The year always starts off with a bang as we celebrate the birthdays of two VERY important Ward ladies. Audrey always gets the better end of the stick with very little prep work on her part. Her two-year-old party theme was pink and teal, and was a really fun adventure. As the babies of Range View become toddlers of Range View the parties only get more and more exciting.
Our family also took a vacation to San Diego to celebrate the 4th of July. It's one of our favorite places to visit because of the lovely beaches, the delicious breakfasts and the exciting zoo. This year we managed NOT to drop Audrey on her face out of the rental car and successfully vacationed an entire week without any trips to Urgent Care. This year we stayed at a hotel off the coast, which in my mind was only a mile or so from the beach. I persuaded Scott to push Audrey in the stroller to beat traffic and go see the fireworks at the fairgrounds. 3.5 miles later we reached our destination with 3.5 miles of walking back to the hotel in front of us. The good news was there was lots of traffic that we avoided (and by lots of traffic I mean absolutely none-whatsoever-at-all). We got our workout in for the vacation, and Audrey watched Cinderella on repeat on the i-pad (oops...revisionist history: Audrey ate a healthy snack of kale chips and plain yogurt while listing state capitals alphabetically and thinking of ways she could help keep her room clean)
I guess I should also mention that Scott accepted a new job in Denver working for the avalanche. He's director of the website and writes content/tweets/facebook posts about the team. This new job has been quite the adjustment for our family. Scott is commuting over an hour (almost 2 during traffic) each way to South Denver which means Audrey and I defend our Greeley domain and try to keep Tober from eating ALL the food in the house. Through all of our adjustment turmoil I have been blessed with the most amazing family who support us emotionally, financially and without question, understanding friends who listen when I feel bad for myself, co-workers who understand when I'm 40 min. late to a 45 min. meeting, and a husband who although we've exchanged some "words" over the past few months is the best partner I could have hoped for. I'm so proud of Scott and his accomplishments.
Let me leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the year. Pictures that remind me how lucky I am to have friends and family to share my year with, pictures that remind me I love my family when I'm exhausted and my daughter is a heap on the floor because I poured milk into the wrong cup, pictures that tell the story of an exciting year full of love, decision making, tears, and above all laughter.
Also, Audrey was on the jumbo tron, and not because we have connections, but because she's CUTE!
Also again, here are some Audrey anecdotes, since I gave up keeping a scrap book when Audrey was 2 days old...
- Audrey tells me I'm the BEST mom in the unicorns (she means universe).
- One day while sitting on the couch she just rattled off the months of the year in order.
- While at the dr. office she pointed to a poster of the globe and told Scott we lived in the "pink one" (North America).
- All Audrey wants for Xmas is a red ball that Tober will fetch (the red ball is easy - Tober fetching willl be a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!)
- She told a stranger at the voting polling location she was there to "poop and vote"
- dad. Be patient with my mommy. She's really nice. She's a nice lady. I really love her.
- My grandma is very special and my mommy is grumpy.
- Audrey loves going to dance class and thinks of all the things she wants to tell Miss Cassie when she gets there.
- She has watched the movie Cinderella 1,000,000 times.
- She loves a Christmas CD I bought at the dollar store and won't let me sing ONE WORD as we listen on repeat (and since it was only a dollar the cd lasts under 20 min. It's shear torture).
- Audrey calls the 12 Days of Christmas the "Patrick Song" instead of Partridge.
- She calls Oreos Ariels
- Audrey's favorite songs are "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus, "Wake me Up" by Avicci (who she calls Aveevo because we watched the video on Veevo), and "Safe and Sound" (that she calls the Trumpet Song) by Capital Cities.
