Saturday, January 3, 2009

the year in review

2008 was a good year. some sad moments, some scary moments and some amazing moments.

i will try to briefly recap some of the highlights:

january:
• we started the year out right...bringing in the new year with good friends.
• the next weekend, we got a quick overnight visit to dan's dad in wi. rapids. we followed that up with an overnight stay with friends sam, marta, bridget, shane and kids at sam/marta's near menasha, wi.
• i was also able to enjoy a 4-night vacation with my girlfriends. i went to isla mujeres, mexico with nena, jes and julie. we had an amazing time. it was tough being away from griffin, but he and dan enjoyed themselves.
• upon getting back from mexico, unfortunate circumstances brought melissa, martin and the girls to mn (for a funeral). it was great to see them though, even if it was brief.
• griffin wound up in the emergency room with a case of croup. we had to call an ambulance because we had no idea what was going on. we woke up to a faint wheezing sound and when we went to check on him, he was not able to take a breath and he appeared blue. we freaked. as soon as we went outside with him, he caught his breath. we were in the hospital for the night, and upon receiving treatments...he was as good as new. no further symptoms. thank goodness.

february:
• i can't remember too much about february! apparently nothing too thrilling happened. lots of hanging out inside. i'm sure we also went to the mall of america alot...we were there on weekends to walk, and we would let griffin go on rides.

march:
• dan's birthday was at the beginning of the month. he spent a night in chicago with his brothers, then another night in wisconsin dells.
• we had another major scare that led us to childrens hospital icu. griffin again had severe croup. this time we felt a bit more prepared so we rode it out a few days doing the steam shower/going outside. it became worse, so in we went to childrens. it ended up turning very severe. the doctors told us they hadn't seen a case turn so extreme so quickly. he was hooked up to heliox for a few days and was under a watchful eye until he could breathe on his own better. such an eye opening experience. as scared as we were about griffin - we knew that he'd get better...but other children that were there - weren't so lucky. it was definitely an experience that made us appreciate this precious life, and hug our baby tighter.
• we followed up this ordeal celebrating griffin's 2nd birthday. (got out of the hospital the day before his birthday).
• we rounded out the month with my parents coming to visit.
• i also started a new job on march 24. it was a much needed change and i love it. malt-o-meal is a great company to be a part of!

april:
• we spent april trying all kinds of malt-o-meal cereals that i was able to bring home from work. i think we ate enough to last us awhile.
• besides that - april brought a visit from dave, cindy, aidan and reese. a great time hanging out with them!
• i think the rest of the month was spent resting up for the busy summer that we were about to have.....

may:
• i spent a weekend in wisconsin. i went down for my friend lisa's wedding shower/bachelorette party. i spent friday with my parents, and then saturday drove to wisconsin dells to spend the night at a cabin to celebrate!
• we went to denver memorial day weekend to spend it with melissa, martin, chloe and nicollette. we rented a place in aspen and had a super time exploring, driving around the mountains, swimming and just enjoying the scenery.

june:
• started the month out with a visit from dan's dad. he took the amtrak up. it was great to have him. we took him to a few places around town, and dan took him to a twins-yankees game. sunday i did the 8k rollerblade race for the grand old day. dan and bruce joined us for the parade.
• we had a cabin trip to phil's place near bemidji. a great time and nice to get away. griffin loved it!
• later in the month, dan and i celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary with an overnight in stillwater at a bed & breakfast. it was awesome.
• we spent another weekend in wisconsin for our friend lisas wedding...griffin enjoyed the waterpark with grandma lawrence! on the way home the 3 of us went to the jack johnson/mason jennings concert...g LOVED it.
• the month finished with us leaving on a week-long family vacation.

july:
• we enjoyed our family vacation. first was waunakee where we got to see some friends, a parade, and spend time with my parents. we met up with wendy, andrew and addi at the zoo in madison. the grandmas joined us too. we headed to milwaukee for a couple days and enjoyed summerfest, waterpark and the zoo. we rounded out the trip in chicago visting dave, cindy, aidan and reese. we had a great time and were able to celebrate dave's birthday with him with a night on the town. grandma lynne was there so the kids were in good hands!
• later this month i took a trip out to boise, idaho to attend my cousins wedding. it was a lot of fun and good to spend a weekend with my parents and brother, as well as grandma and aunts/uncles and cousins.
• towards the end of the month we did another cabin trip - this time to pie's cabin. griffin had fun on the paddle boat!
• we had a couple of concerts - saw our wedding band play at an outdoor pavillion. g was cute dancing around.

august:
• the month started out with me doing the st. paul inline marathon.
• dan enjoyed a long weekend with his dad....they went up to powers, michigan to visit family and go on a fishing trip.
• another weekend brought the krugers back into town...this time for a happier event - a wedding! it was great to spend the weekend with them. we babysat the kids while they went to the wedding.
• the unfortunate passing of my dear friend, nuala brought a sadness to august. she had ovarian cancer. she was an amazing person, full of life. she is sadly missed.


september:
• labor day weekend brought a fun visit from grandma lawrence. we went to the state fair, on a long bike ride, trolley rides and had a great time.
• the big news of this month: griffin is potty trained! we started in august and he was officially trained by labor day!
• we saw a couple of concerts this month.
• i did the iron girl duathalon! biking and running. it was tough, but felt great to finish.
• baby mal had her 1st birthday party, so we had a good time going to that, as well as a benefit for jes' dad.
• we said goodbye to the jeep. after 18 years of being in my family - the last 2 with us - it finally bit the dust. we are attempting to be a 1-car family.

october:
• another great visit from melissa. she came alone this time, so it was fun to hang out.
• we were able to go to sandusky, ohio to visit dan's brother and family. dave, cindy and the girls surprised us all and joined us out there..great to see everyone. we went to the zoo, cedar point amusement park, hung out at the waterpark and had a good time seeing matt/wendy's new house and their new town!
• dan and i had a date night and saw mason jennings in concert. beau and amy hung with the little man while we were gone!
• towards the end of the month, another person i know passed away. katie was my friend julie's good friend and i'd met and hung out with her on occasion. the cause of her death is still unknown. very shocking and sad.
• on a happier note - it was my birthday on the 26th and we went out with friends and had a great time singing karoke!
• we finished the month out with my parents coming to visit for halloween weekend. griffin enjoyed trick-or-treating dressed as thomas the train, and we enjoyed some fun time in stillwater with my parents too.

november:
• i hosted a soup night with my neighbors. we all made different types of soups and exchanged them. it was fun!
• i was able to go see wicked with some co-workers...it was amazing!
• dan and i, along with friends, went to see the hold steady and drive-by-truckers. it was the best show i went to this year. laura was awesome and came over to watch griffin.
• thanksgiving came and we had a great visit with grandma lawrence. we went on a polar express train ride, saw the holidazzle parade, got our christmas tree, and dan and i finished the weekend by going to a vikings/bears game. it was fun, even if we don't like either team!

december:
• started the month off with a couple of cookie exchanges. i have had enough cookies to last all of 09 i think.
• dan's holiday party was in the middle of the month...we enjoyed an awesome dinner and wine and his company was very generous this year. our friends beth and jason spent the evening with g.
• we hosted a holiday party at our house. it was fun to have our friends over and enjoy their company before we left on our trip.
• we left for wisconsin and spent time with the lawrences. great to see everyone. we missed seeing bruce, dave, cindy and the girls this year. we were sad about that. we wound up at my parents house where we had a wonderful time and griffin really enjoyed christmas.
• car problems kept us there a bit longer than we expected, but it turned out alright in the end.
• a friend passed away from cancer toward the end of the month. emilie was a friend i met 6 years ago when planning our weddings. she was an amazing person with such zest for life. she was a person that truly lived her life to the fullest and she will be missed deeply. i am very sad for her husband and her 2 young children.
• to end on a happy note - we spent new years eve with wonderful friends. we started out at pete/kims where the kids all hung out. from there we headed over to dina and lyles where griffin promply went to sleep and we were able to share a great meal, drinks and laughs with close friends.

overall - the year was decent. griffin has been a constant joy watching him grow. we are amazed at how much he's learned this year and how his personality has developed. dan and i couldn't be luckier to have this little man in our lives.

we are looking forward to 2009 and all the changes it will bring our country. we are hopeful we can get through the year healthy and no er trips. dan and i want to make a change to our health and increase our fitness level and make healthy eating for our family a priority.
i want to work on treating people with more respect, not being judgemental, be more kind and patient and try to be a better friend, wife and mom.
my thoughts go out to everyone that has lost loved ones this year and i hope they can find peace.
i am thankful for my amazing family, friends and job.

here is to a great 2009! happy new year!

2 comments:

kristine said...

Wow! You have *quite* the memory to be able to backtrack to every month to note what you did that month. Overall it sounds as though you had a pretty good year!

To respond to your comment on my blog - yes, I do remember you! No, I don't believe we ever met in person, either. That is - unless you were at the first get-together we had as a group at The Olive Garden??
I do remember you from our board, though. Thanks for de-lurking.. I look forward to catching up and reading your blog. It looks like a good one!!
BTW - I'm looking forward to meeting you as well!! Hopefully we both attend the next gathering that's currently being planned.

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