Bonnie & Neal:
This year has been full of some major events and then again sometimes just the same old stuff.
I will let the kids write about their own lives, but for Neal and I, thankfully, we just keep on going.
I got to begin my year by meeting up with Shauna in Guatemala where she was attending school to learn Spanish. We were able to spend some time together and travel just a little. I was impressed with her ability to converse with the people. It was a great experience. I came home to a newly decorated bedroom, thanks to Breanna for working so hard on that and involving everyone else in her efforts. I appreciated that so much.
In March, Breanna, Alaina and I headed to New Hampshire to be with Shauna when she and Matt had their first baby. That was a great experience. Zoey is a sweetheart. It was so nice of Matt and Shauna to let us be there with them for that amazing event. Jacob and his girlfriend Leeann came up from Washington DC to see them before we headed home and Neal and Josh came as well. There is nothing like a new baby to bring everyone together.
Our next major event was preparing for the wedding of Jessica to Jake Hansen. They were married on July 15th. Once again the whole family came together to celebrate.
Neal and I were able to get in another cruise this year. Back to the Bahamas. We don't really care where we go as long as we can enjoy some pampering and time in the sun. My parents were able to go with us as well as Neal's Mom. His Dad is in the hospital so it was nice that Genelle could join us.
Neal still works for Diebold, mostly from home lately. He is going to be starting school at the University of Utah for another Masters degree. This time in Finance. He starts in January and will be going 2 nights a week.
I am still working at the airport for Delta Airlines. I work as little as possible. I enjoy it and feel blessed to have the opportunities we have as well as having met some amazing people.
We wish you the best this holiday season and always. We are always willing to share our home if anyone needs a place to stay while in Utah. We would love to see old friends (or young friends) if you are ever out our way.
Ryan & Shannon:
We've had an eventful year here in Northern California. Ryan is still working for Intuit and was recently promoted to a new role within the Finance department. His hours are pretty long and grueling, but he's still found time to pick up a new skate boarding hobby and has gotten to the beach a few times to catch some waves. Shannon is still working in the Special Education department at a local high school and loves it. She keeps up our family blog and is working on miscellaneous projects for our home. We celebrated our sixth anniversary in May by going on a vacation to Cancun, Mexico in August. We were also able to take a trip to see both of our families this summer, which is always a highlight for us. Our biggest news is that we have started our adoption paperwork and plan on being approved in January of this coming year. We have an adoption website, found here, and as always, you can keep updated on our adventures via our family blog.
Jonathan:
Kyle:
2011 has been one of the best years of my life, thanks to my family my friends and my support helping me view the world in a whole new light. I can now see the silver lining.
I'm hopefully going to be starting the electrician program so i can invent an idea I've been thinking about. Electricity really interests me so i would be super stoked to be more knowledgeable about one of the most unknown and feared forces of nature. I am going to live everyday as the first day of the rest of my life and see how far it can take me.
Shauna and Matt:
This year has been the most wonderful year yet because on April 3rd our beautiful little girl Zoey Capri Maylin joined our family. She has brought us more joy than we could have ever imagined! With every little "first" comes new excitement, and we are so excited to share her first Christmas with her. We are still in New Hampshire and just moved in to a beautiful home that we are renting and New England is starting to feel a little bit more like home. Since we arrived here last summer we've been able to travel to, spent time in, and gone on some fun adventures in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. We also had a nice vacation in Hawaii in February! Matt continues to work as the administrator at a local nursing home and enjoys doing that. Shauna loves being a stay at home mom and being able to soak up every minute with cute, little Zoey. We can't wait to see what this next year brings. Merry Christmas!
Jacob:
Jacob sprinted to the finish of his delta flight benefits this year, traveling through parts of Oceania, South America and the Mediterranean before April hit. He continued traveling state-side throughout the rest of the year and worked another season for the road-cycling tour company, Backroads, this time mostly between Maine and the Tetons/Yellowstone area. Jacob made a long awaited move to the San Francisco bay area this fall and is closing out the year applying to Law School! He is currently dating a lovely young lady named Leeann. She is a beautiful, sweet, and caring ray of sunshine and she and Jacob are pretty perfect together.
Breanna, Chase & Alaina:
This past year we have had so much fun watching Alaina do all of her "firsts." We have taken her to hockey games, Real soccer games, and we played in the pool a lot last summer. We have also taken her on trips to Hawaii, California, Lake Powell, and Idaho. I was also able to take her traveling around the United States visiting Ryan and Shannon in California, Shauna, Matt and Zoey in New Hampshire and also Jake and Leann in Washington DC. She is such a good traveler! Chase has been wowing everyone at work with his knowledge and hard work and he is just finishing his first semester back at school. He is working towards a computer science degree and is enjoying his new-found knowledge. As for me, I just finished up my second semester back at school and i am working towards a degree in social work. I have the whole month of December off and i am loving every minute of it. I am starting to get a taste of what a stay-at-home mom feels like and i think want to change my degree choice because staying home with Alaina and seeing her stinkin' cute face everyday all day...well... I could get used to that! Alaina is.... well I could go on and on but she is fabulous! She is very smart and loves to explore! She is very independent and every time we go to a store she wants to be set down and she walks all over waving to anyone that she can get to look at her. She LOVES attention! She is our life and our reason for everything and we just can't get enough of her.
Love Breanna, Chase, and Alaina
Jessica & Jake:
Jess and Jake were married in the Bountiful, LDS temple this past July and have been loving the married life together. They are both currently in school; Jess at UVU and Jake at BYU and are keeping themselves busy with homework, family events, and date nights.
Josh:
We wish you and yours the merriest of holiday seasons!
What an amazing family!
ReplyDelete