Looking Back...2008

What a year it has been!! This year has been so great and has gone soooo fast!! It was a year ago exactly that we were finishing our new house and trying to move in "slowly" during the holidays!! The kids and I slept at the new house for the first time on Christmas night. We slept at the old house for Christmas Eve and Santa brought our gifts to the new house. We had one tiny Christmas tree at the new house and one couch/large sectional that pulled out into a bed. When we woke up at the old house Christmas morning, we all walked over to the new house. It was so much fun!! It had snowed all night so there was tons of new snow. We walked in the house and the kids went to the stairs to wait for Trevor to do his usual check and see if Santa had came. Then the kids were off to see their gifts. It was sooo fun because there was nothing but the one tiny tree and the kids gifts!! That night the kids and I slept on the one couch up in the theatre room and pretty much "camped" out there during the holidays! That was one of my favorite Christmas' ever!! We slowly moved in all during the holidays when we had a chance. And we were officially moved in the first weekend in January!!

One week later, January 10th 2008, Trevor had his knee surgery. He had torn his ACL and meniscus playing indoor soccer the summer previous, but was so busy at work and in the middle of building the house, that he decided to wait until winter to have his surgery. Well, one week later, on January 19, (the day before Rylee's birthday), River went skiing with two friends at Snowbasin and broke his leg. It was about 2:00pm when I received a phone call from Ski Patrol at Snowbasin. I knew before I answered it what they were going to say. Trevor, still on crutches, and I jumped in the car and headed up to Snowbasin. I knew immediately when I saw River that he had broken it badly. He wasn't crying or even looked in pain, but he was white as white and looked like he was in shock. Trevor kept telling River it wasn't broke and wanted to just take him home, but I insisted that we go to after hours. We got in the Doctors office with the nurses and proceeded to get Rivers many layers of snow pants cut off. This was the one and only time of the whole day River shed a tear. He was obviously in excruciating pain. When we finally got down to his leg, it was very obvious that it was badly broke and that we would need to go to the emergency room and see a specialist. So River had to get back in the car and go to the emergency room. All the while Trevor couldn't help me get him in and out of the car because he was still on crutches and could hardly get around himself!! After what seemed like the longest day of my life, many xrays, setting the bone not once-but twice (the worst part for me), a cast up to the top of his leg, and River being the toughest kid I've ever seen, we were off with two members of our family now on crutches. The next couple months I honestly think I earned my CNA degree! (LOL!!)



Winter didn't have mercy on me, because it didn't stop snowing for months, and with the two oldest males in our family both on crutches, guess who was left shoveling off a very long driveway. I remember thinking that Spring would never, ever come. But, somehow the snow stopped and spring came.


On April 7, 2008, River got a walking boot on and could get rid of the crutches. And on April 9, 2008 we went on a very needed family vacation to Orlando, Florida. We met our friends from Georgia, who drove down, and stayed with them at some condos in Orlando. Our friends kids couldn't miss much school so they couldn't stay as long as we did, so the second half of our vacation we stayed at the Nickelodeon Hotel and had so much fun. I'll never forget the last night we were there and we were walking out of Universal Studios and Islands of Adventures, when Ryker turned to me and said, "Mom, I wish I was a scientist!", not knowing what in the world he was talking about I asked him why, and he said "So I could invent a time machine and go back in time so I could do this fun day all over again!!" Great memories!!!


In May, one week after River was totally free from casts and crutches, he was playing with Ryker when he tripped on a chair and fell. He cut his knee open right on the top of his knee. 9 stiches later, he was back to not being able to get around very well or doing much!! It was so disappointing to see him down again after so many months of being down.
The first part of June we celebrated Trevor's 40th birthday. We had a huge barbecue at our house and invited all of our friends and family. We had a great time. The bulk of June was consumed with girls camp. The camp director from our ward had just moved, so I was put into the position in May. It was so hard, but so much fun, and definitely a huge learning experience for me. The last week of June we went to Lake Powell with our wonderful neighbors. They had asked us to go with them many times, but we could never fit it in. WOW!! We had so much fun. Their houseboat was incredible, and they had every water toy made. We went boating, sea-dooing,swimming, hiking, saved a Golden Eagle, and just had fun jumping and sliding off the houseboat. Our kids talk about this vacation all of the time. It was one of the best vacations we've taken as a family.




July we went with the Schencks on the annual camping trip to Island Park. It was so much fun as usual, but a little sad because Rylee missed most of it because she had Cheer camp during the week. Rylee had a great experience at her cheer camp this year though, because she received the over-all top All-American award from the entire camp. This was with high schools and junior high schools, so it was a huge honor for her!!



August we celebrated both Ryker and River's birthdays!! River turned twelve and received the priesthood, he was so excited and so nervous all in one. He absolutely loves passing the sacrament, and even wants to pass it when we are at a ward on vacation! I can't believe how old he is getting!



September meant school was back in session, Ridger and I celebrated our birthday's, Rylee sprained her foot tumbling, I started blogging, and Trevor's little brother left on his mission.

October was beautiful. We had a very warm Halloween, one of the warmest I remember in a long time. We spent most of the month driving Rylee to Utah Valley for Thriller practices and taking River and Ryker to flag football games and practices.
November was memorable because of the Presidential elections and the historic event that it was.

December came and went so quick I can't even believe it. Trevor and I went to New York and had such a wonderful time. This Christmas I tried so hard to simplify and just enjoy Christmas for what it is, the birth of our Savior. We did a lot of fun and memorable things as a family and really enjoyed the holiday.

It's amazing to think that it has been a year already since we moved!! I'm so grateful for all the trials and the wonderful things that made 2008 what it was. In some ways I really want time to slow down or just stop for a while so my kids don't get any older!! The time goes by faster and faster with each new year!! I have so much to be thankful for and I am excited for the new year to come!!! Bring on 2009!! Happy New Year!