Happy New Year!

Hopefully by now most of you have received our holiday letter and card...as my cousin Nora said, apparently the Pony Express was delivering them this year because it was taking up to two weeks in some areas.  Anyways, I hope you all had wonderful holidays and a happy New Year.  I hope to blog more regularly this year so you aren't reading about Easter when Halloween is approaching.  And I totally just saw my typos. Whoops!

Happy Holidays!                                                                  

This year flew by!  It’s hard to believe that it is already December again and a whole year full of fun, amazing memories has past.  We started out the year visiting family and friends in the Chicago area after the holidays.  Mason headed to Vegas for a work trip and the kiddos and I headed East to Tennessee.  Mason joined up with us once we were there for his Dad’s wedding and then we all made the drive back to Minot together.  This summer we took a big two week road trip to Canada!  We went to Waterton Lakes National Park, Banff National Park, and Jasper National Park-more beautiful than I can describe.  Bears, moose, and mountains! And we’re finishing off the year with a trip home to the Chicago area for more time with family and friends. 

Mason has been a busy guy this year-not uncommon!  He is in the 69th Bomb Squadron and is responsible for managing the squadron’s weapons and tactics program.  He has had several trips this year to his second home, Las Vegas, as well as Louisiana and Oklahoma.  This year he took Theo on his first non-backyard camping trip to a small forest near Minot.  He also took the kids to a Pow Wow, Jurassic Quest, and lots “night hikes” around the neighborhood.  He’s become the expert Aurora Borealis spotter and has taken some amazing photos this year of the Aurora and our trips!     

I am continually grateful to be able to stay at home with the boys and enjoy this time with them while they are little.  We spend lots of time on the go, but also plenty of time just hanging at home enjoying down time.  I am still working for K12, teaching online 6th-12th grade English and Social Studies courses.  The workload really picked up this Fall, but it’s remained manageable with my schedule.  I stepped back from a few roles this year and it’s lifted a huge weight from my shoulders and I’ve been able to focus on my spirituality and just really spending time with good people.  It’s amazing how a few small changes can really impact life in a big way, and I’m excited for the upcoming year! 

Theo has grown-up a lot this year.  He turned four in September and just has the funniest things to say.  He talks NON-STOP at home, which is why it is so funny to me that his preschool teacher says he’s very quiet at school.  Theo started in preschool this Fall two mornings a week and he loves it.  It’s the perfect amount of time for us and he is learning a lot.  He got to bring cupcakes on his birthday, has had show-and-tell, and he’s gotten to be the daily helper twice.  He also attends the Wise Owl Science Club 3 times a month and Lego club.  We’ve taken swimming lessons on and off this year, and attend gymnastics each week.  He’s gotten much more coordinated than last year.  Theo is an awesome big brother, and is definitely into Super Heroes, building with Legos, and pretend play!      

Our little Woodrow doesn’t seem so little anymore.  He is bounding around the house like a big kid these days and always wants to keep up with his big brother.  Woodrow started speech therapy in the Spring and he’s just grown by leaps and bounds!  He picked up quite a bit of sign language and was using it regularly, and now we hear him using words and chatting away all the time.  Woodrow likes his one-on-one time when Theo is in school and all the other times Theo is busy with activities.  Woodrow gets to do mommy and me gymnastics and he mostly enjoys it.  He’s not a fan of the floor part or the trampoline, but the boy digs the balance beam, bars, and circuit.  This little guy is totally into cars, trains, and anything that moves!  He also really likes playing with all of our toy animals and of course playing superheroes with his big brother.   

While I haven’t been blogging as much as I would like to, I am still keeping at it.  You can check out all our adventures at http://ellenmason.blogspot.com and Facebook for photos from our trip to Canada.

                                                                                                                                       Peace and Love,

                                                                                                                        Mason, Ellen, Theodore, & Woodrow