Recap of 2015

At the beginning of 2015 I wrote a post with some things I wanted to accomplish throughout the year.  Here is the post if you missed it and are dying to read it:  Goals for 2015

I thought it might be fun to go back and see if I was able to accomplish any of the items on my list!

*  Weight!  Ha, don't we all have this as a goal every year!  I did not hit my goal weight however I was able to maintain the weight I was at which honestly is just fine with me too!  I do not have a washboard stomach but I do feel comfortable in a bikini again and I don't hate clothes shopping as much as I used to so I am happy!

*  Staying Healthy.  My goal was to run a couple 5k's and eventually work my way up to a 10k.   Well I never did get that 10k done in 2015 however I did run several other races.  Colton and I did the Color Run race with my sister in law and nephews. I ran the Coco's Heart Doggie Day 5K, ran a 5K while on vacation in San Diego and ended with the Hale to the Bird 5k on Thanksgiving morning.  So 4 races in 2015, I am happy with that and hope to keep it up in 2016!

* Disconnect more!  Yah, that didn't really happen.  I am addicted to my phone and feel lost without it but will continue to try to disconnect and just enjoy the moments more this next year!

* Camping.  We accomplished this one!  The boys and I went camping (tent camping) at Itasca State Park in September.  They loved it so I know I plan to do plenty more of these kinds of getaways!  My sister got us a Minnesota State Park Passport book for Christmas, every time you visit a State Park you get a stamp to prove you were there and then you can fill in the dates and things that you did on your visit!  I am excited for us to starting filling up our passport this next year!

* Get organized!  Well I did plenty of this in 2015 but still plenty to do in our home.  I swear it is a long process but we are taking it one room at a time!

* Photos!  Yup, didnt happen! I still havent made Mason's Photo books!  I really need to get going on this but at this point I am 5 years behind so it seems very overwhelming!

*  Travel.  I had a great year of travel.  We went to Dauphin Island, New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Diego and attended We Fest for the first time which I will consider as travel as it was an amazing weekend!!

* Landscaping.  I did get a lot of work done in the yard this year, mostly the backyard.  I am hoping to finish it up in 2016.

* Accept my life!  I think I did a great job of this in 2015!  When the year started I didn't feel like I had any control over anything.  But now as I get ready to say goodbye to this year I feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be in life.  We are all on a path through life and while we might think we are in the drivers seat we are not, life takes unexpected turns and sometimes hit dead ends but if we are able to hold on tight and endure the ride we find out that the road takes us to exactly where we needed to be.   I have such amazing friends, a family that I know will always be there for me and two boys who I swear are the the best things that have ever happened to me.  I have accepted the changes in my life, I am okay with what is happening and to be honest I am looking forward to the divorce being finalized and the closing date on the mortgage so I can put all this paperwork and stress behind me and I can truly just move on with the future and enjoy the rest of the ride! 

Good Bye 2015.  You were a year of great pain, lots of tears, plenty of confusion, lots of fun, so many moments of laughter, amazing new adventures and you brought some new people into my life who I am excited to go into 2016 with.  This is not a year I will look back on with hate but I year I will look back at and say "I got through it, life is good and I have plenty of life to live so bring it on"!

Seeing Double!

Colton and Mason are 4.5 years apart in age.  Mason and his little cousin are 4.25 years apart in age. I saved almost of the baby clothes from the boys and passed them on to my sister so that my nephew could use them and it has been so much fun seeing Easton in the same outfits that my boys wore 4 or 9 years ago!  What is even better is the clothes that Colton was wearing when Mason was a baby are the same clothes that Mason is now wearing while Easton is a baby!  I am sure you are thinking - WHO CARES?!?!  But this is where I am going with this story... 4 years ago we took a picture of the boys in matching sweaters for our Christmas Card. Well this Christmas we recreated that picture with the same sweaters but Mason moved to the big kid and his little cousin was now the baby!  

 I love these boys more than I can every explain in words, yes all three of them!

Elf on a Shelf

We have had Alvin (our Elf on our shelf) spending the holiday season with us for the last 3 years now!  This year I decided to have just a little more fun with him.  Alvin arrived the day after Thanksgiving and for the first couple weeks he just moved around the house, hiding in a new spot every night.  But the last week before Christmas he got into just a little more trouble and even had help from some of his friends in the house!  The boys got so excited as they told others about the trouble that Alvin got into the night before and every night before bed they would try to guess what he would do that night.  I love the magic that Alvin brought to the house, although some nights the last thing I wanted to do at 11pm at night was be creative but when my boys work up the morning with so much excitement I knew it was all worth it!  Here are few of the fun things that Alvin did in the Berberena house this year!  

Christmas 2015

Well this was our first Christmas with the shared schedule of the boys and I have to admit that I was kinda sad as the week started.  I just didn't know how I would survive without my boys on Christmas Eve but as the day arrived it all went so smooth. The boys went with Frankie for the afternoon and evening and then he brought them back to the house and we let them open their presents from us (we did presents together this year as they wanted bigger items like a Nintendo 3DS for Colton and a Tablet for Mason)!  Then Frankie left and the boys and I snuggled up on the couch to watch The Grinch.  Christmas Morning was magical as always, there is something so fun about two little boys running into your room to let you know that Santa came.  My brother spent the night and Santa even left him a stocking full of goodies which the boys thought was pretty awesome.  All the boys got Light Sabers in their stockings while mine had makeup!  We quickly opened our presents with included two new giant nerf guns and a couple board games and lego sets and then enjoyed a big breakfast and spent the afternoon playing with our new toys.  That afternoon and evening my family joined us for some board games and a delicious homemade lasagna dinner.  We ended the night with a few more presents and then snuggles on the couch.  It truly was a very relaxing Christmas spent with the ones who mean the most to me and I couldn't have asked for it have been any better!

 

 

 

Santa came to Scouts!

Colton is having a great time in Cub Scouts again this year.  He is now a Webelo and yes I am still his Den leader.  I have a den of eleven 4th Grade boys which can be extremely challenging some days but for the most part it is a lot of fun.  We had a special guest at our December Pack Meeting, Santa!!!  

Ornament Painting

We continued our tradition of painting ornaments this year!  I really do suck at drawing/painting but when an artist walks you through it step by step it can almost turn out okay!  

Christmas with the Sand's

We celebrated Christmas with the entire Sand Family and it was a great afternoon filled with laughter, cribbage, kids running everywhere and plenty of laughing.   I have always said I love having a big family and when it comes to gatherings like this it makes it even more fun!  We hold our get together in the church basement as there are just too many of us to fit into any ones house (and have room to actually function)!  Also as we are big German Family we have brought back the tradition of St Nick and have him come to our celebration to sing songs with the kids and hand out treat bags! Here are just a couple pictures from our fist Christmas celebration of 2015.