2008 Year in Review

As we're getting ready to ring in the New Year tonight, I have been reflecting on this past year and what our family has done. So here is a recap of 2008.

January started off with Vai falling at a church function and busting his forehead open. It was serious enough to warrant an ambulance ride to a hospital in the bay area. A nice looking plastic surgeon gave him what seemed like 50 stitches (mostly under the skin for minimal scaring). We felt that we had finally arrived as parents of a dare-devil boy! Our first trip to the ER.

The spring was spent busily getting ready for the "big wedding" of Uncle B and Auntie M. It was a beautiful day and Tata, Vai and Girly were perfect in their duties of groomsmen, ring boy and flower girl. It was a day we won't soon forget.

Shortly before the wedding we lost our Aunt Lisa. It was very, very sudden and we are still mourning our loss. Luckily her oldest daughter has since moved closer to us and so now we don't have to wait for so long to see each other.

Also in the spring we started this blog thingy. Sometimes it is incredibly fun and sometimes can be annoying. But I think we are still dedicated to it for the most part.

Summertime brought about a big change as Tata is now a full fledged US Citizen. Something we actually didn't foresee happening; for at least a few more years. Although not much has changed in our daily lives, it was wonderful to be able to go and vote with him and I can't wait to see his new US passport.

We took lots of weekend trips over the summer, to Paso Robles, Monterey, and southern California. Asides from their swim classes, Vai and Girly also tried their hand at baseball and both seemed to enjoy the sport. But we mostly had a great time being out of school and just hanging with friends.

Vai and Girly started school in the fall. Vai is in the big K and Girly in preschool. They both love it and even Clown boy (Tata gave him that name but I am not sure if it is the right one) wants to stay and "play" when we drop them off.

We hit Oregon in Oct. and had a blast visiting friends and family. Tata even got to play in a rugby tournament and came home with some memorable bruieses. It was a great trip and we hope we can return soon.

The fall was also one of excitement as Tata and I have gotten back to our political routes. We were both on a couple of campaign trails and loved participating in them. We both love the political arena and it was nice to be back and feel involved in our community.

As mentioned, we started off the year in the ER and we almost ended the year the same way . Clown Boy dropped a bar stool on his foot one night and we thought he broke his toe, but nope; just badly bruised it. He didn't walk for almost 5 days. Imagine carrying around a 2 1/2 year old who weighs 32 lbs. Not easy. The toe nail is still black and I am sure it will fall off in a couple of weeks.

Our Thanksgiving and Christmas was spent with lots of family around, just the way we like it. Our children love their cousins and aunties and uncles. We love being from such a big, loud and fun family. The best part is that we keep growing and so there is always someone new to love! This year we welcomed in a new aunt, two new cousins and a new cousin-in-law but we just call him uncle. Our family is our greatest blessing.

We are excited for the new year and all the adventures that it will bring.