Obligatory 2014 Hunt Recap

I am not a very good blogger, being a working mom takes up every single minute. There is one blogging tradition I remain faithful too. My year in review post is my favorite blog post to do. 

This year has been a really eventful and really great year for my family and me.

  

1.Debt Free: Starting January 3rd I will be virtually debt free (outside of our mortgage). This year will accomplished our goal and paid off both my car and my student loan.  It's a huge step to reduce our debt and be able to put money into more of our long term debts like Dave's student loans for his Master's degree or our house and finally start saving for Cam's college.

2. Baby Girl Hunt:  This year we started planning for baby in January 2014. It was a lot of planning to make sure we were ready in every sense for another baby. We found out she was a girl in November and we're so excited for another beautiful curly haired little girl. The early ultrasounds scared us good with some choloroid cysts, but we also learned that it was not a genetic defect and the cysts would likely go away and have zero effect on her growth an development. Also, due to the blood clot when I was pregnant with Cameron, I'm on blood thinner shots. It's a lot less painful this time around. Maybe I'm just getting used to getting shots. To say that this baby is already a lot of work is a huge understatement.

3. Promotion: Last year I predicted that 2014 was going to be the year for Dave's job and I was right. A few months into the year he was promoted to Technology Solutions Supervisor.  He also had the opportunity to act as Area Director for a few weeks this month while his boss was on vacation.  It has definitely been a good year for Dave's job. He has always worked so hard at his job and it's good for him to finally get recognized and be able to work in a higher capacity.

Carl, Dave, Paul  at Youth Conference 2000

4. The World Loses Good Men:  This year was a hard one for Dave (and me), but more so Dave.  He grew up with a group of guys in South Jordan, Utah. One of those guys, Paul, passed away this summer. Dave was really close with Paul and although I did not have that same friendship, his passing affected me too. He was a really great man; cheerful and constantly friendly. I still cry when we talk about him and Dave connects a lot of his childhood memories with him. It's hard to lose someone too early.

On a different level, my Grandpa Bockholt passed away a few months ago. He was older and recently diagnosed with lung cancer and due to his huge testimony he was ready and willing to move on to better things.  I loved him a lot,

Grandpa Bockholt with his famous smile

he had a big impact on my father's upbringing and as a product of that, he had a big impact on my growth and development. I have felt the weight of the passing of these men. The world needs more like them, not less.

5. Cam-Cam:  She's gigantic and constantly learning and growing. This year has been a fun with her for sure.  She talks non-stop and loves reading. One of her favorite places is the library.  Recently, we discovered she has a knack for tracing letters too.
The other day her Nursery class came into Sharing Time to ease them into the Primary process. I sat behind her and watched her sitting in her chair, watching the chorister with her hands folded in her lap. It blows me away how big she is getting.
This year I had set the tentative goal of potty-training, but after three failed attempts and under our pediatrician's reassurance, decided that she wasn't ready and to be honest Dave and I probably weren't ready for that gigantic elephant of a problem yet.
She has found her own interests this year including: books are a continuous theme with her, Dora the Explorer, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Frozen (just like all little girls), Play Doh, letter blocks and playing pretend with her figurines/baby doll. It's adorable to see her take her toys for walks around the house in stroller/coach them on using the potty/put them down for naps. She's becoming such a little person.

6. Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam Again:. I received my first church calling in four years as a Sunbeam teacher. There are only four kids in my class, four very rambunctious four-year-olds that feel like 15 kids.  It's been a challenging calling, but it's nice to talk about the gospel basics and interact with the innocent and happy kids. They are cheerful bright kids only about a year older than Cam. A few of my lessons have been really great for them and it's fun to see things click in their heads the seeds that will grow as they learn and grow.

7. Braces Be Gone:  Best post birthday gift ever. After two years of metal mouth, cutting sandwiches and brushing my teeth after every snack/meal; they finally came off. I've been pretty self-conscious about crooked teeth my whole life and it feels so good to finally have the smile I imagined.  I don't stop smiling and laughing anymore because I don't ever feel awkward about whether people are laughing with me or staring at my teeth.

8. Auntie M: This year was a big baby year for both Tate and Hunt families. On Dave's side, two cute little girls were born: Evelyn & Macie. On the Tate side, handsome little Curtis was born.
Being an aunt is a lot of fun, you get to do a lot of the playing and smiling, and skip out on the super whiny times, poopy diapers and screaming at night.
It's so fun to be with them and see their personalities develop as they grow and learn.

9. The Wedding Game:  This year featured two weddings on the Tate side. My beautiful niece married her long-time boyfriend Angel and moved back to Ohio to live with her family.  I wasn't able to make it, but it looks like it was a great time.
My mom married an old friend from the old neighborhood this year. I've known him almost my whole life. They used to double date when I was a kid. They reconnected over genealogy last year after his wife passed away.  I love that my mom married Jim. He's a really good man and they are so cute and happy together. At first it was a little difficult because things were so different, especially teaching Cameron to call Jim "grandpa". It felt a little awkward and wrong to me, but he is a great grandpa for Cameron and I can see his love and care for her grow.

10. Updates: This year we had a full house. The three of us lived upstairs and Dave's sister Heather and her family lived in the basement (Josh & baby Macie).  They moved out at the beginning of December just in time for the power downstairs to freak out.  We already knew that the previous home owners were diy type of people, but they did a pretty awful job with an ancient panel and the basement drawing the majority of it's power from the A.C. unit.  A few weeks ago we called up Home Advisor for a well-reviewed electrician and he's been working on the electrical this week.  It will be so nice to have a really good basement for spare bedrooms for family, play room and a really good entertainment room I have fondly nick-named the "Nerd Lair" (more on that in next year's post).

11. Family Vacation: This is a first for our little family. Sure, we make the yearly camping and extended family gatherings with my mom/company and Dave's mom/company, but this year we decided it was time to share some experiences together without the extras.  As a bonus, Dave's brother's family lives in San Diego and Cameron is absolutely in love with seeing "fishies" at the aquarium in Utah.  Cami loved the flight and giggled hysterically through take-off. While in San Diego we played at Sea World, San Diego Zoo and during a rainy day we visited the gigantic Nicklecaid world of Dave & Buster's. Sea World was by far the best experience I have ever had on a vacation. The park was empty (thanks to a cooler day and a Thursday in December) and Cam absolutely LOVED it. As a parent, when your kid is that excited and thrilled by something, you can't help but feel that same exhilaration. I can't get over how great it was. Due to baby number two, it's doubtful we will go on another big vacation like that for a few years and it's so awesome that it turned out so well with no accidents, irritations or failures. Successful Hunt Family Vacation!

12. Leer:  Last year I predicted to be once again running constantly, but I rediscovered an old hobby in reading.  This year I read 39 books and it's quite the random collection including multiple genres and ages from juvenile fiction, young adult and adult fiction.  I had a lot of favorites, but if I had to pick my favorite book that I read this year it would be "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. No joke, this book is huge, bigger than the film and bigger than I realized. I felt like it was a discussion on life and choices and how to break free of the various imprisonments one can face.





As you can see this year was pretty eventful for me and my family. We have grown even closer together and have really bonded as a family. This year felt incredibly fast.  I can't believe that it's already the end of 2014. It's been a great year, nay, a FANTASTIC year. I'm sad to see it end, but I expect next year to be just as fantastic as long as I have my family, friends and neighbors.  Here's to 2015, may it bring everyone joy and love and butterflies.