2017 Recap - Part 1

Well 2018 started with two feet on the ground, running at full speed ahead!  I don't think that I've had a minute to catch my breath. I love being able to look back at these yearly recap posts though, so despite the fact that we are halfway through January, here we go.  These were just a few of the highlights of 2017. 

• Kate Clemson played in (and won!) the college football National Championship. My girls wore their orange and supported Mama's team.
• It SNOWED, and not just a dusting!  This isn't normal in SC. We got plenty to play in and were even able to do some sledding! 
• We visited my grandmother, Mitzi in Charleston, SC. 
• Kate's birth mom had a little girl named Anneliese, and Kate got to meet her half sister. 
• I traveled back to my home town for an annual friend's dinner.  
• Kate went to a birthday party at a trampoline park. 
• Kate celebrated her 100th day of school by dressing up like a 100 year old lady. She was the cutest little old lady that I ever did see!!

• Kate got silly putty stuck in her hair - on a Sunday morning no less. 
• Kevin and Kate attended Kate's very first Daddy/Daughter dance. 
• My mom and I took the girls to the circus. 
• I got an Apple watch and Karsten was OBSESSED with it. 
• We had lots of fun with our small group. Karsten especially loved playing dress up with her friends. 
• My brother in law had the grand opening of his State Farm agency. 
• Kristen's 2.5 year love affair with her bunny is still going strong. 

• I took a time out from work and went to eat lunch with Kate at school. Love my girl! 
• The weather warmed up a bit and we got to spend some time outdoors. 
• We celebrated Grandma Betty's 90th birthday! 
• A few friends and I took our girls to the movies to go see Beauty and the Beast. 
• I recorded what I thought was going to be Karsten reciting her weekly Bible verse, but turned out being this.
• We met my parents, sister and brother-in-law at Cheesecake Factory to celebrate the MARCH birthdays in our family.

• WARM WEATHER!!!
• Because of the warm weather, we got to go to the lake and go out on the boat. 
• The girls started swim lessons. 
• Kate had gymnastics and Karsten wanted to go SO badly, but wasn't old enough yet.  So, we let her wear a leotard and pretend she was taking gymnastics. 
• We celebrated Easter and the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Best part of the month! 
• The girls had a bast dying Easter eggs!
• I got a little overwhelmed with work and life, and was quickly reminded of where my JOY really comes from. 

• Karsten wrapped up her first day of Parents Day Out with the last day of school. She had a GREAT year and we have loved the preschool that both of our girls attended. It is absolutely ridiculous how much she changed in a year.
• I got to celebrate my sixth Mother's Day as a mom.
• We went to the lake again, and the girls did some swimming.   
• Karsten went to the dentist for the very first time. It was 7am but you would have thought she was going to Disney. 

• Kate graduated Kindergarten! I may or may not have shed a few tears. 
• We celebrated with lots of ice cream dates after church on Wednesdays. 
• We took the girls to Carowinds and a few weeks later, went to Fripp Island for vacation. 
• Kevin did lots of home improvement projects around the house. Thank goodness for a handy man, who likes to save us money by being a DIYer (even though he would never call himself that). 
• Kristi and Davis announced that they were having a baby!  Yay for being an aunt again. 
• Kate and I went to see a broadway production of the Lion King with my mom, Kristi and Davis. She loved it!

• I put my girl-mom skills to the test and learned to french braid Karsten's hair to satisfy her requests to look like Princess Ana or Elsa from the Disney movie Frozen.  And then Kate requested curly hair like Karsten's. 
• Karsten was FINALLY old enough to start gymnastics and got to attend her first ever class.  The girl is hooked. She is in love.
• We are thankful for where my parents live, and got to spend the 4th of July on the lake. Kate built up enough courage to jump off the dock!
• Our church had a water day, which is always one of our girls favorite events!
• Again - lots of ice cream dates for our family. It is summer! :) 
• Kate got to take part in our church's mission trip to a children's home in Tennessee.  We put her to work and I was impressed by how much effort she put in!
• Kate put together a lemonade stand to earn money.  We live on a road with 2 neighbors so it was a bit iffy as to if she would even have a single customer.  Luckily she did have a few people stop by and ended up making a little money. Karsten was her biggest repeat customer. 

And this is just Part 1 of our year!  I am always amazed at how much we pack in.  This is most definitely a crazy season of life, but I love it and wouldn't change one single thing. Stay tuned for Part 2!