2012 - Not the End

So another year has come and gone and I continue to be bad about updating this blog! Sorry about that, truly. Life, as we all know, has a way of drawing us in and distracting us from our good intentions. I make no excuses beyond that. I'm not big on excuses anyway so it works better this way for all of us. :) I also neglected to take pictures until Christmas this year, too, which is a true travesty since my lovely husband bought me a wonderful new camera for my birthday! So hopefully when it gets above 12 degrees and I can get the boys to stand around outside for more than five minutes at time without having to wear hats, gloves and coats, then I can take some good pics for their freshman and sophomore years. David is out of school now, so I'll not enforce taking photos of him every year now, but I did make him stand in for the family photo. He didn't argue ... much.

So Christmas was lovely. Thanks to a generous donation to the Christmas fund by my parents and a care package from John's, the boys were able to have some very nice things! David had his eye on a waist length wool peacoat in navy which we were able to obtain for him. COSTCO memberships do have their privileges. Jason (previously known as Zach) was able to get the glow poi he had been wanting for a couple of years (though on Christmas morning he just got the confirmation paper that it was on its way - it had not yet arrived in the mail!). Alex, being so interested in video gaming lately, received new headphones that include a microphone for him to play with friends on Xbox Live. They were all incredibly happy with everything they got, even the clothes! John bought me a bunch of clothes, which was a good thing this year, and for him I remade the playa coat (the fur coat you see in the photos). It needed a makeover after having been used for the last 5 years and gotten pretty worn. So I included 12 pockets in the new liner, including a camel back pouch, and replaced the red, green and blue fur with the black, purple and turquoise. He seems pretty thrilled.

Scoobi liked her Christmas present, too! She is still working on that bone today, but it's effectively in two pieces.

After Christmas, John and a friend took off to snowboard at Jackson Hole in Wyoming. Another friend of his whom he met at Burning Man his first year works there through the winters and had a free lift ticket good for three days. He offered it to John for free and invited him to enjoy accommodations at his place while he was there. It had always been on John's Bucket List to snowboard the Tetons and I was happy to send him off as another Christmas gift.

Earlier in the year I attended my first Burning Man with John. It was largely what I expected and I enjoyed spending the 11 days with John and meeting people from all walks of life from around the country. The art was fantastic and beyond imagination, which is particularly something I was looking forward to seeing. The experience was similar to camping through the days, albeit with intermittent dust storms, and clubbing at night. I love dancing and enjoy camping and visiting with new people, art, dressing in silly costumes, exploring and, in general, most things the event had to offer. The braids I put in my hair to save it from the damage of the dry environment helped a lot, too, and if I go again I'll be sure to have them. If it weren't so incredibly expensive to attend the event, it might be a fun yearly getaway. As it stands, we'll have to see where finances are to know if it is plausible from time to time.

Aside from that there were no huge adventures (not like Cabo last year!). We had many small ones though, including a spontaneous trip in October to Seattle to enjoy a weekend with some friends we met at our Burning Man camp (called Stag Camp). As always it was a ton of fun spending time with them.

Jason is the first of the boys to have a steady girlfriend, and he enjoyed taking her to his first Homecoming dance in October. Alli and he are still together and plan to stay that way. Some of you have asked for a picture of her and I thought I'd toss one in here before I closed. :)

We miss our family back in Ohio and wish it were easier to visit, but we know we're in the right place right now here in Idaho. Maybe this year will bring us the opportunity (and finances!) to make it back for a visit - or for some of you to visit us here! For now, may you all have the very best of winters and may all your dreams come true for you in 2013! We love you all!
Steph