Wishing you a Merry Christmas in 2012!

Here we are again! I can’t believe another year has come and gone. If you’re visiting because of the note on our Christmas card, thanks for stopping by to read about our year. And what a year it has been! Although we haven’t gone many places, or done many adventurous things, having three three-year-olds can certainly liven up things! It’s been a crazy, and happy year. Let’s re-cap on the uneventful events:

The year started off a little rocky when all the kids came down with a horrible stomach bug at the exact same time (right on KC’s 35th birthday!). Our first big bout since they were born, leaving quite an impact us, still being quite new at this parenting thing. Definitely a learning experience for us. To detox from all that stress, I treated myself to a solo hotel stay for a night. It was worth every penny and more, and I’ll will always remember that I let myself be a little selfish (and enjoyed it) during this crazy part of my life.

We celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary in March. It was low-key but wonderful. We are so happy with where these years have taken us. Time really does fly. 

In the spring, my sisters, mom, and I were itching to get together, and noticed a great deal on flights from Utah to New York. So the west-coasters and east-coasters united for a fun filled couple of days in NYC! Then we all rode the bus back to Maryland where the fun continued. I love my mom and sisters so much, and wish we were together more often. (Thank goodness I have one sister close by!) We made some great memories during this short time together. The husbands were all so great to support our adventures. 

Not long after that, I found myself in New York AGAIN with some girlfriends. We took a day trip to go see Newsies, and it was an total blast! It’s so great living a short and cheap bus ride away from such cool places.

At the beginning of the summer, I noticed a deal for a boot camp that met at a park close by on Living Social. A little bored with my morning running routine, I gave it a shot. What started out as a 30 day trial, turned out to be something I really love and didn’t want to let go. I joined the class, and eventually became the co-instructor! It has been a wonderful escape for me, and I look forward to a good work-out and being with my great friends every morning at 5:45 AM. I’ve really been focusing on my health and fitness this year, and I think it’s been a great thing for the whole family. It also gave me the little push I needed to register for my first a half marathon this coming March! It will be a huge milestone for me, someone who once said I would NEVER enjoy running like the rest of my family. I take it back, cause I truly love it now.

We made it through a few crazy storms this year (here and here), but were extremely lucky to make it through Hurricane Sandy unscathed! We were definitely counting our blessings after hearing the devastation it’s cause the surrounding areas.

We decided to get season passes to Six Flags this year, with it being so close. There was more for little kids to do than I thought, and the triplets barely made all the height requirements for the rides. Elise and I took all the kids many times and we had so much fun going early and beating the crowds. I also took the kids on individual mommy dates there so we could have fun at the water park (so much easier/safer to do one on one), which I absolutely loved (see Alex, Bennett, and Ruby.) It was a fun summer.

My twin sister Melody had her third child, sweet baby Evy, this summer, and it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t get to see her! KC’s sister Camille also had a darling baby girl Stella, and was staying in Utah for part of the summer. So, I took a trip all by myself for nearly a week so see the new babies and their moms! It was also great to see everyone else I always miss. KC was awesome and supported me taking that time off. It also helped that his parents offered to come help out while I was gone. Lucky guy! It sounded like the kids had the time of their lives being spoiled by their grandparents for a week.

We thought it was time we tried taking  the trio on a road trip. We didn’t go far, just to Williamsburg, VA a few hours away. Whew! It was a tricky time, not being in our toddler friendly environment, but we managed to get a few fun memories in amidst the chaos. We’re glad we tried, but were also glad we weren’t more ambitious.

The kiddos turned THREE in September, and it’s crazy how fast the time has gone! Okay, sometimes it seems to get going in slow motion (particularly during those days when tantrums and fighting seem to be never-ending), but even though, during the hard times, I think I might go completely insane, I am so glad to look around at the craziness and call know that it’s our craziness. They are growing up WAY too fast, and I miss my little babies every day. But I absolutely love my big toddlers and their constant entertainment, so I wouldn’t change a thing even if I could. We had a great celebration in honor of them. They are happy, smart, darling little ones, and are very much into singing at the top of their lungs (mostly Ruby), stickers (mostly Bennett), and coloring (mostly Alex) among other things. We love those kids to death.

Shortly after their birthday, the potty training commenced! It was a challenging couple of months, but we made it through, and now how three very capable potty-goers. It definitely helped that I convinced my mom to extended her one week trip into three weeks to help get it done twice as fast. It’s crazy to be past our diaper changing days!

KC continues to work for the same Civil Engineering firm, and while we have been incredibly grateful for the great job he has had all these years, we have always felt that Maryland is not the place where we are supposed to settle down. We’ve been talking bout moving for many years. But with everything that’s happened in our recent past, it’s been hard to really focus on it, until now. It’s been a roller coaster of a year, and we’ve wondered and prayed about what was next for our family. With our space feeling smaller and smaller as our kids get bigger and bigger, we knew it was definitely time for a change. To make a long story short, we were extremely fortunate to finally find what we have been looking for for so long, and KC has accepted a position in Denver, Colorado! Although it’s hard to believe we won’t be in this place we’ve called home for so long anymore, there is no doubt it’s the right decision. There’s definitely more to this story, but this is the gist of it for now. Our one way tickets leave on January 31st, and we are doing everything we can to enjoy this great place while we’re still here. We’ll miss our Maryland family desperately, and hope to always remain close to those we have grown to love here. I’ll especially miss being so close to the Ribeiras. We’ve had a great couple of years together. It’s going to be an adjustment, but we are up for the challenge and can’t wait to see what Colorado has to offer our little family.

So, that sums up 2012. We made it another year with these three crazy, beautiful, hilarious kiddos, and have grown closer as a family. While I try to keep Christ close to my thoughts at all times, I love that this time of year brings my heart closer to him as I remember what this wonderful season truly means. The children have been more excited and aware about Jesus this year, and we can’t wait to teach them more and more about him through the years, so they will learn to adore Christ the Lord as KC and I have. We hope that all our friends, family, and any strangers than may stumble across this blog also feel the love of Christ in their lives.

With love,

The Robinson Family