2017 in review

Here is our year in review! It's been an eventful year with so many big changes for us!

JANUARY:

Jack, David, and I rang in 2017 at the Salt Lake City airport sometime before 5 am on our way home to Iowa after a Hall family vacation to Disneyland and then to Utah for Christmas. Spencer went back to work a few days before us, so he enjoyed watching football on January 1st while I survived traveling all day with Jack and David. #thepriceipaytostaylongerwithfamily ;)

 

To be honest, January-March-ish in cold climates is always just a time where I have to put in extra effort to get out of the house, enjoy every second that the weather is decent, and hope that the winter blues don't get me too bad! I made a goal to go on a walk before church every Sunday if the temperature was above 20 degrees. We were pretty consistent and I'm happy to report that I didn't have the winter blues nearly as bad this last winter. (Maybe I subconsciously knew that it was my last winter in Iowa ;)

 

We made a trip to Nauvoo to visit the temple.

David turned three! (And I got a short glimpse of what baby and toddler freedom felt like with no nap times or diapers!)

It was the year of superheroes :)
 
 

FEBRUARY:

We enjoyed mild February weather by spending as much time as we could outside and I tried to soak in every last minute as a mom of two kids :)

Spencer turned 29! The weather was good enough to have birthday lunch with him outside. (Good February weather in Iowa probably meant high 40s or low 50s! haha)

MARCH:

We celebrated Spencer's birthday a week later with a day trip to Chicago that Jack totally planned :) Jack said that all Spencer wanted for his birthday was to see Sue the T. Rex at the Field Museum. (Actually that was all JACK wanted for Spencer's birthday ;) To this day, Jack still talks about this so it was a hit for at least one of us! haha

 

 We played in the last snow of the season (and probably the last snow for a very long time!) I'm not mad about it.

 
APRIL:

Spencer accepted a job offer in Arizona TWO WEEKS before my due date!

I spent a lot of therapeutic time on our bike trail crying because I didn't know how our move was going to logistically work out, crying because I didn't know how to find a place to live half way across the country, crying because I couldn't get myself to go into labor, and crying because I was so grateful for our wonderful Iowa chapter. I was kind of a hormonal wreck ;)

Our sweet Kate Elizabeth was born. I was convinced she was going to be a boy so our baby GIRL was a huge surprise!

 

May:

We moved! Basically, my mom flew out to Iowa to pick me and the kids up and take us to live with her for a month while Spencer packed, moved across the country, and started a new job. It was insane but surprisingly went as smoothly as possible considering the circumstances. (All thanks to Spencer, my mom, and Kate who was the easiest infant ever!)

We blessed Kate with our families in Utah.

 
JUNE:
We settled into our heaven sent rental in Gilbert, AZ as a family of five!
 





































































 It was so fun decorating a GIRL room!

 My entire family (minus my hard working dad) came to visit us less than a week after we moved!

JULY:

We celebrated Independence Day at Scottsdale's INDOOR 4th of July celebration!

We went to Oceanside, CA for a quick weekend to see my family!

 

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Jack started Kindergarten!

James, Maddie, and Calvin came to visit and we went to a Diamondbacks game for Maddie's birthday!

 

My mom and Elizabeth came to visit for Elizabeth's 16th birthday!

AUGUST:

We enjoyed the monsoons!

 

I started working at Lifetime Fitness. (I teach one private swim lesson a week which is perfect since I just got the job for the free membership! haha) We spent a lot of time at the pool over the summer and fall, and I fell in love with their yoga classes.

 David started preschool!

 
SEPTEMBER
Spencer went to visit his mom over Labor Day weekend and my mom made a last minute trip to come visit the same weekend during my birthday.

 
We visited James, Maddie and Calvin in Oceanside for another quick weekend trip!
 
OCTOBER:
We went to Utah over our October break to walk the ALS Walk for the Cure with Spencer's family. 
We did all of the Halloween things!

NOVEMBER: 
We went to Utah AGAIN for Thanksgiving. We are so grateful for the time we have with Spencer's mom. In October of 2016 when she was diagnosed with ALS, they gave her less than a year to live and she is still with us now, over a year after her diagnosis.  
Jack turned six! He got to celebrate in Utah and Arizona! We went to Dinosaur Park in Ogden for his birthday and he loved it!
   
 DECEMBER:
We had a wonderful and green Christmas at home in Arizona. 
My family came to visit after Christmas and we went to the Arizona bowl in Tuscon to cheer on the Aggies!


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This is obviously a post of all of our "highs" this year and not our lows, but I love writing these years in review because it helps me remember how blessed we've been and all that God has done for us. Our days are often repetitive, demanding, and exhausting with small kids and an infant and I won't tell you how many times I daydream about escaping real life and going on vacation but I'm sure grateful for this life I've been given and the people I get to share it with :)
Bring it on, 2018!
2016 year in review
2015 year in review