2011 was a busy, fun, eventful, trying, exciting, and blessed year for us. We were lucky enough to travel, visit with family and friends and share adventures together as a family. Clare learned more than I can imagine and grew like the most beautiful weed I’ve ever seen. She has shown us her personality more and more each day, she is a strong little Lady and isn’t afraid to tell you.
The year started off with a trip to Ohio for my Birthday. Clare was an excellent traveler and had fun playing with her cousins Maggie and Jack. We made the trek to Columbus for a visit with Great Grandma Eileen where we ate more Tommy’s Pizza than anyone should in one sitting; man do I miss Tommy’s. Clare turned nine months and decided to show us all how she could move backwards, I quickly realized I need to step up my vacuuming routine, she was everywhere in no time! We took Clare to her first; of many I’m sure, Mizzou basketball game.
February brought us snow and our annual Super Bowl party which GG and Pawpaw attended for the first time. Clare discovered her love for the phone, and occasionally chiming in on conversations with ‘Oh’ or ‘Whoa’ and the even ‘Hi’. We survived our first fever and enjoyed some early spring days at the park.
March is when Clare mastered the steps and took years off my life doing it, now she’s a pro at going up and down. She also started pulling up on anything and everything and cruised around the house; we officially baby proofed the house. We took our first family vacation to someplace other than Joplin or Columbus; we met GG and Pawpaw in Phoenix for a little spring baseball and warm weather. March 11th is when we officially started the house hunt; little did we know it would take 9months for us to finally move. It was hard not to mention it in the blog, such a big part of our lives that I didn’t want to discuss in fear of jinxing it.
April was of course Clare’s First Birthday celebration. Grammy and Grampy came to town to help celebrate, Grammy even helped Clare blow out her first candle. Clare also began to take some steps in April; our little girl was really on the move. We visited Dada at work for Easter, the Easter Bunny left dozens of eggs all over his field, Clare picked up a few but wasn't so sure about the texture of the grass. The weather finally started to warm up and we began spending more time outside, Clare’s love of being ‘outside’ definitely started early.
May definitely brought flowers, but it also brought a few storms and a bit of wind. Mother's Day was a low key day for us, unless you count Clare taking her first steps on her very own. We took a an expected trip to Joplin for Uncle Rick’s memorial service, however when we stopped for dinner in Salina Kansas we received a call from Gail indicating there had been a tornado and that we should stop for the night and reevaluate in the morning. It wasn’t hard to find the Joplin tornado on the news. We decided to continue on and see everyone and lend a hand. Clare was just what everyone needed, she was more than happy to share smiles and bring joy to everyone after long days of cleaning and sifting thru. Despite the sadness that surrounded our visit there was some joy, we were able to share dinners together and visit after long days. I’m glad that Clare was able to bring joy to everyone during such a difficult time.
June started with hot weather and longer days, which meant more time spent outside in the evenings, ruling the cul-de-sac and watching the world go by. Clare clearly loves to be outside. We officially had a full time walker on our hands, once she got the hang of it she was off and running. Our weekends were filled with more house hunting, Rockies baseball and a trip to Frisco. Jeff played softball again this summer, so Clare and I had our Thursday Ladies Night; typically we’d carry dinner in and take an extra long bath before reading books and snuggling before bed.
July was a busy month. GG and Pawpaw came for a 4th of July visit and to help pack up, we were supposed to move to the Hanna house, but the sale of Riviera fell thru, but not until after we’d packed 90% of the house. After the house deal fell thru we turned our attention to summer fun; Clare got a new car, she became quite the juice fan and showed us more of her personality.
August finally arrived, which meant I didn’t have to work as much and was back to having Monday’s off. We spent time at the pool, the park, playing in the fountains and having fun as a family. Grammy and Grampy came to visit and we all went to a Rockies game to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary. I was sad to see summer end, but was also very happy to get back to a more normal work schedule, I missed being with my little Lady.
September brought Clare’s first trip to the zoo; we saw giraffes, elephants, monkeys, and rode the carousel and train. We enjoyed some cooler evenings and the start of college football. This month Clare really started talking more and more, her vocabulary was growing everyday. Hearing her talk is music to my ears, I love her sweet little voice.
October was another busy month filled with selling my Condo, getting an offer, and going under contract, on Jeff’s house, visiting the pumpkin patch and meeting up with Ann the photographer for some 18 month pictures. We also took a fall trip to Ohio, Jeff says he’d like to visit Ohio when it’s not freezing cold so we went for a OSU football game, unfortunately the weather was pretty cool; someday we’ll go when it’s warm. We finished out the month with a trip to Joplin for Halloween; Clare enjoyed trick-or-treating around town and having her first tastes of candy thanks to Silly Tommy.
November proved to be one of the busiest months of the year, our plates were filled to the rim with packing, Jeff officially sold his house, we went under contract on our new home, and we hosted Thanksgiving, while also taking advantage of the final warm fall evenings and weekends. The original 5 Evans’, and their families, all came out for Thanksgiving, it was wonderful to have everyone together. Maggie, Jack and Clare had lots of fun playing together, Clare is clearly in awe of Maggie and Jack, and she was constantly trying to do what they were doing.
Our year ended up with the most stressful month of the year. We finally, after a few hic-ups, bought our new house on the 16th and moved on the 18th. Also on the 18th Ruth Junkins, Clare’s Great Great Grandmother, passed away so we headed to Joplin to be with family and attend her service. We left the new house with boxes everywhere and spent the week in Joplin, flying back on Christmas day. While it was nice to see family we wished we were visiting for another reason. The house has yet to be completely put together, we’re still functioning without appliances, and things are still missing but we’re settling into our new home. I'm also sad to say I didn't blog much in December, life was far to busy. I have a lot of catching up to do in January!
All in all 2011 was a good year and we were blessed with good health and happiness, and in the end that’s all that matters. I do Pray that 2012 brings us a little more balance, continued good health and happiness and maybe a little down time. I know we will enjoy living in our new home and exploring the world around us at 8,100 feet. I hope that our family and friends are blessed with health, joy, happiness, laughter and good fortune. I’m excited to see what 2012 has in store for us.
Oh, and clearly I didn’t get this posted before the end of the year, oh well.
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