A Look Back at 2008

This is the second year I've written a recap at year end and it seems this year was just as eventful as the previous year.

2008 began with me in Houston and Jill & the boys trying to sell the house in Frisco to complete our relocation.
The beginning of January we made a trip to New Orleans, LA to attend the BCS Championship game between Ohio State and LSU. While the team we were hoping to win didn't, we thoroughly enjoyed the sites New Orleans had to offer. Jacob turned 5 years old and had a transformer birthday party at Grandma & Grandpa Dentons. At the end of January we finally sold our house after 70 showings over a four month period.

The boys & Jill moved into her parents home in Van Alstyne, until we purchased our new house. At the end of February, we purchased our new home in Cypress, about 30 miles northwest of Houston, TX.

March brought a host of visitors to the new house. Jill's parents, my parents, Great Grandpa Denton, John & Alex, and Missy. We had never experienced having anyone stay at our house as overnight guests. Prior to moving to Houston, all family & friends stayed at one of our parents house while visiting Dallas. While we have had our share of visitors over the past 10 months, we still get extremely excited with everyone who comes to town to visit. Also in March we experienced our first Houston Rodeo. I never knew how big a deal a rodeo could be, but the whole city turns upside down about the Rodeo.

Josh turned 3 years old in April and had a Sponge Bob birthday party at Grandma & Grandpa Patton's. Jacob graduated from preschool in May and couldn't be more excited about moving up to elementary school.

In June, both the boys began swim lessons at our community athletic club. Jacob can now swim on his own and Josh is very close to swimming on his own. No doubt both will be swimming all over the place next summer.

We made a few trips to the Houston zoo in July and also took an extended trip to Dallas to see all of the grandparents. Later in the month, Great Aunt Marie from Michigan passed away. We were fortunate enough to visit her each of the last 4 years while we made our fall trip to Ohio and Michigan. At the end of July we made a quick trip to Galveston beach and spent a day there with Aunt Missy. The boys had a blast in the sand and in the water.

Jacob began kindergarten at the end of August and also rode his first bus. He had been waiting for this time since we moved here. He would always see the bus and ask if he could ride. Josh also began pre-school at the beginning of September. Both of the boys schools would be suspended soon after due to Hurricane Ike. Ike arrived September 12th and completely destroyed Galveston beach. Houston also sustained significant damage and 90% power outage. We lost power for about 36 hours. School did not resume for 10 days and most businesses and gas stations had no power for at least 6 days. This caused an incredible halt in everyday life because there were very few gas stations open and the ones that were open had over a 1 hour wait with mile long lines. You can still see effects from Ike as many buildings have missing letters or boarded up windows throughout the city.
At the end of September, Josh became the first boy to receive stitches. Anyone who wagered on who would be first one with stitches no doubt won that bet. He split open his chin while playing at the playground. He was proud of his stitches and made sure to show everyone them.

In October, Jacob ran his first Fun Run. While watching the summer olympics earlier in the year, he told us he was going to be a runner so we signed him up for the 1/4 mile run. He definitely had fun and even turned to us right before the finish line and jumped up and down. We had to wave him to go on to the finish line. Jill's brother, Tim, married Andi in Ft. Worth, TX and we were able to visit with many of Jill's relatives. That same week I found out my company was going out of business and would begin liquidation immediately. I was let go on the first of November. Luckily, I had been in touch with numerous companies and had an offer extended to me a couple of days prior from another company. I accepted the position and began training in Dallas for 4 weeks.
I was gone the entire month of November in Dallas. Jill & the boys were able to travel to Dallas the week of Thanksgiving. I came back to Houston the first week of December just in time for the busy holiday season.

A few days after I came home we received snow in Houston. When we were moving here we were told we will never see snow. Well we did and we took pictures because it definitely did not stick around.
Jill's parents came down to visit Christmas day. My parents and sister came to visit a few days later. The boys experienced 3 Christmas gift exchanges and I think they still believe they are going to wake up and find more presents each morning.

All in all 2008 was an enjoyable year, despite the country's economical struggles. The auto industry, home mortgages, banks, and nearly everything else directly or indirectly will likely see tough times in the coming months. Despite them, we have many reasons to be thankful and look forward to an exciting 2009, Happy New Year!