A Few Highlights from last year...

A photo review of our year.

Aimee's First Snow Experience (these are during an ice storm that hit at the beginning of the year.) Aimee loved eating the snow.

Aimee discovers the piano which becomes one of her favorite "toys."

Daddy joins the Army's Health Professional Scholarship Program. This means the Army pays all school-related costs for 3 years in exchange for 3 years of professional service after school. It will be an adventure, and we have good company as several of Boyd's school friends are also in the program.

Spring showers! Aimee's first rain play (with daddy close by!)

Spring Trips:

A spring trip to Kat's parents. While there, we visited the Chihuly (sp?) glass exhibit at the desert botanical garden with Grandma. Truly amazing, this is the second exhibit I have seen by him and I was equally impressed. Any more opportunities to see his work and I will be there!

Aimee loves her 'Grandma-great' who she played with all visit. Aimee would go into her room and play all the music-box books Grandma-great keeps in a box of toys especially for visiting grand and great-grand children. We LOVE to be there and get to know our grandma's.

Visiting Great-Granny Bessie and Aunts Yvonne, Sherril, and Geri. Such Gracious hospitality everytime we visit. Aimee is so loved!!!

Summer (July) trips:

Fishing and picnic with Cousins Mac and Zoe and Granny Bets. 4th of July festival and soccer game with Granny Bets.

Spending a weekend with Papa Bob and cousins. We went to a

park and to a couple acquariums. We love to watch the fish

The most exciting moment of this summer was Aimee's decision to start walking (after watching her younger cousin Zoe running around, Aimee just up and started walking!) In fact,

the same night she started walking she tried chasing Mac and Zoe across the floor. Aimee loved playing with her cousins! Thank you Zoe for the great example!!!

A special trip with Aunt Julina and cousins to Ikea!! woo-whoo for shopping! and then to the

mall to ride the Merry-Go-Round. Another first for Aimee.

Finishing up the July travel craziness with an extended Kat family reunion. This is Aimee taking on the pinata. Yes, she does know what to do with that stick!

Back home again, playing with neighbors Peter and Ian on the sprinkler mat. Water is SO much fun!

Daddy's dental school friends love to go rock climbing, and invited us to join. We discovered a sport we can do together without any competition or difference in abilities effecting the fun of the adventure! Aimee took right to it too and actually tried climbing (with us helping her of course!) Next summer we may need to get a harness for her... She also learned how to do 'knuckles' after a high five. Thanks Travis and Nate for the good memories!!! Looking forward to more. --check out those shoes, size 2 1/2. She is so cute!

Aimee discovers the fun of fall leaves. Compliments to the lawn mower guy for making such a big pile to play in!!! The pile was as tall as Peter, our next door neighbor shown in this picture.

Daddy gets to go hunting, he has talked about wanting to get a deer (for preparedness sake, to have the skill in case it ever becomes a necessity) and now he has done it. He has told me since that the experience wasn't quite as thrilling when he saw something alive and beautiful taken down so easily. I think this will become a "only when absolutely necessary" activity. Turns out neither of us have a taste for venison, though his friends who were kind enough to take him out had a way of preparing it with horseradish sauce and a cherry glaze on top that made it palatable. We have since heard that deer jerky is actually really good. So maybe we will have to try some before writting it off altogether.

And to finish off the memorable events of 2009, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Grandma's, Grandpa, Uncles and Aunts, and best of all... Cousins!!! in Kat's immediate family. A wonderfully warm (though not quite warm enough to use the pool although a few cousins took a polar dive on a dare...) After Thanksgiving, Grandma and Grandpa were gracious enough to celebrate an early Christmas with Michelle and Dave, and Aimee and I before Aimee and I came home to spend 2 deliciously relaxed weeks with daddy for our very 1st Christmas at home (we got video footage of the experience but not any pictures that I could find.) We look forward to future Christmas's at home. Aimee loved to open the paper and boxes, though I think next year she will be a bit more aware of the 'special' nature of the holiday.

And that is our 2009 year.