HAPPY 2010!

2009 was one amazing year. We have been blessed with so many fun exciting changes in our lives, new traditions and happy memories. I'm happy to have completed my New Year's resolution by keeping up with my blog. I absolutley love doing it and look forward to blogging another year.


Here is a quick recap of 2009...


In February we met a very special person, Vic! For those of you who follow my Blog, you know who he is. Our Realtor! Adam and I had been talking about being able to get out of our tiny little townhome and move our family to a house of our own. Vic made this all possible for us. He spent hours and days and weekends with us, showing us multiple properties at a time. After a LONG wait we closed on our house in Farmington on June 3rd. A 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom split. We spent the first 3 days painting the whole entire upstairs. After living in apartments and townhouses for 5 years, we wanted something other than white walls in our lives, so we went all out, painting our living room orange, kitchen green and dining area yellow. The girls picked HOT PINK for their room. With the help of our wonderful family and friends we were moved in and settled in the first week. We could not thank you all enough. A very special thank you to my Mom and Dad and Grandpa Dick for your generous gifts in making the purchase our home possible.


We settled into the neighborhood immediately. We are SO grateful for our wonderful neighbors and new friends. Our kids have tons of new playmates and there is even a little girl that will be going to kindergarten with Alexa. Lillian is the youngest in the neighboorhood, but she keeps right up with the big kids. She learned how to ride her scooter pretty quickly. Alexa even learned how to ride her bike without training wheels. We were all very surprised at how quickly she caught on. We are so proud of her. She definitley learned this year that, 'practice makes perfect'.


We spent many hours BBQ'ing, hanging out in the back yard, playing horseshoes, entertaining family and friends and enjoying having our own space.


As promised to Alexa when we moved into our own house with a yard, we surprised the girls with an early birthday present. A Puppy! We welcomed Chip into our home in August. He is a miniature daschund and was only about 4 lbs when we got him. The girls adore him and Adam and I have grown to love him, too. He's almost completely potty trained, but still has to sleep in his kennel at night.


We got him a few days before going up to our cabin for a long weekend vacation. It made for a stressful few days rather than relaxing, but we still enjoyed our time there. We took the girls on a few boat rides, visited the Cheif Wononga statue, went to an auction, the flee market and the candy store. Alexa made a necklace that said her name at the bead shop as a souvenier of our vacation. We went for walks and had a bonfire. It was nice to be 'just us' for once. We look forward to another week vacation at the cabin in 2010. It's my favorite place in the world and I'm happy to be able to share special times there with my family.


Some other highlights of the year include, taking the girls to their first Vikings football game in the dome, Twin's games, Alexa and I having a bout of strep throat (not exactly a highlight, I guess), having a big benefit garage sale for a sick child Alexa and Lillian know from school, watching Alexa dance on the BIG stage for her dance recital, Lillian learning to talk, Lillian moving up to the older toddler room and the girls' conferences. We had a big Birthday celebration for the girls at our house, Alexa turned the BIG 5 and Lillian, 2. They had over 20 friends come to celebrate with them. We had a big pinata and lots of family and friends join us. Alexa had her kindergarten screening exam and scored a perfect score. She is so excited to start kindergarten next fall in Farmington. Alexa took swimming lessons at the city pool, learned how to ride her bike without training wheels, pump her legs on the swings and tie her shoes. We celebrated our first Christmas at our new house, a few weeks before with my family and during Christmas with Adam's family. It brought a huge smile to my face having everyone fit around our dinner table. Adam and I were able to surprise the girls with a dance studio in our basement for Christmas. With the help of our neighbor, Dave, we had our guest bedroom decked out with a gigantic mirror and stage.


Family:
My dad got a job working as the manager of the Tipsinah Mounds golf course in Elbow Lake, despite his punk voice, which is getting better, by the way. Adam's mom took a trip to Europe in the summer and another trip to Washington D.C. this winter. Grandpa Dick was the Grand Marshall in the Flekkefest parade and turned 90 years old this year. Grandma Katie retired from teaching for over 30 years and Grandpa Carroll, after a year of up and down medical problems, feels well enough to help friends on their farm. My mom continues helping families with her various charity works, knitting, sewing and crocheting for the sick or those in need. Adam's sister Andrea continues her studies in Duluth, becoming the face of UMD. She is in various oraganizations and absolutley loves it there. My brother, Tiny, switched his major this year to elementry education and is already putting hours in the classroom. He continues to date the love of his life, Courtney Vogel from Morris, who we consider part of the family. My brother, Ben, flew for the first time to California to help his boss with the bees. He was a beekeeper in the summer and now is back in Minneapolis, driving zamboni at Parade Ice Arena, making friends with the MN Wild. My brother Geoff and his family live in Moorhead with their 2 kids, AJ and Joey. Joey turned 1 this year. Adam's brother, Benny, proposed to his girlfriend Amanda the week before Christmas. She will join our family in June of 2010. Their wedding will be in Albert Lea. Adam is Benny's best man, I'm one of Amanda's bridesmaids and Alexa and Lillian are 2 of the 3 flower girls. We congratulate them and look forward to celebrating their marriage.
We are saddened still of the loss of both mine and Adam's grandma's. Grandma Louise and Grandma Cruz are still talked about in our house each and every day. We miss them dearly and know that they are watching over us, blessing us with their love. We love you both! :)
We welcomed a new addition to the family in October, Samuel Chhin. Adam's cousin Tuppance and her husband Eurn have a new bouncing baby boy. Brother Zach is a proud big brother. We have yet to meet Sam, but we look forward to in 2010.


We also look forward to the births of our friends babies in 2010. Aric and Crista Attig are expecting a baby girl any day now and Derek and Amber Schewe are expecting their second child in July. We wish you all the love, joy and excitment that babies bring.


Adam and I are so blessed to have had such a wonderful year. We have never been more in love and happy with our lives. We have the 2 most beautiful girls in the world and cherish every single moment with them. They are the light of our lives and the twinkles in our eyes. We look forward to watching them grow in 2010, entering new phases and stages in their lives. Alexa is still my little drama queen and Lillian our class clown. They are so similar, yet so different.


Alexa will say goodbye to preschool at All Stars Monetssori and hello to Akin Road elementry. My baby is off to kindergarten and my therapy sessions begin.


Lillian will be going to school without a diaper starting right away after New Year's break. We wish her lots of luck and want her to know we're proud of her. She will start to 'visit' the preschool room this fall.


We hope to spend another week up at our cabin on Eagle Lake this summer. Adam is going to try his hand at catering a wedding in August. We look forward to many visits to our families and them coming to visit us. I'm also planning a 'Cousin's weekend' up at the cabin with all my cousins. We also hope to take the girls on a few camping trips.


It's been a tough year for a lot of people. The economy was worse than terrible, the craziness of celebrity deaths and the Swine flu (H1N1). We are very fortunate to have good health and good jobs. We hope things pick up in 2010. 2009 seemed to be a whirlwind year, always moving and on the go. We hope to slow things down in 2010 and enjoy life.


CHEERS to a brand new year of happiness, laughter and love. GOD BLESS!


HAPPY 2010! :)




My New Year's Resolutions for 2010:


1.) Continue my blog.
2.) Cook more - be more creative and try different things. Eat Healthy!
3.) Take more pictures and keep them organized. AND use our video camera more.
4.) Scrapbook!
5.) Slow down and enjoy life to it's fullest.

This weekend I'll be working on a BIG slideshow of pictures from 2009!