We ended 2012 with a pretty mild evening, friends had invited us to a New Years Eve party, but chose instead to have dinner with my Dad & his girlfriend (and his AirBnb guest from India) at a local Indian Food restaurant. Afterwards, we watched the ball drop on TV and we were in bed by 10pm. Yep, we’re lame, we can hardly stay up past our toddlers anymore. But with the kind of year that 2012 was for us, we welcomed the relaxation on New Years Eve. Afterall, we have to save some energy for what may come in 2013….
To sum up 2012 in one word would be: AWESOME.
We started the year off the year by taking Gentry skiing in Wolf Creek on New Years Day and he absolutely loved it. He’s one of those annoying little kids that zip past you as you’re trying to keep your balance. Though I could kill my husband and my Dad for not making him wear a helmet. Grrrr!
I also started off the year with some ambition of my own. After working at Ernest Health part-time for nearly 3 years after Gentry was born, I finally went back to working full-time in January. It was bittersweet but the opportunity came and I was ready.
Charlie & I started off our year with a New Years Resolution to “re-connect”. Instead of adoring and investing all of our time into the children 24/7, we wanted to refocus a bit on each other again. You can read about our 12 months of dates in my post, Operation reconnect. We also included a resolution to do unique things with the kids each month too and I think that was even more fun. We had a great time all year long with all of the new experiences.
Charlie and his friend Ian took a boys trip with my Dad to Morro Bay, California for a week in mid-January. They had fun sightseeing and relaxing. Towards the end of January, Haven got really sick. She couldn’t keep anything down for nearly 4 weeks and we were so worried about her. They ran test after test on her at UNMH and ultimately decided that she had a severe lower intestine infection. We still really don’t know 100% what it was but she luckily got better in mid-February. Whew! Rough few weeks.
At the end of February, Haven was called to do a scene in a local TV show filmed here in Albuquerque called In Plain Sight on the USA network (not to be confused with her original 6-month gig on Breaking Bad back in 2011). I got to hold her in the scene because she was kinda tired and fussy. Mary McCormack is the main actress on the series but I was totally starstruck when Josh Hopkins from Cougar Town (a show on ABC) walked into the scene. He was guest starring in the episode and I’ve had a teenie-tiny crush on him for a while.
At the beginning of April, one of my bucket list items came true, I got to see an Oprah Winfrey show in person. You can read all about it in my other post, Luck of the Draw, Oprah, and a Music Hall. And here… Sisters, Like kids in a candy store. It was definitely one of the major highlights of my year.
Also at the beginning of April, Charlie and his project co-workers traveled to Washington D.C. to accept the Department of Energy “Project of the Year” award for the Sandia Labs IBL project. I am so proud of Charlie.
In April, my Dad threw my twin sister and I a quasi-surprise party at Sandia Casino to ring in our 34th birthday. Dinner, dancing, and friends, followed by an overnight stay. It was a birthday celebration to remember. My Dad turned the big 60 in May!!
In May, thanks to Havens casting calls, I got a call to do The Lone Ranger, a Disney movie being filmed in Albuquerque. It was quite the experience which you can read more about in my post, Corsets & Cookie Monster. Also in May, Charlie and I competed in a fun 5K fitness obstacle course in the East Mountains called the Warrior Dash. It was muddy and dirty but all for a great cause (St. Jude). Also in May, I got named Junior League of Albuquerque New Member of the Year. I was surprised and honored, we have so many extraordinary women in the Albuquerque League. I feel so lucky to volunteer beside them for the betterment of our community.
In June, we celebrated Charlie’s 40th birthday by taking a trip to Thailand for 14 days. Charlies Mom came in from Houston to watch the kiddos while we were gone. Charlies longtime friend Ken and his wife Rain living in Shanghai, China, joined us on our trip. It was the most magical and amazing trip, and we had an absolutely wonderful time. We ate great Thai food, scuba dived, volunteered at an orphanage, visited breathtaking Buddhist temples, and danced the night away at the world famous Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan. It was the trip of a lifetime. We’ll never forget it.
Gentry turned 4 and Haven turned 2 in August. We went to the Isotopes baseball game to celebrate and Grandpa Guy had the inside connections to get him the opportunity to run the bases against the team mascot, Orbit, during the 4th inning. He loved it (even though his pants were falling down). My Mom came back from Guam for the summer and was able to enjoy the game with us. It was nice spending time with her.
Haven left her home daycare with Barbara after 2 years to start in the 2’s class preschool at the end of August. Gentry loved showing her his school and she made the transition very easily because she loved her 2’s teacher, Mrs. Flor. Gentry started the 4’s class with Mrs. Becca.
Also in August, we got additions to our backyard urban farm, we bought 2 baby chicks but towards the end of August, we had a very sad day and had to put our beloved goat Hondo down. I wrote about it in my post, Kisses from a mini goat. The next day I participated in my 2nd Triathlon, the Live.Love.Tri. and I was very surprised that I did better than I had my previous year, especially with all of the sadness the day before. Wooohooo!
Also in August, I did 16 hours of training to become a grief facilitator at the Children’s Grief Center of New Mexico. In September, I began co-facilitating the Teen grief group twice a month in the evenings. It was sad at times but very rewarding to know that I was helping them externalize their grief in a healthy way.
In September, Charlie went hunting again in southern New Mexico with his co-worker Anthony. He got a bow hunting permit but didn’t have any luck getting an Elk. He had fun trying though.
Grandma Tomlin came to visit again in October. She just couldn’t stay away from those sweet babies after having them for two weeks in June. We had a fun time and the kids definitely got their grandma fix again.
We spent Christmas at the cabin in Ruidoso, NM. It snowed on Christmas Eve, which was a wonderful surprise to us, especially for the children. We had a wonderful time.
2012 was definitely a standout year for us. One that will go down in our memories as one of the best years ever. Though the year started with health worries for Haven, we have been so blessed to be in good health. Charlie is still very happy with his job at Sandia Labs and I am blessed to still work at Ernest Health.
We hope this New Year brings you and your family plenty of joy & blessings.
Love,
The Tomlins
Irresistible Chaos 