Life is Beautiful. You come too: 2016

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Christmas Letter 2016

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

It has been a great year for our family.

We spent most of the year in Alabama but moved to New Jersey in August as part of Derek's Honeywell rotation program. Right now he is more in an FP&A role vs a controllership role. (This basically means it's less accounting and more reporting and analyzing. Plus his new office building is modern and lots bigger and has a sweet cafeteria. So life is good. Also he's lots busier. And he's totally rocking it. Go Derek.)

Of note:
-Kaylie ran a half marathon in March, and pushed Kennedy for a lot of the training in the stroller. (On runs longer than 8 miles Kaylie always ran alone)
-Kennedy has some words, loves drawing, loves dancing, is 18 months, loves to read books, loves animals, loves to play outside, is starting to enjoy her time in nursery
-Trip to Harry Potter World with Derek's sister Jessica in February. Uh. Mazing. So worth going. It sounds kind of cliche to say it was magical but it definitely was.
-Many trips to the beach of Alabama and Florida.
-Trip to New Orleans (let's be honest...not our favorite city.)
-Trips to see Aunt Megan in Huntsville and going to Birmingham for temple. We loved spending time with her! And in the temple.
-Visit from Leslie in January, Jessica in February, Derek's parents in May. So much fun!
-Derek work trip to Mexico while Kaylie visited Utah
-Kaylie kept up RN license through continuing ed. (yayyyyy!!!!) Also yay for being able to stay at home with Kennedy this year. So wonderful!
-Sad leaving friends in AL ward, happy making friends in NJ ward. We've felt so blessed to be included by people wherever we go.
-Derek is ward clerk, Kaylie is in nursery.
-We are in such a fun location--so close to Kyra who lives in CT right now, close to Philadelphia, close to NYC, Boston, Washington D.C. We're trying to do as much exploring as we can
-Kaylie has been teaching piano lessons in both NJ and AL
-We've been feeding the missionaries weekly and LOVE it! They bring a great spirit into our home and they are seriously some of our friends.

We are so blessed and so grateful for the Savior this Christmas season and the hope and peace He brings to the world. Oh come let us adore him!

Home again

Visiting home is the happiest thing. Beautifully done up for Christmas and so much bigger than our little apartment. Every corner of the house has memories, and it's the same as I look outside. This morning I held Kennedy's hand as we walked into the kitchen and it was just good. One of those hallmark moments, haha. I hope I can make my home as special, sacred, and happy for Kennedy as this one was for me.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

The Universal Bucket List

A few weeks ago, Derek and I were eating some pizza at a park and got talking: There are a few things that we think every person needs to experience. And that led to our universal bucket list.

-Read a book
-Attend a play or musical
-Drive to a new state
-Ride a bicycle
-Eat a slice of pizza
-Pet a dog
-Attend a religious service
-Hold a baby
-Attend a sporting event
-Build a snowman
-Climb a mountain
-Smell a flower
-Stand out in the rain

The list is entirely incomplete. But it was good to realize how many wonderful things there are to do here on earth and how many (big and small) life changing moments there are.

Loving Life

Ok. We're ridiculously behind. And it's not that we don't have things to talk about. (Just ask my mom and sisters--I find things to say.) It's just tricky to get a quiet time with a working laptop. But, here we are :) yay!!!

Life is so good right now.

So, first let's talk about the area we live in. We a couple blocks away from Lake Hopatcong. It's a really beautiful lake! All around the lake there are houses and beach access points. We're so lucky that some of our friends from the ward have beach access and have invited us to go there with them a few times. Derek and I kayaked there on our anniversary! (which was pure magic--the water was pristine and so still. It almost felt like you could step out and walk on the water. But I'm smarter than that and we stayed put.) With the changing leaves surrounding the lake it's quite the picturesque place.

Like Alabama, the highways and freeways are lined in trees. It's beautiful! It also makes it difficult to see beyond a few hundred feet. I'm still trying to figure out which way is north/south/east/west at any given place. (Except when I'm on I80. I've got that down.)

The roads here are so funny. Probably because they were built and designed so long ago, but you pretty much can't turn left. Ever. If you need to go left, you take an exit on the right and then cross the street at a stoplight. When we first moved here I thought I was going to die. But, I'm beginning to figure out the tricks, and I'm learning the back roads, so driving is actually turning into a fun experience. Woo!

Kennedy is just great. She's totally a toddler and is so fun. She loves books and has to know what each picture is. Her favorite books are those with animals. Kennedy spends a lot of her time looking through the back door watching for neighbor's dogs, squirrels, or cats. And when we're outside she loves to run up and down the hill, ride down the hill in the wagon a neighbor gave to us, and staring through the neighbor's windows in hopes of seeing a pet. (Who's girl is this?! certainly not mine! haha)

Derek is enjoying his job. His coworkers are awesome, his building is legit, and he's learning a ton. When we moved here, Derek jumped right in running and hasn't stopped yet! (I keep thinking things will slow down but they haven't yet.) Derek has lots on his work plate but he does a great job! We really love our weekends when Derek has a chance to recharge.

We've felt so welcomed by our ward members. We've been invited for dinner, ultimate frisbee, beach trips, exercise mornings. I love every person that I've met and wish I could talk to them longer!

Ok. So this concludes my boring gigantic update. (the slow day-to-day musings are more interesting I think, rather than the huge information overloads.) But thanks for reading. (If anyone has made it this far! I'll try to be more fun in future posts.)

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Challenging

Our new life is challenging. We live on a steep hill...like very steep. We also live by a lake that freezes things up in the winter. We have about twenty stairs that lead to our front door. Add groceries, Kennedy, and the boxes we're unpacking and you've got chaos. Our neighbors on both sides smoke but we keep our windows open at night because it's so warm. Another neighbor feeds the animals. I counted eight deer in th r shared backyard last night. Apparently there is a bear who visited yesterday morning too. Thats neat and all... until you have a toddler who wants to touch. We have to get on the freeway to get to most grocery shopping. No sink disposal. Stairs lead up to our bedrooms and bathroom.

We're gonna make it. In fact I think we're going to love it. It's just hard. I suppose this is the pioneer woman experience I've always dreamed of.

Yeehaw!

Saturday, July 23, 2016

What we've loved in Alabama

I wrote this as my facebook status the other day: I love Sunday drives through beautiful Alabama. Truly, my heart is in mourning. This place is lovely and in a month we'll be gone! Wonderful adventures are ahead but I will be leaving a love.

And it's true. I love the area. I love getting in the car and driving on Daphne main street through Montrose on the way to Fairhope. The trees hang over the streets and the large, old houses send you dreaming about what life would be if you lived there.

I loved memorizing streets, landmarks, and distances as I pushed baby Kennedy along in her stroller, learning the area and watching the seasons change. (Ok, that's kind of a joke. The seasons don't change much, and it hardly got cold during wintertime. But, different flowers bloom at different times. So I guess that counts.)

I loved playing at the beach together as a family and getting in the car afterwards talking about how lucky we are to be so close to the ocean.

I loved escaping into Blakeley State Park and going camping together. I loved finally discovering that there are hiking trails here.

I loved Friday night art walks in Fairhope. Seeing the old and young wander the streets admiring art under gas burning lanterns, perusing small shops filled with antiques and old books, and sipping their free wine samples. I loved the days we splurged to buy some lavender citrus soap, Belgian chocolate, and an overpriced t-shirt that I want to wear every day.

I loved my friends. Texting them the day of and coming just to hang out. Kennedy playing with the kids while we chatted. Eating dinners and desserts together and playing lots of Word on the Street, Bananagrams, and Apples to Apples. (I will never think of Asthma the same way again.)

I loved hanging out with Derek after Kennedy was in bed to relax and watch netflix shows. The characters in our shows seriously feel like friends. (I know, kind of pathetic. But truly.) [If you need life recommendations, I highly recommend White Collar, Psych, Chuck, Gilmore Girls, Fixer Upper, When Calls the Heart, and The Office (minus a few episodes)]

I loved the community events. Mardi Gras Parades, Christmas Parades (in our t-shirts and shorts), 4th of July parades and gatherings, story time at the library, attending the Nutcracker,

I loved attending Derek's soccer league games, sending him to play basketball with the guys from church, and attending an Auburn football game and sitting so close to the field (and the real life eagle).

I loved having missionaries over for dinner every week and becoming friends with them. I always seemed to burn something or forget to buy something at the store, but it was always uplifting and they always brought the Spirit into our home. [If you're still shopping for life recommendations, I can't recommend feeding the missionaries highly enough. It's the best. Plus they will laugh at your jokes. And who doesn't want that.]

I loved teaching piano lessons. I loved the perfect peach ice cream at Mr. Gene's Beans.

I loved our family visitors. We got to hang out with Rytting cousins, Aunt Megan, Leslie, Kyra, Andrew, Mom and Dad Paulson, Jessica.

Anyway. We're going to miss so much and we are so grateful for the adventure we had here!! And now, enjoy a photo dump. I don't care if you skip them...it's mostly for our sake :)