Well it’s that time again!! Our Christmas cards
are in the mail so you all have hopefully gotten them or will be receiving them
in the next few days, just in time for the wonderful holiday that celebrates
our Christ’s birth! This year has passed so fast, it seems like yesterday we
were writing our Christmas card for last year. This year has been so much fun,
and once again we are so very thankful for the blessings God has given us and
most of all to have family and friends like you!
This year has been the year of the travels! Here
are some highlights:
ü
We traveled to Oklahoma City
in June to see Brett’s youngest brother (Ryan) get married to the lovely
Meredith. We are looking forward to watching Brett’s last single brother Scott marry
Amy Seed this spring. Ari and I also visited
family and friends in the Midwest for a few weeks.
ü
Brett did his Navy reserve
time in Hawaii and I flew out there for a week and checked Hawaii off my bucket
list. It was wonderful to have some time with just Brett and I in a place that
he knew so well. Some of you may not have known, but Brett was stationed in
Hawaii when he was active duty Navy. We went paddle boarding with friends (Mike
and Brenna, Hawaii residents), saw the Dole pineapple plantation, snorkeled at
Sharks Cove, visited Waikiki and spent a lot of time on the North Shore (my
favorite).
ü
Brett’s WHOLE family (except
Scott who is currently on deployment) visited for Thanksgiving, so we had 19
people here! It was a crazy fun time J and so neat to be
able to spend time with family that lives far away. Ari really enjoyed playing
with her cousins (Michael 2 ½ and Nathan 3 ½) every day.
ü
We ran as a family in a 5k at
the Vista Strawberry Festival. Ok, Ari
rode in the baby stroller that Brett pushed.
I ran as well and we all enjoyed lots of strawberries at the finish
line.
ü
Brett’s parents Bing and
Sherrie visited in March and we went to Disneyland for 3 days!
ü
We went to our first Angels
game, Ari did REALLY well after we got out the IPad! J After about two
pitches she said that she was all done, but we managed to stick in out until
almost the very end.
Ariella: The cutest is always first in the
letter right? Ari (as we call her almost always) is defiantly that! We have
watched our baby girl grow through the toddler to preschool age this year and
it is QUITE a transition! Ari is blossoming into such a wonderful little girl,
she loves to draw, read books (more pretending at this point), play pretend,
and “help” with everything. You can tell she’s her happiest when she starts
humming or singing or a combination of the both J. Ari started
attending preschool this year and she LOVES it! She attends a Montessori preschool,
which is a little different than a regular school (here’s a link about
Montessori), and she has made so many little friends. Ari turned 3 and we
celebrated with a pirate themed party, complete with a dancing singing pirate! Papi (my dad Ron) visited and was a HUGE help with the party (2nd year in a row!), he even showed Ari how to "treasure hunt" aka metal detect at the beach. She enjoyed it so much that she still breaks out in a pirate song pretty often.
Thankfully Ari has been blessed with wonderful health and we have managed to
stay out of the hospital. She’s been
growing so fast we cant seem to keep up. We post lots of pictures and stories
on Facebook on my page so keep checking there for updates and news throughout
the year.
Michelle: This year had been a WHIRLWIND (have
I said that once? Twice?) I have been so blessed with amazing Mommy friends who
have become like family to me, I am always amazed at how God can grow and
develop relationships, refining you as you grow. I am still working as a stay
at home Mom, taking a few pictures on the side, and doing my blogging (www.justamomma.com), really I call those
hobbies because I don’t even have time for that! It is such a joy to be a stay
at home Mom and be there with Ari and watch her grow and learn. I was very
motivated to get back in shape this year, FINALLY get rid of that baby weight
(after 3 years I guessed it wasn’t coming off) and did a 12 week body makeover
where I worked out 5-6 times a week and ate extremely healthy, it paid off and
I felt healthier and in better shape than I have since …… well… ever!
Brett: This summer Brett was selected for
promotion to the rank of O-4, Lieutenant Commander, and will officially pin on
the new rank this upcoming February. For his two weeks of active duty service, Brett
went to Pearl Harbor, HI to support the world’s largest multinational naval
exercise RIMPAC 2012,
which is also highlighted in the movie
Battleship. In September, Brett qualified as a Shift Technical Advisor, another
watch station, at San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station. He still continues to
enjoy his job as a Senior Reactor Operator and being in charge of one of the
big white domes for his twelve-hour shifts.
