2009 in Review...

We actually had a fairly busy year.. looking back! Here's just a brief rundown of some of the highlights.



January
In January we had a New Year's party at the Boyds. It was Fondue & Fun! the kids played on the WII, they guys watched videos, and the girls scrapbooked. Everyone was happy! We also had a superbowl party here at the house. Everyone had those goofy 3D glasses on for the commercials. I have the cutest picture of ALL the kids on the love sac, but of course, I can't find it!! So bugged!!



February
Charley turned 40! I had to rub it in a little by having a huge surprise party for him. Well, it turns out it wasn't a huge surprise, but it was still a lot of fun! We rented out a room at the fitness center, and we probably had 50 or more there! We had pizza, cake, and then everyone enjoyed the facility swimming, racquetball, the fun zone, etc.

March
Charley's sister Heather, her husband Craig & their three kids moved in! Their house sold so quickly they needed a place to stay FAST! We had so much fun with them living here. I was really able to get to know the them and kids. Turns out they would be here three months, and the time flew by! They are now happily living around the corner, close enough we still see them often! this is a picture of all the kids on Easter. So fun to see all the easter baskets lined up on the piano!!

April
Nate had his first piano recital! He had only been taking piano for a few weeks, and he did awesome! He played two songs, and he sure looks sharp in a suit!!

May
We had so many birthday parties and celebrations to go to. But, unfortunately we also received the news that Charley's work would be filing for bankruptcy and he would be losing his job. This was so stressful, and it's hard to keep in mind that there's a reason for it. It would be some leaps of faith and some long months as Charley looks for a new job.

June
On the upside, in June we celebrated our first anniversary... IN HAWAII!! Charley had some airline vouchers and we have a time share, so the trip was pretty much paid for. (Otherwise, we would never have been able to get there). 4 short days, but so much fun. This is by far my most favorite vacation.

July
Nate starts 4th grade! Can't believe how fast he's growing up!! Holly also started 6th grade.. her last year of elementary school! Since they are on year round, their summer is cut a little short. Lucky for Nate though, it's only three short weeks until he goes on his first off track!

August
This was kind of another "down" month. Charley gets in a car accident in the Honda. Just something to add more stress, but it turns out ok. We are able to get it fixed quick enough to take our two fun road trips planned for September! On a brighter note, Lauren started HIGH school!! Can't believe how grown up she is! She loves to be social, so she's going to love it.

September
There were a couple weeks with LOTS of miles packed in. We traveled to Montana with Charley's family for Labor day weekend. I got to meet Charley's brother James & his family for the first time, and they are so much fun! After that long road trip, we rested one day and turned around and drove to Disney! This was another SHORT but sweet trip that we kind of lucked into. We were able to spend time with Charley's parents which is always fun.

October
Nate really wanted to play baseball, so we signed him up over in Taylorsville. It was half way between us and his friend Christian that wanted to be on the same team. It was so much fun to team coach and our boys (plus one girl) did awesome! Way to go cardinals!!




November
November is kind of a blur! LOL. I did 3 boutiques in November which is crazy busy! I am just getting back into them, and forgotten how much WORK they are! I loved every minute of it though. It also helped bring in extra income for the kids' christmas. Who knows how we would have managed otherwise??




December
Last but not least, December! Charley had his first overnight Christmas with the girls since the divorce. We had all three kids here christmas morning, and it was so fun! Definately different with more than one child opening gifts... but so much more enjoyable! Who would have thought that all three kids would be "calling us from their cell phones" at 6:30 AM to get us out of bed to see what Santa brought!!

Well, that's the year in a nutshell! Looking forward to a busy & brighter 2010~

One Decade

Wow, Nate hit double digits today! Time goes by so fast.

It seems like just yesterday I was bringing my baby home from the hospital.

Or going for our first trip to Kiddie Kandids. (He was 2 weeks old here)

Or teaching him to walk.

Or sending him off to kindergarten.

Or even watching him be baptized.

But as hard to believe as it may seem, Nate turned 10 today! He seems so young, but yet he seems so grown up. He's not your average kid. He definately thinks outside of the box. He doesn't want to be the traditional "transformer" for Halloween, he never eats sweets before he has something solid in his stomach, and he's always thinking of others before himself. He has always been a quick learner and very independent.

Nate has been through so much in his short 10 years, and I'm so proud of him. He's very smart, he loves school, and loves to read. His best subjects are math and reading. He is popular with all the neighborhood kids and loves to spend time with his friends. He's very sensitive, has a sweet heart, still loves to be tucked in at night, and thinks his mom is his favorite girl. I'm not looking forward to the day where he will be grossed out by hugging his mom, but for now, I just love and cherish the moment.

Happy birthday to my little boy... who is growing up right before my eyes.

Who'd a thunk?

That after all this time, these two trouble makers would end up together? We're trying to decide who looks more mischevious here... Charley with his "who me" look, or Sarah with her "innocent" smile! What do you think?

Is that hair??

Why yes it is! It's Charles with hair! This is a picture of the "Blackwood Boys" (minus James) at Travis's wedding. (Charley, Travis, Heath, Danne, Clint & Grandpa Blackwood.