Every year, our family sends out our traditional holiday newsletter and as corny as that may be, it's a tradition that we enjoy and hope spreads cheer to our family and friends. This year, we've decided to "go paperless" saving some trees and time by posting our season's greetings online!
With the holidays fast approaching (don't they seem to come sooner each year?) and 2016 upon us, we wanted to take a moment to share our well wishes with you all and reflect with gratitude on the year past (even though I'm pretty sure Facebook has done a good job of this).
Our girls are growing incredibly fast (as all kids tend to do, I guess). Makayla started Kindergarten at the local school where she's made lots of new friends. She impresses her teachers with her positive attitude and quick learning abilities. She has continued with Taekwondo and recently earned her Purple Belt. Her plan is to reach her goal of Black Belt in the years to come. Makayla has also taken up kid's yoga and the same studio that I attend and teach classes part time (as a substitute). She really enjoys going to yoga with her Mommy and has learned a lot about the practice. She also lost her first two teeth recently and is always excited to get visits from the Tooth Fairy.
Kailani now walks pretty confidently and her vocabulary grows each day. She's very loud and loves to dance and yell along with her favorite songs. She's very friendly and quick to smile or laugh. She and Makayla are little partners in crime already! Although we are so proud of their achievements, we sometimes can't help but wish we could keep them in a little time bubble.
Aaron was moved to the Inventory Control Group (ICG) department at Mc Master Carr and he's been very happy with the new job duties. It can be physically demanding, but he enjoys it and considers it a work out as well-2 birds with 1 stone. He also joined Taekwondo with Makayla and has earned his Yellow Belt, with plans to continue in the coming years. Makayla is very sweet and is always willing to help him practice his technique and form-she loves being able to teach him!
I am on my 9th year at Heart of Haute and am very thankful for the flexibility my career has given me to balance work and home. With the endless support of my family and friends (especially Aaron, my parents, and sister) I began teaching a weekly yoga class at a local bootcamp and have returned to school for an in depth yoga study at Addicted to Yoga, where I substitute teach. I am on track to earn my credentials with the Yoga Alliance and hope to also teach a regularly scheduled class at the yoga studio in the future.
In October, we bought our home that we've been renting. We are so thankful to our parents for whom it would not have been possible! We love the neighborhood, despite the wafting scents from the dairy. It is close to Makayla's school, my parents, and our friends. Having our support network close to us has been such a blessing and the reason we are able to do a lot of the things we do is because of the help from our family around us. After a lot of consideration about where to move, it became evident that the best move for our family was to stay put.
October was a very busy month for us as we also celebrated our 9 year wedding anniversary. We spent the weekend at a beautiful Treehouse Air BNB in San Diego. It was close to Balboa Park, Old Town, and the Gas Lamp District. We had a wonderful weekend getaway and it's one of our favorite mini vacation spots! Even as I write this, I'm craving the handmade tortillas from Old Town!
All in all, we've had another wonderful year. Our family has been truly blessed and we are thankful everyday. We'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May 2016 bring you health, love, laughter, and joy!
Love Always,
Aaron, Donna, Makayla and Kailani
