12 Months of 2008

I saw this idea on a friend's blog and thought that I would snatch it up (thanks Erin.)

I can not believe how fast this year has gone by. Every year seems to go faster and faster and I am having a hard time catching my breath long enough to enjoy it all. However, I have found so much joy in my life and in my family and with each passing year. I am grateful for every minute, every look, every smile, every trial and every hug. I want to bottle them up and keep them in my heart forever.

January:
In January, we were so excited to have my brother in law and his cute kiddos come up for a couple of weeks to visit. They live in Texas and we rarely have the chance to see them. So, when we are able to get together, we live life to the fullest. We had craft day, went to Temple Square, the Children's Museum and Soldier Hollow. Kyra was in the middle of Kindergarten and Kaeson was enjoying preschool.

February:
February was a month full of activity with Toad. Kelton learned to roll over (not bad for 3 months old.) He got his first case of croup which was something that I was very familiar with. We took Toad bowling for the first time in his life and I actually did a pretty good job with him strapped to my chest! At the end of February both of the boys got very very sick. Kaeson did not move off the couch for several days and Kelton had to be hospitalized for nearly two weeks. They both ended up having RSV. It was a very scary time and needless to say, we are just extremely lucky to have our little Toad still with us.

March:
Kelty came home from the hospital on March 5th. Thank heavens. March 15, Harvey and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. I love you honey! Muah! Kyra got a terrible haircut that she absolutely hated. We had to disguise it with curls and headbands. Kaeson went through his Lewis stage and had his hair modeled after the kid on "Meet the Robinson's." Easter was so much fun. We went once again to Thanksgiving Point, but this will probably be our last year. It is getting way to overcrowded!

April:
In April, Kyra went on her first date. She was decked out and ready to go car seat and all. She is so lucky to have such wonderful uncles that dote on her like crazy! Kelton hit 6 months old and his personality started to blossom. We had general conference where Elder Ballard gave a talk that was a blessing to my life.

May:
In May, Harvey's company has their annual open house. We took the kiddos and they had a blast. It was carnival style with games, face painting and food. Harvey was so excited to show us all where he works. I learned how to make Boutique Bows although I am not very good at it. The highlight of my month was when I got to go with my girls and do the Race for the Cure in celebration of our friend Laurie. This is becoming a great tradition.

June:
We had a great time in June. We went to Disneyland with our great friends the Banks. They are such fun to travel with. This was our first long road trip with the whole family and they did a great job. We went to the park, the beach and just hung out! Kelty even started crawling when we were in Disneyland. Kaeson turned 4 on June 5th. He had his first big boy birthday party. It was Spiderman themed and he loved it! He also got his first big boy bike. We spent a good part of the month trying to convince Kaseon that he really had a brain and not a coconut inside of that cute noggin of his. I am still not sure that he is convinced. Kyra had her pictures taken dressed as a fairy at JC Penny. They are by far the cutest picture that we have ever seen. It was absolutely the most natural thing in the world for her. So, we went home, made her her own fairy dress and took her to Engh Garden's Fairy Festival. She loved every minute of it. Father's day was wonderful and made me realize how much I love the men in my life. Kelty learned to climb the stairs. He was so natural at it and once he started, he zipped throughout the whole house. We had a scary moment with Toad at the end of the month. He stopped breathing for no apparent reason. We had to call the paramedics. They came but he had started breathing on his own. After watching him for a while, the paramedics called an all clear and we were good to go.

July:
We decided for the Fourth of July that we would go on our first camping trip. We loaded up the van and met the Taylor family up in the middle of beautiful nowhere. It was amazing how much our kids loved it and they were excited how dirty they could get. Kyra's only reservation was the potty in the middle of the camp. The ice maker in the fridge malfunctioned and spilt water all over the place. It seeped through the floor and into the basement! No one was around to help me. Another mess to handle on my own! For the 24th of July, we went to a very dear friend's home and spent the day having a BBQ and swimming in their pool. My kiddos didn't get out for almost the entire day. The best part of the month was that Harvey turned 40. We had a surprise party for him and surprisingly enough, we were able to pull it off. He was completely shocked. Unfortunately, it rained for the first time in months the day of his party and the men spent the evening scrubbing the black streamer's dye off of our vinyl fence.

August:
For my birthday, we went up to Bear Lake. Dad rented a boat and we spent the day riding around having the best time in the world. I absolutely love being with my family and it was one of the best days of my life. A couple of weeks later, we celebrated Kyra's birthday. She was absolutely thrilled. We had a big family birthday party. We decided to put off her friend party until she started school. She had a three tiered cake and lots of fairy presents. We took our first family Trax ride. I took all the kids downtown. We met Harvey at the Gateway for lunch. The kids loved it. I survived it. Kelton had a big event. He had his ear surgery. All of my kiddos have required tubes. I wish that they would just put them in at birth but, the doctors just don't listen to me. Kelty also got Hand Foot Mouth disease and was miserable for weeks. I took the kids at the end of the month to the store to send their summer money. Every summer the kids save up all of the money that they find and earn and they are able to go to the store and get whatever they like. They love it. Kyra started her first day of 1st Grade. She was thrilled. I was devastated. I cried for 2 days. She loved going to school all day and especially enjoyed eating lunch there.

September:
September was Kaeson's big month. We took him to the eye doctor to have his eyes checked. Come to find out, he has a severe lazy eye. He had to get glasses. He wasn't too thrilled to wear them at first but soon got accustomed to them. Kaeson also started a new preschool. We thought that he needed a change that would work better for the person that he is. We started him in a Montessori school and he is thriving! We made our yearly mecca to the fair. It is a tradition that we have had since we were small. My dad and brothers met us there. My brother entered his painting into their competition and took home a ribbon. My kiddos were just happy to ride a pony! We were invited to go up Springville Canyon with some friend of ours that have family property up there. We had great food and the kids had a blast playing in the river, going on the zip line and sleeping in a motor home. Another great activity with my girls. We made it up to Silver Lake with the family on a beautiful afternoon. We got some amazing family pictures and it made my month!

October:
We started October with a bang and headed down to St. George with the Banks family for the St. George Marathon. We have made this trip several times but this is the first time with friends. What a fun trip that was! I now don't mind taking that trip. As long as I can bring a friend along. Kyra had crazy hair day at school and boy, did we make her hair crazy. The best part of the month was that Harvey finished installing the wood floors in the living room. YEAH! We have had the flooring for over a year and it is finally in. After visiting the eye doctor again, we learned that Kaeson's eye had not improved as much as we had hoped so, he had to start wearing a patch. He loved it and thought that he looked like a pirate. We entered October with mixed feelings. Little Toad turned one! He was thrilled and had a great birthday. However with him as my last little one, I felt a bit sad that my baby was growing up. Halloween was a great day. The kids dressed as a Toad, a Dragon and a nurse. Kyra was supposed to be a fairy princess, a costume that I had worked on for some time, but at the last minute changed her mind and wore the nurse costume that her uncle gave her. In October, we started the Great Franco Makeover. We started finishing our basement. What started as a simple idea turned into a complete overhaul.

November:
This month was a bit slower. Kelty got his first scar. Kaeson knocked him in the eye with a battery charger and left quite a gash. The basement took forever but, was finally finished only days before Thanksgiving. We were able to host our soon to be annual BYU vs. Utah football game. My girls and their families came over and we had a great time, even if our team didn't win. John came to town again with his kiddos. We had another great time. We took the Front Runner Train and went to the Tree House Museum. We had Thanksgiving together and shopped the outlets. I loved seeing my little niece and nephew again.

December:
December was a whirlwind. We are still recovering from family visits, shopping sprees and a torn apart basement. We had our little elf visitor that made our Christmas so much more relaxing seeing as the kids were on their best behavior. We decided to move Kyra to a new school. We had some issues with the old school so, we moved her back to the school closer to home. We hit a gold mine with a great school and a fantastic teacher. Thanks Mrs. Tapia. We had our annual Franco Family Gift Exchange. A tradition that is getting more fun every year. We were thrilled to carry on the tradition of watching A Christmas Carol with my family and having roast beef sandwiches. We loved shopping this year. Although we were on tighter budget this year, we were able to get the hearts desires of our kiddos. With the proud addition of a life jacket, Furreal Pet and a Ball Popper, our kids were in heaven. I was so thrilled that Harvey has spent so much time turning my sewing room into a retreat. He has done an amazing job.

All in all, this has been an amazing year. We have had moments that have scared us to death and others that have brought us true euphoria. I hope that I can take the lessons that I have learned in 2008 and use them throughout all of 2009 and then on!

Happy New Year All!