As it is now tradition, my husband writes our Year End Review. He is my favorite guest blogger, and he’s pretty cute too.
FAMILY AND FRIENDS:
2014 was a huge year for our family. Everything we had been working towards for the past four years finally came together. This has honestly been the best year we’ve ever had. We moved to Utah, spent a month in Florida, Sam had events for Strideline all over the country, Jenn traveled to Virginia and Sam started a new job.
Corah June tuned two this year. She is growing up way too fast, and she is fully adored by everyone. She started talking at the beginning of the year, and now she won’t be quiet! She talks in full sentences, and you wouldn’t believe the things she comes up with. Her imagination is never ending. Some days she’s a pirate, some days she is planning her vacation while other days she pretends that she is a dinosaur. And if you don’t pretend with her, she pouts but eventually manipulates someone else to play with her: she is very persuasive. She continues to be mommy’s big helper and longs for the day that she can go to school. This year she is proud to announce that she is fully potty trained. We are SO thankful to end the year diaperless!! She loves her mommy more than anything, her friends, her yanks (her special blanket) and playing with her siblings. In 2015, Corah June will turn 3! And hopefully she can start preschool in the fall!
Morgan turned 5 this year. In August she started Kindergarten at Daybreak elementary. She has really started to break out of her shell, freely sharing her opinion now. She has developed her confidence this year, with both herself and her abilities. She is a quick learner, always curious about something, leading us to believe her love of learning will only grow. Morgan enjoys reading, performing plays, identifying her sight words, riding her bike and counting to 147. In 2015, we are hoping to get her involved in art class and continue to nurture her curiosity towards learning.
Kenley turned 5 this year. She also started Kindergarten, attending the same class as her sister. They love being in the same class together. Kenley’s art never stops. She colors on anything and everything. She fully enjoys writing and will show off her work to anyone that asks. Her athletic skills are through the roof. She can run just as fast as her brother, and she never stops moving. Getting her to stay still is a battle. Kenley loves art, running, riding her bike, and endless hours outside with her friends. It’s incredible to see the differences between the twins: Kenley is three inches taller than her sister and uses her creative side most of the time while Morgan is all reason and science. The one thing they have in common is their love for each other; they are inseparable. In 2015, we hope to develop Kenley’s athletic skills and leadership qualities.
Aedan turned the big 8 this year! How did that happen? In July he started his new adventure into 2nd grade after only getting out of his last school in June! Year round school is a whole new animal! He quickly settled into the new routine and made a lot of friends. He spends most of his time outside playing any sport he can, but football is his favorite. He is a pro reader and mathematically gifted. We see him becoming an engineer, as his mind always goes to the “how” of things. This year he played football for the first time and played basketball for the 3rd year in a row. He enjoys Pokémon, Seahawks, Skylanders, building Legos and being outside. In 2015, we want to continue to push him academically, slowly add more responsibilities on him and let him enjoy being an 8 year old boy.
Jennifer had a lot of work to do leading up to the big move to Utah: between packing, and organizing, and saying goodbye to her great friends she was stressed out. We took a break from the madness to celebrate our 7th anniversary in San Francisco (which she wrote about here). We had such an incredible time and we can’t wait to go back. Cutting it very close to the deadline of us leaving Washington she finally found us remarkable place that we now call home in a community called Daybreak in South Jordan, Utah. It’s a huge upgrade from what we are used too. It’s much more suited to our family size than the home we had before. Ten days after arriving in Utah, Jennifer and her friend Stephani drove across the country to Florida with all four kids in tow! She got much needed rest and relaxation during our month long stay in paradise. After we got home from Florida she got the kids settled into school and started training for her half-marathon. She completed her first half-marathon in 2 hours and 37 minutes! The kids and I were so proud of her! Literally two days later she was on a plane to Virginia to attend her Brother Jason’s wedding (read about that here). She had a fantastic time her with family. She finished out the year getting settled in Utah and making new friends. And she finally got her wish of snow! Plenty of snow! Her goals for 2015 are to continue her education, develop her writing skills through her blog, get her photography business going here in Utah and continue her love of running.
I graduated with my bachelors of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University Of Washington Foster School Of Business. I’ve never worked harder for anything in my life and I am excited for the opportunities that have opened up to me due to my dedication to the best university in the Pacific Northwest. I landed a job at Morgan Stanley, a top five finance firm conveniently located only four miles from our house. At Morgan Stanley, I am an operations analyst with the gain and loss department. This is a great position for me to launch my career in finance. In addition to Morgan Stanley, I continue to build my small business operations with Strideline. I’ve developed markets in Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Utah. In 2015 we are slowly building operations into Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona. I’ve linked up major retail connections with Big 5 Sporting Goods, Pro-image Sports, and numerous other small local sports stores. I anticipate working with my brother Mark in completely different small business operation which I will discuss with you all as our business plan becomes more defined. 2014 was a great year all around and we will continue to build on the foundation that has been laid in the past four years.
As the year ends, we could not be more excited about what lies ahead. We have been working so hard over the past four years to get here and we feel like everything is finally coming together! We have large expectations for the upcoming year. We want to get closer connected to our family, which is exactly one of the reasons we moved to Utah in the first place. I hope everyone had a great year in 2014 and we are anticipating a good year for everyone in 2015! Wishing you the best! Seahawks repeat super bowl champions.
Blessed Route 