2011 Year in Review

2011 comes to a quiet, uneventful end, and 2012 begins beautiful weather and good friends. On new year's eve I went to bed at 8:30 or 9 like I usually do, and Tyler recorded a dj set. On new year's day we met the Dendy's at the beach and shared mimosa's. The boys (that's right all 4 boys between us) played in the sand and we all soaked up the glorious sun. It was 74 and sunny, and so very clear. A day at the beach always reminds us just how good we've got it.

2011 in review:

• Terje started preschool at Mira Costa's Child Development Center...and loves it! He started out going just 2 half days, and now he goes 3 half days. His best friends are Isaac, Ben, Colin, JR, and Dylan, Anabel and Hana.
  

• We enjoyed sledding in Idyllwild, days at the science center and balboa park, hiking with Encinitas Explorers, hiking as a family, trips to Legoland, and playing at the beach.

• Terje's obsession with spinning things is still burning brightly as he studies windmills, tornados, gears, pinwheels, turntables, blenders...and on and on and on...

• We enjoyed gardening, and eating lettuces, carrots, cauliflower, onions, strawberries, blackberries, grapes, tomatoes and peppers from our little back yard garden. We learned about composting with worms, meticulously removing slugs and snails, and about "good soil". Tyler is quite the farmer.
  

• We discovered the "Paleo Diet" and are enjoying the benefits of eating healthy. For example, more sustained energy, less aches and pains, fitting into our pants, fewer colds (yes that's right, we each only had 2 colds all year, one severe (before paleo) and one very mild (after). We eat so many great meals at home that eating out is often a disappointment. I am still trying to convince Tyler of going "all the way", and we do let Terje off the hook quite frequently, but I think we can all agree that we're better off if we at least keep wheat/gluten, vegetable oils, and refined sugars, and other processed junk out of the house.
• We got a grill! Makes cooking and cleaning so much easier!
  
• Rhees was born! and we all love him so much! What a sweet, happy, and round addition to our family. He's growing so fast, we wish we could slow down time. However at 6 months old he's an absolute treat to have around. Beginning to sit up, eating solids, sucking his thumbs, and toes! Babbling and blowing raspberries, giggling...good times! (and he just cut his first tooth!)
• Tyler and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and spent a weekend at Palomar mt. Just the two of us...and Rhees.
  
• I've become politically/economically aware, and a passionate supporter of Ron Paul. Even campaigning in a small way. I discovered the libertarian party and have been reading ravenously from this viewpoint as it is just singing to me right now.
  
• Tyler has been recognized at work for his achievements, and has finally, finally launched his product that he'd been working on for a year and a half. (I'm hoping that means he might be getting home from work just a wee bit earlier in the evenings for awhile..)
  
• Tyler just took a week off from work. I don't know that he has EVER done that before! and we didn't do a darn thing...it's was just like a super long weekend with a few holidays thrown in. However, it was nice for us all to be together as a family, just relaxing and playing, especially after all the long hours he'd been working. We really don't want him to go back to work.

So while it was a not so prosperous year (thanks to inflation), nor a glamorous or stylish year (for us) either, we are truly, truly blessed and fortunate to have all that we have, and to be safe, healthy, free to learn and choose what we want to do, and to have support and camaraderie of family friends. It's all these things that really make us feel rich.

In 2012, we look forward to watching Rhees grow (the next 6 months are full of major changes! so fun!), teaching Terje to read and begin kindergarten, improving our parenting skills so that Terje (our independent thinker) can flourish, pursuing our health/active goals, being outdoors more, and surviving this collapsing economy! Gonna be a wild ride hope to see you soon!