2016 Goodbye and Hello 2017!

Every year I countdown or list up our favorite family moments of the year, so why would this year be any different. I suppose it would have helped me if I had blogged a little more but I failed miserably at multi-tasking all the things I wish I had time to do as usual. hehe

So here we have it, the Hill Family 2016 Year in Review: (in no particular order as I don't feel like ranking them or even thinking of them in chronological fashion!)

Trevor shot his first deer! After weeks and weeks of practice, frustration, patience, crying, and waiting Trevor finally was able to snag a nice buck out at Justin's work ranch with a crossbow. He was so proud and I love that the boys got to spend a little one on one bonding time with each other. Trevor said he got a little "buck fever" after the shot, and a little queasy watching Justin clean it, but he had fun tracking and finding his buck after a clean shot thru the shoulder.  Now to cook it up and enjoy!

We did a huge road trip for our summer vacation! I littered Facebook with our daily adventures and check ins as we traveled down to Big Bend over to Carlsbad Caverns across to the White Sand Dunes up to the Grand Canyon and landed in Vegas! We hit every national park imaginable and even pit stopped in Sedona for some Slide Rock fun! Most of our nights were spent camping in the parks/forests and then enjoyed a few nights of hotel stays here and there. Grandma Gail let us use her timeshare in Vegas for some grownup fun! Trevor had a blast becoming a Junior Park Ranger and we all learned so much about the areas we traveled in!

Trevor turned 9! (I turned 38 and Justin turned 42!) Trevor celebrated the best with a party at a local trampoline place as we "ROARED" his way into the last year of single digits!! We also headed to Tyler Texas for a little indoor waterpark fun! His favorite things this year seem to be legos, Jurassic World, weird youtube videos, swimming and flag football! 4th grade is turning out to be a little more challenging academically for Trevor but we're making it! He loves his teachers and still enjoys going to school each day!

Speaking of Flag football! We tried this out (along with Parkour) this year instead of doing Fall baseball. He really enjoyed it and became the star QB! His arm and accuracy is pretty good! It was a local league so he got to see some friends from school. However, fall was still warm for us and that astroturfed field got HOT fast!!! Parkour is at a local gymnastics place and he learns about core strength, climbing things appropriately and dismounting safely. Think American Ninja Warrior and that's pretty much what they do and learn - in the safety of a gym! He's loving it and I see his confidence in himself growing so much!

I changed jobs!!! After 5 years 8 months and 22 days of being with Workforce Solutions I decided to embark on a new chapter in child care and quality. No one really knew what I did before, so to make it even better, no one will really know what I do now! I could sit here and explain it all to you but in the end you'll just nod your head and think "whatever all that was" and I'll just reiterate that I work for the STATE! If you really desire to know my title - Child Care Quality Initiatives Policy Program Specialist! Sounds fancy!  I like it so far and cannot wait to watch how this position grows into assisting in implementing quality child care across Texas!  Justin still has his job!!! I jest --- but really he's still with his boss and overseeing the ranch in Spicewood daily. We are always thankful that the work is there and provides Justin some flexibility and independence! I think he celebrated 6 years this year!

We had family move! Well kind of.... hehe.  Technically Justin's grandparents moved late 2015, but it made for a special 2016! So much more time to visit and hang with Grandma Gail and Jim!  And this summer my parents announced that they will be moving back to the Austin area (San Marcos) and are currently building their "final home!"  Though Dad may be taking a job in New Orleans! He'll be "commuting" of course!

Pinterest Parties are now my thing!! I had 2 this year (one in Spring and one in Fall) and I think they were a pretty good hit! I need a bigger home so I can host them myself but for now I use whatever I can get! We make things we see on Pinterest and eat from recipes we see on Pinterest and talk about whatever we want because we are kid and hubby free!  Looking forward to hosting one in late Spring again!

We added and are adding to the family! RJ was adopted via Austin Pets Alive just the day after Trevor's birthday celebration! He had been a sick pup (parvo stricken) and was surrendered just weeks before we got him.  We fell in love immediately and he's been a fun addition to the Hill clan!  He loves to chew so it's been a bit of a struggle in training but he really is a smart cookie!  As for adding to --- well "not technically" for 2016 -- but we found out this year! Macee will be having TWINS! After a few years of trying we finally get to add more cousins to the group! Cruz Allen and Harper Layke will join us around March 2017! We were honored with the task of creating the reveal for everyone! Craig shot at 2 boxes full of colored chalk powder to show the genders of the twins.  The memory or it all will be a story to tell forever! Now to plan baby showers and their arrival!

Baseball you ask?  Why yes we did Spring ball and even a little bit of All-Stars! All Stars was definitely a learning experience for us all but such fun! We weren't winners very often but the experience of it made us realize that we may not be cut out for All Star seasons!!! So hot! So busy! and So much time!  But we'll see how Spring 2017 ball goes, as this will be Trevor's first experience with kid pitch! Maybe All Stars 2017 is in the future as well!

 To celebrate Justin's birthday we took a little trip to Port Aransas and had some fun in the sun with my parents as well as the Hansen family! Trevor and Justin would later do the annual Surfside trip without me, as I had a work thing! Trevor mastered boogie boarding and everyone enjoyed sitting oceanside and relaxing with people we love!  I celebrated my birthday with a Beyonce concert! I think concerts will become my thing now ;)  (Garth was last year!)

So I guess that's our year! Uneventful in drama so that's always nice. I can only hope that 2017 is as nice to us! We hope that you had a fabulous 2016, full of just as many memories, smiles, laughs and fun as we did! We're thankful to those of you who participated in parts of our year! We hope to see you all MORE in 2017!! Love and Peace

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!