1. Buying our first house/Moving to Texas
Buying our first home is probably something Rich & I will always remember from the year 2013. We love our new home here in Texas. We love our neighborhood, ward, location to work, how family friendly it is and so much more.
2. The job search: NM, WA, OR, ID, OK, TX
It wasn't exactly easy the road we took to get here. For many months Rich interviewed and looked into many jobs. We started off with an 8 hr road trip (with a random snow storm the last hr of the drive) to Albuquerque to check out a practice. We later flew out to check out two jobs in Washington and one in Oregon. Next we drove out to Utah and then onto Idaho to check out another three. Then Rich went back to Oregon to look at three others. We also had an option of staying on part time in Oklahoma. Lastly, we had the job here in Texas and because of various things not working out or not being a right fit we ended up here in Texas and we really feel like it is the place we were supposed to go next. Maza and Lexi were champs going on roadtrips with us and also Taylor for holding down the fort during one of our trips. We couldn't have done it with all of our friends and family who let us stay with them along the way.
3. Rich starting his first job
After 4 years of dental school and one year of residency Rich is all on his own in private practice now. It has been a really big adjustment for him as he is the only dentist in his practice and has really had to figure out how to do dentistry in the "real" world. He has done great though, his staff and patients love him and he is always learning how to be a better dentist.
4. Trips: Kansas City, CA, San Antonio, Birmingham,
And if the interview trips weren't enough, we still managed to take a few more trips this last year. We took a little weekend getaway to Kansas City where Lexi and I ran the Color me Rad 5 k race. At the end of summer we flew out to San Diego to party it up with Taylor before she left on her mission. After we moved here to Texas we took a weekend getaway to San Antonio where we enjoyed walking the riverwalk and checking out the Alamo. Over Thanksgiving we drove over to Birmingham (about a 9-10 hr drive) to spend Thanksgiving with my Aunt Julie and family. We had so much fun eating delicious food, playing just dance, and black Friday shopping (my first experience ever!)
5. Fifth Wedding anniversary/Christmas in Delaware
We had one last trip to end the year out to Delaware with the Bradshaw's for Christmas. We also celebrated out 5th anniversary. Can you believe that?! It's been a great 5 years. We can't wait to see where the next 5 years take us.
6. Maza talking
When Maza turned two she just started talking like crazy. Every day she picks up more and more. It totally blows us away. She is so sweet and can be so funny. Her latest feat is she is even starting to sing a few songs. Twinkle, Twinkle and singing along to Frozen songs. So cute!
7. Britt taking classes again
This year I started taking classes online through BYU-I. I'm taking a class or two a semester, mostly for fun, but hoping someday to finish my degree in healthcare administration. The first few classes were easy peasy, but my accounting class I am taking now is stretching me. I love the chance to learn new things though.
8. Disasters: Hail, Tornadoes, Wind storms, Car accident, Ice storm
We have survived a couple of crazy things this past year. Oklahoma every once and awhile would have hail storms--hail the size of golf ball or baseballs. Most everyone had damaged cars. Through a series of fortunate circumstances we were able to somehow avoid them and our car survived unscaithed. Well at least our Elantra did, the Pontiac did not survive long. The day before Lexi's 16th birthday she got sideswiped and totaled the car. It was fun being a two car family while it lasted. We also survived two major tornadoes in Oklahoma (two of the worst in history) and a wind storm that ripped out the power lines in front of our apartment. Texas has had its share of disaster as well. We got a taste of Texas winter with an ice storm that shut down the area for almost a week.
9. Discovering we are pretty social people-- dinners, parties, making friends in TX
We never really though of ourselves as really social people, but we have discovered not only are we social we are also initiators. Having a house has helped with that. We have thrown a Halloween party and probably have someone over for dinner about once a week. I think it is because we have moved around a bit, but we have also tried to make it a practice to always invite new people over the first Sunday we meet them. We have fond memories of the Kronks always opening their house to us and really want to be that type of family.
10. Becoming 100% independent (on own cell phone plan)
This may be surprising to some of you, but up till this year we have not been completely independent. I have had my phone on my parents plan since I was married and we have always just kept putting off making our own plan. This year it changed when I not only graduated to having our own plan, but also to having my very first smartphone. I love it.
Every year we do this, we are always amazed at how much has happened and how much our lives have changed. We cannot even imagine what might happen next year. We are so very blessed and lucky to have had so many adventures and to know so many great people.
