2014 Comes to a Close

Certainly a year of milestones and transitions!
- Beginning of 2014: Erin gets used to begin back at work after maternity leave with Colton
- Feb.: Erin business trip to Shanghai, China (always especially challenging as a nursing mom) and Grant holds down the home-front on his own with 3
- April: Erin promoted to Senior Director over Communications and Change Management
- May: Grant's law firm celebrates a successful first year, Erin weans Colton and Erin goes on business trip to Madrid, Spain
- June: Our nanny, Sarah, commits to going back to teaching and so Brittni begins serving as temporary nanny. We are thankful that Brittni was flexible enough to be the temporary nanny for almost 6 months!
- July: Move into our new yellow house - moving in the heat with 3 littles is not for the faint of heart
- Aug.: Cadie starts Kindergarten at her new school, UP Elementary, and Jack Ranger starts 3K at his new school, Scofield Christian
- Sept.: Family trip to Disney with the grandparents, Gallet's leave Dallas and Erin business trip to Istanbul, Turkey
- Oct.: Grant supports his brother, Preston, through rehab. Since neither of our houses on the market (Mimosa and Club Meadows) received firm offers after 2+ months on the market, we decided to rent them and thankfully had great renters moved in quickly so we weren't paying 3 mortgages for too long.
- Nov.: Pretty quiet and with limited travel so we can be together and rest (finally!)
- Dec.: Peyton starts at new nanny and Hamm Family cruise

And this doesn't include birthdays, domestic travel or firsts (Cadie reading, Jack Ranger's awesome dance moves, Colton walking, etc.)! Kinda made me a bit tired just documenting our year! But also made me proud of how we love each other and work together as a family.

I am so thankful for my every-supportive, ever-loving teammate, friend and husband. I rely on him for encouragement, advice, fun date nights and keeping our checkbook balanced. He is reliable, generous, hard-working and loving. I love how he belts out broadway musical songs in the car, how he works so hard to make our house a home and how proud he is of me and our children. Thank you for walking through another year with me Grant Walsh. I love you forever.

My prayer for 2015 is that we settle into our yellow house and that everyone who walks through our door (including all in our family) feels loved and feels the peace, grace and acceptance that truly can only be given by our Savior.

Hamm Family Vacation: The Last Evening

This is called the "Hamm Family Vacation" because it was in memory of Dorisnel "Mama D" and Papa Jack Hamm. Mama D and Papa Jack left a small inheritance to their 4 children, Dawna, Monty, Charlotte and Jerry, and "the siblings" (as they call themselves) decided to set aside a portion to go on the first-ever family vacation together with their families. The cruise was even more fun than I expected and it gave us a chance to do our own activities, but still connect as a group during dinners and a few select events such as the boat on Cozumel and a white-elephant gift exchange on the last evening.

The group included:
- Dawna, John and their kids Grant, Whitney and Austin. Cadie, Jack Ranger and I obviously go with this branch of the family. Whitney's boyfriend, Daniel, also joined us. Sadly, Preston couldn't come on this trip and we missed him!
- Monty and his son Myles
- Charlotte and her husband Ken. Charlotte's two children Stewart and Colette. Ken's two children, Emma and Jared also came. Colette's boyfriend came and he was really nice, but I can't remember his name! :(
- Jerry and Susan and their daughter Lauren

A few highlights to recap the trip:
- Scuba diving with Cadie
- Jack Ranger winning the dance contest
- Ice-cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner (this was the kid's highlight)
- Grant, Austin, Big John, Daniel and Lauren winning the week-long trivia competition
- Remembering Mama D and Papa Jack and their legacy of faith and love

Hamm Family Vacation: Cat in the Hat Breakfast

During our last day at sea, DD, Big John, Grant, the kids and I went to a Cat in the Hat Breakfast. It was decorated so cute and had themed menus, music, table decor and Cat in the Hat characters. Cat in the Hat was a theme during the Kids Club events. Even though she is 6, Cadie preferred to go to the Kids Club Penguin camp with Jack Ranger and the 2-5 age-range. She didn't feel very comfortable as the youngest of the 6-9 age-range, plus the activities were a bit more fun for the little kids. They had crafts like making sand necklaces and coloring your own T-shirt that Cadie enjoyed. Jack Ranger LOVED the kids club and wanted to go a lot. Cadie wasn't as wild about it, but she warmed up to it on the last few days.

Jack Ranger was so proud of himself because he was won a cool medal at the Kids Club for a dancing contest. He really does have great dancing moves!

Hamm Family Cruise: Cozumel

Grant worked so hard and found a boat to charter in Cozumel that included scuba diving, snorkeling light lunch and sailing around the island. The kids loved it and when we docked 4 hours later they didn't want to get off the boat!

There were about 20 of us on the cruise together and we didn't plan many official group activities. But almost everyone came on the boat and it was so fun to relax in the sunshine, see the beautiful fish and make memories together. This one of of my favorite days and the highlight was getting to take Cadie snorkeling for the first time. We all jumped in the water together, but after one short peek at the rish, Jack Ranger was ready to get back on the boat. I swam him back to the boat, and then Cadie and I went snorkeling and she was AMAZING. She used her mask and snorkel like a pro and was so good at pointing out fish and she would even swim down just a bit to see them better. We snorkeled for almost an hour and she was going strong even at the end. We were fairly close to shore and the fish were everyone! It really was beautiful and it was even more beautiful to see God's creature new through Cadie's eyes. I think Dad has found his future scuba diving partner!

After the boat Cadie got a little braid in her hair and we took silly pictures in big boots. There was a line to get back on the boat so little Ranger got a rest while being held by Daniel.

Hamm Family Cruise: Happy New Years!

For New Year's we all ate together in the "fancy" dining room. Then the kids went to the Kids Club for a few hours and DD and Big John picked them up at 10pm to have a grandkids party in their room. Grant and I enjoyed hanging out with the adult cousins and then catching up with Daniel and Winky. Daniel, Winky, Grant and I did the countdown by the pool and after a kiss Grant and I went straight to bed so we could be fresh for Cozumel the next day.

Hamm Family Cruise: Progresso

Our first port of call was Progresso. I hadn't been there before and wasn't sure what to expect, but we had a wonderful day. The kids were pumped to check out the beach and we managed to find a nice spot at a restaurant where we could get food and drinks and watch the kids play in the ocean.

It was funny because right when we got off the boat, it was $40 per person for transportation to an "all you can eat" location by the beach. We decided to take the free bus from the ship into the city and figure it out from there. On the bus, there was an offer for $30 for an "all you can eat" location by the beach. Once we got off the bus in the middle of town, there was an option for $20 for an "all you can eat" location by the beach. We thought about doing that, but then the bus to the "location" was taking so long we decided just to walk to the beach. It was a few blocks away, but we managed to find our own location by the beach that worked out perfectly for us :)

The kids made a new friend, I got a massage while Grant took the kids hutting for shells, and we got a few fun souvenirs including an awesome Captain America cape. This was really the first time that JR was really excited about the beach and the ocean. In the past, he has been a bit nervous, but this time he was fearless and kept going out in the water a bit further than I was comfortable with.

Hamm Family Cruise: All Aboard!

Boarding the boat, Carnival Triumph, was actually pretty painless. While we waited for our luggage to be delivered to our room, we hung out at the covered pool in the back of the boat and ate pizza and ice cream. In our room, the kids loved their bunk beds and Cadie quickly arranged her animals on the top bunk. Our room was right next door to DD and Big John and was on the same deck as the pool so it was very convenient.