Our year in pictures. Click on each picture to see full size.
January:
Picture from Marisa's school bus accident on Jan. 13th - one of the scariest days of my life!
This is the dump truck that hit my daughter's school bus.
February:
The rotten economy had us looking for cheaper rent and we found the perfect place in February.. Here we are taking a load to our new home.
Darren's mom and sisters came to visit us in February. We had a great time!
We threw Darren an impromptu surprise birthday party at the Outback when his family was down to visit. He turned 40 this year!
March:
We went to the state fair in March. Here we are on the carousel!
Marisa took up the clarinet last year and joined her school's band. We didn't get many good pictures but, here is one from her first performance.
April:
My nephew Brad came down from NC to live with my mom. Here he is with my girls on the first night he was here.
Here are going to our first baseball game! Ft Myers Miracle won!
The girls and Brad after decorating eggs for Easter!
May:
2009 was the year I decided to learn how to coupon...I remember getting all of this for like $6 during a double coupon event at Kmart.
Marisa had her first boyfriend this year, Matt. Here they are at another band performance. They're no longer 'together' but they are still good friends.
June:
We love these bumper boats at the Shell Factory here in Ft. Myers. We always have so much fun when we go.
Feeding the fish and turtles at the Shell Factory. My girls love doing this.
July (a busy month!):
We hosted our first Fourth of July barbecue this year! I must say, the beans I made were DELICIOUS as was the flag cake!
We took our first real vacation this year. Here the girls are enjoying the hotel pool!
Here we are at Arabian Nights in Orlando. If you haven't been, you should. It was awesome!
While on vacation we went to M&M World in Orlando! Mmmm! M&Ms were EVERYWHERE!
We stopped at the world's largest McDonalds and there was a woman there doing caricatures. Here she is in the process of drawing Madelyn!
Here's the artist drawing a caricature of Marisa (at the world's largest McDonalds!)
We went to see the space shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral. Here are the girls placing their hands in Neil Armstrong's handprints. Unfortunately, the launch was cancelled at the last minute so we didn't get to see it.
August:
Marisa with her best friend at the skating rink.
We really enjoyed having my mother in law here for the summer with us. Here's Madelyn loving on grandma at the ice cream shop.
September:
My father and his mother came into town so I had the opportunity to see them. I hadn't seen her since I was a toddler, so this was a mini family reunion.
2009 was the year I really branched out in my cake decorating. This was Madelyn's spongebob cake that I made. Everyone loved it!
This was my first stacked cake ever. Marisa's Twilight cake. She loved it and everyone else did too! I had fun making it.
Marisa and her friends at her 13th birhday party at Chuck E Cheese.
October:
My sister participated in a rocking chair contest to win a car. She rocked that chair for over 50 hours!
The girls right before we went on the haunted walk at Caloosa Nature Center!
My little devil and pop star! The girls getting ready to go trick or treating on Halloween.
November:
Madelyn joined the Bayshore Cloggers this year. Here is one of the many performances we attended.
I participated in my first 5k, the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. I hope to do many more!
The girls (and Darren) putting ornaments on the tree after Thanksgiving dinner.
Darren and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. Due to finances and my new commitment to eat healthier we decided not to go to Olive Garden as we have in past years and instead made a great dinner at home. We drank out of our wedding glasses and hung a homemade 'Olive Garden' sign in our dining room. It was awesome!
December:
Marisa with Santa at the Holiday House (Burrough's Home).
Madelyn with Santa at the Holiday House (Burroughs Home)
Madelyn during her school's Christmas program. She even sang a solo!
This is one of the many pictures I took of the girls with the hopes of getting a good one to put in Christmas cards. I got so many good shots that I made collages.
Our family on Christmas Eve
And finally, I’ll share two images to show the progress I’ve made in my effort to lose weight.
Me on September 28, 2009:
and here’s me on November 30, 2009:
2009 was the year I proved to myself just how capable and strong I can be. I’ve lost 28 pounds so far and am looking forward to losing more in 2010. Here’s to a much healthier future!
Until tomorrow…
