Monday, January 7, 2013

2012 In Review


WOW It’s been a long time! Well I haven’t blogged since February of 2012 so a lot has happened. I am going to break it down by month and try to keep it short.

March: This year for Spring Break we went to the indoor waterpark in Burlington, IA with my brother and his family. It was ok but it would have been even better if we would have went during the summer as most of the water slides and bigger things are part of the outside waterpark. Overall it was a good trip.  Trevor and I also made a trip to Washington D.C. It was mainly for my work with the association but we also made time for us to tour the city. It was quite a trip.  We got to see lots of D.C. and really enjoyed the sites that we toured.

April: Bryce turned 14 and got his driver’s permit. It has been a little rough teaching him how to drive. I don’t have the patience for this so there has been some yelling. Trevor does pretty well with teaching him so I am letting him do all that. Bryce is wanting to take drivers education but I am making him wait until he has all “C’s” or above. I think this is a good compromise as if it really was my choice it would be “B’s”.

I also received another promotion in April with Conlin. I was offered the position of Director of Community Associations. It has had a few bumps but overall I love my position and am glad that I took this promotion.

May: Lexi turned 12 and boy is her body changing. She is making me feel old because she is the youngest but she is pre teen. I often wonder how it will be when the kids are grown and moved out of the house. While I know this is still a few years away; I have a feeling this time is going to go by fast since they are growing up and don’t need us as much anymore. I also took another trip to D.C. for a work conference. While it was great seeing the city again, I also missed being at home.

June: I took a trip to Boston for a work conference. I had never been to this city before so it was nice to tour and taste some of the different foods. It was also nice to have some colleagues there but also some that I consider friends.  Bryce also took his school trip to D.C. He talked about this for weeks. He had such an amazing experience and I can’t wait until Lexi gets to take a school trip. (which is next year)

July, August, and September: We spent most of the summer either at Baseball and Softball games or at Adventureland. I would say that we had a busy summer but made a lot of memories. I went to Chicago for work and enjoyed my time alone. The kids started back to school in August. I still can’t believe Bryce is in High School. That really makes me feel old.

October: My brother and Jenny got married on October 13th. It was a wonderful day. It didn’t rain during the ceremony, which I would say almost everyone was worried about. They both looked absolutely stunning. Jenny has always been family but now it is official.

November: I turned 34 this year. I would have to say that I feel like I have accomplished quite a bit for my age. I went to Indianapolis for a conference with the association and also graduated from the National Lyceum Program. Trevor came over to see my graduation and also attend the installation dinner for National Apartment Association.  One thing that I have wanted to do and would at least like to look into at some point in 2013 is my Masters Degree in Business. We spent Thanksgiving at our house and had some family out to enjoy the feast.

December: Trevor turned 36 this year. He took his business FT this year and it has been a great success. I know that he will continue to grow and it will be a success in 2013. We decided as a family that we would spend Christmas Eve with the Benton side of the family. I have to say that I am so proud of myself for how I handled everything. It was a little awkward but nothing I couldn’t handle. We spent Christmas Day at home and had some family out. I absolutely love Bella “new MacBook Pro”. She is orange right now but she is also blue when I decide to change her skin. LOL. The kids got iPad’s from Santa and I swear they sleep with them. We decided to take a trip to TN on December 28th and came back on January 1st. We spent time in Knoxville, Pigeon Forge and Memphis. We went through the Smokey Mountains, which was my favorite part of the trip. We spent some time in Hayesville, NC, which is 2 hours from Knoxville visiting Trevor’s cousin Nathan and his GF Karen. It was very relaxing spending time in the mountains but I have to say that having no Internet or phone was different. We spent New Year’s Eve Day at the Liberty Bowl. Now most of you know that we are Hawkeye fans but since we were visiting family I made a decision to purchase the tickets in advance and support Iowa State. I mean there is nothing wrong with that since both teams are from Iowa. It was fun but I have to say I was not very fond of the rain. We spent the evening in our hotel room just relaxing and eating some goodies. I really tried to stay up until Midnight but I didn’t make it. I fell asleep shortly after 11. I didn’t get stuck in 2012 like Lexi said I would but one could wish. 2013 has not started out too great but I am going to make it the best that I can and keep moving forward.