It’s now 2016!  Where did 2015 go?  I could write a long-winded, wordy explanation of why I haven’t been blogging – but I feel like that’s the opening paragraph of all of my blogs.  Suffice to say that we’re busy around here!  The kids are go-go-go all the time, and we want to stay a step ahead of them and enjoy every moment before it goes zooming by.  Our jobs are challenging and exciting, but also use a lot of our energy and brain space.  J and I are always walking the line of how much to give to our careers and how much keep back for our family (not to mention ourselves).

In 2015 we worked hard at trying to leave work at work.  It’s a challenge, but I feel like we do a pretty decent job.  Now home is a mile-a-minute of work too – there is food to be made (and planned for, and shopped for, and cleaned up), there is laundry to do (and fold and put away), there are children to bathe, bedtimes and wake-ups, dogs to walk, dog hair to vacuum, etc. etc. etc.  But beyond that, there are bellies to tickle, cheeks to kiss, spontaneous dance parties and sing-alongs, bugs to inspect, pictures to color and stories to read.  We can’t forget about the important things in life.

So here it is – an incomplete list of some of the important things that happened at the end of 2015.  In pictures, because no one reads this blog for the articles.

 We got a dog!  Izzy McPherson joined our family.  She’s a one-year-old Goldendoodle puppy.  She’s very, very sweet, a little bit feisty and is keeping us on our toes.  But she’s very patient with the kiddos and has been a lovely addition to the family.

 

Our girl is halfway through first grade.  She continues to LOVE it.  She is reading and writing constantly and is making some really good friends.  She loves to go to school each day, which is really all I can ask for in the first year of her school life.

Crazy hair day at school!

 

 

  Halloween 2015 was soggy, wet and really fun.  Grandpa and Grandma would have won the costume contest (if we had one).  I mean, really, my mom sewed a cape and my dad made a flux capacitor.  No one can compete with their dedication.  The kids especially appreciate it (even if they didn’t understand Grandpa’s costume).  We hosted a fairly large Halloween potluck party with our neighbors and friends.  It was supposed to be a quick dinner before trick-or-treating, but the weather conspired against us with a downpour.  So we hung out at our house before visiting the neighbors’ house.  It ended up being very low-key and fun.  We may skip trick-or-treating next year (just kidding…).

J celebrated “Movember” by shaving his beard into a “Franz Josef.”  It lasted for about a week…

 

Our girl lost her first teeth!  In two consecutive days, she lost her bottom two teeth!  The tooth fairy brought her a dollar for each tooth, and she was thrilled to tuck her loot into her piggy bank.

 

The sad news of 2015 is that we lost our beloved Nanny.  She deserves more than a mention in a blog post, more than her own post, and more than anything on a website.  She was the matriarch of a loving family and was an example to all of us how to have an open loving heart and sense of humor in every situation.  I’m so glad that the children had a chance to meet her.

 

 See ya 2015!