Friday, December 28, 2007

2007 Review








HAPPY HOLIDAYS from the TRIPPS

It has been a very busy year but overall a very rewarding one.

Madison (newest member) joined our family January 29th a few days early but a welcomed surprise for Jenn. She started racking up the flying miles early traveling to Orlando, Florida at 4 weeks and then Maui, Hawaii at 6 weeks. She was excellent on both trips (Thank goodness). She is growing like a weed, not walking but can still get anything she wants by crawling and standing up. Her smile has always had a special sparkle and she is a combination between Jaiden’s feisty and Carter’s contentment. She is a mommy’s girl and Jenn loves it. Her
favorite past time is to unload everything and anything she can get her hands on - following in her sister’s footsteps. She loves Barney (help us), her Johnny Jumper and to follow her sister and brother.

Carter turned 3 in February. This was a year full of accomplishments for him. He was potty trained, started preschool, and became a “Big Brother”. He is always proudly telling people, “I’m the big brother.” For the most part he is pretty content although he does lose his cool occasionally. He has developed his dad’s talent for teasing, but is still working on perfecting it. The teasing does not exclude his mother or grandparents. He loves anything boy! I am constantly reminded that I have a son when I find worms in my fridge for fishing or bugs in his room as pets. He loves pirates, tools, dinosaurs, trucks, sports, etc. He recently started an addiction to Indiana Jones thanks to our trip to Disney World in November. He walks around with a shoe lace (whip) and a princess fanny pack (poor guy wants a side pack like Indiana but is using what he could find in the toy room). He also has a mean right hook thanks to the fighting scenes in Indiana Jones. Although he is all boy he is still sweet and sincere with compliments. The other day he told his preschool teacher that she smelled good and he liked her hair. He played soccer this fall and thought the uniform and cleats were awesome. However the season started out rough but after he let go of the coach’s (mom’s) leg he did really well. He keeps asking when he gets to play again.

Jaiden turned 6 in April and started the 1st grade this year. Look out Jordan school district!! Jenn was looking forward to all day school, however she surprisingly misses her. That is until off track and the daily bickering starts between her and Carter. Jaiden was certainly meant to be the oldest child. She is extremely independent and such a big help with Madison and Carter. She loves reading especially by guessing the words instead of sounding them out (still working on that and patience). She loves to dance and perform on stage. She actually lost her 1st tooth during a dance recital this summer. She is currently taking four hours of dance a week. She keeps mentioning that she wants to start piano and tumbling but we are worried about her being overscheduled. She loves to play with friends and we are blessed to live in neighborhood where she has several. Jaiden played her 3rd year of soccer this fall and really loved being on a team with all her girlfriends. She is a “fashion girl” and reminds us of it all the time. She is really into making sure her outfits don’t match too much. She also likes to pull out a little hair in the front/side of her face when it is pulled back. It drives us crazy. We are already getting ulcers thinking about her teenage years.

Jenn turned the big 30 this year while 9+ months pregnant and HUGE. Wow! What a way to celebrate. She has decided having 3 kids is a lot more than just adding one more to two. It has been an adjustment and Jenn had to accept the fact she could no longer fulfill all her commitments. She finally took the plunge and resigned from her business office position. She had been with the company 10+ years and had been working from home since Jaiden was born. It was difficult for her to let go of that part of her identity but the family has definitely benefited from it. (She admits she should have listened to Jason years ago and resigned sooner) She still gets out of the “mother mode” by teaching dance at Utah Dance Artists. She has been with the studio about 3 years and really enjoys it. Jenn was also the contractor on finishing the basement this year. Actually we hired a contractor but he took orders from her very well or at least pretended to.

Jason survived Jenn’s analyzing and decision making on the basement. We love the basement and Jason was able to fulfill a life long dream of owning a “big” HD flat screen TV with surround sound. Jason is a Sales Manager at Allegiance which is a feedback software company. He enjoys his job and so far so good. He loves to play with the kids and they think their dad “walks on water”. He is always planning family getaways or activities…especially around the holidays.

Looking back on 2007 it was a great year. We have been blessed and are thankful for all the traveling we were able to do, for the wonderful neighborhood we live in, for our extended
family and all their support, and for our health (we had the usual issues along with a few weird ones - but we are thankful for not having anything major.) We are grateful for our family and our home being full of laughter and love.

We wish you and your family the best 2008!!!