2017 in review
This year was the first year I did not do a Christmas letter with our card. I was feeling good about that decision when I had our cards made and ordered before December. However, after coming across some old Christmas cards of ours and enjoying reading about what our life looked like then, the guilt set in a bit and I knew it would be worth it to write a letter. And in this format, there are less word restrictions and limits on the number of pictures. I tried not to get too carried away, but I did. Here it is anyway. To the future me, enjoy a look back at 2017.
I have started and re-started this letter in an attempt to fight every urge of my scientific mind to organize and recap this blog in chronological order. Sequential seems to get long. However, we have to start somewhere, so we are starting at the beginning of the year. Which is the perfect place to start, as our winter was quite packed with travel and new adventures.
I was able to do a quick weekend getaway to Portland in mid-January and the city was a winter wonderland. I enjoyed it so much knowing that I got to leave and go back to streets that are never icy (not really even our windshields either) and temps decades above freezing.
In February, we drove as a family up to Portland for my grandfather's memorial. Mike was in an airplane on the way home from Taiwan when I found out my beloved Gung Gung had passed away. Days before my sister had cancelled her trip to see us during the February break because her baby was sick with RSV and I was still sad from that. Let me tell you, there is no room to try to have your own emotions as a "single" parent. You're trying to tell the kids some really tough news and their next comment is if you can make them a snack. I did eventually receive their sympathy, not trying to throw them under the bus, but it wasn't as immediate as I would have hoped. Thankfully, that February break was the following week and we were able to spend a week in Portland with my family, including Layla who we were supposed to be with anyway, and I was able to celebrate my grandfather and feel all of the emotions that I couldn't when I was home alone with the kids. It was very special.
The following weekends after getting home were packed. We went to Aptos for a church retreat and celebrated Calvin turning 7. We also gave the kids an adventure in the snow in Tahoe with the record amounts of snowfall that had happened. Mountains were such a part of my childhood (though I certainly did not appreciate them then) and getting to drive through the white landscape brought back vivid memories. The kids had too much fun!
In the summer, Mike took a 10 day trip to Japan and we thought that maybe not having to do the school rush/routine was going to be helpful to me doing it alone. I don't know what in the world we were thinking, but work trips in the summer are the opposite of easier. We are smart and logical people and somehow we really thought it was going to be easier. lololol. I, of course, managed without going completely insane. Just slightly crazy, no more than the kids though. Days after Mike got home, the kids finished up swim team and we headed up to the PNW for our annual visit.
We arrived in Seattle the day before the smoke from the Vancouver fires rolled in. Thankfully, it didn't ruin the Blue Angels show and all were happy campers. We would have liked to spend a couple more days in Seattle, but we were able to fit in a good number of friends along with lots of family time.
As you can see, plenty of our time in the NW involved water. In Seattle it was the lake and in Portland it was the river. The kids were so much more confident on the open water this year. Calvin even went out on a little swim with me one time.
In October, Mike let me getaway by myself a couple of times. The first was with some friends just outside of Monterey/Carmel. The 2nd was weeks later in Portland. I was spoiled by my family and it made me love and miss them even more.
Of course, the elephant in the room regarding trips is the one I haven't mentioned which was in May. Mike surprised me on a date night one night with an unexpected gift and a card that said we were leaving for Kauai in a couple short weeks. Talk about winning major points. One can't mention the word Kauai without us melting and reminiscing and reliving our vacay. Lush hikes, turquoise waters, turtles, mangoes fresh from the tree, guava kombucha, rainbow poke bowl, Haena beach, dolphins. Heaven on earth. The trip was once in a lifetime and inspired much for the rest of the year.
This brings me to a little about Mike this year. Aside from our Hawaii trip, he also did some traveling for work as I have mentioned. Taiwan/China in February and to Japan in May, July, and September. Of course this seems significant and it certainly is, but we knew this when he transitioned to his new role. He absolutely loves his new role and I can't even begin to explain how much better the day to day is. His travel is a sacrifice I have always voiced that I am willing to make.
As for other news for Mike, he bought his first brand brand new car just after Thanksgiving and is still learning the very crazy and fun features like keyless entry. (I am especially loving our Sirius XM trial!) We're still mourning the loss of his BMW and don't talk about it a ton. Let's just say that a Honda is not a BMW, in good ($$) and not so good (we were used to the luxury car!) ways.
He also has bought a number of large power tools recently. He made both of the girls' beds this year and one of them is complete with a Rifle Paper Co. floral canvas covered headboard. I am thankful that he is handy because I am not so fearless when it comes to power tools. He does all of the work with regards to wood for my shop.
Speaking of my shop, that is a perfect transition to me. I have slowly evolved my shop into a custom stamp carving business. That's what sells! I still faithfully do a calendar every year as that was the original inspiration for a shop. This year, I couldn't help but do a tropical theme after our trip to Hawaii. The flowers and foliage were basically screaming at me and I took hundreds of pictures during our stay. Late in the year I hit the 200 sale mark. For someone who does this purely for fun, I was proud of myself and surprised at the same time. I probably wouldn't have even noticed without Etsy giving me a notification about it. The fun is what keeps me going!
I continue to swim early in the morning 3 days a week with a masters team. For those who are unfamiliar with this term, it does not mean I have qualified for anything and/or become proficient at the strokes. The term is simply for those that are no longer of high school age and still want a team or program to be a part of. Swimmers of all ages and abilities swim with us and I have grown to really love the people I do this with. It really is a large part of my sanity. And to make it even better, this past fall we got a new swim coach and he has been kicking our butts in the very best way.
This is one of our functional art pieces we took home from Hawaii. Inside are some fresh eggs from one of the people I swim with. About once per week he'd hand over a dozen of these beauties. He told me he loved giving them to me imagining the delight of the children as they saw the different varieties that the hens would lay. I think it was equally that and the fact that he felt for me having to feed 4 hungry children at home. :)
Experimenting in the kitchen for me is a sure sign of Lindsay thriving. A new recipe means I have had the time and energy to read a magazine or blog or watch a food program, had the time and energy to gather the ingredients, and finally had the time and energy to make it. This is a lot of time and energy, and if there is something new on the table, then I am doing good. This doesn't mean the next day I am not taking a nap, but little steps mean really good things.
For my birthday, we had a large backyard BBQ and then the day of went up to SF to spot humpbacks under the Golden Gate. How cool is this?! Squeals of excitement...because yes, we saw 1 or 2. My excitement has rubbed off on Calvin who checks out books from the library about some sort of cool car and Orcas.
This brings me to Calvy. He turned 7 at a resort in Aptos with a bunch of friends and a pool party to boot. I still vividly remember the 3 year old Calvin we moved to California with. He is just so big and still so cute and still our sweet boy, so gentle and loving, calm and patient.
Unless he is playing a game or doing sports. He is super competitive and really doesn't like to lose. He is an active boy. Constantly wanting to play catch, kick the ball, play four square, etc. all day long. He comes inside at the end of the day limping from playing so hard. He started baseball and flag football this year and couldn't get enough. Throwing the ball around is one of our favorite things to do with him. That and watching him put together massive Lego structures and playing chess. He is quite good and will be any day now that he beats me fair and square!
He has also become quite the sports fan, really learning the positions, the best players, the plays, and the lingo! So it was very special for him when we surprised the 3 oldest kids with their first ever football game that happened to be a Seahawks game on New Year's Day this year. He talks about it most every game we watch on tv.
Calvin continues to be very family-oriented, enjoying his time at home when we are all together. Good-byes are still very hard as he gets so attached, especially when we visit family. Needless to say, starting school 2 days after getting home from our road trip to the NW was too hard of a transition. Poor Calvy was not feeling it. Joel on the other hand was ready for his first day!
Joel loves food. More specifically he has a sweet tooth. Carbs slathered in sugar...you have his undivided attention. In order to keep things going smoothly for him, he slurps down his daily smoothie. Preferably green, because that's his favorite color. He is a simple boy and we love that about him.
One afternoon, Joel found my graphing calculator and his mind was BLOWN. I can't even tell you how giddy, excited, and amazed he was that this machine could do calculations and come up with the correct answer. We entered equations for about an hour and this was his reaction every time. Teeheeheeheee teeheehee....
He also started swim team this summer and aside from refusing to swim for the old male coach, he had a ton of fun. Look at my tan swimmer babies!
Joel only liked to swim in Calvin's lane which was not where he should have been, but I didn't care as long as he was in the pool. Hannah as always was a great helper and encourager to him. I am so appreciative of my kids who always are looking out for each other. Speaking of Hannah, she ROCKED her summer season with some exciting races and big drops in time.
My Hannah girl turned 10 in November. Ten seemed like a big deal to me and so I did my best to make it a big deal for her. As the oldest of 4, she walks a fine line between doing big girl things and still having a 4 year old in the house that we often have to cater to (nap time being the biggest one). It's all she knows, but as her eyes are opened to the world her friends at school know, we also are having to make sure she gets to do things 10 year olds do. She also happens to be a busybody (not unlike her mother) and so keeping her busy can be challenging!
For her birthday we took her to first concert. We did the real deal. Our favorite band, Needtobreathe, was playing up in SF and we knew we had to take Hannah. She loved it and felt like a big girl for sure!!
I tried to convince her to be Sacajawea for Halloween this year, but that never materialized. Costume making might be on my resume, but let me be the first to tell you that I don't enjoy it! However, of the 3 Sacajaweas in 3rd grade, Hannah was looking original!
Hannah LOVES the beach and only after going every week this summer has she gotten "fine" with the drive. This was in Half Moon Bay, but we normally go to Santa Cruz and the drive over the mountains is a winding one. We have a rhythm for beach days now that makes me taking 4 kids totally fun. The kids all pack their own bags and Hannah has her own little setup that she does. Two towels, one of them is to lay her own stuff on far enough away from our blanket so no one gets sand on hers. It's pretty funny and pretty typical of this girl who knows what she wants and does what she needs to get it done.
I mentioned going to the beach every week during the summer and it was then that the kids really took to boogie boarding. Aside from Ava, who is still a bit small and not a strong enough swimmer for me to let her get out too far, my kids LOVE to boogie board and have gotten pretty good at it. The packing and unpacking isn't the funnest, but otherwise a trip to the ocean truly is a day at the beach.
This brings me to our baby, who is no longer a baby. Ava turned 4 year this year with an epic Moana party and her own personal touch, ice cream cones instead of cupcakes. She still talks about this piece of her party as if it was the greatest thing ever thought of. She also talks about how she is 4 now to everybody. Actually, she just talks a lot. She's confident, she is so likable, still so overly and wonderfully affectionate, and still a Mama's girl.
Only a couple of tries for her before she was up pedaling on a bike. Those striders have been so good for my kids and eliminated that middle training wheel step. She rode a lot on our morning walk to take Joel to the neighborhood school which was way better on my back than piggy back rides!
Another huge milestone for her this year and that was her becoming water safe. I had what I thought were big goals of jumping off the diving board independently by the end of the summer and she surpassed that by a long shot. Once she figured out the breathing she was on her own in no time. This, THIS, was a life changing moment. The pool has always been an experience that I was very hands on in. I still am, but I don't have to get wet every time for all of my kids to swim. While I don't always mind, some days it is nice to sit on a chair and watch! And this summer I could finally do such a thing!
Ava is currently napping about 50% off the time, but sometimes that means she falls asleep really randomly. Here we were watching the Apple Cup this year, my dad, sister, brother-in-law, and Layla along with our family crowded in one room. We were making California rolls and screaming and cheering and Ava was dead asleep in the same position she was in when she was watching. There is still little better than watching a sleeping child.
This brings us to a small bit about visitors. Of which it seems we had a lot!! Layla came twice this year, in May and for Thanksgiving, which was such a treat. She LOVES the beach and we love sharing it with her. She loves "the kids" and they love her. Just a whole lotta love going on!
Thanksgiving crew!
Mike's parents came while I went on the overnight field trip and for Mike and I's vacay to Hawaii. We are forever indebted to his parents for not only watching the kids, but for the fact that we don't have to worry about their well being while we are gone. It is such a gift! They also came for Hannah's 10th and Christmas this year.
My mom came in December to bring the kids their Christmas presents. We have been having remarkable weather and here we are playing in swim suits on the beach in December.
More visitors who we love and love our family. I haven't recapped everyone visit, but you could say that our house was consistently full.
When our house wasn't full, we did our own amount of adventuring and exploring. There really is so much to do and see around us and we tell the kids all of the time how lucky they are to have these experiences.
The picture on Christmas Day was our final family pic of 2017 and both this one and the one at the tree farm really hit me. Our kids are big! Hannah hardly fits in my lap and I barely crouched down to be at their level at the tree farm. Mike and I have been noticing and talking about how we have really turned a page. We are no longer slave to a nap schedule, our kids feed themselves breakfast and lunch often, and they really can entertain themselves for long periods of time. We are certainly enjoying this stage, where they are still so very dependent on us, but they are no longer as needy. We are in a good spot.
We are overwhelmed by the richness of our faith, family, friends, and fitness in 2017 and wish for it to only continue in 2018! We only hope the very same for all of you!
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