A Holiday Letter of sorts....

Since I've resurrected the blog I put it's address on my Christmas cards this year instructing those who want to or even care to check it out to see what our family has been up to. So here is sort of a year end summary.

The biggest thing to happen in our family happened a little before last Christmas. We moved from our little house in Edgewood to the much larger house I grew up in. All of us are so grateful for all the hard work my parents put into updating it for us, the extra space and huge backyard. I even managed to grow a good sized garden this year and tried my hand at pickling and canning.

Bridget had her first dance recital in June. It really brought back memories of all the dance recitals in my past. She did great in the recital, no stage fright at all and really enjoys doing dance. This year she is doing a lyrical/jazz-hip hop combo class and so far has really taken to the lyrical dancing the most. She also started Kindergarten (at my old Elementary) and absolutely loves it. She is in the PM kindergarten class so I drop her off in the afternoon and she rides the bus home. Initially she refused to ride the bus, but after the first day of school she quickly changed her mind when she saw all her new friends riding their buses, now it's one of the highlights of her day. She is doing extremely well scholastically and has been making new friends. Although most of those new friends are boys which is understandable since Bridget would much more like to talk about bugs or video games (especially Mario!)than play with the more typical girl activities.

Dance Recital

First day of Kindergarten

Maggie turned two this last April and for every bit of a tomboy that Bridget is, Maggie is our pretty princess girl. She absolutely adores her baby dolls, dressing up and being a princess. Although she has recently developed the skill of throwing "Terrible Two Tantrums" she is still one of the sweetest and kindest little toddlers. She is always giving out hugs and kisses, making sure every one is happy and even sharing her toys and candy with others willingly. She was tested early in the summer to see if some speech therapy would be a good idea since her speech development seemed a bit delayed. The testing showed that she was a bit below the average line in speech and language skills but perfectly fine in comprehension. We went on a waiting list and this fall she started going weekly for Speech Therapy. Maggie absolutely loves going to "her appointments" as we call them and and utterly adores her therapist. Her speech has greatly improved since she started Speech Therapy, she is putting together multiple words, forming short sentences and has vastly improved her vocabulary. We are mainly focusing on her pronunciation now since that is where she needs the most improvement but even in that she has been making improvements.

Playing Dress Up


Taken on a visit to Pioneer Park in Puyallup after a visit to the Indulge Cupcakes

The girls and I managed to visit my parents in Oregon multiple times in the last year. PJ was able to go with us in Sept. and in Oct. we went by plane for the first time. The 45 minute plane ride was a lot easier and faster than the 6 to 8 hour car ride. With Mom's help we easily made it through the airport and security. Bridget thought the whole thing was the best adventure ever and continually asked questions about everything, luckily my Mom was there with the answers. We love spending time at "the Ranch" in Oregon and the girls always have fun adventures, whether it be exploring the sagebrush and putting on tractor shows with the John Deer power wheels tractor or exploring the nearby mountains and deserts exploring ghots towns, going on hikes to see huge waterfalls in rain forests or trekking to the top of lava buttes in the Newberry Volcanic Monument. We also made it to Lowell, Idaho for the tri-annual Rindal Family Reunion. It was great as always to see everyone and of course the girls had a blast with campfires, s'mores and wagon rides around the campground. A high point of the weekend was Shannon and Jason's announcment of their engagement. We are looking forward to the wedding in March. PJ even kayaked down the Selway River with future Brother In Law Jason and his cousin Brian. They managed to make it down, wiping out on a few rapids of course.

The view from my parent's place in Oregon

The Mackenzie River a short distance from Sahalie Falls
Lower portion of Proxy Falls

View of the Three Sisters from one of the Lava Buttes

We've been lucky this year that while work for PJ has slowed down it's still remained steady. When PJ isn't busy working he enjoys playing World of Warcraft on the computer and putting together and painting his Warhammer models. I still like to do photography when I can, but in the last year for several different reasons I was not able to do as much as I would have liked. I've recently taken up crocheting and love it. It's the perfect way for me to relax after the girls go to bed. I'm like a little old lady with my cup of tea sitting in my rocking chair crocheting a scarf while I watch TV or more often, listen to books on my ipod. I hope to learn how to knit in the next year, but for now I'm having fun crocheting.

Hope you all have a great Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year!