Dear 2009,

Dear 2009,

It is time for your letter.
You might remember, I wrote a letter to 2008 last New Year's Eve.
Now this year has come to an end, so here you go!

You have been a really great year!
Kevin and I were talking today about how we feel so blessed because 2009 was a good year for us even though it was a hard year for so many people.
This year was the end of a decade & it also marked the end of my 20's and the beginning of my life as a thirty-something (that still kind of freaks me out!)

I started this decade as a clueless 20 year old who was a junior in college.
I ended this decade as a 30 year old, wife, mom of 2 beautiful girls, homeowner, college graduate & tenured teacher.
It has been an amazing decade, the best of my life for sure. I am kind of sad to see it end, but I am excited to see what the next decade holds in store for me & my family.

Here are some of the highlights of our year month by month!

January:
Kate's 2nd Birthday Party
February:
Wine tasting on Valentine's Day with Reid & Kelly
March:
Taking the girls to the city with my mom
April:
Kevin passing hisGeneral Comp Test for Real Estate Appraisal
(didn't blog about it, but it was a HUGE accomplishment & big hurdle for his career and it meant no more studying & more family time!
May:
My 30th Birthday!
June:
Getting my new camera
July:
Lake Tahoe
August:
Potty Training Kate
September:
Claire turning 1
October:
Halloween & Trick or Treating
November:
MKL Designs, my little side business of photography & designing Christmas cards!
{I made over 50 Christmas Cards this year. Amazing!}
December:
Being a part of Project 320, going to So Cal & seeing how God worked in big ways!
Of course these were just some of the highlights of the year and there were tons of day to day things that I loved about 2009...
getting more involved in our church,
weekly playdates with Becky, Maddie & Samuel,
the challenges of teaching 1 more class,
going on fun trips with kids (Tahoe 4 times, Pebble Beach, & our staycation)
and without kids (to Florida & Vegas),
seeing Kate become more independent,
and
watching Claire morph from a baby to a toddler.
Most of Claire's "firsts" were in 2009 (teeth, crawling, walking, etc)

2009 has been a year where God has shown me His love, grace and faithfulness over and over and over again!

So, thanks for the memories 2009 & thanks for being a fun year & a wonderful end to a great decade.

You will be missed, but I look forward to see what 2010 has in store!

Let it Snow!

For the past few years we have headed up to Tahoe for a few days between Christmas & New Years to rest & relax!
I LOVE going to Tahoe. Have I mentioned it is my Happy Place?
I had so much fun taking pictures of the girls in the snow.
And, all of the pictures in this post are SOOC (straight off the camera)
I didn't do ANY editing to them!
The girls got new snow jackets & hats for Christmas:
It is nice to get away for a few days to hang out & enjoy the beautiful Tahoe scenery.
We were there for 4 days & spent most of it in our pj's hanging out or playing in the snow!
Kate loved making snow angels.....

Eating the snow off her gloves...

Having a snowball fight with Daddy...

And making a snowman....
(the snow was so light & fluffy, so our snowman looks like "Jabba the Hut")

Kate named him "Frosty"

After playing in the snow, you need hot coco to warm up!

I LOVE snow & wish it snowed where we lived. I am glad Tahoe is less than 3 hours away so we get away for a few days & enjoy a "real" winter every once in a while.

Relaxing & playing with blocks by the fire while it snowed outside!
(it snowed about 6 inches while we were there)

Some of our good friends were also up in Tahoe at the same time as us & have a place down the street from us. And, our girls are about the same ages, so we all met up to go sledding!
Jackie & Beka:
Kate LOVED sledding. She preferred to go down the hill by herself!
All ready to go....
Holding on tight...
Weeee!!!

Getting some speed...

And, crashing at the bottom!
Part of sledding is having to hike back up the hill with your sled. Kate didn't mind that part either!

Dan, Jackie, Beka & Kira:

Kate & Beka hiking up the hill:

I would have loved to hear their conversation....

Looking serious before the ride....

Racing to the bottom!

Kate, Kira & Claire taking a sledding break:
Kira & Claire (9 months apart)

Kevin took the girls on a double sled ride:

Then, Kate wanted to pull Claire around in the the baby sled:

Kate was so proud of herself:

Claire enjoyed it also...

Kate then taught Claire how to walk in the snow
(with snow boots that were too big)

Beka was getting cold!

Sweet Kira!

We probably hiked this hill over 30 times...

Proof I was there!

Me & my favorite little girls!

They would have stayed outside in the snow all day long if we let them!

Tired & zoned out on the couch after a fun day of playing in the snow:
It was a great little trip up to Lake Tahoe.
Usually when we travel they dont sleep well, but this time, they were AWESOME & both slept through the night!
I wish we could have stayed longer, but we like to leave before the New Year's crowd invades Tahoe! Plus, my best friend & her husband are in town for New Year's so we wanted to head back to hang out with them.

Kate didn't want to leave Tahoe, either.
She cried when we packed up the car to leave & as I put her in her car seat. It was sad, but cute.
She fell asleep for an hour on the way home & when she woke up she asked if we could turn around and go back to the Tahoe House.

On the way up, it took us 2.5 hours to get there, but on the way home, as soon as we got on the freeway, it was stopped. Needless to say, it took us over 4.5 hours to get home.

But, that is okay, because it is a beautiful drive home & I was able to take these scenic snow pictures from the car since we were at a stand still for part of the drive!
I wish I were still in Tahoe and I am already planning our next trip up there!