Budgeting: This last year, budgeting has been a major focus for us. While we have never been big spenders, we have learned that without a plan- money gets lost. It has been a lot of work but having a budget has been so freeing. We know what we can use where, remove the guess work & even have goals. I'm proud of us!!
Comic-con: Another great blessing is that for the 3rd year in a row, Matt got to go to Comic Con in San Diego. This year, his friend Damon joined him. To watch their experience, check this out.
Countdown to Christmas: Each year, I have a lot of fun creating our own Advent Calendar to countdown to Christmas. I do this because our kids will only be kids once. Also- at least in my life- special doesn't happen until you purpose it!
Family in Bakersfield: We had some fun changes in our life in July. Becky's sister & nephew, Jenn & Peyton, made a move from NYC to Bakersfield. From July to December, they stayed in our home sharing in life and responsibilities. We love having family around to come to the girls sports games, to help out if we're in a crunch and just enjoy meals with.
Father's Day: Matt is such a great dad! He really shines in his role! In July, we had fun celebrating him. We enjoyed a game of mini golf. Then afterwards, enjoyed a steak dinner. We appreciate all you do to provide for, protect and lead us!
Featured Alumni: Too fun, in October, Matt was the featured alumni in the dotComm Newsletter, the newsletter for all Northwestern College communications students and alumni. I just so enjoyed Matt's answers and think I have the funniest, most creative husband. I just enjoy him! To read the full newsletter, click here.
First Grade: Zoe started 1st grade this fall! Her teacher is wonderful, we couldn't be happier. Zoe is doing well in school, especially in her comprehension in reading. It's been fun to see her learning go to the next level this year.
Green Smoothies & Pain: You might know, I've had some neurological issues with an unknown cause since the birth of our first baby in 2005. And while we have journeyed trying to get it figured out, no source or reason has been found. So this year, I decided since I didn't know what it was i would take a proactive approprach to at least feel like I was working on it! Green smoothies! Many weeks, I will grab a smoothie recipe, head to the farmers market and bland my greens for the week. I do seem to have more energy and my attitude is definitely better... I am happy to continue to do Green Smoothies and feeling like I'm doing something. greensmoothierevolution.com.
Home Owners 1 Year: February marked one year that we've been homeowners! We have had fun calculating and thinking through our different spaces and figure out how to best use them. We've painted the interior of the house-- yellow sunshine. Matt has a Dojo workout space; I have a Mom Cave craft room. We've had a huge learning curve this first year and have made so improvements and changes. We are loving being home owners!
Kern County Fair: It has become a yearly tradition for us to attend the Kern County Fair. Usually Matt has to work for the radio station at the fair, so the girls & I meet him. The highlights this year was the rides & petting zoo. Sophia had the time of her life on the boat ride. She was so happy and almost broke into a tantrum when she was the ride was over. But the petting zoo was even better! We spent awhile in there petting deer, llamas, goats, and a donkey... there was even a kangaroo!! The girls would've stayed there forever. My highlight was the kettle corn, mm! And Matt was excited to try the deep fried Kool-Aid... his review: not amazing, but worth trying!Library: In July, we finally got Zoe her first library card. What took us so long, we do not know! We have had a blast this year going to the library and picking out books. Zoe's favorite is non-fiction learning books. Matt & Zoe both love the room where you can buy used books and magazines. It's been a great family tradition, est. 2011!
Long Beach: Matt & I had a great little getaway in September to Long Beach! We were blessed with a free hotel room & decided to use it to celebrate our anniversary. There was a good mix of the practical (we spent half the day on Saturday at a financial workshop), discovery (found a great $1 bookstore) & adventure (rode a tandem bike!!). Extra thanks to Jenn who spent time with our babes so we could get refreshed. It was lovely! Minivan & Midwest Trip: One of the huge blessings of our year was our trip to the Midwest. Here, we saw our families and were able to pick up our new-to-us minivan. (We were gifted with a minivan and after 9 years as a one-car family, we have two cars. And just in time, too, as we are expecting our 3rd baby.) We spent time in both Wisconsin and North Dakota right over the 4th of July. We were so glad to have been able to visit our families!
Nine Years Together, Zero Regrets: August 31 marked our 9 year anniversary. Each year, we try to do something fun to celebrate our time together because life and people call for celebration! We collaborated on some fun lists together, but each posted slightly different ones on our facebook profiles. Here you can see our lists.
One Big Happy Family: Zoe had her first school musical this October. Since our families couldn't come, we made this video to share. Check it out! Her speaking part made me cry!
Planning a Celebration: We have been having fun planning and looking forward to our 10th anniversary this coming August 2012. We are doing some fun things-- for instance, we rented a castle & booked one of our favorite artists for a concert all in California's central coast wine country. It's 1/2 year off, and we're getting ready to celebrate!
Pumpkins & Pinterest: We had a lot of fun with our pumpkins this year. Zoe used a kitty stencil, Sophia painted, Matt used yoda accessories and I carved a P & drilled holes. We love the fall! And this fall was a little more "pinteresting", too because of a website called pinterest. There are tons of ideas to view and pin. This fall, I had so much researching different ideas and that's where we got many of the ideas for pumpkins. I highly recommend it-- and find us on pinterest!Remote Control: One of the fun highlights from this year are the remote control vehicles that Grampy found for us. First, he sent Matt & Zoe two trucks. They had a blast with them & made this video. And this Christmas, Grampy gave them an awesome helicopter, too. They made a video for that, too-- Helicopter Rescue. Such a great adventure.
Saga Continues: We found out in late June our saga continues as we are expecting our 3rd child, due in early February. We have had fun along the way, from announcing the baby to not announcing the gender, accepted name suggestions, brainstorming names we wouldn't go with, then finally announcing the gender. It's been fun! Now we wait until February, only 4 weeks or so out.Snails & Perspectives: Sophia has grown a lot in the last year! Physically, she has strated running and jumping and her language and social skills have progressed amazingly. She went from a vocab of under 50 words to now speaking in full sentences. She was sad at first when Zoe went to school this fall, but has enjoyed her days at home 1:1 with mom. Plus she enjoys the rides to & fro looking for school buses.
Sonsurf VBS: Zoe went to VBS in July and had SUCH a fabulous time. St. John's really does a great job teaching the kids about Jesus & they make it really fun. Each day has a different theme like: Wacky Hair, Sunglasses, Hats & Water. VBS has been an highlight for Zoe the past two summers. Surely we will continue the tradition. Love it!
Turning 30, Becky's Right of Passage: Although I wasn't excited to turn 30, Matt blew my mind with the celebration. He actually got many of my loved ones (from present times & past) to make a video to wish me happy birthday. It was such a special birthday and the great way to mark the start of a new decade. I am SO SO SO SO thankful for all the love in my life & simple ways people encouragement and touch my heart! So many birthday blessings, but the greatest of all is the people in my life. Read my birthday tribute here & watch my gift.Week of Broken Teeth: On New Years Eve, Zoe fell off the bed while playing. This kind of thing happens all the time, but this time fell straight on her front teeth!! It was a teary, bloody mess. We had to wait 3 days to see a dentist and thankfully, there was no permanent damage to her teeth. Our bodies are so cool- they actually eventually healed themselves. The funny part of this whole story was the morning of zoe's appointment, I was getting Sophia up and saw her smile looked funny. Upon closer inspection, I see her two top front teeth were chipped! Although, Falls & trips happen regularly with young ones, I have no idea when or how this happened! Thankfully we had no repeats of this day anymore in 2011.
Winter Garden: In Southern California, the growing season is different than what we were used to growing up in the midwest. There are two growing seasons here, summer and winter. This is our first year trying a winter garden. We planted a few root crops: carrot, beats & garlic. We also planted sweet peas, romaine lettuce and broccoli. Wish us luck! We're hoping for lots of yummy veggies soon. Work: We moved out to California for Matt's job in September of '07. Four years later, we continue to be thankful for this wonderful job. He serves as the Afternoon Drive On-Air Host. To hear him, you can tune in locally (88.3) or online from 2-6 p.m. PST. He is also serving as the Production Direction and produces most of the on-air spots. And Matt's rock & hip hop show, Level 6, is now playing across the country in several cities-- including Minneapolis! I have been working for our church, Life Journey, as the Director of Creativity & Communition since August of 2008. It is a good fit for my gifts & my life's season. I especially love the creative work I get to do & using my gifts to help communication organize & keep people informed. We have also both been working together doing some freelancing, mostly copy writing & audio comedy bits through Explosure Creative.
Zoe's Broadcasting Premiere: We had nothing to do with this, but it sure made us laugh! Enjoy Zoe's unsolicitated broadcasting premiere.
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