What a busy year we've had! We had another blizzard last winter (I believe it was January 2011). I could really get used to these. We had another 12 inches or so- like last year. The snow is so beautiful! The boys missed several days of school, which they could get used to also. Mason turned 12 in June & has been growing like a weed, specifically his feet :) We have to buy him new shoes about every two months- last winter he could wear my size & now he is wearing a man's size 7! He decided not to try out for competitive soccer this year, but instead to play on a traveling rec team. Evan turned 8 and no longer even looks like the same kid; how does that happen? He has let his hair grow out & has big kid teeth too. He had a Michael Jackson birthday cake & got a Thriller jacket & glove as gifts from us. You could say he likes to dance & loves music, but that would be an understatement! Lance & I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in August (15 years is a long time & makes us sound old, but WE AREN'T!!) This was a record breaking summer for heat; I believe we had over 40 days of 100+ degrees! It was miserable!!! I love summer, but it was too hot to even go swimming. In November, we had several earthquakes- yes, earthquakes! The first one woke me up because it caused my hand to bump my face and was a rumbling sound. When we woke up that morning, the news said we had an earthquake. The epicenter was near Shawnee. A few days later, we had another large earthquake that was like a rolling feeling & rumbling sound. This time we were all awake & definitely felt it! It scared the boys. Our chandelier was even swinging back and forth. The next night, we had another smaller one. I've seen it all now- we survived being in the May 3rd, 1999 tornado and now have been here to feel the strongest earthquake recorded in Oklahoma. We're pretty resilient!!! In October we also visited Disney World & it was "magical". We went to Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. We also rented a car & traveled to Universal Studios. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge & let me tell you, they have the best waffles in the world! Evan thought he was in heaven with chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate syrup- yummy! Animal Kingdom's Everest roller coaster was thrilling & we rode it several times. The parade there was fantastic as well. We really enjoyed Hollywood Studios- the Rockin Rollercoaster was well...Rockin'! Tower of terror was terrifying & Mason & I screamed like girls-LOL! Epcot was okay, the best things were the test track & Talking Turtle with Crush. Evan got to talk to Crush & asked, "What is it like living with Nemo?" We spent a day and a half at the Magic Kingdom. It is beautiful there. Evan also danced in one of the street parades, errr- I meant break danced.
He did the centipede on the street with characters all around him! It was the best thing I've seen in a long time!!!! We are looking forward to going back. December has gone well with lots of family gatherings, gifts, and too many blessings to count. We are anticipating a new year filled with family, friends, and laughter. Also the opportunities to live out God's plan for our lives and to use our lives to make a difference for others. Happy New Year everyone!!!!
