Goodbye 2013

I'll be honest, 2013 was not my best year. I was not prepared for the challenges of some big life-changes/circumstances that seemed to crop-up at every turn. This included holding our dear cat Gypsy as she was put to sleep--something that was even more difficult than I imagined it would be--and starting a new job with more responsibility. And after years of struggling with certain issues with both of our kids we finally were able to get some answers that has resulted in our family going Gluten and Sugar-Free. That has been a time/financial-suck like no other! But seeing our kids healthy and thriving is well worth the effort.

However, there were some really great moments in 2013 as well. Here are a few worth remembering:

2-week family vacation at Walt Disney World!

I have a history of letting my kids skip school. So I had no qualms about taking my daughter out for a few weeks. Her teacher simply requested that she send some youtube videos to her classmates. You can watch them here, scroll down to the bottom and work your way up!






I got a little more "cool."

I now drive a Subbie.

We had some fun family camping trips exploring Northern Michigan.

And we finally took the kayaks on a camping trip! This was a true moment of joy and peace, paddling the still waters just to the north of the Leelenau Peninsula.

Mastering the fine-art of GF/SF baking! Thank you Spunky Coconut!!!!

Chocolate Peanut-Butter Cupcakes!

Those are some wonderful memories and I'm grateful to be able to look back and have those moments. But there was a significant lack of anything mountain biking or fitness related! My resolution for the new year is to correct that wrong! I have some things lined up for 2014 that I'm really excited about!