Christmas 2016
Well, it's been a while since we've gotten a chance to talk! It's been a busy, busy year for us here - apologies for letting the blog slide back in priorities. Going to try to get at least a post in every other month starting in 2017 (might be one of my resolutions) for everyone to keep up with what is going on up here in the Midwest.
After talking to Anna, we decided that instead of sending out a picture to everyone, it might be more in the spirit of the season to send out a digital update for everything that's going on with our family currently. No worries - nothing terrible is happening or has happened. We just want to try to get a bit better at staying in touch with everyone and this has honestly proven to be a pretty good approach in the past!
Update for Matthew
He's gotten into Pokemon recently - and has taken to 'capturing' and 'training' them throughout the house and backyard...much to the consternation of Cayde and Kyara. His enjoyment of trains has stayed consistent as well - which is no surprise, for any of y'all who have been around him in person. The kid has the ability to find a train ride just about anywhere we go (I'm still waiting to see if he's going to make one magically appear at the grocery store at this point).
Independence has skyrocketed as well - something that is both awesome and frustrating. He's as likely now to just disappear suddenly to take care of something (it literally can be anything) himself as he is to ask for our help - which has led to some interesting situations and conversations about how we don't play with certain items around the house (I'm looking at all you sharp knives...I don't care if he used two chairs to get to you, still not cool).
Update for Anna
Anna has finished the major testing portions of the CPA certification process finally and is now on the next steps of finishing that up - and then she'll be done! She's done a truly masterful job at balancing work, studying, and taking care of Matthew and I - and I know that she's looking forward to getting one of the major things that she's been working on for the past few years finally completed and off her plate.
She's also working on several personal projects that she's hoping to get finished with this next year - I'm really excited to see how they turn out, and from the looks of what I've seen so far, they're going to be amazing!
Update for Jay
This year has been a crazy ride (as probably you can imagine, from the lack of activity on here) - between work and starting up a podcast (more on that in a bit) I'm finding it tough to find time to get sleep. Thankfully, we have coffee.
Back at the end of last year, a group of guys that I gamed with started really talking seriously about putting together a group that would promote a place where people from across gaming communities could come to chat about the stories in the games and other media that we all love so much. This took off pretty decently and soon transformed into an opportunity to start up a podcast. Last year was a year that was amazingly insane for me on a personal level - I was able to travel to LA for E3 and then later to Tampa to be a part of the Destiny Community Convention 2016 with Anna. On top of those amazing experiences, I've been blessed to be able to get to know and now call friends many people within the gaming community that I would have never known otherwise - something that I would seriously not trade for anything. We have had an amazing time growing the community and the podcast (link to website) this past year and can't wait to see where it takes us in 2017!
