2011 in Review: July to December

Much of my spare time was spent at the beach in July. With it being a mere 5 minute walk from my house, where else would I want to be? I didn't actually spend a lot of time there because I didn't have much time spare. I started my job in July -- scary! I was (and still am) surprised at how seamlessly I transitioned from being a nursing student to being a registered nurse. I felt well prepared to take on my role when the time came (what a relief!).

Sawyer ventured to Washington with me in mid-July to collect Erik when he returned from Alaska. And my Little Miss took her first steps (at my house) and promptly turned one.

A few free evenings in July (and August) were spent at our friend's cabin about a 25 minute drive away from home. It provided a lovely little getaway -- a staycation, if you will.

August was fairly dull -- I worked. My first solo shift was in August and my patient decided to have a small heart attack on me. I hardly got to play in August... we had a few evening meals with friends, but not much else. Oh, we celebrated our third anniversary. Woop woop.

A trip to Minnesota/Iowa was definitely the highlight of September. I was not a fan of being the sole driver (Erik allowed his license to expire), but it was definitely an awesome trip. I had the opportunity to meet Erik's extended family, hang out at the Sodi-pop farm, and visit my niece in Iowa.

We also got to spend a lot of time with these little munchkins. It's too bad a lot is never enough -- I'm praying for a day when they migrate to the west coast.

Most of October was spent knitting. Knit-knit-knitting. Lots and lots of knitting. I made four baby vests, two dresses, two pairs of wrist warmers, a couple toques, and some dishcloths. We also went to Valemount to celebrate a friend's birthday with a hiking trip.

November - work, play, my girls and their babes. That about sums it up. My friend Charisa came for Remembrance Day weekend while our husbands hiked in Manning Park. Yup, that's about it.

And December. In good 'ol December we celebrated the addition of two members to the Jansen family -- Rachael, my soon-to-be-sister-in-law, and Jordyn, my newest niece.

I had Sawyer and Maelle for our first tandem sleepover. They slept in the same room and Sawy slept like a rock. Little Miss needed some TLC throughout the night, but we made it!

Erik and I made our way to Washington to have an early Christmas with his family and then we went to Lindsey's on Christmas Day for dinner and prezzies after I got off work.

And that, my friends, is a quick look at the past year.