Oh boy, do I have some explaining to do or what... Yes, I do. My life has been kinda crazy but lots of fun too. I keep on looking at my last posting and that was the day that my crazy story begins but before I get to the life changing event that most of you know about already, I am going to give a quick rundown of things that have happened and then I am going to be posting a lot of photos during the next few days with simple captions. This is simply for my own family history and will not be super entertaining. I am going to start with all that has happened this year.
January- Made my cousin's wedding dress
- Finished Jackson's room (we are talking installing and painting bead board people!)
- Major health scare for Audrey. July of 2009, Audrey was diagnosed with NF1 (look it up on the web if you want the real skinny), during a followup eye exam in January at
PCH (Primary
Children's Hospital), vision was not as good as previous visit - concern there were tumors on optic nerves. MRI was done and it was confirmed that yes, there are tumors on optic nerves. Panic set in - much fasting and prayers by family and ward members as we learned that if tumors grow, she could go blind. Treatment, if needed, would be chemotherapy. After we met with the oncologists at
PCH, it was determined to wait and see, it seemed to them that tumors were very slow growing if growing at all.
- I came down with a nasty case of Shingles (okay, this really hurt bad!! Stress brings it on - need I say more)
February- Nathan in DC for a few weeks as part of his Masters program. Big snowstorm kept him stranded there for many moons. Missed him tons
- Jackson completed third basketball season playing Junior Jazz (kids sports are so fun to watch, I don't know who is more entertaining, the kids or the parents all I can say is "take it down a notch okay?"
- Nathan and I celebrated 13
Th anniversary of our engagement
As you can see, Audrey's favorite past time is dressing up in MY shoes and scarves - I'm happy my closet is so entertaining for her... This particular dress up session, she had ripped a page from my Nordstrom sale catalog, pointed at the model in the photo and exclaimed "I want my hair and makeup to look EXACTLY like hers does". One hour later and BAM - a close copy of the photo - should I show this photo as an example of my work when I apply for a job at the MAC counter at Nordstrom??
March-
Steph came to babysit Brandon's kids while he and Debbi were so fancy and went on a 10 day romantic vacation. Stephanie and I had too much Diet Coke, too many kids and too much fun.
- Went to my friend's Alias themed birthday party. It was crazy and amazing. My friend
Kamille is the ultimate party animal but in a very appropriate
LDS standards kinda way.
- Nathan learned that he had passed a series of exams and interviews and was ultimately invited to join the U.S. State Department Foreign Service (more details on this later). I was
soooo proud of him! Way to go hot babes!
April- Spring Break (I honestly don't think we did anything as Nathan had started to seriously work on his Thesis for his masters program)
- Celebrated our 13
th Anniversary. I love Nathan tons and can't imagine my life without him. One thing for sure, he keeps me on my toes and he is always thinking of our next adventure - this way of life may not be for everyone but it is just perfect for me.
- Had to buy a new computer (okay, this is a major expense) - our computer sits on our kitchen
counter top at home and we use it everyday - for EVERYTHING!! We finally killed it and had to bite the bullet but I really love our new one.
- Audrey had another round of
MRIs and eye exams- everything seems to be stable and normal according to the doctors. Prayers are being answered!
May- Nathan had to go to a conference for work so he brought me along (yea me!). We went to San Francisco and
Monterrey, California for 5 days while my beloved sister Bobbi Ann babysat all my
kidlets! Okay, it was
soooo much fun. We shopped, ate yummy food (thank goodness Nathan is a foodie - I always eat really well with him) and saw the beautiful ocean. This was a perfect way to kick off the summer.
- Nathan and I mountain biked Corner Canyon several times in May and June. The trails are amazing and it's fun to have something we both enjoy. We are lucky to live minutes from some of the best trails in the state! No car necessary!
- Visited the international
Pez museum in Erda, Utah. It is AMAZING!! Thanks Brent
Beezer - the curator - quite talented.
- Tons of stuff to attend for my kids - dance recitals, piano recitals, end-of-year programs for school. May is by far the busiest time of the year.
June- Nathan in DC for 2 weeks to finish up his program
- Jackson went to scout camp and
BYU basketball camp (he loved this! Thanks Mom and Dad for letting him stay at your house during this) What a blast. He met all the players and got autographs. It's so fun to see your kids on cloud 9!
- Bobbi Ann and I took our kids to see Stephanie in Boise. It was so fun but I swear- all we did was feed our kids and clean up the mess, feed our kids and clean up the mess!
Steph - you are the perfect
hostest and I now have changed my opinion of Boise.
- Lots of swimming at the pool! First tans of the summer.
- 300 Soldiers from Nathan's Batallion deployed for a 1 year tour to Iraq. This was most people's second deployment. It was so inspiring to go and to be a bystander this time around. It was quite emotional for me. That night many families in Utah watched TV before they went to bed and had no idea that 300 soldiers left for their deployment and 300 families went to bed without their loved one. I remember that feeling very well. I am so grateful for all the men and women who continue to serve our country and I feel so honored to be married to such a great man who felt it was his duty to serve many years ago when he joined the Utah National Guard at the age of 21 and began ROTC at BYU.
The man in the middle of this photo was the one deploying that night. This is his third deployment while serving in the Utah National Guard. Many years ago, he started operationgive.org - a non-profit organization that sends toys and school supplies to children in Iraq. Nathan and I both agree, he is a very cool guy!
July- Fourth of July breakfast with Nathan's side of the family at Cherry Hill farm, bar-B-Q with our own little family that night and patio-of-fire with a few fireworks. Perfect Summer day and night!
- Celebrated Draper Days with parade and fireworks. Both our families came and we had a blast
- Nathan's Graduation in Washington D.C. He got his Masters in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence
Agency college. Congrats mister smarty pants! My dad, Stephanie, Nathan's Mom and Dad, all came out for the
festivities. What a fun trip we had (us and the millions of Boy Scouts that were there for the National
Jamboree - I've never seen so many scouts in my life nor do I ever hope to again!)
- Celebrated Audrey's 7
Th Birthday at America's Great Pizza Company of Draper. It was fun and she is the ultimate party princess but my digestive tract was out of sorts for a week (I promise I am NOT exaggerating!). I don't think I will visit that place again for a while.
- Audrey began a two week session of swim lessons- she will learn to swim by the end of the summer!!! I am
committed to this goal - even if she could care less!
- Audrey went back to school for one week of Chinese immersion camp. This will be her second year of her Chinese immersion program at Draper Elementary. This will come in handy in the future when all us Americans are working for China, paying back the loans we've racked up in the past 8 years - she'll be our official translator. Oh ya, I know you're jealous...
- More doctor visits with Audrey but everything seems to be stable - thanks for your continued prayers!
Here are a few pictures of the kids on the Fourth of July
Annie and Scott (yes, a former model) moved in July to Omaha for school. I miss you guys tons!!
Draper Days is such a fun event - it lasts all week but on Saturday night they launch fire works from the elementary school next door. We have a front row seat from my back yard. It's perfect. George, our next door neighbor, hires Leatherby's Ice Cream to dish up ice cream for anyone who wants some. I discovered Jane in the back yard, all by herself, eating her ice cream.
August- Nathan was in the Ukraine for two weeks compliments of Uncle Sam.
- Jane turned 2!
- Jackson turned 10! Double Digits baby . . .celebrated by taking cousins to seven peaks water park. Nathan made it home just in time for the splash down. I am realizing I am becoming such a wimp in my older age - could only handle the boomerang once and yes - it is exactly like what it sounds like - A giant half pipe for
inter tubes and you launch into it with a MAJOR drop off. Yikes. Brandon and Debbi had the raw end of the deal - I took their kids to the
water park and they got stuck with my grouchy Jane. It was fun just playing with the kids all day. Thanks Bobbi Ann for your parking pass and your Tube rental pass. So fun!!
- Nathan and I took a couples retreat up to Park City. We read, worked out, saw movies, ate at Spruce (okay, this is a very yummy place - great place for anniversaries, grown-up birthday celebrations and romantic dinners with your honey - you won't be
disappointed!) Thanks Alyssa for staying with the kids. You are such a professional nanny! They loved it.
- I, Tammi
Ringger, ran my third 1/2 marathon. Debbi and I ran the Hobble Creek 1/2 marathon and I got my best time ever! This was very unexpected as I was not very diligent in my training this summer. Sometimes I do get happy
surprises!
- Nathan received his start date for the
foreign service - we were so excited! October 24! Washington D.C. for initial training and then onto our first assignment - it could be anywhere in the world- there are 250 Embassies and Consulates worldwide so there are a lot of options for us out there. I would love New
Zealand or
Australia but who knows, it could be Canada!! (For the record, I have nothing against our neighbor to the north but it just doesn't seem very exotic- sorry my fellow Canadians)
- First day of school for my Jackson who is now in fourth grade and Audrey who is now in second. Sorry Jane, that means you are stuck with me and me alone for 8 hours a day. Should I be offended that on the first day of school when you looked through the window and saw Audrey walking home, you ran out the front door, screaming her name with your arms open wide as if she holds the very key to your continued existence? Needless to say It's taken some getting used to having the kids back in school. We both miss them but boy, I can sure get a lot more cleaning done now that we are not constantly on the go, chasing down the next bit of summer fun.
September- Sun Valley family reunion with my parents, siblings and their families. What a blast - I love Sun Valley and this year was just perfect! We ate yummy food, ice skated, spent a day at Red Fish Lake and did a tiny bit of shopping (when you have that many ladies - you're going to sneak it in there somehow), watched the
BYU football game and had a hot dog roast (Jane is not a fan of fire and smoke - she spent the entire meal in the truck watching a movie on my phone! When Jane has had enough of anything, she yells "Show, Show, Show, Show" until I turn on a movie for her. I am
embarrassed to say this happens at least once a day. What 2 year old will sit and watch a Barbie movie all the way through? I know I should be more diligent then I am at distracting her from spending so much time in front of the TV but she has a short fuse and she is my third - enough said.
- Jackson began flag football - we won't let him play tackle so this will have to do. He is really great but what is even more amazing is he really understands the game - all the plays, the rules - all of that. He and Nathan have so much fun watching the
BYU football games (well, except last week- lets not think about that game against Air Force!!) and all last winter they attended all
BYU basketball home games. I think they've gotta be some of
BYU's biggest fans.
- Audrey started dance again. She just loves it.
The ones who started it all - Mom and Dad. Thanks for a wonderful vacation! We love you. You're an awesome couple and so good looking too!
It isn't Sun Valley unless grandpa take you to the candy store. Each year my dad takes all 13 grandchildren to the Sun Valley candy store and he lets them pick out an assortment of candy. All year they talk about going to the candy store. They can't wait! What a fun tradition.
Here's the candy man himself!
Jane is a outdoorsy gal to the core. She is happiest when she is in the fresh air amongst the flowers and trees!
Aunt Steph with a few extra kids.
A family that skates together, stays together - put that in vinyl and stick it on your wall!!
Audrey has an obsession with band-aids and we were at the campfire site and she kept saying over and over "I need a band-aid for my owie, I need a band-aid for my owie". All of us were busy getting dinner ready but grandpa dug around in his car and finally found a band-aid. He also found an extra something and put it on her nose and told her it would stop her from snoring. She wore it the rest of the night!
Jane loves to get in the bed of my truck - I think she is well on her way to being a back-woods redneck.
Well obviously there will be more to come as we get closer to our
official moving day. I want the kids to stay in school here through December and then we will move with Nathan. We decided not to sell our house due to the highly depressing real estate market so we are going to try our hand in the rental market. If anyone knows of anyone looking to rent a home in Draper, send them our way! I hope I will be better at posting on this blog - but I have to say, it's
kind of indicative of the way I do things, I have 12 journals around my house with the first 4 pages written in and then nothing so I am honestly not surprised that my
writings here have been
sporadic as well. Please excuse the bad spelling and
grammar -
writing is not my strong suit.
Audrey and her best friend Daisy. They had to take a photo with their parasols of course!
Isn't this tractor a beauty? Five years ago, we were so excited to have a large yard - we ran down to the nearest Costco and bought this big, bad, yellow and green grass cuttin' machine. It was but a mear few months later when the joy and triumph of purchasing (in blood mind you) our own little half acre of the planet wore off and we were left with weed ridden flowerbeds and grass that grew so fast it required mowing twice a week. Ahh, the American dream of home ownership.
