A look back at 2007

What a year we have had. The time has just flown by. It's hard to think that we have already started our third year of living in the Pacific Northwest, and our second year of living in our house. (We have never lived in the same house for more than 2 years...so we could be in record-breaking territory next November!)

I took a few minutes this afternoon to reflect on all of the big events this year.

In 2007:

- We welcomed our little man, Nicolas, to the world. In the first of what is sure to be many name-related bloopers, the King County vital records department promptly misspelled his name on his birth certificate.

- For the first time in three years, we went over 365 consecutive days without hiring a moving van :-)

- Nora learned how to dance, ice skate (thanks Dydy!), and use the potty by herself. Armed with her floaty swimsuit, she has become a fearless swimmer.

- We said goodbye to the old Volvo and finally got a car big enough for all of us.

- We made a lot of trips to the airport: Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Papa, Uncle Eric, Auntie Nessa, Uncle Dan, Auntie Pea, Tata Morgane, Tracy, Dar, Jay, Jessica, Baby Joseph, Patrick, Lindsay, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Pat, Andi, Brian, Ethan, Logan, and Cousin Renee came out to visit us (some more than once!)

- We put a lot of miles on the car: trips to the Olympic Peninsula, the North Cascades Highway, Portland and the Oregon coast, Ellensburg, Milwaukee, Cedar Falls, and Daddy's excursions to Denver, Orlando, New York, Washington DC, Munich, Paris, and even Vilnius, Lithuania.

- We painted the house (thanks Papa!), carpeted the guest bedroom, and renovated the guest bathroom (thanks Grandpa!)

- April learned how to catch shrimp and salmon in Puget Sound.

- We discovered lots of cool foodie places in and around Seattle: winery tours in Woodinville, dim sum at China Gate in the I.D., phở at Than Brothers in Redmond, croissants at La Boulangerie in Wallingford, Cuban pulled pork sandwiches at Paseo in Fremont, smoothies by the Juice Goddess, sausages and meat from DD Meats in Lake Forest Park, fruit from the Yakima Fruit Market, bulgogi at Blue Ginger in Bellevue, pad thai at Noodle Land in Redmond...

It has been a great year for our family, with lots of big adventures planned for next year. Thank you to all of you who have helped make it so special.

Happy New Year everyone!