2012 rewind

 by Clint

2012 was a year of growth for the Aichele family. We were blessed with a pregnancy, and the boys grew before our eyes every day. Melanie and I now feel like we are grown-ups, though hopefully 2013 will be more carefree so we can turn the clock back a little. My waistline grew. We knew going into the year that it was going to be a rough ride. However, we did get surprised a couple times. The year started with my interview at OSU. The interview was the start of a multi-month process that had twists and turns along the way. We intentionally kept February simple, knowing that March would be focused on getting the house ready to sell if I got the job. Getting the house ready actually was not as bad as we thought it would be. We had plenty of fun times and themed weekends, including a Treasure Island themed night that was a highlight, complete with a trip to Long John Silver's. The winter was mild with only one snow that gave us a brief snowman. The winter quickly gave way to spring and before we knew it, our house was on the market (April). We spent a lot of time on Pathfinder in the spring riding bikes and running. Pathfinder was our greatest gem in Bartlesville. We had some good times at Frontier pool, and we really enjoyed spending time with our small group.

Time passed faster than ever before for me, and like the last moments of a sunset, our time in Bartlesville accelerated to the end. This wasn't like moving from Houston for us. In that move, we never looked back. We joyfully left that place as fast as we could. Leaving Bartlesville was different. We started living there with the intention of building a life. In the beginning, we didn't know how long we would stay, but we knew that we wouldn't mind if it was for a while. We made great friends and we loved the community. I will always remember the hours we spent at "our park" next to the house. Thinking about all the time we spent in the backyard digging in the garden always makes me smile. And the hours that we rocked on the porch swing in the backyard will always bring me joy. Leaving Bartlesville hurt. It was the first place that the Aichele family had really felt like calling home. I will say that the drive was a little blurry leaving Bartlesville. Sawyer and Beau, some day go back to 2724 Kingston Dr. and try to remember all our good times.

Mimi's diagnosis of stage 4 cancer on literally the day before we left Bartlesville did not help the moving process. We drove straight from our last night in Bartlesville at the Price Tower to Siloam Springs. The family gathered there to try to help Diana figure out the smartest path forward. Diana has always inspired me by her strength and tenacity. The same day I started my new job as a professor, Diana started her battle with cancer at MD Anderson. Thankfully, 2012 would see miraculous healing for Diana! Grammy also had a few rough patches with a near heart attack in the fall, but she is also on the mend.

The rest of 2012 from July to December 31 was a mix of chaotic activity, exhaustion, and joy. The problem about being a tenure track assistant professor at an institution that hasn't quite reached research status but desperately wants to is that you never stop working or thinking about work. There really is only one word in my vocabulary, proposals. This was a big change from my last job. I tried to carve out time for the family, and we did have some good times in Stillwater. We swam a lot at Grammy and Grandpa's the first few months we were here. We had a lot of friends welcome us into Stillwater. Sawyer and Beau had fun at their school. Melanie got bigger by the day with number 3. We had a record hot summer, again, and continued the exceptional drought. Our trip to Colorado in July re-centered all of us and helped us to get through the fall. We enjoyed football and fixing our house. The fall was fun, and we got an extra long Christmas season this year. The boys are at the peak of Christmas fun! Our New Years sandwich tradition continued this year with a four cheese grilled cheese in truffle butter on homemade bread. This was plan B. We originally were going to re-create Johnnie's burgers, but everyone was sick, so Melanie made grilled cheeses.

2012's theme was "Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive."  We hoped to keep our mind on enjoying the moment and not looking toward an end goal like selling our house, moving, having a baby.  Unfortunately we did not realize all the other challenges that 2012 would bring and there were many moments we just counted down to the end.  We are optimistic about 2013.  2013 looks bright, and that's why we are going with the theme of "Fair and Bright," taken from one of our favorite songs, Big Rock Candy Mountain. We're thankful for 2012, but we're looking forward to and welcoming 2013.

2012 Top 10
10. Wrestling with Iron Man and Iron Baby every day after work.
9. Long awaited April trip to the Tall Grass Prairie.
8. Bike rides and walks on Pathfinder.
7. Starbucks dates.
6. Getting the job at OSU.
5. Lake trips.
4. Swim time at Frontier Pool and Grammy/Grandpa's pool.
3. Cabin trip.
2. Spring fun: campout, pool parties in the back yard, time at the park, and dance parties to kid's Pandora.
1. Getting pregnant with future Paul Tiverton.

New Year's Eve

On New Year's eve, Clint and I decided to take advantage of one last date before we had a new born to carry around.  We dropped to boys off with Grammy and Grandpa for lunch and went for some hot noodles.  Yum.  We came back and the boys had made New Year's hats and noise makers.  Looks like they had more fun.

 By New Year's Eve we all felt pretty cruddy.  We had planned on having a few people over for imitation Johnnie's Burgers, but Clint and I realized we were not up to that.  We decided to just hang out at home and have homemade chicken noodle soup.  To carry on our sandwich tradition, we made grilled cheese on homemade bread with truffle butter and four different types of cheese.  They were delish.  Meme and Kimbo left us with a bottle of sparkling cider.  The boys loved drinking out of mini champagne glasses (cognac glasses) and toasting.  They kept us laughing all night with their toasts.  We spent the night toasting, laughing, dancing, and playing games as a family of four.  It was a nice joyful night.

December 2012

December was full of Christmas activities and getting ready for the baby, but we were able to squeeze in a few other things as well.  We went to Oklahoma City on a Sunday to celebrate G.G.'s 87th birthday.  She had lots of help from the boys opening her birthday presents.  She is still spicy as ever.

The boys had a Christmas sing a long at school.  Sawyer did a great job, but as Beau was walking in, he saw me.  It took a second to register, but then he went hysterical.  Now when Beau cries it is so loud that it is alarming.  There were probably 50 kids on stage and my son is the only one having a hysterical temper tantrum.  Now there were over a hundred parents and grand parents watching and I was on the wrong side of the room.  So they stopped the program and everyone watched as the 9 month pregnant lady (measuring at least 40 weeks by this point) bumped her way through the crowd.  As soon as I grabbed my baby he stopped crying and clung to me so sweetly.  How could I be upset even though I was completely humiliated.

Beau's new favorite place to read.

The boys helping daddy take the deer blind down.

Daddy did get a deer this year.  He was too busy with work to hunt much, but we were proud.

This is Beau with Little Cindy Lou Who hair making the Beau Brow.  The Beau brow is famous in our house.  He makes it when he is mad, but most of the time now he makes it to get a smile from us.  This kid has sooooo much personality.

Christmas 2012 Part 2

Christmas Eve began with a picnic at the farm.  We got Grammy and Grandpa a picnic table for their Christmas present.  We painted it OSU orange and then wanted to surprise them with the table and a fire ring.  We also bought rocks to make a nice fire ring.  The present turned out great and has gotten a lot of use, by us at least. 

We made a card for Grammy and Grandpa with these pictures.  The spot is the perfect picnic spot and it looks like a state park out there.

After naps we went to Grammy and Grandpa's house for a Christmas Eve party.  We had the traditional hors d'oeuvres and Clint and I brought lobster bisque.  The big boys had a hysterical time playing Jenga.  It may have actually been the Kenny's that were making the game so hysterical.

We came home after our party and each boy got to open a present from under the tree.  Each boy had a nativity book to read before bed.  Next was cookies and carrots for Santa.  The second the boys left the room Heidi ate all the cookies. Sorry Santa. 

Christmas morning we all slept in until 9:00 am.  I couldn't believe it.  When we did wake up, Clint and I found this sitting outside the kitchen window.  Uncle A left us a little Christmas morning treat for our coffee.

Beau woke up with the crud Christmas morning.  We opened gifts and played for a while.  We had a nice Christmas breakfast with breakfast casserole and cinnamon rolls.  We then opened more gifts and played some more. 

I was extremely large by this point so I just spent the morning sitting in the rocking chair in my pajamas (which I later busted the elastic on, eww).  I was even too "heavy with child" to get up to take pictures.  I kept thinking, "How did Mary ride for days on a donkey like this?"  Pretty sure I would have killed Joseph.  Once again, Clint spoiled me with my Christmas gifts.  He gives the most thoughtful gifts like a gym membership.  Oh wait that may have been a hint.  But I also got a beautiful painting, matching love mugs for us, a cooking class gift certificate (hope that wasn't a hint too), and a few other things.

We were suppose to go to Grammy and Grandpa's for dinner, but Beau was feeling too bad by this point.  So Grammy, Grandpa, and Uncle A brought the party to our house.  And boy did they bring a party.  They are so thoughtful and generous!

On the 26th, Meme and Kimbo came to help get ready for the baby.  It was great to have them here for 2 days to hang out, cook, clean, and organize.  Clint and I have the best parents! Uncle A also bought more nerf guns (the boys got some in their stocking) and the rest of the week was spent having nerf gun wars.  We finally put our huge front room to use.