takes her homework very seriously. I've actually had to take homework away a couple times as punishment. She refuses to wait until later in the week to do her homework and has to do every bit of it the first night of the week...I don't know who she got this lack of procrastination from but it certainly wasn't me!! She's also becoming quite a strong reader. She knows all her sight words and has started to read to me and Tanner at night instead of me reading to them! I love listening to her and seeing her so proud of herself at the end!


    Right now she is in love with horses and wants a horse so badly. We decided a riding lesson would be a good place to start and we've set that up for later this month. We'll see how that goes and then decide if we want to set up more for her. She is still going strong in gymnastics and working hard to perfect her cartwheel and splits. She practices all the time and can now do a front flip on the trampoline. She also loves her baby dolls and I think a trip to the American Girl Doll store is going to have to happen soon!!!


    Her favorite food is most definitely spaghetti and mac and cheese - the girl loves her carbs! She can still wear a size 3T or 4T in most shirts and dresses but has to wear leggings and boots so you can't tell how short her pants are :) Her favorite color is still pink and she wants to be a teacher (I'm so proud) when she grows up. Puzzles and princesses are still a favorite in our house. She loves Sophia the First. She also likes to play her leapster explorer or apps on the iPad. She is an overall amazing little girl with such an amazing spirit. I love being her mommy and I'm so thankful to the little that made me a mommy. We couldn't love her more!!