2010

As we reflect over this last year, we think 2010 might have been the best year of our lives so far! We had a super busy year, full of new adventures. We started out the year in February with the trip of a life time. We went down under and started out in New Zealand and finished in Australia. Our highlights from the trip include (but not limited to) hiking through scenery found in Lord of the Rings (which neither of us can truly appreciate), seeing the most majestic waterfalls in the world, petting wallabies in Sydney, scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, Dustin learning to surf, a jet boat ride (one that Jen would like to forget), and seeing the many sights that New Zealand and Australia have to offer. It was an incredible trip that we will remember forever! It was also the perfect way to spend some time together before the most incredible journey of our lives would begin.

In July our lives would be changed forever. We became parents to the most beautiful little baby boy. We named him Brody. He was 6 pounds 14 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. We could not be prouder of our little guy. We have spent countless hours staring at him and enjoying every stage of his life so far. He is about to sit on his own and enjoys rolling around, sucking on his hands and sometimes even his toes. He loves to laugh and has the cutest smile on earth! Our lives have changed drastically... we haven't been to a movie in months, we rarely go out to dinner, we cannot remember the last time we had a good nights sleep, and we couldn't be happier!

Dustin spent much of the summer perfecting his tricks on the wakeboard. He is quite the natural on the water. He also spent a lot of time with his new love, his Harley. He loves taking it for rides up through the mountains. At about 8 months of being pregnant, Jen decided that it was probably best to stop riding the hog, so Dustin found some buddies to take their bikes out for some fun times. He also enjoyed a fun backpacking trip with Josh and their buddies. They hiked from Estes Park to Grand Lake and had a great time being with the "guys".

In October we had the chance to visit Dustin's old stomping grounds from his mission. We spent a long weekend in Philadelphia. We visited the historical sights and most importantly had a lot of Rita's Water Ice and one too many Philly Cheesesteaks. The trip showed us how different our lives are now. We ended up at the hotel with take out twice because Brody wasn't a happy camper at the restaurants. We also had the experience of flying with a baby... wow!

The holidays have been so much fun with Brody around. Jen has enjoyed being a stay at home mom and not working retail during the rush of the holiday season. Dustin is kept busy working full time at Certifit and dealing with the many issues that come with being a landlord. He has also found time to play on a basketball team and work on his collection of tools in the garage. He never really uses them because he can borrow Josh's easier... he actually knows where all of his are!

We look foward to 2011! We can't wait for the many new adventures we will have as a family.