Top 50 for 2012

Holy cow I can't believe 2012 is over! What the what, right?! Do you remember when we were kids and a year just dragged on forever? Now I usually can't remember which month it is. Good thing we have weather. And holidays. And.. calendars. But I digress.

With a new year already begun, it's time to continue tradition with my yearly top 50. And so, in no particular order, I give you THE LIST.

1. Downton, Season 2 (and you KNOW I'm watching 3 as it comes out. Every week.)
2. Steve finishing 3rd year (and beginning 4th year!) of med school
3. Thrift shopping (I'm so ghetto, right?) at Megathrift (I will totally miss this store.), clothes refashioning, and my first brand-new sewing machine
4. $1 strawberries at Aldi (we bought by the case)
5. The Gal-entine's Day party
6. Charlie being adorable and saying "Good Job!" about everything (so much that we made a meme)
7. Flagstaff trip with (Jamie's) Mom & Dad--Grand Canyon, cliff dwellings, and the BEST BURGER EVER at Diablo Burger.
8. Charlie's subsequent love of [hotel, and all other] elevators, and his first phrase: "Eh-day-doh BUTTON!" (elevator button)
9. Swimming lessons (for little G) and family swimtime at the Y. We love the Y.
10. Record breaking travel. This was the YEAR of travel: we were away from home for over 3 months (total) and, between the four of us, visited 11 states: NC, SC, GA, FL, VA, TX, NV, OH, CA, AZ, and UT (I'm counting our home state, too, since we actually did travel within NC). We were in CA and NV twice and AZ thrice. Steve had two away rotations and countless interviews, plus a month off at Christmastime, so when he was gone the kids and I just hopped around visiting people and then we all went back west to celebrate the holdidays. :) It was awesome, and now I am ready to just be still for a few months before we move.
11. Winning free groceries from the Harris Teeter video contest.
12. Our (me, Grace, Charlie) first March Madness brackets.
13. Car/kitchen dance parties to The Muppets soundtrack, Fun., Foster the People, One Republic, Taylor Swift, and occasionally Adele (which of course made us put our hands on each other's faces, like this...)
    
    
    
    
14. Kiddo phone calls with the Bah-pahs (Grandpas)
15. The Walton-Pearson week of fun (even though it was also kind of sad since they were moving)
16. Gracie's Co-Op Preschool Graduation and the Everybody Birthday Party (with her three besties since babyhood)
17. Gracie starting "real" preschool "at a big school like Daddy's."
18. Ikea. Love. Sorry I blogged about it. Twice. (...but know that I spared you and we went more than twice.)
19. Watching "big trucks" (construction equipment) outside our front door with Charlie
20. Driving over 1,000 miles in the weeks surrounding Christmas (PHX -> LV -> UT -> LV -> PHX)
21. Countless viewings of The Muppets (the new one, with Amy Adams), especially on road trips
22. Charlie starting nursery at church!(!!!!!!!!!)
23. Pearson Catan nights, and super nerdy Skype Catan nights when they left us for AZ
24. iPads! Steve used his urine research study money for his almost immediately, which I thought was a silly way to spend money until the iPad mini came out, at which point I promptly used my urine research study funds as well. :) Don't steal them. You can buy them, too. ...I mean, if you use your urine right.
25. Ghiradelli brownies. I feel like these will always make my list. Also, Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream (hers) and Chocolate Fudge Brownie (his)
26. Visiting Suz in AZ while Steve was in Vegas. Food, shopping, and lots of joint TV watching.
27. Charlie and Gracie singing the hotdog song
28. Firehouse Subs on (some) Saturday nights (kids eat free!) and Chipotle date nights. (Maybe I should just include Chipotle, Ghiradelli brownies, and B&J as "the usuals" next year? And Ikea. I feel like this things always make my list...)
29. Gracie's art, and Charlie compliments. "I yike my (which means your) neck-ace, Mommy." "I yike yo shoes, Mommy!"
30. Jamie teaching CTR 4's--it was challegning, but also really fun.
31. "Surprise" trips to Frogurt for "Family Night" (for a while Charlie literally thought the word "surprise"meant ice cream/donuts)
32. My fantastic three-day birthday trip to date Steve in San Antonio, TX (during one of his away rotations). Seriously felt like teenagers--staying out as late as we wanted! Sleeping in! Two movies in three days! And a water park!!!
33. Steve's (first) match day, when he got a civilian deferment from the military! (We're excited, because it means we can maybe be back on the western side of the country soon!!)
34. Kiddo play. They are really friends now. Charlie play-cooking, Gracie playing Super Why with her cape on, everybody closed in the closet with a flashlight laughing (sometimes Caden, our babysit-ee, too), and Grace parenting her elephant, Ellie-Brons, and her Snow White doll, Baby.
35. Visits to family! We were seriously so lucky this year. We got to see my parents twice (Flagstaff and at home), and Steve's parents twice and brother Eric (at their house in June for the kids and I, and in Utah for Christmas, along with the other Waltons).
36. The Olympics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
37. Good books. (My favs this year were Kate Morton's The Secret Keeper, Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, and Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos.)
38. Eating at Richard Blaise's restaurant, Flip Burger!!! (He is one of our all-time fav Top Chef contestants.)
39. Atlanta! (Hotlanta. That town is whack.) Food, aquarium time, a Braves game (the kids' first b-ball game ever), and lots of Olympics-watching in our hotel room.
40. Blueberry picking
41. Visiting Steve for 10 days in Las Vegas! The kids loved the hotel (and so did I), swimming, the m&m store, and seeing Daddy after a long separation. And I loved a date night to "O", my new fav Cirque du Soleil show
42. TV. Maybe I shouldn't like it so much. But we do. We love watching full seasons of stuff on Netflix and getting Top Chef on iTunes. Maybe because we can cuddle up with a blanket, too. So it's like multi-tasking. ...right?
43. Laying on the floor with Steve after work so the kids could climb all over us and giggle
44. Rapunzel & Kermit trick-or-treating with Grandpa Kris
45. Free steak dinners & Blu-rays for Small Business Saturday
46. Writing 100,000 words of my book! This thing may actually get finished someday!
47. Reading lessons with Grace. This girl is flying. And we love our little time together, just the two of us, to practice while Charlie naps.
48. BBQ rib Thanksgiving with the Whites. SO much yummier. :) (Never again, turkey. Remember 2011!)
49. Christmastime. Taking the kiddos to Tanglewood Christmas lights, hearing them sing (Charlie just sings "Rudolph nose so right. Nose so right!"), watching the classics (Frosty, Rudolph, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town), and reading Santa Mouse.
50. Faith. (Not the George Michael kind.)

We are so grateful, and so lucky, and we love you. Happy new year. :)

Top 50 for 2011

Every year I write my top 50 things for the year. This was a good one! We are so thankful for our family, our wonderful friends at school and the amazing family-away-from-family we have found in our ward at church. This year was so fun--here are some of my very favorite things.

1. Our several weeks of Jessica-time when she came to visit in January, complete with too many brownies, trips to the McKay's used books, chess games between the sibs, sledding on our hill (and locking ourselves out), and the viewing of every episode of Pawn Stars (a show about a pawn shop on History channel) that Netflix had to offer.
2. Discovering the joy of freezer meals. A necessity of life now.
3. Every thing Gracie says.
4. Mom + Dad's visit to NC.
5. 10pm feedings with baby-Charlie (before 4 months) when it was just the three of us snuggled up in bed. (Now that we have 2, time alone with each of the kids is a special treat--just to see their own little personalities).
6. And on that note, Charlie sleeping through the night. Oh how we all love sleep.
7. Gracie laying beside Charlie on his baby blankets every morning, and reading to him.
8. Escaping to Sunset Beach with Steve (thanks to the Pearsons for bravely watching a 3-month-old Charlie so we could go!)
9. Steve finishing second year, defeating STEP 1--a monumental accomplishment!
10. Charlie's baby blessing in California, with family (and the Nuckols... who are extended family) in attendance. Love thinking about sitting in the back yard with everyone on that sunny, lovely day. And I love hearing Steve's voice as he confers blessings from our Heavenly Father on our children.
    
11. Disneyland (and a B+B stay) with the Waltons! Always a good idea. Always.
12. Family photos by Michelle... I think we need to make more of a tradition of doing family pics.
13. Tackling new, big goals like working on that book, losing the baby weight, budgeting (gasp!) and learning about nutrition.... and blogging about it.
14. Planting flowers.
15. Weekend nights eating & playing games with the Pearsons.
16. Gracie getting potty trained. This kid is amazing! She got it down so quickly (I mean, there was a progression, but that's TMI, right?) and has been sleeping through the night in undies (with only one or two accidents ever) since April. She rocks.
17. Otto pool parties in the front yard.
18. The Y. We LOVE the Y! Personal time (and cable TV) for Mom/Dad and awesome playrooms for the kids. I never knew how much I could love an elliptical.
19.  Dropping 10 lbs--hey-o!
20. Ordering things from Amazon.
21. Finding yummy new recipes, especially anything we can do in the crock pot (like this chili! I added corn, too. Yum.) or freezer.
22. FINALLY throwing a surprise!!! party for Steve.
23. Masterpiece Theaters (and other miniseries), new and old. New: Downton Abbey, Sherlock Holmes, Upstairs Downstair. All fabulous. And rewatching our faves, starting with the A&E P&P in January. Little Dorrit. The Way We Live Now. Good times.
24. Gracie's first real birthday party (Under the Sea). 
25. Charlie's army crawl.
26. Watching all but the last 3 episodes of LOST. We just couldn't cope with the loss of watching the finally ones again!
27. Our yearly trip to the Ocean Isle! We love our little hotel near the beach; I think Gracie wants to live there.
28. Learning to coupon a little better. It feels like a game.
29. Making things.
30. Eating dessert snuggled next to the cutest guy in the world. Brownies/ice cream/cookie dough + Steven = perfect way to spend an evening. :)
31. A last minute family trip to D.C.! (And oh, I love Embassy Suites!)
32. Free holds at the library. Libraries are one of the best inventions ever.
33. Sending fun mail. (And getting fun mail.)
34. Making home feel more like home.
35. Gracie's excitement at starting our co-op preschool. Big girl!
36. Picnics in the front yard (sometimes even with Steve home in the middle of the day!).
37. Eating out: Panera, Firehouse Subs for free-kids-meal Saturdays, Chipotle, 3rd Street Grill in NC. Wahoos, Edna Ray's, El Burro in CA.
38. A solo trip to Arizona to see the Ramptons + Jess! Shopping, eating, shopping, eating, and reading a TON as I flew ALL BY MYSELF with hours to use for my own entertainment! Thank you to Page for watching my kiddos when Steve couldn't, and to Steven for supporting the idea of a long-girl's-weekend (and for loving the kids and teaching Grace to plank while I was gone).
39. Celebrating 5 years of marriage to my very very best friend.
40. Hosting Thanksgiving! Not so into the whole turkey-cooking thing, but it was fun to break out the China and have our friends over. :)
41. Grace and Charlie playing in her castle tent.
42. Charlie's first birthday! We especially enjoyed watching him attack his birthday cupcake mercilessly.
43. My Kindle. :) Yay. :)
44. Gracie helping "the Chef" (Steve) make french toast for herself (the princess) and Mommy (the Queen).
45. Pinterest.
46. Playing in the leaves (at home and on Blue Ridge Parkway with the Pearsons).
47. Hand-making Christmas presents.
48. Watching The Muppets with my 'rents and the kids--especially Charlie's intense interest in/love for/dancing to the music.
49. Visiting both families for Christmas! The kids soaked up all that face-to-face grandparent time. So did we!
50. Faith in our Father and His plan for us, gratitude and awe for the tenderness and sacrifice of our Savior, the amazing relief of forgiveness for our every shortcoming, and the sustaining influences these things have in the wonderful love of our sweet little family. We are so thankful to have the gospel of Christ in our lives; it truly is an everyday miracle.

Top 50 for 2010

Here it is, my top 50 things from 2010, in no particular order...

1. Steve finishing his first year of medical school!
2. An overnight trip to Wilmington & visiting the aquarium with Steve
3. The NC zoo with the McClains (Gracie was unimpressed, but the grown ups loved it!)
4. A (real) positive pregnancy test on April Fools Day!
5. Emily & Adelaide's visit to NC
6. Settlers and Hand & Foot with the Pearsons
7. New favorite foods like peach quesadillas, and Suzi's crock pot chicken tacos
8. Quesadilla picnics with Gracie on the porch or the kitchen floor
9. Our first family vacation--Ocean Isle, NC
10. Lunch picnics on the porch with Steve over summer break
11. Some great (mostly old-but-new-to-us) Masterpiece Theatres: The Way We Live Now, Little Dorrit, Bleak House, North and South, Emma, Persuasion
12. Target. Even Gracie loves it there.
13. Ultrasounds of our Charlie-bun
14. Jeopardy at 7:30 sharp... and watching for the blinkie golf cart
15. Panera dates, sometimes just at home (His: Bacon Turkey Bravo, Hers: Fuji Apple Chicken Salad)
16. Dancing with Gracie in the kitchen while we do the dishes
17. Oh, Netflix Instant, how you've changed our lives... we can watch Bones, Psych, the Office, Parks and Rec and a ton of "period" films whenever we want
18. Taking Gracie to her first in-theater movie (Tangled--she LOVED it!)
19. Alan Wake, Halo, and Ticket to Ride on xBox
20. Weekly tummy pictures for most of the cute part of our Charlie pregnancy
21. A month-long obsession (for both Steve and me) with Laughing Cow cheese and Wheat Thins
22. Sunday walks in the springtime
23. Moving in to our cute little rental house
24. Steve's enjoyment of (and return from!!!) Air Force officer training
25. Working on the nursery: painting artwork (or walls, for Steve!), choosing bedding, and daydreaming about our little boy
26. The Holt family reunion at "Winterwarm"
27. Taking Gracie to "Dancing Time" and watching her jam with her friends
28. Visiting family and friends on our 3+ week summer trip to California
29. A free stay at an awesome hotel in SD when our flight home got canceled--and then free flights when we gave up another one for a later trip back. Woo hoo!
30. Steve's amazing woodworking projects, starting with Gracie's backyard playhouse (lucky girl!), her play kitchen, and a set of adirondack chairs for our porch
31. Working on our photo-a-day album
32. Watching (and laughing at) all the Twilight movies with Steve, including a trip to see Eclipse on my birthday (nobody tell him how it ends!)
33. Gracie's absolute adoration of pumpkins--her "pumpkin face," calling out "a pumpkin!" on any drive or even during a walk through Target, the pumpkin patch, and her devout love of the giant blow-up pumpkin that sat on top of Party City for all of October
34. Chocolate chip cookies
35. Book club, recipe exchanges, and movie nights with the "Better Halves"
36. The birth of our sweet little ten-pounder on December 13th
37. Steve's awesome test score on his nephrology test even though we'd just had Charlie! (Thanks everyone who brought us food or babysat Gracie to make that possible!)
38. Christmastime: Gingerbread houses with the Pearsons, baking and delivering sugar cookies, wrapping gifts, and taking Gracie to see the Tanglewood lights (one of the highlights of her year!)
39. Our first Christmas just the four of us, with SNOW!!! And getting to Skype with our families for gift-opening :)
40. Writing over 40,000 words of a story.
41. Getting the exercise bike and starting the R.E.A.R. bet... Better luck to both of us for 2011. :)
42. Watching Gracie share her toys and snuggle up with Charlie on his Boppy or a blanket
43. New Years Eve: Papa Johns (the works: pineapple pizza, breadsticks, and a "cinnapie") Inception on Blu-ray, cuddling on the couch, and chocolate covered strawberries (my parents had them sent from Shari's Berries--amazing!) for dessert
44. Being in love. :) (5 years together, 4 years married!)
45. My craft-table Christmas gift from Steve!
46. Another year of watching our Gracie girl grow up.
47. Mid-day dates to the movies (its really exciting to be kid-free AND at the movies in the middle of the day) complete with candy sneaked in in my purse: Inception in July (thanks Mom & Dad) and Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Pt 1 in November (thanks Pearsons!)
48. Getting fun things in the mail... Magazines, letters, goodies from Amazon, and (awesome) packages from my mama.
49. New pajamas. (I think this will always be fun, no matter how old any of us are.)
50. Being happy, healthy, and knowing we are loved by--and love--each other and so many sweet people and our Heavenly Father. We are thankful for this wonderful year, for His support of us during its trying and frightening moments, and that we have His gospel as the center of our lives.

Top 40 for 2009

My favorites for 2009. :)

1. Ending every day snuggled up with Steve.
2. The changing leaves in fall--the most incredible colors I've ever seen.
3. Evenings with the Nuckols & the Sorensons in SD, the Pearsons & the McClains in WS.
4. Going to the beach in January.
5. SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6. Tons of successful flights with Gracie.
7. Aptos for Curt's 50th birthday: sun, sand, relaxation, good food, and family.
8. A week with Em, Rick & Jess in Boulder after Adelaide arrived.
9. The Better Halves.
10. Becoming best friends with Gracie.
11. Handmaking Christmas gifts (and any other sewing).
12. Moving forward.
13. Getting packages in the mail.
14. Writing.
15. Reading like I used to before college, completely excited to settle down and open a book. Most recent favorites Molokai, Rebecca, The Zookeeper's Wife, The Hunger Games.
16. Seeing Steve thrilling over all the learning in med school. :)
17. Setting up our new apartment.
18. Still having a work-at-home job so I can help provide AND still be with Grace. So thankful.
19. Dana Point with Steve in spring.
20. 2 whole weeks with Mom & Dad for Christmas.
21. Thanksgiving with the Waltons, especially tree cutting and cable car caroling.
22. Deadliest Catch & chocolate chip cookies.
23. Mac, iLife, Photoshop Elements, etc. So fun for a geek to play with. :)
24. Crosswords & Jeopardy, Hand & Foot, and puzzling.
25. Field trips to Point Loma Lighthouse, Legoland, the County Fair (for the Incredible Dog Challenge) and Balboa Park museums with G & S.
26. Photographing Reynolda Gardens in the fall.
27. Hiking Pilot Mountain.
28. Meeting up with far-flung friends. :) We love you guys (& girls!).
29. The Sears' gingerbread house party.
30. Flying first class for the first time ever! (And last time for a long time!)
31. Trying new recipes (mostly from Cooking Light) with Steve like butternut squash soup and pasta primavera. Yum!
32. Target. I love Target.
33. Getting to choose Gracie's outfit every morning from cute things that grandparents, great-grandparents, and adopted grandparents have given her. SO. FUN. She has way better clothes than me. :)
34. Stockings on Christmas morning. Still fun.
35. Granola and strawberry yogurt for breakfast.
36. Coat shopping with Emily at Thanksgiving.
37. Working on my 2009 goals.
38. Family time, like just the three of us hanging out, blowing raspberries on Gracie's belly, and giggling.
39. Having floor-to-ceiling windows in our bedrooms. I love the light, and watching the seasons pass on the trees right outside.
40. Did I mention the snow??? ♥

Jamie's Top 50 for 2008

We had a lot of ups and downs in 2008, but I think I'll write only the ups. So, in no particular order...

1. Our positive pregnancy test on New Years Day, 2008 (aka "Baby Day")
2. Spending "Baby Day" shopping, eating Ruby's at the beach, and being excited about our new little secret
3. Blue Lantern Inn at Dana Point with Steve
4. Steve's new job
5. Birth classes + Pat & Oscar's
6. Point Bonita Lighthouse
7. Watching little hands, feet, etc. move around in my tummy
8. Mario Kart and s'mores and just living with Chris & Erin
9. xBox 360 -- Viva Pinata!
10. Labor (it was actually pretty cool, though I'm in no hurry to do it again!)
11. The first time we held, saw, touched, and cuddled our Gracie girl
12. Fitting into my wedding ring again post-pregnancy (took a few months!)
13. Steve's cooking... tacos, chicken ceasar salads, quesidillas
14. Ghirardelli brownies with chocolate frosting
15. The Office
16. Top Chef
17. Project Runway & LOST parties at Krystle's
18. Pizza night with Rick & Em
19. Gracie smiles (and now giggles!)
20. Gracie firsts: swinging in the park, meeting Santa, etc.
21. Staying with Mom & Dad & Tyler
22. Celebrating our three-year-first-date anniversary @ Cozymels (also our first post-Gracie date)
23. Taking Gracie to see Quantum of Solace
24. Sleeping on the floor with all Steve's siblings at the Keesling place at Christmas
25. Pajama dates
26. Seeing movies for cheap on Saturday mornings
27. Hanging out with the Sorensens
28. Pregnancy scrabble
29. Leaving (and receiving) notes on the bathroom mirror
30. Jon & Kate Plus 8 (I love it but Steve does not)
31. Daydreaming about nurseries at Ohdeedoh and Pottery Barn Kids
32. Wondering about our future (we have a love/hate relationship with this item)
33. Living close to Em, Rick & Jess
34. Cute church dresses
35. Crafting, sewing, etc. with Steve
36. The beach
37. Steak
38. My mom's chocolate chip cookies (still the best ever if you ask me)
39. Getting interesting mail & packages (one of my fav things in life!)
40. Reading books, lots of books
41. Discovering Paperback Swap
42. Very fun Christmas presents... quilting stuff from mom & dad, journal from Em & Jess, Muppets Season One from Tyler and on and on! :)

Gracie just woke up from her nap, so the rest will have to come later. :)