Herro Der Folksies!

Carolyn, you are a true inspiration!  I'll do a quick 2013 recap!

January--We discovered that winters in Spokane were only a little bit better than the ones in Minnesota.  I was a wee bit disappointed by this discovery.  Jason began studying for "THE BOARDS."

February--We celebrated our 12th wedding anneversary.  Wow.  We are old.  Jason continued to study for the boards.

March--Took a little trip down to sunny Portland to visit Carrie and Mikey.  They were delightful hosts and took the boys to the Lego store.  Aaron was thrilled. Jason continued to study for the boards.

April-- We began the demolition of the upstairs and moved into our basement apartment.  Jason continued to study for the boards.

May--Brady celebrated his 9th birthday with an ice-cream cake and a new WiiU.  Jason continued to study for the boards.  The renovation continued.

June--Jason checked into a hotel in Louisville, KY to more vigorously study for boards for a week prior to the actual test.  The boys and I went to El Paso to wait for Jason to take his boards in Louisville.  While I was there, I made a quick trip to AZ to see Becca and Ryan's darling little house and their darling little dog Pinky.  Jason joined us in EP after his test and we spent a truly miserable, gut-wrenching few days waiting to hear the results.  During those few days we gorged ourselves on Mexican food to dull the anxiety.   We got word on Jason's 34th birthday that HE PASSED!  We gorged ourselves on Mexican food to celebrate.  The renovation continued.

July--Jason was made a partner in Cancer Care Northwest.  We took a trip to Seattle for Fourth of July.  Carolyn and Mike met us there.  Ryan came down and lived with us while he scouted out Spokane and had interviews.  Jason tried to recover from the boards while continuing to have nightmares about them.  The renovation continued.

August--Yay for the reunion!  It really was one of the highlights of the year!  We are so blessed to be part of the Familia Johns.  Aaron celebrated his 7th birthday with all manner of Lego Hero Factory presents.  The renovation continued and officially went over budget.

September--Jason took me on a trip to Washington, DC to see a darling pregnant Mel and our family scholar Zar.  It has always been my dream to visit DC and it did not disappoint. We enjoyed lots of eating and lots of walking.  The weather was perfect.  Mel and Zar were great tour guides! I celebrated my 32nd birthday on the day we flew back to Spokane.  Becca and Ryan watched the boys for us while we were gone.  Becca officially moved to Spokane.  I hadn't ever dared to dream that I would live in the same city as one of my siblings.  It has been such a fun, wonderful surprise!  The renovation continued, the upstairs was completed and we started sleeping in our new bedrooms.

October--Both kids had WILD ideas about what they wanted to be for Halloween.   Instead, I paid them 10 dollars each to be the same things that they were last year.  I'm seriously a genius.  I'm proud of them for selling out.  Carolyn and Mike came for a little visit, and we enjoyed them per usual.  The renovation continued.  The budget was officially too blown to to even talk about.

November--The renovation finished (for now) the week before Thanksgiving.  I can honestly say I am happy with the way things turned out.  I hosted Mom, Dad, Becca, Ryan, Ryan's parents, Ryan's brother and family, Carolyn, Mike, and Mara for Thanksgiving.  It was such a wonderful time.  We missed Steve and Emma and Mel and Zar.  The food was delicious, but after 20 minutes of eating, Mom and I looked at each other with shaking heads.  We pondered about how anticlimactic it was that 3 DAYS of cooking could culminate in a 20 minute meal.  A good meal, no doubt.  But, seriously??

December--Christmas prep was relatively painless.  Amazon really came through for us this year.  We spent a quiet holiday with just our little family.  Becca and Ryan were a little rude and went to Seattle.  We ate at Shari's diner for Christmas dinner.  They had FREE PIE! We came home, put the kids to bed and watched the final Lord of the Rings movie.  We had watched the first two movies the previous nights.  Nothing says Christmas like a Lord of the Rings marathon.

Well, that about sums it up.  The two words for 2013 were BOARDS and RENOVATION.  Those two things took up 90 percent of our time and energy.  I sure do love you all.  You are blessings in my life!  I encourage you all to please follow my amazing example and share your 2013 round up.