2013 - Back to Basics

It's been awhile.

A long while.
A really long while.
And I've missed this!
I've missed this a lot!!!
So...since it's a new year...I'm working toward a new me.  Well, more like an old me.
I've proclaimed 2013 "The Year to Return to Me!" Okay, maybe "proclaim" is a bit strong, but it's what I want.  I want to get back to basics.  I'm not going to make resolutions or promises.  I'm just going to try and get back to the stuff that brought me joy, health and...well...my emotional well-being!  Blogging is on that list.

Blogging was my release.  My sanity.  My psychiatrist.  It helped me see the joy, the humor, the lessons, the progress.  It made me thankful.

Then life got crazy. Nothing bad.  Just crazy. And I got caught up in the crazy.  It was one big snowball.

Okay, enough explanation...let's get down to the nitty gritty:

I'm not going to blog everyday.  I'm realistic.  And this is not my job.  But I'll try and blog at least 2x a week.  Sometimes it'll be a current post.  Sometimes it'll be a "catch up from the black hole of no blogging" post. I'll work with what I've got.  9 times out of 10, I'm sure my kids will provide plenty of subject matter.

So here are a few of my favorite pictures from 2012...

We rang in the New Year with some great friends...The Parkers and The Hosiers...and some serious fun...Just Dance 3 on the wii...

Ty turned 8 in February and asked for a Ninjago party.  I did the best I could.  I'm not creative, but the Legos did all the work.

March meant another Half Marathon for me.  Honestly, I didn't really train for this one. My running buddy (from the UK) called one day and said "I found the medal I want...are you up for a Half Marathon in Queens?" So, even though I wasn't supposed to run 13.1 miles until the first Sunday in May, I signed up for the spinning medal! (May post more about this another time.)

 

 

April meant our introduction to Ramsey Baseball.  Ty was a Woodchuck and there will DEFINITELY be a post or two about this.  It was quite an adventure, to say the very least.

It also was Easter in CT...

And the girls' GymFest (we'll touch base on this again in the future):

In May, I ran my annual NJ Half Marathon. In hindsight, I'm very glad Shannon and I have this tradition.  The Hurricane in October wiped out the final 2 miles of this route.  Hopefully, it'll be repaired and ready for all of us "Jersey Strong" runners in 2013.

We also made our annual trip to "the country", as the kids call it.  It's my Aunt and Uncle's house up at Hunter Mountain.  The kids love it!

June was crazy.  Yes, I use that word a lot, but let's break it down, shall we?  You'll see...there really isn't a more appropriate word.  There was more Baseball.  The Woodchucks were champions.  It was a great run!

 

 

Zoe "graduated" fourth grade at Eastern Christian Elementary School (middle school starts at 5th grade there) which meant violin chapel, 4th grade day at the lake, and graduation chapel.

 

The triplets graduated Preschool, too.  This was pretty emotional for me.  Mrs. Bushman has been in our lives since Zoe was 4.  She's not just a teacher to us.  She's part of the family!

June also meant saying goodbye to a school we've loved.  We made the decision to leave ECES and transfer over to Hawthorne Christian Academy for lots of reasons...but we'll save that for later.  It was hard for me.  Very hard.

June also brought another race (thanks to Jo).  This time, we were running over the George Washington Bridge.  How do you pass up that opportunity?

And, of course, we rounded out June with a trip to CT for Summer Bible Club at Grammy and Granddad's church.  Complete with Camp Granddad.

Phew.  Are we tired yet?  I am!

Where was I?  Oh...yes...July...deep breath in...

Family BBQs are in full swing.

We went to Wildwood...again. The big news this year, was that Ava could ride some rides on the Boardwalk!

Zoe went to camp for a week...again (2nd year).

Ty went to camp for a week...for the first time!  He loved it!

And I ran my first Warrior Dash!

In August, the triplets turned 5.  I can remember when I thought this day would never come.  NEVER.  But it did!  We made it!  Shane also talked me into camping for three nights with 2 other families.  It wasn't that bad.  It helped that the weather was perfect and the bugs were few!  Two nights would not have been worth all the effort and 4 nights may have tested my patience.  Don't tell him, but I think I'm willing to do it again.

September came way too quickly! Doesn't it always?  I mean, I was ready for the kids to go back to school, but I really wasn't ready for the early morning wake-ups or the homework headaches. Plus, this year meant 5 lunches everyday.

The kids were also in Becca's wedding.  We were thrilled to celebrate with her and Justin and be part of their big day!  Despite crazy weather, the ceremony was able to be held outside.  The whole day was gorgeous.  There will DEFINITELY be a post about this.  Too many stories NOT to tell!

Zoe turned double-digits, too.  When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she replied, "I just want to go on an airplane."  So we cashed in a few of Daddy's frequent flier miles and his hotel points, and she and I headed to Chicago for a weekend.  Grammy and Granddad just happened to be there for a conference, so I surprised her with a lunch date!

In October, Zoe and Ava ran their first "fun mile" with me.  We're pretty sure Ava ran a mile and a half since she didn't run in a straight line, but she ran the whole way and was smiling as she did.  I can't wait to get Zoe on the 5k course with me.  She's built to run!

Then came November...and December...and well...here we are.  Can I glaze over those months for now?  I haven't uploaded pictures to my laptop yet (not that I'm sure I even took any in November). And my bed is calling my name.