Learning to Blog and 2008 in Review

So two of my new year's resolutions is to 1) be better about recording family history, AKA: Journal writing, and 2) do a better job of keepig in touch with everyone. I thought the easiest way to do this is to try out the blogging thing.
2008 has been a whirl wind to say the least. We finally moved into our new house. After a year of remodeling, we are in it!!! It is so fun to be in our own home. My parent's were so awesome to live with, but everyone needs to be with their own family at some point. Ben and I love living close to family, but we are so thankful for the few years we lived far away from any relatives and had to rely on each other in the beginning of our marriage. We have so many fond memories of just the two of us in Florida, Utah and China. But now there are so many joys of being able to be with family for all the traditions. Having the cousins so close that they can play together all the time, and especially having parents and sisters that will help with babysitting when you are in a bind.
It was such a huge blessing to be living near family this last year as we had so many things going on and needed so much help and support that only the best family could give!!
One of the biggest accomplishments is that ben and my dad remodeled our house. We gutted it and redid all of it. And we would never have been able to do it with out all the hours my dad put in. Ben is learning to be a handy man, as is so grateful for the best teacher ever, my dad, Forrest.
You can never know how many decisions have to be made for every little detail in a remodel. Every time you think you are going to have a break from making another decision, you have to decide what size of trim you want in teh bathroom, how many inches between the island and the counter, how high do you want the shelves, what type of baseboard, where do you wnat lights, etc....it just weighs on your mind and sometimes you go a little nuts thinking about if it is all going to look good and how much money and time you just put in and then you might not like it....ahhhh, I am so glad it is over with and we are enjoying it....well I guess it is never over since we have a lot more to do, like finishing baseboards, touch up painting, fixtures, etc. But even amidst the refridgerator breaking twice, having a huge leak in the floor the week after we moved in, the washing machine flooding the laundry room five times and the vent breaking, we absolutely love, love, love it! We love our own little home with a messy backyard and a green driveway. We love, love, love our neighborhood!! It is just like when we were kids. Kids playing outside, talking to your neighbors and people always looking out for each other! We love it!!! My dad and ben did an amazing job with all the details!

Another big accomplishment is that I finally finished my Master's degree. I finished all of my coursework before we went to China in 2004, I collected my research when Brookelyn was 3 months old and then we moved to California and I started coaching high school and club and life just happened. I realized last July that my classes would expire at the end of the year. So i kicked it into high gear and put my mind to finishing it amidst coaching high school, planning a ten year reunion, finishing the house remodel, and moving twice. My entire committee was so surprised that I finished it. One of my professors told me I was the first one to come back after being gone for so long. I definitely could not have done it without Ben being so supportive and helping with the kids everynight while I read articles and did rewrite after rewrite after rewrite. My mom helped with the kids so much and actually flew out to Utah with me and watched the girls while I defended and rewrote again!!! My friend Suzy Young also helped me so much with the stats. That girl is amazing!! It was a team effort to get it done. It was a huge accomplishment for me and I am so glad i did it and even more happy that i don't have to do it again!

Some of the fun things from 2008 were:
2 trips to Disneyland with all the cousins. The first in January, the Second the first of December. The first trip was with 27 people (Lousi's, McCoys, Tina and the entire Bodily clan). And amazingly we stuck together almost the entire time!
A few weeks in Utah for the 4th of July and Ben's work conference. Ben, Noah and I did a team triathlon in Echo Canyon. Note to self: Don't ride a mountain bike in a road race, and make sure the seat you use is just a little bit padded. (Ben's manager was nice enough to let me borrow one of his bikes, the only problem was that I had bruises from the seat for a few days after.)
The Annual Gualala adventure!!
The Eyre Reunion. THis year we had it at the house and it was the same week as Chris and Hedy's farewell. They are serving as Mission President to the Canada Toronto East Mission. We miss them a ton. It has taken some getting used to not having Nana and Punka to go see. Brooke still asks to go see them on sunday afternoons. We are excited to go visit them hopefully sometime next summer.
Ben got to go on a week long fishing trip with all the Bodily guys. They spent an entire week on a boat with just the five of them.