Sheffer Family Blog: YEAR IN REVIEW

After we survived the Blizzard of 2011 (which did not involve snow but rather five different activities all in one 24 hour period in December) I thought I would get our yearly Christmas letter/card/DVD out.
But my friends, it is just not meant to be. I am TOO TIRED.
So instead, I followed the lead of several fellow bloggers and put together a "SHEFFER YEAR IN REVIEW".
Hope you enjoy it.

P.S. To see the pictures larger, CLICK on the picture

JANUARY:
As is tradition, we start the new year at the home of our friends, the SHERMANS.

Our new nephew is born. Roman is the son of Kellee and Frank.
We lose my Grandpa John. We will miss him.
We lose our faithful kitty companion of 17 years to liver disease. I honestly still miss him every day.
N starts playing basketball
N earns his BOBCAT award.

Pepper wins all four of her events at her Region swimmeet. The girls team wins the Region title.

FEBRUARY:
E1 medals at State Swim, earning a 3rd in the 100 yd Breaststroke and a 5th in the 100 yd Free. She is the only girl in her entire region to medal.

Darren and I fly to Florida to see the darling Baby Duque (and his parents)

We enjoy a 9 day cruise to the Carribean. Our ship loses an engine. Our ship catches fire. We don't go to half of the scheduled ports and are rerouted to several new ones. We visit the US Virgin Islands, Antigua, St Maarten, and St Thomas. We have a blast and love every minute.

MARCH:
E1 starts running hurdles in track.
She attends her Junior prom.

N participates in his first Pinewood Derby.
We worry about our friend Eiko after the earthquake/tsunami that devastates Japan.

APRIL:
We visit Southern California and spend a busy day taking a whale-watching cruise, visiting the Aquarium of the Pacific, and driving to see Hollywood Blvd.

We take one final trip to Disneyland before our annual passes expire. In all, we visit Disneyland 27 different days during the year.

We are relieved to finally hear from Eiko. We gain new perspective from her as she writes they are having a very difficult time with lack of water and successive aftershocks but that she is hopeful as "spring has come".

MAY:
N starts baseball
E2 makes the drill team.
E1 finishes track.
The band, The Weird Sisters, make a tour stop in Richfield.

JUNE:
E3 has a birthday!
E1 attends girls state.
Sonja's parents surprise them with a baby grand piano.

JULY:
We celebrate LOTS of birthdays including the birth of our country. My sister Kellee and my darling nephew Roman come to visit.
All four children participate in summer swim.

We enjoy watching the final episode of Harry Potter 7.
We visit Anasazi State Park, the Petrified Forest State Park, Kodachrome State Park, and Bryce Canyon National Park over the course of a week.

We go trilobyte hunting near Delta with Grandpa T.

We get to the lake as often as possible (but it's never enough).

AUGUST:
We visit our Sheffer Grandparents in SLC and also take in Lagoon and the Clarke Planetarium.

The kids camp for a week with Grandma and Grandpa.
N and E3 start Soccer.
N earns his "Wolf" badge.
We spend more time at the lake.
The kids start school.

SEPTEMBER:
BYU football starts!!!
N survives "Annie Bangs" at Gooseberry.
He starts playing flag football.

Soccer continues for both N and E3.
E1 starts her final swim season.
E2 dances at several football games.
E1 attends Homecoming.

Darren and I celebrate our 18th Anniversary!

OCTOBER:
We enjoy conference weekend.
We continue attending all the BYU home games.
E1 is selected as the school's Sterling Scholar in Science.
We visit the pumpkin patch with our friends the Crowthers.

We get a new kitten, named Clawson.

We enjoy a Halloween Dance Recital, a Halloween Ward Party, and trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. E3 is the "Snow Queen" and N is a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter.

NOVEMBER:
E1 has her first swimmeet.
N has a birthday. We visit the Museum of Natural History in Lehi (his favorite) and eat at Golden Corral (also his favorite).
N starts playing basketball.
We finish the regular BYU football season

We go with the Crowthers to cut Christmas trees and have a perfect day.

We host Thanksgiving for my extended family. I am so happy to see my sister Regina!

DECEMBER:
We have a whirlwind month with dance performances at Christmas Tree Lane and the Nutcracker, two band concerts, two piano recitals, several swim meets (with several school records broken), hosting a bridal shower, directing the Primary Christmas Program play, and attending several parties. We love Christmas!