I am attempting to do the impossible.  It's been a year since I've blogged.  For those of you that blog, you know that a year is an impossible deficit to overcome.  It's not that I haven't wanted to blog, I have wanted to, desperately at times.  But the task became too daunting too fast.  You see, last January, we had a major change occur in our household, I went back to work.  Not just back to work, but back to work full time.  Boom.  I taught French Immersion Kindergarten from January to June and although we all survived, there were times when we were holding on by a thread to just keep up with our daily talks.  When school ended at the end of June, I was convinced that I had somehow contracted mono and Jared was thinking that maybe he had chronic fatigue syndrome.  Seriously.  It turned out that we were just really, really tired and rightfully so.  The year had been a success, but between us both working, taking care of 4 (count em') 4 kids, coaching, playing soccer and volleyball, helping with piano practice, training for Tough Mudder and fulfilling our church responsibilities we were spent.  There was simply no time to blog.  So why catch up?  Why not just start fresh?  Well, my dear, supportive, amazing and devilishly handsome husband has  promised to make this blog into books for me.  He has already made me one and I love it.  Also, 2012 was too great a year to forget.  Too many memories were made, too many adventures were had and too many pictures were taken not to share.

Starting in in January 2012 baby...

Grandma Lee turned 80!  Way to go grandma!

Mom turned 60 and we celebrated in style at Silver Star with five siblings (Jess and fam were missed).  We spent the weekend snowboarding, skiing and making complete fools of ourselves playing minute to win it games. 

 

 Lucy turned 4 and had her first friend birthday party.  Two of the four girls that were at the birthday threw up during the party.  Can you guess which girls by looking at the picture?  We like to make a game out of it.  I made her a littlest pet shop birthday cake that she pretended to like as to not hurt my feelings.  I was feeling a little stressed during her birthday and it was seriously the best I could come up with. It would have helped if she 

actually played with Littlest Pet Shop toys.  My bad.  But to be fair, she gave me nothing to work with.

 For spring break we went to visit Jared's parents in Castlegar.  Usually up North, our "spring break" consists of driving somewhere that will possibly have even more snow than we do.  We did manage to have a great time with grandma and grandpa King, Auntie Jessie and Karla and kids.  It wasn't hard to manage with skiing in knee deep powder, relaxing in a hot tub and endless card games.

 Caleb, Kailey,Lucas, Caleb, Britt, Jared and Zach all made it home for Easter.  Mom and dad had a full house and I don't think they minded one bit. 

 We love our May long weekend tradition of camping with friends at Scotch Creek.  One of our friends once suggested that "hey it doesn't have to be May long weekend, technically we could go camping any weekend, maybe even when the weather is nicer!"  I quickly shut down that idea and insisted that no,  it has to be on possibly one of the wettest weekends of the year, camping during the summer is way too easy.  I like a challenge and I'm a sucker for tradition.   Fortunately, we always have glimmers of sunshine and warm weather that keep us going back for more.   Plus I think I look really good in a rain parka.

After our last night there, we were getting a little punchy and spent probably a good two hours having the kids pose and posing ourselves for pictures.  After three nights of sleepless nights and endless activities with the kids during the day, the results were not pretty, but I love the pictures anyway.

 Jorji turned 9!  Jordan continues to be the poster child for kindness, compassion and empathy.  She is so talented and surprises me everyday with her creativity and tenacity.

Lucy had her first year of soccer last spring.  Three kids in soccer, thank goodness for the family rate.  She grasped the concept quickly and was anxious to get out there on the field each and every Saturday morning.  There was no crying or gnashing of teeth when she played, so we consider it a successful season.  She loved the medal and orange juice even more than the game itself.  Jordan and Nathan both had fantastic seasons, both being on teams that were undefeated.  Jared and I both coached the kids and loved getting out there with them, even if it meant a crazy busy Saturday morning.  Jordan went to soccer camp during the summer and had an amazing week.  Her coaches awarded her the prestigious "star of the week" award for her group.

 

 One of the bests days we had during the summer was when we hiked the Enderby cliffs as a family.  We woke up one Thursday morning and decided we needed a challenge, so we decided to take our four kids, 9 and under and go on a 14 km round trip hike.  Ya know, no biggie.  The kids were SUCH troopers and were incredibly proud of their accomplishment and we sure were too.  Lots of songs, lots of skittles and lots of "magic" gum helped us make it to the top.  We ended the day with a refreshing swim in the river that is seen below.

 Jess and her kids came out for about a week this summer for cousin madness!  The fun was endless, the talent shows were numerous and the smiles, priceless.  We love those Floyds!

 In July, we had a King family reunion at one of our favourite spots Siringue Creek.  All of Jared's four siblings, along with his parents gathered at the beautiful provincial campground for a week.  It was a great time to visit play and reconnect.

 A beautiful hike up to a water fall one morning.  We insisted on getting a cousin shot but the three babies were not impressed.

 Jess kept the kids busy with crafts and activities and hosted the family auction at the end of the reunion.  The kids loved every minute!

 One of the kids favourite activities, riding the dumdeedos!

 One night we had a talent show:
-Ollie did his downward dog
-Lucy proved that she is not ticklish by inviting family members from the audience to come up and try to tickle her.
-Nate performed a comedy routine
-Jordan performed a lip sinc to Justin Beiber's "Never Say Never"
-Jared and I did a synchronized swimming routine using a tarp as a prop for water.  We brought costumes, props, etc and had practiced our act quite a bit.  As it turned out, we were maybe a little over prepared as Jared's brother's talent was flexing his muscles. 

 Getting this family pictures was hands down, everyone's favourite part of the reunion.

 More fun with the Floyds at Enchanted Forest.

 All of my siblings came out in August to celebrate dad's 60th birthday.  Dad managed to celebrate his birthday for two months straight.  I'm not sure how he managed it but I've been meaning to ask him for instructions.  We had a fantastic time visiting, having competitions in the pool and playing more minute to win it games. We love to make fools of ourselves.

So. Much. More.To.Come.