2017 - Year in Review

January
*I was super sick with my usual nasty cough.  
*We got a big snow and enjoyed many days playing outside.
*We took Maggie to the vet and got the terrible news about her spleen tumor.  This led to had decisions, a surgery scheduled that ended up cancelled, her arthritis crippling her, and eventually having to say goodbye to our sweet girl.  This was the main event in our January and it was one of the saddest times we've had as a family.
*The kids and I went to Defy Gravity to celebrate their friend Zeke's birthday.  
*We drove to Bristol to surprise my mom at her retirement celebration.

February
*We flew to Florida and spent a week at Disney.
*We celebrated my birthday with a date to The Melting Pot while Uncle Brandan and Aunt Rachel watched the kiddos.
*Davin had some fun playdates with Rachel Elizabeth.
*We had fun at the Startown PE Family Fun night.
*My friends celebrated my birthday with me at brunch and an an hour in an escape room.

March
*We celebrated Brenna's 7th birthday with a painting themed party at our house with her closest friends.  
*Our outreach team made stuffed bears for a local hospital.
*My grandma took a turn for the worse health-wise.  She ended up going downhill very quickly and passed away at the end of the month.  I got to spend the last 2 nights of her life by her side at the hospital and I'll always be thankful for that - even though she didn't know I was there.  It was a huge, huge loss to our family.
*Brenna got the flu while Jonathan spent a week in CA for work.
*I spent a weekend in Asheville with my Macy besties and we had so much fun.

April
*Brenna won an art award for The Little Read and we celebrated her at LR at a reception.
*We stuffed 720 eggs with candy and then I got to coordinate the launch of them from a helicopter for Easter at the Cove.  
*We had a fun night at the Crawdads stadium inviting people to Easter at the Cove.
*The kids had Spring Break and we spent one day downtown Hickory painting pottery.  
*Davin started baseball at Startown Optimist.
*Brenna and I ran her last mile of the Kid's Marathon.
*Davin learned to ride his bike without training wheels!

May
*We had a CVC life group volleyball tournament that we dominated (or didn't....)
*Davin had a minor surgery to remove one of the tubes in his ear.
*The kids and I went strawberry picking and made tons of strawberry freezer jam.
*We celebrated Mother's Day at church and with some gifts and cards from my kids.
*Brenna competed in the Elite Feet Championship again at Startown.
*We went to Bristol for Jayla's 8th birthday party.
*Mom came and stayed with us for awhile.
*Davin graduated Pre-K.
*We celebrated Memorial Day at the Hollars home with some great friends.


June
*I let Rachey share the last day I had with Davin after being sidekicks for 5 years.  
*Brenna wrapped up 1st grade with a great teacher.  Such a great year for her!
*We celebrated Davin's 5th birthday with a baseball themed party at our house.
*Jonathan and I spent a few days in Knoxville, TN.
*Brenna and Davin had yet another go at being flower girl and ring bearer for Brooke & Brian.
*The kids had lots of fun playing outside with friends and neighbors.
*We went gem mining for the first time.
*We spent lots of days at the pool.
*I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese in a temporary lapse of judgement.

July
*We spent Independence Day in Independence. Virginia again.
*We found out that we are getting a new niece or nephew!
*Davin got his trophy for baseball on the field at the Crawdads game.
*Our church took on a huge 3 week Movies at the Cove project - so much work and so much fun!
*We celebrated Cow Appreciation Day once again at CFA.
*We spent a few days at the beach with the Melando family - so thankful for their generosity and all the fun we had!
*We met up with the Caskey crew in Gaffney.  It was the first time we'd seen them (besides me seeing Kelley) since they went back to Asia.  It was a short, sweet time!
*Brenna learned to swim.  I was over-the-moon proud.

August
*The kids and I headed to Virginia for a few days.  We got to spend time with cousins and family and my friend Christy and her crew.  
*We headed to Hilton Head for our annual beach vacation.  My inlays joined us for the first couple of days, my mom was there the whole time and my sister and her family came down and we spent one day with them before we left.
*While in HHI I got a call from Brenna's principal asking me if I'd be interested in a literacy specialist position.  I interviewed over the phone and was offered the job on our way home.  It was exciting and stressful and chaotic.
*I started work the following Monday.  Mom came down to help with the kids.
*We went to Virginia for Brady's birthday party at a fishing pond.
*I hosted a Kindergarten Kickoff party for Davin and his friends.
*We had a fun day out in Charlotte - Ikea for classroom stuff and Discovery Place Kids.
*Davin started kindergarten and Brenna started 2nd grade.  It's great being in the same school and seeing them throughout the day.

September

*We celebrated my friend Lisa's birthday at a surprise party.
*We drove up for a Hokie game with Darin and Lyndsie.
*Davin played fall ball.
*We took a last minute trip to Atlanta to see the last game of the inaugural season at Suntrust Park.  We also took Brenna to the AG store for the first time.  It was a fun little getaway.
*I joined Startown kindergarten (and Davin) on a field trip to the apple orchard.
*I met up with my Lower Girls for a day of fun in Bristol.

October
*Dav finished up fall baseball.
*Jonathan got a new truck.
*I spent most of the month sick.
*I went to NYC with some friends.  There were some great highlights of the trip.  
*Jonathan took the kids to the Startown Spectacular.
*I joined kindergarten on a trip to the pumpkin patch.
*I joined 2nd grade on a field trip the the Asheboro zoo.
*Brenna lost BOTH front teeth.
*We celebrated Jonathan's birthday with a family day at the Renaissance Festival.  Mom took the kids to our house and we explored the mall and then went to see the Sister Hazel guys with Brandan and Rachel.  We even got to meet them afterward.
*The kids had fun trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.  Davin was a fireman and Brenna was a knight.

November
*I hosted a baby shower in Virginia for Rachel.
*We had a life group bowling outing.
*I went with some work friends to see the hilarious Gerry Brooks in Hickory.

*We went to the Hickory Christmas parade.
*We went to Virginia for Thanksgiving and then got a tree on the way home.
*Davin rocked his Thanksgiving program at school.
*We sold my car that I'd had for 13 years.
*We took the kids and Brady to see Coco on Thanksgiving.

December
*Our Elf (on the shelf), Blitz finally paid us a visit. 
*We had family photos made with KT.
*I spent a full Sunday making candy at the Corner Table with my outreach team.
*We had a good snow that melted quickly.
*We hosted our annual Christmas party with caroling, food, and games.
*We transitioned from a Cove campus to a new church - Soma Church.
*We provided gifts for lots of Soma families.
*The kids and I went to see the Nutcracker.
*I broke my foot.
*We had a fun painting party at school.
*I got to be the conductor for kindergarten's Polar Express.
*We did a dining room makeover.
*We celebrated Christmas Eve 2 days early at church.
*We celebrated Christmas on 12/23 with Jonathan's extended family in Independence.
*We celebrated Christmas Eve in Bristol with my family.
*We celebrated Christmas Day at our house together. 
*We celebrated Christmas on 12/27 with Jonathan's immediate family at our house.
*Jonathan finished out the year working long 12 hour shifts.
*I finished out the year sick again - with 2 doctor appointments within 5 days.
*The kids and I had one super fun day of break - Discovery Place Kids with the Hallman girls, Defy Gravity, and Ikea!

*The kids were in bed long before midnight and Jonathan and I watched the ball drop then headed to bed ourselves.