A year in Review

2010 is quickly coming to a close, so it really is time for another post.

You will notice something new about this post. Instead of a bunch of photos clogging up the entire post, I'm trying out slideshows. Let me know what you think! I've also included a couple of videos just for fun.

Since this is only my fourth post this year, I felt it fitting to truly do a year in review. Let's start with last January...

Jack turned 2. We had a Thomas the Train birthday party with our family. There's actually a post covering this if you are interested :). We also went skiing in Lake Geneva with the Mortensens and Nama.

Somewhere around February, Steve took a new job at a company in the city, Model Metrics. He has re-entered the world of consulting, but this time the company focuses on cloud computing. He's had a very good year there meeting lots of new fun people, learning new things, and even traveling a bit. He's been to D.C, Kentucky, San Francisco, Minnesota, and a few other places. Luckily, they don't usually ask him to been gone for more than a night or two. We miss him too much then!

March, April and May were busy with work and school for all of us. Jack started in the two's room at Bright Horizons and was working hard at potty training. Karen was busy planning a STEM for ALL Conference for Wheeling High School and coaching the journalists for their IHSA competition. Steve was busy learning the ropes of commuting to the city and home while juggling a new job and two classes for grad school.

Then June came... summer.

Karen was still busy with the conference planning, but also got into high gear helping Cathy finish her wedding planning. She and Mike were married in early July in a beautiful ceremony. The reception was pretty fun too if I remember correctly!

July brought vacation. Steve, Karen and Jack took Grandma Sue and Pepere with us to Florida. We ventured south despite the ranging oil spill in the Gulf. And boy are we glad we did! We spent an entire week on vacation starting in Ft. Lauderdale, staying in Marathon Key for most of the trip, and finishing in Miami Beach. We all loved it.

August brought us back to school. Steve has been taking two grad classes at a time each quarter this year. And he's doing an excellent job. Not to brag, but he earned all A's last quarter :). He is beginning to see the light at the end of the Kellogg tunnel. He is on schedule to graduate this coming August. Of course, he has a lot to do before then. He will be traveling to South American for a class this spring. Karen and Jack are a little jealous.

This past fall we worked hard to incorporate a lot of fun family activities. We realized we had been working and schooling so much, we were missing out on the fun stuff. So, we went apple picking, pumpkin picking, christmas tree harvesting, and sledding (well, sledding is on for tomorrow!). We went on a ride on the Polar Express with grandmas. We visited Santa at the Mall. It's been a very fun-filled fall and early winter.

So we are ready for 2011. As much fun as we have had this year, next year has much more in store. Happy Holidays!

Love,
Karen, Steve and Jack

Florida Vacation


Emmett's 1st Birthday


Connie and Mike's Birthday


Aunt Connie visits with her Wee-Woo


Apple Picking


Pumpkins


Halloween




Polar Express


Just for Fun


Family Photos