The Top 10 of 2013:
1. Home for the Holidays
Jackson and I have been living in North Carolina for four and a half years now - and prior to this year we had only been home one time for Christmas, and that was in 2009. Both of us have large families with wonderful traditions and being away for the Holidays has come in many forms. We have spent several blissful Christmas's in New York with family and last year we decided to stay put and celebrate it together (until Jackson surprised me and flew me home Christmas day). But there was a lot of anticipation for us to be home this year. This was the last Olsen family Christmas. All of Jacksons siblings and their kids were able to be home for one last time. In total he has 2 brothers, 4 sisters and 13 nieces and nephews. All in all just his family, spouses and offspring now include a whopping 29 of us. We were able to be all together for several fun filled days of ice skating, games, pictures, dinners and gift exchanges.
On Christmas day we headed down to Orem to be with my family. I always thought I had a fairly large family, but after a few days with all of the Olsens, the Britts seemed to be a quaint, laid back group. Together we played a lot of ping pong, ate some wonderful meals, vied for my niece's attention (she was not particularly fond of me this time around…) played games and simply caught up. My grandparents were also able to join us for the last few days of the trip. My grandpa may be a mean cuss, but he sure has some soft spots when it come to us. My grandma is learning to enjoy her old age, she even found time to play a few rounds of ping pong with us kids.
We hope to be back again for Christmas next year. There really is something to be said about being home for the holidays, and the Utah snow is about all we need to get us through the rest of winter.
2. Lake Powell
For the first time since we've been adults, the Britts organized a family reunion for just the immediate family. We had been planning some sort of get together for over a year, knowing that we wanted to do something when Ben got home from his mission. We tossed around the idea of going on a cruise or renting a lake house, but in the end, and even better plan came to fruition. Thanks to the relentless efforts of my sister Crystal and her collaboration with our honorary sister, Alicia Heinecke, now Shideler, we were able to use the Heinecke family house boat, the Hakuna Matata, and enjoy time together at Lake Powell. It was hot, it was crowded, but it was so much fun and the food was great. We swam, explored the large lake on boats, went wake boarding and some even ventured to jump off a cliff or two.
3. Virginia Beach
Continuing a new and favorite tradition,
the East Coast Olsens convened at the beach over Memorial Day weekend. While we didn’t make it to a place as magical
as Bald Head Island, Virginia Beach was still a blast. Merlin got to meet his cousins Olivia, Ruby,
and Sonoma. Everyone got along splendidly,
and it was a great time just being with Holly and her family.
4. Surviving a Scare
The week before Christmas, Celeste and
I were in a car accident. We were traveling around 50 mph when a car suddenly turned left in front of us. We had no time to react, not even to hit the breaks. We collided and were flung down a side road. Both cars were totaled, with our little Honda Fit losing most of its front end. Ours was the kind of accident that has people
leaving on stretchers, but not a single person was injured more than aches,
pains, bruises or sprains. We were protected by the hand of God and for that we are grateful. It was truly a miracle.
5. Merlin Turns 1
What can we say about this boy named
Merlin. He is a treasure, and we
recently celebrated his first birthday, and his one year anniversary of his
becoming an Olsen. There is a clever
bumper sticker out there that simply says, “Who Rescued Who”. Grammar aside, this saying perfectly defines
our relationship with our lovable pup.
While we may have been the only thing standing between him and
euthanasia, he came into our lives at a time when we needed his love and
companionship just as much as he needed ours.
We were still recovering from the soul-crippling summer of 2012, and God
prescribed a lonely, loyal, and cuddle-hungry puppy with a soft coat and eyes
that can melt you on the spot. Merlin
continues to be an endless source of light and joy in our lives.
6. Thanksgiving in D.C.
While we don’t think of it this way
too often, life on the East Coast can be lonely, at least in the family/friends
sense of the word. That’s why being with
them – anytime, anywhere we can – is such a blessing. This Thanksgiving we drove a few short hours
to the nation’s capital and spent the holiday with Gabe and Ellen Bush, some of
our closest friends. It was just like
old times. Lots of immature jokes, lots
of good movies and music, and lots of laughing until it hurts.
7. Graduation
On May 11th, 2013, I became the proud recipient of my Master’s of
School Administration. Although I am an
Aggie first and a Tar Heel second, I will always have a special place in my heart
reserved for N.C. State, for the Northeast Leadership Academy, for professors Bonnie
Fusarelli and Matt Militello, and the entire body of people and experiences
over those two years that molded me into the school leader that I am today.
8. The UNC Doctorate
Third time’s the charm. Or at least it was in my experience in
applying to UNC. The first time was a
long-shot. The second time put me on the
waitlist. It took three tries over four
years (and a career change) for the stars to align and the doors to open at the
greatest and most prestigious public university in the American South. I am proud and humbled to be pursuing my
doctorate in educational leadership at UNC.
I just completed my first semester in the program, and am loving it. Hark the sound!
9. Home in Henderson
Celeste and I can’t seem to stay
put. We’re averaging a move about every
two years at present, and this year was a moving one. We left our cute little home in Wake Forest
and moved to Henderson, the town that we’ve worked in for the last four and
half years. We never thought we’d move
to Henderson given its reputation for violence and crime, but we haven’t
regretted the move once since moving here.
We found a great house in a safe neighborhood. It has a big yard and a doggy door for our
eldest son, and is a whopping 5-10 minutes from work, as opposed to 30-40. We’ve also discovered that we actually rather
like living in Henderson itself. Like
with many places, it is what you make it.
10. Cousin Wedding in New York
In April our little family, including Merlin, drove up to Highland, NY to celebrate the marriage of my cousin Nick to his bride, Samantha. It was a wonderfully beautiful wedding at an exquisite chapel. Every detail was well planned and we are so happy for Nick and Sam. It also gave us the opportunity to introduce Merlin to a lot of my family - including my mom, sister Bonnie, and niece, who were able to come from Utah for the event.
Honorable
Mention:
Benjamin comes home from his mission! - January 2013 concluded Ben's mission service in the Chile Santiago West mission. I was able to be there at the airport to welcome him home with the rest of the family. He is such a great brother and it's been great spending time with him again!
USU wins the Poinsettia Bowl - That's right. Go Aggies.
IBMA Festival
– For Celeste’s birthday this year, we spent two nights in Raleigh for the
Annual International Bluegrass Festival, featuring Bluegrass legends like Bela
Fleck, the Punch Brothers, the Steep Canyon Rangers, and the one-and-only Steve
Martin, who not only busted our guts all night long, but he wailed on the
5-string banjo like his life depended on it.
The whole event just left us speechless and a few pounds lighter.
ZVES to NVHS –
Midway through the school year, Jackson was called to leave his internship at Zeb Vance Elementary School to be an assistant principal at Northern Vance High School. Jackson has always wanted to work with high school students and being giving this opportunity before his graduation is certainly noteworthy.
