2011 top ten

It has been kind of hard coming up with a top the for this year! We have had a nice quiet year, I guess but here it is.

10. The beaches of FL- we visited the beach as often as we could this year. We made it to Cocoa, Daytona, Treasure Island, and several smaller beaches on both coasts. We even spent Christmas Eve day at the beach!

9. Scouting-DB had a full year of scouting and earned his Wolf. He loves scouts, and I love that it gives us some good ideas for FHE!

8. WDW- if we ever had some spare time or a day off of school, odds were that we could be found at Walt Disney World! We live about 15 min from the gate (and will soon be moving even closer!) and definitely used our FL resident status to our benefit!

7. Mama and Papa Shoff-oh, how spoiled we are by our gramma and grampa! The came to visit us not once, but TWICE this year! We have such a good time when they come and I really appreciate the time they spend with us.

6. New car-we sold the Lexus SUV and were intending to buy a house here but have felt that we should hold off on that, so we bought a Honda Civic. It is perfect for me and the minions to run around in and will suit me great when I am commuting to school in 2012.

5. Joyschool-JT, SM and I participated in joyschool this year with some friends we have made here. I am not exactly sure how much learning happens sometimes, but we all have had some fun doing it.

4. St Augustine- when I got back from Utah this summer, Ben took me to St Augustine for my birthday. We had so much fun on our first trip without the munchkins in tow in 4 1/2 years! Thank heaven for Uncle David and Aunt Becca!

3. Broken elbow-ah, yes. The broken elbow. 4 days before coming home from UT....surgery, 1 sling, 2 casts, 7 long weeks-- good times. JT took it all in stride though and actually taught me a LOT about perseverance, patience, courage and the effect of a positive attitude.

2. Ragnar training-the last 5 months have been completely consumed by my training. My whole family has helped me in preparing. Ben has watched the kids in the mornings during my runs, dealt with random runs at the drop of a hat, DB has ridden his bike along side me, JT and SM stretch with me before and after runs...now let's hope they all get along while I am gone for 4 days next week!

1. Utah visit-we spent 5 weeks in Utah without Ben. That was so hard to be apart that long, but I was so grateful for the time it gave me to spend some good time with both sides of our family.
The kids did a good job on our flights, and we had some really great experiences while there.

2011 was a quieter year for us, but that just gave us time to cultivate friendships, learn, and grow closer together as a family. 2012 is knocking on our door with a LOT of enthusiasm already, so I am going to sit back, relax tonight and enjoy the last quiet moments of a year that has served us well.