Our 2012 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas!

            We hope this letter finds you happy and healthy.  This year has been a true blessing for us and we have so much to be thankful for!

Like our now one-year-old son, we’ve been quite active this year.  We took a few major trips and several small getaways this year.  In the beginning of the year, we took a family ski trip to our favorite mountain destination – Snowmass.  We stayed at a huge ski in, ski-out townhome with Beth’s parents and enjoyed nearly a week of blue sky, perfect skiing weather (while Grandma graciously babysat Kyle!).  We definitely plan to come back… perhaps when Kyle is old enough to enjoy the skiing, too!  (Our condo was far from baby-friendly with a busy crawler so Grandma had her hands full!). 

The Lord took Beth’s grandpa this past spring which landed (pun intended) us back in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Kyle’s first airplane ride was a success and we all had such a wonderful time seeing all of our relatives.  Cousins Jack and Caroline met Kyle for the first time as did Great-Grandma and all of Beth’s extended Wisconsin family. 

In April, we celebrated Kyle’s 1^st Birthday (which actually fell on Easter this year—how special!).  We had nearly 50 people at our house including both sets of grandparents and tons of friends!  Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us.  It’s sure hard to believe how fast that first year went by! 

In May, Beth found herself doing several business trips to both coasts, but somehow has failed 3 times now in seeing the Space Shuttle in the Air & Space Museum in D.C.  The entire family did, however, benefit from her work trips by getting to spend a week on the California coast enjoying Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and 4 days at Disneyland.  Kim & my brother even drove up from San Diego to see us! Truly a magical trip—we never knew that ‘It’s A Small World’ could be such fun as it was through the eyes of our child.  Disney was definitely the highlight of our year—we will definitely be back! 

In July, we took a week-long vacation to Gull Lake in northern Minnesota with Dave’s entire family.  Kyle enjoyed Grandpa Bob’s big boat and tubing for the first time.  And Dave managed to get pulled over on Jet Ski by the water police.  [And to think that Beth was the one driving quite recklessly!] 

We filled the rest of the summer with tons and tons of hiking, swimming, and other outdoorsy activities.  Kyle is a huge fan of his hiking carrier and we don’t tend to get any complaining from our dogs.  Nearly 8 years here in this great state and we are still amazed by all of God’s beauty that surrounds us.  We can’t imagine living anywhere else!

We spent several weeks this fall up in the mountains.  Once in Breckenridge with a gathering of Dave’s Florida (and now Washington!) friends and another driving all over the state in hunt of the beautiful aspens.  We hiked in Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Snowmass, Crested Butte and drove through the Ohio, McClure, Kenosha, Kebler, and Boreas Passes.  Kyle rode a chairlift for the first time—he was far less nervous than Mommy!

In October, we drove the 7 hours to Moab, Utah with Dave’s brother and family to enjoy 4 days biking and hiking.  Dave competed in the Moab Half Marathon while Mommy and Kyle were his biggest cheerleaders. What beautiful vistas they have in Canyonlands and Arches National Park!  We had such an amazing time with Brian’s family—it makes us wish they lived out in Colorado.

Kyle started walking this summer and is now running and climbing everywhere and everything.  He’s saying quite a few things and signing the rest.  His favorite words at the moment are “nana” (banana) and “more.” He’s truly the easiest going kid on the planet (quite a blessing if you know his two parents well enough!)  He absolutely loves books, gymnastics, throwing balls, and going for hikes. 

David is still working on the space shuttle replacement, Orion, at Lockheed Martin.  He loves his job (most of the time), but constantly aches to be at home more.  He did several races this year including 2 half marathons and several triathlons.  He is actively training for next year’s big goal:  the Ironman 70.3 in Kona (Big Island, Hawaii).  There, it’s on paper, so everyone help him keep to it!

Beth remains part-time at Lockheed.  She works 3 days a week and finds it to be a perfect balance.  I don’t think you will ever convince her to go back to full-time.  She stays home with Kyle Mondays and Fridays and has found a love for meal planning, enjoying play-dates with the K-man, and keeping the house “in check.”                                                                                                                                                             

Last (but certainly not least), our dogs have had a year of adjustment.  With Kyle mobile, there are very few “safe” spots in the house anymore.  Kidding aside, they have adapted really well to him.  Belle is extremely patient and tolerant while Sequoia will often enjoy a game of chase now and then.  Belle has started to show her age more and Sequoia has become much more affectionate in her adolescence.  The dogs continue to enjoy a peaceful evening after Kyle has retired for the night (and of course, they still enjoy snuggles on our comfy bed!).

Phew, what a year it has been! 

We hope your year has also been rich in God’s blessings!  We would love for you to follow our daily lives via our In Our Shoes blog at www.moonshoe.blogspot.com. God’s best to you this Christmas in the New Year to come!

Love from the Shoemakers-- Dave, Beth, Kyle (1) Belle (10), and Sequoia (4)

Autumn Trip 2012 - Day Four

After a horrific evening at the Lodge switching rooms at nearly 10 pm (yes, 2 hours past Kyle's bedtime) due to pot-smokers below us, we were given free breakfast buffet coupons at the lodge.  Kyle enjoyed dipping his sausage links in his yogurt (can you say yumm?) before we packed up and hit the road.

Our last day was spent driving and taking in the fall colors near Taylor Resovoir and Cottonwood Pass.  We went through Buena Vista and back via Fairplay on 285.  It was a very long day of driving due to construction traffic and we were very glad to be home.  We took many pitstops including a stop at Kenosha Pass for Kyle to walk around.

 

 

 

Autumn Trip 2012 - Day Three

We stayed for 2 nights of the trip in a lodge at the base of Mt. Crested Butte.  It had beautiful views and looks like it'd be a fun ski area! 

 

 

We spent the morning riding the the chairlift to the top of the mountain.  Kyle thought it was the greatest ride in the world!  (Mama might have been a bit nervous the more he leaned forward though!).

Kyle had a blast playing with rocks at the top.

 

And mama thought the views were incredible!

We spent the afternoon driving the Ohio Pass and at a HUGE playground in Gunnison.  It was just what Kyle needed after yesterday's crazy amount of driving!

 

We ended the evening viewing Lake Irwin and enjoying downtown Crested Butte.  There was some wierd festival going on that brought a bunch of hippies to town.  Unique, for sure.

 

 

Autumn Trip 2012 - Day Two

We woke up at 5 am on the 2nd day of our trip so we could drive to the Marroon Bells in time for sunrise.  It was breathtaking!  The colors were peak and the weather was perfect (albeit a bit chilly).  We ate breakfast in the car before hiking around the Bells until a few hours after sunset when the Bells become fully lit.  

 

 

 

 

 The lake had calmed by then and made for a perfect fall reflections picture!

 

On our way out of Aspen/Snowmass, we took a detour to view Capitol Peak.  We had heard the colors here would be amazing and were told that a non-4WD car should be able to make it, so we figured we'd have NO problems in our SUV.  Boy were we (they?) wrong.  There is absolutely no way a normal car would've made it.  We had wished we had a Jeep, but we managed to make it.  And boy was the view incredible (and totally worth it!).  

After all that bumpy driving, Kyle had to go #2.  Here's Kyle's classic poop face!  Hilarious!

I love this shot I captured of daddy and son walking the trail.

Perhaps the best picnic location we've ever had!

Kyle found himself on cloud 9 with some sticks and rocks.

It was a long day of driving from Aspen to Crested Butte with many stops along the way for Kyle to play with rocks.

 

Autumn Trip 2012 - Day One

For our anniversary this year, we decided to take a 4 day trip throughout our state to chase fall colors. We started by driving out to Glenwood Springs (about 3 hours west of our home).  We did the famous Hanging Lakes hike to enjoy beautiful views of Glenwood Canyon and the majestic Hanging Lake.


As always, Kyle did wonderful in his carrier.

The canyon views were amazing.

And the treat at the top was unbelievable.  Dave rated it as his favorite hike that we've ever done!

 

 

Half way down, we let Kyle play in an old cabin. 

Peek! 
After finishing the hike near sunset, we headed to the Residence Inn for some free dinner and pool time before calling it an early night. 

17 Months Old!

Hard to believe that in a month our little boy will be one-and-a-half years old.  Yikes-a-bee!  He's truly a wonderful boy.  We can't believe how blessed we are!

Kyle currently sleeps 11-12 hours at night and is down to one nap.  It usually starts at noon and lasts 3-4 hours.  It wasn't necessarily the easiest transition, but now that we are on one nap, I LOVE it.  We have so much more time in the morning to do activities and get things done without having to worry about being home .  And the afternoon nap allows me to get lots of work done around the house so that when he wakes, I don't have to focus on the kitchen and can play with him instead!

He eats 3 main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and 2 snacks each day.  He eats whatever we are having and usually gets fruit, cheese or crackers for his snacks. He still nurses at wake-up, before/after his nap, and at bed-time.  We haven't started him on whole milk yet because he's still getting the right amounts from me.  He consumes a ton of water with his meals though-- he really loves his "wa-wa".  He prefers to drink out of mommy's cup or camelbak, but willingly takes his straw cup or sippy.

Kyle's favorite day-time activities usually involve the outdoors.  He will bring his shoes to us (and sometimes even our shoes too!) to indicate that it's time to go play in the yard or at the park.  He is an awesome listener.  He will do exactly what he's told (wow, I bet I won't be able to say that for long!) including getting us books to read, going to his changing table, going to the car and his carseat, and bringing us certain toys.  I'm quite amazed by his vocab already; he can even correctly pick up the correct color of a certain toy if we ask.  He says quite a bit, too, but not nearly the amount he understands.  Perhaps my favorite phrase of his is 'nigh-nigh.'  Whenever he's feeling tired, he says 'go nigh-nigh' and marches upstairs.  He loves to shake his head to indicate he doesn't want a food item, but very rarely does he actually say "no no."   We've tried very hard to avoid that phrase (and reserve it for safety issues) and usually shake our heads and say "that's not for Kyle."  I don't want a kid who always says NOOOO (although I'm sure this will be an inevitable, unavoidable phase at some point).


Here's a summary of this months likes and dislikes:

Taking rides in the "go car" (golf cart), finding rocks, bringing us books,
getting his shoes when he wants to play outside, petting dogs GENTLY!,
talking (his favorite words include nigh-nigh, go car, that, ba ba (bath) and all done)
signing (his favorite signs include please, all done, more, shaking his head for no and thank you)
eating anything involving corn or meat, going for rides on his trike,
emptying the washer and dryer, the pelicans and monkeys at the zoo,
chalk doodling, the boat ride at Elitches,
his stuffed dog 'Meeko', seeing great grandma,
playing in the dog house, digging dirt with a shovel,
mowing the lawn and playing golf, playhouses,
dancing at concerts and the Apple store, giving everyone high fives
Dislikes include getting croup (a 3rd time!) and strawberries (still)

Minnesota Vaca - Day Seven

Our last day at the cabin and of our trip was spent packing and saying goodbyes.  I will truly miss watching Kyle play with his cousins.  They all had such a wonderful time together.  It's really hard to put into words how neat it is to watch them interact.


We're so thankful to Grandma and Grandpa Shoemaker for letting us celebrate Grandpa Bob's 60th Birthday with them up at the cabin.  I hope they had as great of a time watching everyone on the boat as we all did playing on it!

Kyle gave high-fives as his goodbyes and we made the 3 hour drive back to the Twin Cities to catch our afternoon flight home.  In wanting to keep to happy endings, we won't discuss how Kyle was on the return flight. ;)

Minnesota Vaca - Day Six

Our last day on the boat was well spent.  Kyle had a much better day on the lake today.  I attribute it to the life jacket swap.   He had some seriously amazing giggles while tubing.  He LOVED when the tube would bounce up and down on the water.  I can already tell he loves to go FAST.


Jack did some tricks on the tube and had a blast!

Uncle Brian also did some tricks... and had a blast until moments after this when he took a nose-first nasty spill:

Dave did a couple of 360s on the kneeboard:

 

 

And our family of 3 went for another tubing adventure.  Kyle is my awesome little adventure man.  Up for anything with mommy and daddy.

 

After a day on the lake, we all got cleaned up for a nice dinner and pictures by the lake:

 

 

It was a nice way to wrap up our time up North.