Out With the Old...in with the new...

I can't believe it is 2010! Last night we got together with friends for a while, then let the kids stay up to greet the new year. Cam and Caitlyn fell asleep about 5 minutes before midnight, but Collin made it!

I wasn't a very good blogger this year, but these are some of our ups and downs of 2009:

January- Collin turned 7. Wow! I can't believe I have a 7 year old! John was a new grad, job hunted, had a transfer fall through, and it seemed like every company he contacted had entry level positions frozen.

February- More of the same. Caitlyn turned 4! What the heck?!? How did that happen??? Started looking into moving to Alaska for me to teach school. John accepted a promotion at work.

March- John turned 33! What an old fart! hehehe! Spring Break! The kids and I traveled to Arizona with my father-in-law to visit family. It was a great trip! I think I was in Arizona for our anniversary. Wow! 8 years!

April- I don't really remember anything special about April. I think I was in a vicodin/Lortab-induced stupor for most of this month. Darn sciatica! ugh!

May- The last full month of school. Caitlyn, Caleigh and I went to the zoo with Collin. It was fun. We made a quick trip to Arizona for my grandmother's funeral. She was ready to go, so it was nice to have an "excuse" to get together with la familia.

June- School was out! We left for Arizona toward the middle of the month. I got serious about finding a teaching position in Alaska, and John put in for another transfer. He also applied and interviewed for an internship program with the federal government. The kids and I spent time with my family- going to games, playing in the sprinkler, taking rides up the mountain, and just enjoying everyone.

July- Caleigh turned 1! Cameron turned 6! Holy Swiss cheese, they're growing up so fast! We had a survivor man birthday party for Cameron on the mountain. It was great! He loved it! We got to meet up with my cousin in Mesa. It was great to catch up with her after all these years. She is great! John's transfer fell through and my job search fell through as well. We were pretty discouraged, but we figured that no matter what, the sun keeps on shining and life goes on. We started looking into masters programs for John, so he could start getting enough hours to sit for his CPA.

August- We started getting ready for school to start again. In the middle of the month, a recruiter contacted John about the internship program he had applied for with the federal government. It is a two year appointment that could convert to a career appointment, so he decided to go for it. Lots of paperwork later, he was accepted into the program.

September- John started working for the IRS. The kids started school. Life settled into a nice little routine. The kids all love their teachers. They have awesome teachers this year!

October- John continues 1040 classroom training. We had a fun Halloween. Collin was a ninja, Cameron was a cave man, Caitlyn was a tinkerbell, and Caleigh was a chicken. We made a quick trip to Mississippi to visit John's sister and her family. I can't believe how grown up her boys are!

November- Thanksgiving was fun! We hosted John's family here at our house. Erin, Craig, Jesse, and John's dad all joined us for a feast! John finished Phase 1 of his classroom training, and started the first part of on-the-job training.

December- I turned 29 for the first of many times. John conducted his first examination. We celebrated Christmas. The kids got bikes for Christmas this year and Caleigh and Caitlyn got a doll house. It snowed on Christmas Eve, and it was so cold that night that we woke up to a semi-white Christmas.

What a year! This year was a mixture of ups and downs, with lots of visits to the park and vanilla coke from sonic thrown in for good measure.

Good bye 2009! Hello 2010!