Decade in Review

What a life changing decade this was for us!

2000- I rang in the Y2K New Year in Orlando, it was my first full year working for Southwest and living on my own in my first apartment in Phoenix. Rick was in the midst of teaching, earning his Master's degree and also purchased his first town home in Gresham.

2001- Who can forget the year when the world changed forever? My job as a flight attendant specifically changed drastically.

2002- I have many memories traveling the country and enjoying as much on my overnights as possible, including many Mariners games. I also moved from Phoenix to Portland in the summer of 2002- the beautiful Northwest was calling me home! Rick's family suffered a big loss in 2002, his sister-in-law Julie lost her battle with cancer in June, while my own family was saddened by the sudden passing of my grandpa. It was also the year Rick took a leave of absence from his district and tried teaching down in Las Vegas... he lasted about 3 months before returning home.

2003- More traveling for me, I was commuting from Portland to Baltimore a few times a month for work and loving life. Rick was also baptized at Abundant Life in the summer of 2003, the same church we currently attend.

2004- The year that changed our lives forever... After an ice storm in the Portland area that left Rick and I stranded in our (separate) apartments, we both set off a chain of events that would lead our life paths to each other. One word: eHarmony.com. Our first date was March 30, the day after Rick turned 30, and by August we were engaged! We had a fantastic summer of travel, visiting Scottsdale, AZ, Orlando and Disney World, Baltimore, Washington D.C., New York, Honolulu, and Kauai. We also stumbled across our first home in October, something completely unexpected. It was a great year! Tim, Rick's brother who had lost his wife Julie, found love again and was married to Debbie in May, making my life a little easier- two sister-in-laws named Debbie! :)

2005- We were married on March 5th- a wonderful day filled with family, friends and lots of love! We also welcomed our niece Cassidy in February and found out in May we were expecting our own little bundle of joy. Rick's job also changed a bit in 2005, moving from elementary school to the middle school. He went from teaching all subjects, to focusing on math, science and health.

2006- We were blessed with Riley on February 9th and then pleasantly surprised in June to learn we would be adding yet another member to our family right around Riley's 1st birthday. We also said goodbye to Rick's dad, Cecil, in late November, he passed away after struggling with dementia for many months. We visited Honolulu again in August, spending time with my family and also spent some time in Las Vegas with Rick's mom, Doris.

2007- Tyson was born on February 11th, just 2 days after Riley turned 1. We also "upgraded" to a minivan from our Highlander... a sad day in Rick's eyes!

2008- After a long battle with cancer, Rick's mom Doris passed away in mid-February, leaving a large hole in our family. We still miss and think of her often. The day of her memorial service, we found out we were pregnant with baby #3. On November 1st, I was elated to hear Rick say "It's a boy!" after many months of speculation from everyone- Cooper Allan had arrived! In the middle of all the child bearing and craziness, I managed to attend college and graduate with my Bachelor's degree in May and then begin my Master's program in October. We traveled to Disney World in June and enjoyed seeing the kids so excited to meet so many characters they adore. I also reached a milestone birthday in June, the big 3-0!

2009- After consecutive years of engagement, marriage, Riley, Tyson, and Cooper, we really expected this year to be quiet and not too life changing- then we found our dream home! We were blessed to have sold our house so quickly and moved into our new house the week of December 9th, just in time to get a Christmas tree up and enjoy the holidays in our beautiful home. And as our loyal readers know, we also saw not one, not two, but THREE weddings in our extended family this year! Congratulations to the newlyweds: Aren and Jamie, Bryan and Lauren, and Michael and Sarah! Rick and I also took a couple of solo trips this year, staying at Skamania Lodge for Rick's birthday in March and visiting Disneyland in June for 4 days.
**Update** I forgot to add another important milestone in our family for 2009- Riley began preschool! It's fun to see her so excited about learning and her 5 little friends from class!

We can't wait to see what adventures the next year and decade have in store for our little family!

Happy New Year to you all!!!
2010, here we come!!