2010 The Year in Reverse!

It is January 28th, 2011, and we just mailed out our "Christmas" cards yesterday. Last year we didn't send any out at all, so it's at least an improvement! I actually ordered them at the end of November, guessing how many we'd need.  Since I fell a little short on my estimate, all of our local friends (sorry folks) aren't getting one again this year.  But, ya'll get to see our happy shiny faces every now and then, anyway. (Heck - my local friends are on facebook so much, I feel like I see them all the time, even after being cooped up in the house with sick kids for more than a week and a half.)

     So that I can start off by excusing myself for being so late on Christmas cards, I'm going to take you on a review of life in the Goetz household in roughly reverse chronological order. Sounds like fun, eh? (Andrew's note: We're Canadian now, apparently!)  So, on with the show now...

DECEMBER

     This year we celebrated Christmas with Andrew's family in Morgantown, WV. Not only did we spend time with Andrew's sisters and their families while at Nana and Poppy's house, but we also drove out to Ohio for a visit with extended family during the annual post-Christmas get together. It meant we did a lot of traveling, but it was a great time with family, and the girls traveled remarkably well. We even had a white Christmas this year, so Lillian and Evelyn got to play in the snow and try out their cousin Claire's new sled. We only wish we'd had more time with everyone.

     Andrew's job kept him quite busy in the weeks leading up to Christmas this year. I'll not bore ya'll with details, but they released a new version of their primary product, which always takes extra effort. Andrew is looking forward to an interesting year ahead with plans for international travel this Spring.  He will be going to India as well as setting up an office for his employees in the Philippines. While his position as Vice President of Development for HRsmart hasn't changed, he is also working on the U.S. side of a joint venture with a software factory in Argentina, which promises to be new and interesting.

NOVEMBER

     We celebrated Thanksgiving at home this year with Grandma and Grandpa (my parents), who drove out from Illinois. Grandpa had not seen the girls in almost a year so he could really appreciate how much Lillian has been growing up and Evelyn's budding personality.

OCTOBER

     Evelyn turned two in October, and Nana flew out to celebrate it with us. I went a little overboard/crazy and decided to make a castle cake for her "Ladies and Knights" themed birthday party because I didn't like anything the grocery stores had to offer and wasn't going to drop a few hundred for the local cake shop to do it, either. The cake turned out fabulously and her little friends(mostly older toddlers from Lillian's playgroup) enjoyed our "knight's tournament" that culminated in the slaying of a dragon pinata. It was a lot of fun and continued an ongoing princess theme for our girls that started with our trip to Disney in September and ended with princess costumes at several Halloween events.  Evelyn is really turning out to be such a happy and easy going girl with a contagious smile and little impish side to boot. She can also be very kind and generous (much like her daddy) and sometimes will even give up a toy for Lillian when her sister is having a fit about wanting the toy for herself. She is also turning out to be quite a talker, and can speak complete and intelligible sentences through her dearly loved pacifier.

 SEPTEMBER

   Did someone say DisneyWorld? Yup - we went to DisneyWorld in September during Daddy's birthday. We met up with Nana
 and Poppy for a four day vacation in the park. Of all the things we saw and did there the girls seemed to get the biggest kick out of seeing Mickey and Minnie's houses (and they don't even watch the TV show featuring them). Less than two weeks after we returned from Florida, Andrew's work sent him to Chicago for few days. It was pretty cool because HRsmart was awarded first place in Vendor Shootout at the HRTech conference this year. The company has also been recognized locally at a couple of different awards banquets that Andrew and I got to dress up for and attend this year.

SUMMER (JUNE-AUGUST)

     In case you didn't know, summers in Dallas are hot! We kicked off summer with swim lessons for Lillian. While Lillian worked on her swim skills, Mommy and Evelyn were close by and often played in the water too. We made a trip to the pool about once a week, and always with friends. Nana and Poppy came out for a visit over the 4th of July, so this year we braved the crowds and took the girls to an official 4th of July celebration with fireworks (which was very fun)! In July, I took a quick trip to Seattle for a SimplyFun (more about that later) conference. Since I was there for such a sort time, and with a very full schedule, I was only able to spend a little bit of time with family while there (my aunt Julie and her family plus my grandma who was in town). I actually did not get see my brother Paul and his family.  As timing would have it, my trip coincided with their Oregon coast vacation with my parents. (Darn it!) My mom came out to Dallas for a visit the last week of August, braving the intense heat of late summer.

SPRING (MARCH-MAY)

     We kicked off spring this year with our second big snow storm (by Dallas standards) of the year. The snow didn't stay for long and soon we were looking forward to Easter. Along with the usual Easter celebrations, last year we celebrated a Maundy Thursday seder. We have made this a part of our family tradition every year. We celebrate by recounting the story of how God saved the Israelites from slavery and brought them out of Egypt, while also looking at how this both symbolizes and foretells how the Messiah would later save all of mankind from bondage to sin. (This is all incorporated into a symbolic meal.) This year Nana and Poppy were able to join us and our friends for our seder. We also participated in the local easter egg hunt (Lillian was the big prize winner!) and a had a wonderful brunch at the local golf club.

     Spring is also the "change of command" time for our local MOMs club. This year I decided to "give back" to the club and accepted the role of club treasurer. As a part of the board, I also help plan our events and commit to being at a certain number of events each month. We are a very active club with almost 50 members so there are always plenty of opportunities for the girls and me to get out with friends.

 JANUARY AND FEBRUARY

     And now, to the start of 2010. In January I decided to start a home-based business as a consultant for SimplyFun. It was totally out of the blue. I was not looking to do something like this, but I had purchased one of their games for Christmas and was really interested in a number of their products. I have not made a big push to "grow my business," but I have really enjoyed familiarizing myself with their products while filling up our home with all sorts of new games that have all "paid for themselves" through my business. Lillian really enjoys playing the new games and I love how they help her grow and learn new things. If you'd like to learn more about how you can bring more play into your life let me know or check out the link above.

     February brought our first "huge" snow storm this year. The girls really enjoyed playing in the snow. Lillian especially enjoyed eating it and making snowmen. About two weeks later the snow was long forgotten and we celebrated Lillian's third birthday on a warm sunny day with an outdoor carnival at home. Grandma flew out to be a part of the party and even dressed up like a clown to be the pocket lady, at my request. (The pocket lady wears coveralls with lots of colorful pockets that you can pick for a prize when you give her a ticket. When I was in grade school she was always the pocket lady for our carnival.) We also had a duck pond, fish pond, ball toss, pin drop and cookie walk. It was a lot of work, but sooo much fun! Lillian's personality is turning out to be an interesting mix of sweet and sensitive with bossy and stubborn. She loves to direct playtime, wether it be with Evelyn or with Mommy and Daddy. Luckily, Evelyn is so easy going that she usually just plays along with Lillian (though, Evelyn also really knows how to push her buttons, too)!

     So, that concludes the year in reverse. If you are curious about our 2009 Andrew wrote a review of that year that never got published (until now)!  Maybe now I can go back and finish my weekly entries for Evelyn's first year of life. I took the pictures but never finished posting my entries. Meanwhile, I will try to keep our blog up with regular entries. This year I am participating in Project 365, which is a personal challenge to take and post photos every day for 365 days. The blog posts don't actually have to be daily but the picture taking is supposed to be. Now that I have two photography classes under my belt (that was in 2009) and a nice DSLR camera (my wonderful Christmas gift this year), I want to make sure I am getting it out and using it! Until next time...