2012 has been quite a year in the McVey household.  I can’t believe how fast the last 12 months have gone by.  Our theme this year has been:  “change” and “always something”.  This year has definitely tested, stretched and forced us to use every ounce of patience to keep moving.

We welcomed 2012 and hit the ground running.  Not too long into the New Year, a trip to Tahoe (Mt. Rose) warranted.  I found a Groupon.  We were able to get the 3 boys on skis without breaking the bank.   So good to have Nina with us for the trip.  Very cool to see their individual personalities come out when trying something new. It also helped to have a great instructor teach them to do pizza and french fries on the bunny hill.  Brandi kept Carter for us so we were able to get in a bit of skiing ourselves.  Nina and Chip blazed while I took another lesson.  Hopefully we’ll be able to do it again in 2013.

Chip’s sister Bunny and her husband Bill visited us during the Spring Break which was fun!  The girls were here as well.  We had a great time and ate an Awful Awful as well as climbed the ComRow wall!  I was working, which made it crazy.  I also turned 40 in March.  Not too bad.  No breakdown or anything.  In fact it was great to spend the evening with our friend Kenna and then see Blake Shelton in concert.  What a treat!

The year continued to fly and before we knew it Spring was upon us and we learned that we were going to lose Brandi as our caregiver.  It was really difficult for everyone, but she needed to take care of herself and we understood.  After two years with us it was a HUGE change.  With only a few weeks to figure out what we were going to do Chip and I visited preschools and settled on a local place near our home.  Nina, our daughters, Chip’s sister, and her husband also toured the daycare and reinforced our decision.  The Monday after Easter we started outside the home care.  It.was.awful (to begin with).  Carter was miserable.  The boys were uneasy and sad as we tried to help them be OK in this new environment.  Luckily the older 3 boys had a great teacher that helped make the process easier. I was an emotional wreck, especially since we were dealing with quite a situation with 4 kids.  Chip stayed strong and we worked as a team to get through the change as best we could.  Amidst all of that the boys brought home every.single.germ.  It was awful, gross and there were way too many repeats.  We endured countless trips to the doctor’s office, urgent care and after hours pediatric care.  Chip and I thought we were going to lose our minds.  Poor Nina caught every bug.

 Let’s not forget our full time jobs. Both of us are thankful that we work from home.  We were running like crazy, stressed to the max and trying to keep everything sort of under control.  In the meantime Carter was still miserable and we opted to take him out of the preschool that the boys were in.  This was not an easy decision but after the first week it was painfully clear that it wasn’t for him.  We moved him to the Goddard School.  He had a bit of a tough time initially and then even harder time since there was a biter in his class who chose to take bites out of Carter on a regular basis.  That was rough!  Protective mama came unhinged a few times with the school staff.  Fast forward to December and Carter is doing amazing!  He has moved up two classes, talks up a storm and so wants to be 5 years old. No more vampire after him either!

I had the opportunity to go over to CA with our Nina to see her do a triathlon in April.  Another bonus was that my cousin Chris  was also doing it.  Amazing to watch.  After the race we celebrated Nina by visiting some CA wineries.  Had a fabulous lunch and as our final stop visited my favorite winery Rombauer.  Had a wonderful tasting and of course departed with some bottles of wine.  So fun!

Summer moved right in.  Kicked it off with lots of BBQing and adventures.  The girls were home for their summer visit and I was able to kayak with them on Lake Tahoe.  A fabulous girl only adventure.  We also packed up the fam and took a trip out to Pyramid Lake for the first time with the Anaviscas.  The boys had a blast in the shallow water!  We will for sure be visiting next summer.

Chip gardened like crazy over the summer and we had a ton of fresh veggies from the back yard along with our CSA basket from our co-op.  The tomatoes were amazing!  We had so much and could not let any go to waste.   I put my canning hat on and added a pressure cooker to the mix.  We put up apples, green beans, marinara, meat sauce, potatoes, caponata, my homemade salsa and carrots.  We put a ton of spinach in the freezer.  There was also quite a bit of squash in our basket this fall.  I had to find some new recipes.  Roasted butternut squash soup, baked spaghetti squash and roasted root veggies on at the top of the list.  At the end of the growing season I was just about over the edge with the putting food up.  We certainly are enjoying it now that it’s December.

Once we got over the hump of the preschools we registered the boys up for kindergarten.  Full day kinder.  It was VERY exciting but again another change that would be a big one.  After registration and kinder fair the 3 boys started school on July 31.  It was so exciting to get new backpacks, lunch boxes and school supplies.  On the first day everything went great!  However, since the full day kinder is out of our school zone, we are required to drive them every day.  We were also sorta fired from daycare in November because they can make more money on other kids.  Who knew?  So now we drop Carter, take the boys to school, go back home.  Takes about an hour.  Then we pick up boys at 3p and then get Carter a little later.  It is exhausting.  We’ve also added homework, folders, lunch menus and getting where we need to be on time.  It has stretched us thin but we have found a ways to move through it.  The boys are experiencing all of the firsts…Halloween party, celebrating their 5th birthday at school and having a school invited kid party, Thanksgiving projects and learning with others.  The holidays have brought us first homemade Christmas cards and gifts.  It makes me smile to think back on all of the years we enjoyed that with the girls and now again with the boys.  Despite the craziness we would not change a thing.  Well maybe a couple of things like having to unexpectedly replace kitchen appliances or having to pay for full time kinder.

In October Chip turned 40 and was surprised by his sister coming out from MD.  It was a great week!  She helped organize our playroom, gave recommendations for laundry and hampers.  That in itself was so helpful.  We’ve also had some outside recommendations for organization and simplifying our busy life.  Nina also came in to help and just went crazy helping us get on track.  So amazing to have the help and suggestions.  Planning menus and making one weekly soup is a requirement.  We also have taco Tuesdays and pizza Fridays.  Every bit helps.  I’ve learned giving less options equates to less chaos.  We’re getting there.  Chip and I celebrated his birthday by doing a night out to see Eric Church in concert.  FANTASTIC!

The kids are great.  Kaitlyn will turn 17 on Christmas.  Where did the last 17 years go?  She’s doing so well and attending a charter high school for nursing.  She drives herself to school to get there at 6 a.m.  We are so proud of her.  She is also doing a lot with her church.  Kaitlyn has truly blossomed!  Gillian is 13 is also busy with church.  She’s doing an excellent job in orchestra and is now in the LV Youth Symphony.  They will join us on Christmas Eve.  We love a festive, busy and full house during the holidays as chaotic as it may be.  In fact it was strange that we were alone for Thanksgiving.  We’re making up for it now in a very good way.

The boys are so excited for the holidays.  All of them the boys have sat on Santa’s lap and said what they wanted him to bring.  They are right at the age of wonder, excitement and belief in all of the magic of Christmas.  As they trim the tree and open the advent calendar doors Chip and I both think about our own childhood Christmas memories.  One of my favorite traditions is to do a family pic every holiday season.  I am adamant about doing it.  Preschool brought new friends with a set of little blonde twins and their mama who is a wildly talented photographer.  April is also a now a personal friend.  Love her!  There are SO many good ones to see and look at.  Hard to choose what to print.
The house is abuzz and the cookie baking is in full force. All 4 boys decorated the tree and are full on into frosting sugar cookies and tasting everything along the way.  Celia is cookie maker extraordinaire and has created a ton of sweet treats, which she said she’ll absolutely keep doing it when the girls arrive. We’re so happy to have our Alaska family with us again this year.  Even Nina!  Extra special to have all 3.  We’re also super excited that Jamie is visiting for Christmas as well.  He’s the cool dude who plays video games with the boys and hangs with the big sisters.  Yummy gifts from Baltimore have been arriving as well.  Thank you Grammy McVey!

So, as we get ready to welcome 2013 we want to wish you and yours a beautiful holiday. We’d also love to hear from you.  Chip and I are both on Facebook and post regularly.  We also can be reached by email at household@metaforge.net or by phone at 775-737-3032.  Here’s to a prosperous, fabulous and fruitful 2013