Top ten from oh-nine

Do you love it or hate it when people write numbers as words? I happen to hate it. Just to show how tolerant I am, though, I will write it.

So as the title suggests, I am attempting our family's top ten best things:

10. We threw an awesome New Year's Party in our "new house" with delicious food, a super exhilirating game of Carcassone, and two other people. Yep, that's all I remember from last January. (it was quite a party)

9. Dustin discovered my new favorite restaurant, Padmanadi. It's completely vegan so Max will eat there too. So good and wonderful atmosphere. All I remember from February, OH and I made it to 25! Who thought that would happen? ;)

8. Sammy made it to one! Who thought that would happen? He's a mover, that kid! He has recently learned to communicate a little better with us. He loves to play with Max, and says very eloquent prayers. What a smartie pants!

7. A beautiful sunny trip to Hawaii with my mom and sister. It was so relaxing and super fun to hang out with two important people that I don't see enough.

6. We planted a garden in the back. This was one of our more monumental tasks of the year as I dug up quack grass with a shovel- then gave up and got a rototiller after a month of snail slow progress. That garden rocked. It actually brought forth really great food. I dried a lot of it, or canned it.I learned to can. Peaches, pears, beets, pickles, apples- yes crab apples can be canned.

5. I enrolled in a distance learning chemistry class so I can have it done finally! I'm not through it yet, but I hope to be done by the end of February 2010, with a passing grade. One thing I have learned is, its almost impossible to conduct experiments involving acids with a free roaming toddler.

4. We set a goal to increase our food storage, and we actually followed through! We also committed to have a non member over for a lesson in our home. We did that too. We were totally on a roll.

3. Dustin started third year dental school! Woo hoo! He passed second year and everything. Such a smartie pants! Speaking of smartie pants', Max started pre-school with some friends and is doing great. He's spelling lots of words like mom and dad and max and sam and rocket etc etc. He knows his shapes and colors numbers and letters.

2. We spent Christmas as home last year. What a wonderful day we had! Dustin and I just enjoyed the boys with their new toys and games. It was fun to feel their sense of the magic of the Christmas season...well Sam had no idea, but Max did and that was enough.

1. We're looking forward to July so we can welcome another little smarty pants to the family. He/she better like gardening!