The Top 10 of 2014

It's that time of year again. Time for resolutions and reflections. For the latter, look no further than this here blog post, which encapsulates one of the greatest years of our lives. Without further delay, we present to you, in chronological order...

The Top 10 of 2014:

1. Pregnancy

Seemingly a strange addition to the top ten, it has to be said that I had one of the best pregnancies in womanhood. Aside from frequent bathroom stops and the normal waddling towards the end, I was blessed to be active, agile, and mostly unencumbered. I don't know if any other earthly experience can top the feeling of a baby's kicks and turns in the womb. To top it all off, the labor and delivery both were textbook and within a few (painful) hours our sweet Valencia was in my arms. 

2. Motherly Visits

Jackson and I were both blessed with wonderful mothers. Both of my moms were more than willing to take a break from their busy lives to spend time helping us as we transitioned to parenthood. My sweet mother came in March with hopes of seeing my pregnant belly and helping us prepare for Vali's arrival. Despite the unseasonably cold rain, we were able to do some major baby prep work and enjoy some down time together.

Mom came again for the arrival of Valencia. Little did she know she'd have to wait 6 extra days for her birth. In the end it was worth it as she literally helped me push Vali into the world. She then tended to us as we recovered and adjusted to life with an infant. Norma came a few weeks later to help out in similar ways. We owe both of these women more than we can say. I'm blessed to have two wonderful mothers who have my back, even from the other side of the country.

3. Wilmington with the Bushes

Gabe and Ellen Bush are two of our closest friends. Each time we get together its like a convergence of peanut butter and jelly, thunder and lightning, or Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Some things just fit. We've loved having them as our East Coast neighbors in DC. During Spring Break, we took advantage of the good weather and proximity to North Carolina's beaches for a swinging' good time in Wilmington, one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the South.

4. Teacher of the Year

Celeste is a gifted teacher with the ability to not only teach content, but touch hearts. Her gift was made manifest last year when 94% of her students passed the rigorous end-of-year 5^th grade science exam (this compared to the state average of about 45%). At the staff retreat at the end of the year, Henderson Collegiate bestowed its highest honor upon Celeste, naming her the recipient of the Excellence in Education Award. If only all children could have teachers like Celeste.

5. Summer in Utah

Because of work schedules and other circumstances, Celeste and I traveled to Utah for the summer at different times. Celeste made it out in late June in time for two beautiful baby showers thrown by her Orem and Logan families. As a special treat, her two best friends from Grand Junction - Stephanie and Alicia surprised her and stayed for the festivities. She also got to spend some quality time with her sister Bonnie, who was due just a week after Celeste, but delivered 4 days before her. 

Jackson made it out in late July in time for the annual Kidd Family Campout and some fishing on the Green River with his Uncle Terry.

6. "Babymoon" at the Beach

We were married for seven years before Valencia came along. In addition to the year we dated, that’s 8 years of being Jack and Les, a whimsical and hopelessly romantic couple. “Jaleste” had a lot of fun in its hey-day, and while we were both eager to have a baby (that’s a mild way to put it), we were also sad to say goodbye to one of the greatest power couples Western Civilization has ever known.

We therefore endeavored to experience one final fling at the beach. I guess this is what the kids are calling a “Babymoon”. Well whatever you call it, we had a great time forgetting the troubles of the world for a week at the beach. I golfed, Celeste got a massage, and we survived a hurricane in the comfort of our oceanview suite.

7. Valencia

Really, we could have filled the Top 10 this year with Valencia highlights, but instead we're quartering them all here in one place: preparing her nursery, her arrival into the world on August 15th, the way she sighs, her sneezes and hiccups, her obsession with her hands and fingers, her first laugh, tummy time, story time, her acrobatic tricks, her sweet nature and angelic disposition, the way she clings to mom, her baby blessing, the way she looks in hats, her blue eyes that get bluer each day, her soft skin that smells like baby, her focus and attention when watching football games on TV, her busy limbs that only stop when she's feeding, her contagious giggles, her warm hugs. Just, her.

8. New jobs at HC

This was a big year for Jack and I. I was promoted to be an instructional coach (educator-lingo for someone who teaches teachers on best practices) and the Science Department Chair. Jackson, after a really rough year at the local high school, was hired at Henderson Collegiate to start their high school. It opens in August of 2015, so I'm sure you'll be seeing that big piece of news on an upcoming Top 10 list. But the fact that he got hired means that we've been able to see a lot more of each other. We both are working at the middle school while Jackson splits his time with his high school planning efforts.

9. Thanksgiving in CT

It’s a rare occasion for us to spend Thanksgiving with family anymore, but thanks to the recent moves of my sisters Holly and Josie to Connecticut, we were able to make it happen while simultaneously embarking on our first ever road trip with both a dog and baby. Yipee!

Added bonuses this year included my cousin Daniel who joined us from New York City, and my sister Mandy and her two adorable children, who descended on Connecticut from Ireland, where she and her husband live for 6 months out of the year. We also got to spend time with Celeste’s Uncle Dan and Aunt Jeanne in New York with all the Cooper cousins.

10. Christmas in Utah

When you have a child as beautiful and as popular as Baby V, you can’t hide that light under a bushel. Youv’e got to share the goodness, which is exactly what we did when we came home for Christmas this year. Its was Vali’s chance to meet her Papa Britt (pronounced pu-PAH) and all her lovely aunts and uncles on the Britt side of the family. Meanwhile, mom and dad enjoyed flow-ride surfing and colds.

In Logan, Vali met her Grandpa Mack and lots more aunts, uncles, and cousins. She also became acquainted with the birthplace of her nickname, Cache Valley (valley=Vali). We were also hit with some arctic weather and were reminded about how miserably cold Utah can be, and how soft we've grown when it comes to cold weather. However, in our defense, I'm pretty sure even stalwart Utahns will agree that 3 below zero is unacceptable.

Honorable Mention

Honda Fit 2.0 – Remember when we got into that terrible accident that totaled our Honda Fit and the other driver’s van? Well, from that pile of broken glass and crushed metal came a new car, another Honda Fit. It’s a small car for a family like ours, but is deceptively spacious, as was proved during our extended road trip over Thanksgiving.
Merlin turns 2 – We love our clingy, loyal mutt, Merlin Jay Olsen. When he turned two, we celebrated by giving him his all-time favorite gift: cuddle time with mom and dad.

Memorial Day with the Smiths – Our Memorial Day tradition of hanging out with my sister and her family is one that we look forward to all year. It only got put on the “Honorable Mention” list because it was pushed out by our even better weekend with them for Thanksgiving. This Memorial Day weekend was spent in beautiful Henderson, North Carolina, where we ate pizza, played in bumper boats, went to the batting cages, played miniature golf, went roller skating, and swam at the neighborhood pool.
Surprise Visit from Uncle Dave and Grandpa Britt – These two guys were in DC for a WWII Veterans event, but we met them for dinner in Richmond, and it was quite a treat. Sidenote: Uncle Dave, the consummate theme park enthusiast, stopped at King’s Dominion on his way to dinner while Grandpa Britt waited in the car for an hour and a half.

The Doctorate Continues – A year and a half down, lots more to go.
Jackson loses 15 pounds – I credit this to my Jawbone UP bracelet and drinking nothing but water in 2014.

New Babies in the Family – Ours wasn’t the only family that grew in 2014. In February, we welcomed our nephew Crew to the world, the third child of Celeste’s sister Sarah. Then in August, just four days before Vali was born, Celeste’s sister Bonnie gave birth to her second daughter, Dixie. Then, not to be left out of the 2014 baby cycle, little Estee Bright Smith was born just two days ago to my sister Holly and her husband Adam.

USU Football Team Wins 3^rd Straight Bowl Game – Word.

The Art of Losing It

I am an emotional wreck. Surprisingly, it’s not because of my job – that breakdown came yesterday, but I really don’t feel a need to elaborate or beat that dead horse any further. No, today I’m an emotional wreck for an entirely different reason.

It started this morning when I went opened my computer. I went to see what was happening on Facebook, and the first thing I saw was a picture posted by my sister Holly. The picture was of my two darling nieces, Olivia and Ruby, snuggled tightly into the backseat of their car with toys, electronics, games, and headphones up to their necks. The caption at the bottom of the picture said, “And so it begins!” I knew this day was coming, but I didn’t realize it would come so quickly. My sister Holly, along with her husband Adam and three beautiful children, are moving to Connecticut today.

It’s been a tough transitional time for my sister and her family. Adam’s been practically living in Connecticut for the last two months anyway because of work (which is why they’re moving in the first place), leaving Holly alone with three needy girls. Olivia, the oldest, has a very sensitive soul, and has had a few breakdowns of her own leading up to this moment. Ruby and Sonoma are a little too young to care (Ruby is 4, Sonoma almost 2), but a cross-country move is a big deal for just about anyone.

Holly and I are very close, and have talked on many occasions about the move. While she’s thrilled to be leaving Utah (and moving to a state where your vote actually counts), she’s expressed a lot of anxiety for her girls, especially Olivia. She’s been under a lot of stress packing and holding down the fort without her husband. It’s been a lot for her to handle, and much could be said about her strength and resiliency.

So when I saw that picture with that caption, looking into the eyes of my smiling yet nervous nieces, I couldn’t help myself. I balled. I cried like a child. I cried like my nieces should have been crying. Yet somehow they were able to compose themselves and smile, leaving the 26-year old man to look like the child.

After this outburst of emotion, I quickly got myself together and called Holly, who was by that point on the road somewhere, probably still in Utah or maybe Wyoming. As her phone rang and rang all the way to her voicemail, I could feel the emotions within my bosom welling up again like a rising tide. When it came time for me to leave a message, I was back at it, crying uncontrollably, throwing an occasional word into the receiver and then choking on it. One minute and thirty-five seconds of inane babble.

You’d think by that point I’d be over it with an empty tear clip, but twenty minutes later while chowing down on my morning bowl of shredded wheat, Holly called me back, and my inability to suppress my emotions shined brighter than ever. Holly was clearly worried about me, and kept asking, “Jack, what’s wrong?” followed by "I couldn't understand your message. Is everything okay?"

By this point I was laugh-crying, repeating aloud how ridiculous this was. Finally I breathed deeply and apologized to Holly for my estrogen-infused breakdown, and told her that I loved her and her husband and girls so much, and that I was thrilled for them to be joining Celeste and I on the East Coast. That's all.

Perhaps I should have just sent her a text message.