2017 Summary

Christmas snow is melting,

Ornaments all boxed up,

Our poinsettia wilting:

A new year is coming.

I'm not much of a poet, but I composed these lines yesterday while forlornly putting away the Christmas decorations. For some reason pumping my melancholy into a shaky meter was therapeutic and eased the sadness. I'm ready to look UP and move onward: do a little more good, listen a little more carefully, create a little more beauty--live a little more fully. 

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I don't really do summaries. It's all or nothing with my storytelling (usually all). But my sister puts together an annual family yearbook and requires a summary of the year from each family member. The problem with summaries is that they don't convey any emotion, just stiff facts. Maybe that's why I don't enjoy writing summaries--there's no scope for the imagination. Since I already wrote it, though, here's the 2017 summary (although I couldn't resist tweaking it and rounding out the edges for the blog):

White Family

• After seven years in Grandview, WA, we sold our house and moved ten miles west to the countryside of Sunnyside, WA.
• We traded our old Honda Odyssey van in and got a newer Kia Sedona van.
• Continue to enjoy weekly pizza and family movie night on Friday nights.
• Celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary! We are eleven.
• Favorite family trips: spring break road trip to Missouri (without Jeff, sadly), summer trip to Hobuck Beach and Cape Flattery, camping at Mt. St. Helens, seeing the Meridian Idaho temple open house, and driving to Utah for my cousin's wedding in November. Jeff and I went on two trips alone together: a week in Paris in January, and a weekend in Salt Lake City for my sister's wedding in October.

Jeff

• Flew to Paris with Shaina for a weeklong 10th anniversary getaway!!
• Completed his first season as assistant high school track coach over distance runners.
• Completed his first season as high school head cross country coach with two runners qualifying for state.
• Began his seventh year of teaching French at Sunnyside High School.
• Ran a lot over the summer.
• Called as 16-17 year old Sunday school teacher in the Sunnyside Ward.

Shaina

• PARIS WITH HUSBAND! Laaaa!
• Completed my 1,000th blog post and the blog turned 10 years old.
• For the third time, drove three kids solo 2,000 miles to visit our Missouri family.
• Did a lot of distance running over the summer and enjoyed beautiful views. Favorite run of the summer was a 15 miler on the Olympic Peninsula to Shi Shi Beach. 
• Called as Cub Scout wolf den leader in the Sunnyside Ward.
• Also called as the primary pianist in our ward, which requires MUCH practicing.

Jay

• Enjoyed the most snow days ever in his school career!
• Began third grade in a new school: Outlook Elementary.
• Began his second year of piano lessons with Sister Cook.
• Turned eight and was baptized!
• Highlight of the summer was having best buddy cousins Steve and Dan visit and sleep over one night at our house.
• Favorite activity over the summer: swimming.
• Fell in love with mythology of all cultures via Rick Riordan books.
• Started writing his own series of short books: “The best part about writing stories is I can make ANYTHING happen!”
• Quote: “I’m working on my sarcasm.” He also is developing his sense of humor and loves trying out new jokes and puns on his family.

Rose

• Finished up kindergarten and LOVED every second of it.
• Lost her two front teeth and turned six years old.
• Over the summer, she enjoyed going on half mile runs, and even ran a 15:45 minute 2 mile race in July!
• Started first grade at a new school: Outlook Elementary. Quote: “I love learning!”
• Still loves art and drawing with markers.
• Learned how to do her own ponytail sometimes, with great effort.
• Started her first full year of piano lessons with Sister Cook.

Amber

• After over a year, she finally started staying in nursery at church by herself!
• Dabbled in potty training twice, but never cared enough to make it official and still wears pull-ups.
• Loves digging in the dirt.
• Adores trampolines (“jumpolines”) 
• When Jay and Rose started carrying backpacks to school, Amber followed suit and for months rarely left home without her zebra face backpack, loaded with princesses.
• The master of mischief, she has racked up quite the rap sheet of household misdemeanors, from coloring all over the walls to dumping out the spices, oil, and honey, repeatedly.
• LOVES all screen activities: movies, Netflix episodes, but especially having free reign on the iPad.

And one last photo fave from our summer archives,

Happy New Year!