Nordstrom Family 2011 Year in Review

2011 has been a great year for us. We have enjoyed sharing it with family and friends, and most of all each other.

Kathryn and Juliana are growing at the speed of light, and Steven and I can barely keep up. Here's a short paragraph of some of their milestones this year. They were baptized in  June and we got to spend time with most of our families as they came to support them. The girls have been reading tons, and this year Steven kept track of every book they read. They have both read over 150 books and over 20,000 pages each! The girls got "big" bikes for their birthday and spent a lot of time on them in the summer as well. Third grade has been great for them, and they continue to love French. Just today we got to see them in a little class play in French. Apparently, they have developed a sense of the dramatic, as they were by far the most expressive little thespians in their class. They have also enjoyed piano and had their first "recital" this year. It was a small one held at our house, but through the magic of Skype, Steven's parents watched live with the rest of us. It was so fun to watch them share things they had worked so long and hard on. 

Kathryn and Juliana 

Juliana continues to surprise us with more spunk than we know what to do with. She loves to sing, so much so that I sometimes think we are living in a Broadway musical. Her French is getting better, and she has been checking out short books in French from the school library to read. She loves school, and being with friends.

Kathryn is our bookworm. I often have to tear her away to do the other things that life requires. She also loves to sing, and learned several of the songs Steven and I practiced in our ward choir while she sat in the back reading. She loves to write little notes to everyone in the family to say "I love you."

Mom has kept busy year round. Summer started with a great trip to visit family in Southern Utah for a week. After that it was pretty much "shoulder to the wheel." The yard is looking much better than when we moved in 2 1/2 years ago (I can't believe we've already been here that long!), but still takes long hours to maintain. We grew a great garden this year and in the fall, it nearly did us in. Well, had we not been given nectarines, apricots, pears, plums, and grapes from very generous neighbors and family, we may have felt less stressed and busy. As it turned out, we kept busy the whole month of October, processing and freezing everything in preparation for winter. At the time, I thought I was going crazy, but now when I send the girls down stairs for jam, fruit, or beans, I am very glad we did it. Steve did just as much work as I did, and I never would have made it without him. I am still working at the girls school as an intervention assistant in the First grade French program. It is rewarding, but there are days when I wish I could just stay home. I do love seeing the girls each day, and they are always glad to see me. This may not last much longer, so I am trying to enjoy it while is does.

This was just one day's worth of work!

Steven here. I've been busy this year working, reading, running, cycling, and spending time with family and friends. I ran over 1,000 miles this year, and rode over 2,000 miles on my bike. That works out to burning over 250,000 calories in around 300 hours of exercise. Almost 5% of my waking moments of the year were spent exercising! I met my running goal this year, running the Utah Valley Marathon in 2:58:53 (30th place overall). I'm running stronger, more efficiently, and faster now than I was back then, so I'm excited to see what I can do in 2012. The other big news for me this year was that I passed my 3rd-year review at BYU, and am on my way to attaining tenure and advancement to Associate Librarian rank in another three years. Working at BYU is challenging and fun, and I enjoy my job (most of the time). For those who don't know what I do, among other things I purchase music and dance books, CDs, DVDs, and music scores for the library's collections, and selected over 3,800 new items (with the help of my colleagues and student employees, of course).

Steven finishing 3rd in his age group at the Provo Freedom Run 10K (39:24)

Juliana in blue; Kathryn in pink; Steven in peach; Megan in cranberry

We hope you all have had a year full of love and good things. We love you all, and miss so many of you that we can't see nearly as often as we would like to. Our thoughts are with you at this time of celebration and reflection. We hope you have a joyous Holiday season, and hope that 2012 will hold happiness for you and your family.