It seems miraculous that this blog is now 1 year old today. (Here is the first ever post.) As is tradition in our family, the blog will be stripped down to its diaper and left to its own devices to smear cake far and wide in the (faint) hope that some is actually eaten.
I started this blog because of mounting frustration over getting our annual Christmas letter out the door. Our 2005 letter didn’t hit the mailbox until just before the blog was launched. From my perspective, it’s been a pretty successful and eventful year. A total of 385 posts and over 8,500 hits–both far more than I originally envisioned. Some (arguable) highlights:
We moved from Plano to University Park, which was lots of fun.
A lot of soccer coverage–too much to chronicle here–so just a few highlights: Madysen scored on her birthday; Speed had a four-goal game; Layla plays an aggressive keeper.
Other sports too–everyone went skiing (Emma and Layla for the first time); Speed played baseball (and made the All Star Team) and successfully tried his hand at lacrosse (first ever game here); Madysen running track (finishing third in the 100M of the All-City Meet) and cross country; Layla playing softball; Emma playing baseball; Emma and Layla took swimming lessons. And we watched a game or two of the World Cup. Emma and Layla also did ballet (their ballet recital is here, here, and here, and Layla’s big stage debut is here), and Emma did gymnastics.
We also looked at school events. Emma’s preschool program; Madysen in the All-Region Band and playing at Shakesperean Feast; Speed and Madysen in the HP Band concert.
Most importantly, Holly made most of these things possible. She went to the Clapton concert with me, encouraged us all to go the Dallas Arboretum (in 2006 and 2007), reminded us all that she is her mother’s daughter, tried to get the scoop on Mr. Noreply, and has had a few run-ins with local law enforcement. And don’t forget her bartering with Emma to yank E’s first tooth.
Speaking of not being much help, I traveled quite a bit and got to see some interesting sights along the way: San Diego; Chicago (where I attended White Sox and Cubs games and saw A Sunday on Le Grand Jatte); NYC (attended my first ever Yankees game); DC; Helsinki, Paris, London, etc. And in the end, it all amounted to a successful defense of the client.
We celebrated birthdays too–Madysen’s 13th (yikes!); Speed’s 12th, Layla’s 8th; and Emma’s 5th (and Holly’s __th.) And some holidays: Memorial Day; Halloween; Thanksgiving; Christmas (at home, in Erick, and in Santa Fe); Valentine’s Day; Easter.
Finally, we looked back on a lot of events that predate the blog: all the various Christmas letters; Layla’s birth way back in 1999; Madysen’s move into select soccer between May and August 2004; our October 2004 family vacation to Walt Disney World; Madysen and Speed’s first skiing adventure in December 2004, Emma’s early gymnastics feats; our October 2005 family vacation to Disneyland/Orange County; Layla scoring two goals on her 7th birthday; Speed completing the Cub Scout trail; and Easter 2006.
Maybe my favorite pictures and video.
While there is much more, I think that’s enough. (Amen, you say?)
If I had one complaint it’s that there haven’t been near enough pictures of your kids. I mean, what do Speed and Maddy look like TODAY?
And, goodness, Layla – it’s like she doesn’t even exist on this blog.
Would you rather me post pictures of myself in an unending wardrobe of blue shirts?
Besides, there is no complaint department here. To paraphrase Judge Smails: “You’ll get pictures, and like it!”
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