Christmas 2013 Letter

Yep, I know. I missed posts about Halloween AND Thanksgiving. Those will hopefully come! Ha! 

Here is the Christmas 2013 letter from us. Sorry there is no picture of our Christmas Card but we don't have a scanner!!

Merry Christmas!!

Family and Friends,

General: Emily is still teaching the 4 turning 5 year olds in church and loves it! She has also had the opportunity to sub for the organist a few times and has really enjoyed that! Tim is still the financial guy. Nothing too exciting there.

January: Nick turned 4 at the beginning of the month. He is getting to be so grown up. He still loves cars, trains, airplanes, transformers, etc. He loves to play with his brothers and his friends.

February/March: Tim’s younger brother and his wife had a little girl in February (niece #7). In March we headed to Utah for the baby’s blessing. We were able to spend time doing a few things. Emily went skiing for the 2^nd (kind of first real) time. Tim got to spend a few hours skiing on his own, while Emily took a class. They both had fun. On the way back home, we stopped in Moab, Utah and did a little off-roading. It wasn’t quite as exciting since Tim ended up going on his own for most of the experience. Jake was sick, so after a small adventure, he and Emily went back to the hotel. Zach has a queasy tummy, so he went back to the hotel and Nick wanted to play with Zach. Tim had as much fun as he could have by himself. We stopped in Durango on the way back to Arizona to ride a train from Durango to Silverton but that was cut short since we found out Jake had another ear infection and was puking. That marked the 3^rd ear infection in 1 ½ months.

Also in March Emily ran her first sanctioned ½ marathon. It was in Phoenix and after training all winter long, finished in a time of 2 hrs. 15 mins. Her goal was to finish around 2 hrs. 30 mins., so it was great! And she managed to finish about 10 mins. before the first marathoner came across, so that made her even more happy! And she ran into a couple friends she hadn’t seen in years.

April: Tim’s birthday came and the boys had a great time picking out presents on their own. Tim was a good sport and “enjoyed” all the gifts given to him. Jake had another ear infection. L

May: School ended for the summer and Zach was so happy! Jake had another ear infection. L It started getting old going to the doctor.

June: Jake turned 2! And he had an EAR INFECTION FREE MONTH!!! He loves to play with his good buddy Eli. He also loves to climb, get into everything and thinks he can do everything by himself. *sigh*. He also loves cars, trains, airplanes and especially motorcycles.

July: Zach turned 6! And he started 1^st grade. He loves school and loves to play. He is often found in his room playing cars, making explosion sounds and running around the house. He is becoming quite the reader and this year for Christmas tried to really think about what people wanted. It was a nice change.

August: Emily turned 29 again! And Tim and Emily celebrated their 9^th anniversary. Nothing special, just out to dinner, which is always fun with no kids! Emily’s younger sister had a baby girl and at the end of the month Emily headed to Omaha for the baby blessing and to spend time with family. It was a more exciting trip that originally planned. Emily’s mom had been helping at her sister’s when she fell down the stairs breaking her ankle in 3 places and dislocating it. It was still good to see all the family that was there and meet her new niece (niece #8).

September: Tim went to Utah to watch BYU play Texas AND WIN!!! He was able to see his brother and hang out and kind of relax. He had a great time. Tim’s sister had her 2^nd baby this month, another little girl. We now have a total of 9 nieces and no nephews. Someday we hope someone will finally have a boy! I guess until then Emily gets her girly fill by making cute blankets and buying clothes for all her new nieces. Zach and Nick started soccer this month and are enjoying it. Emily is coaching Nick’s team and is finding it fun, hilarious and enjoyable! The kids are great!

October: Tim’s parents came to visit. Tim and Emily were able to get away for a couple days and it was great! Then we all (Tim’s parents too) loaded up in the van and headed to Mexico. Tim’s sister lives there and we dropped his parents off at the border. It was an exciting trip as the car battery decided to die, so we had to get jumped 3 different times and drove down a 60+ mile long road one way COVERED with grasshoppers! Our car is still a little gross! After the grandparent drop off, we headed up to Albuquerque for the night. The next day we bought winter stuff for the boys and headed off to Durango for the train ride we missed in March. The Train goes from Durango to Silverton and most of the cars are from the early 1900’s, beautifully restored and kept up. It’s a steam engine. The first stop after the hotel was dinner at a steak place Tim had been to before. First thing Jake did was puke all over the table just after we ordered. Luckily it was just the once and we think it was due to the long drive and lots of junk food. The boys really enjoyed the train ride the next day. It was a bit cold in the morning but by the time we got to Silverton the weather had warmed up and the boys had a great time eating lunch by the river and throwing rocks in. Tim traveled to Portland for work and was able to see his parents and Emily’s parents.

November: Tim traveled for work 3 of the 4 weeks this month. It was a tiring and exhausting month for Emily (for Tim too). Thankfully, he was able to be home for the week of Thanksgiving and that was great. His sister and her family came for Thanksgiving and it was fun to meet the newest niece. Emily was able to go shopping on Black Friday and have a pleasant experience. She hit Jo-Ann Fabrics and saved over $200 on flannel and a few other things. Enough fabric to last a year! Jake broke his 4 ½ month streak of no ear infections with another one. Luckily we caught it quickly and it was not a “problem”. Tim put up all the Christmas decorations on Black Friday with the “help” of the boys.

December: Tim started this month by traveling to Wisconsin. He told Emily, “I’ve always wanted to go to Wisconsin … in the summer!” Luckily he was there before the big storm came through and was able to make it home safely! We have really just been enjoying the season and the cooler weather (finally). We are so grateful for this time of year, to really concentrate on our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is wonderful to have such great reminders of all he did for us.  We hope you will remember the Savior and feel His love as you celebrate Christmas this year!

Merry Christmas!

Tim, Emily, Zach, Nick, Jake and Baby “Buzz” or “Holly” (We find out in January).