The Van Wagoners - 2012 in Review or Rewind or Fast Forward

Alright, Rochelle doesn't know I'm writing this blog post.  We didn't get our Christmas card out again.  Last year we were at least able to get some cards printed off, we just didn't get them sent.  Or, maybe that was the year before.  Anyway, anyhow this is my attempt to make up for not getting out a nicely formatted and witty Christmas letter with a snappy picture of our beautiful (not so) little family.  Maybe once Rochelle sees this she will add some pictures.

I hesitated writing this letter for a few reasons, the primary being 12/21/12.  Now that I know that the Mayans were incorrect, or at least inaccurate in their calculations, I have a lot of catching up to do on procrastinated projects.  We've been a bit overwhelmed by this whole six children thing.

Clara was born on November 2nd of this year.  She was a blessed and welcome addition to our family.  Rochelle wanted to name her "Caboose" or something like that.  Before she even came home from the hospital she was visited by her Grandma and Grandpa Panting and Great Grandma Panting.  Within a few short days most of the Van Wagoner clan dropped by to see her (and to run a race).  Clara is growing fast and likes to look at people and smile, especially at her mother.  Hopefully she's up for having Elizabeth as a big sister.

Elizabeth continues to make us laugh and make us cry.  She is full of energy and loves to figure things out on her own.  She does great at making toast.  Also, she is teaching herself to be a musician and dancer.  Her favorite instrument is the drums.  She plays her drum sticks on all the surfaces in the house.  We love that she still pronounces all of her "L" sounds like a "Y".  Elizabeth was a little sad when her big brother Isaiah started kindergarten, but she stepped up and now runs the house during the day in his absence.

Isaiah continues to expand his expertise on everything to do with the animal kingdom.  His goal of becoming a zookeeper remains in doubt, at least until he can overcome his fear of small animals and insects.  He started kindergarten this fall.  It's a solid love-hate relationship.  He enjoys it most of the time, except when it interferes with playing, television, or time with friends. Isaiah is a great big brother to Clara, quick to try to make her smile if she's sad.  He also developed some not-too-shabby break dancing skills this summer.

Elijah was baptized this summer.  It was fun having family come down from Utah and Idaho for the occasion.  He started wrestling at The Monkey Gym back in early spring.  He's done quite well and wrestled in a number of tournaments.  This summer he was invited to be on the competitive team.  The season just started.  Elijah went to 4H camp this summer and once again established his bona fides as a dancer and ladies' man.  He is now in the third grade and getting good grades.

Gracee is beautiful young woman.  She is on the student council at school and works as a peer mentor.  She spent much of the summer in Idaho this summer at her grandparents.  She raised a lamb and did the horse class.  Her lamb show went well, but she did manage to fall off of her horse during the obstacle course.  After a little drama she climbed back on the horse and finished the course.  Gracee is quite the singer.  She sang a solo part in our ward's Christmas program this year.

Emmalee is growing up way too fast and accomplishing much along the way.  This year she played lacrosse and soccer for her school.  She spent the summer in Malad raising another lamb and hanging with friends.  She was accepted into the International Academy at her middle school. Emmalee joined in on some relay races this summer, running over 13 miles total in each race.  On the last race in Vegas she had a leg that was over 9 miles long.  She played a beautiful flute piece during our ward's Christmas program.

Rochelle is now the amazing mother of six children.  She ran the SoCal Ragnar when she was a couple of months pregnant.  She is becoming an expert on student government, wrestling, lacrosse and so many other things.  She enjoyed spending much of her summer in Idaho and Utah away from the heat of Las Vegas.  Rochelle is now working with the Cub Scouts in our ward as the committee chairman.  She had fun taking her daughters to watch Wicked this year and she even enjoyed some time to herself at a Time-Out for Women event.

Jarad had a busy year as well.  He ran four relay races to include a trail relay race in the rain and mud.  He finished the Ogden Marathon for the third time in May.  He received a new church calling to serve on the stake high council working with his own ward and the Young Women program.  He attended Girls Camp again with Emmalee.  As part of his responsibilities he had the chance to sit on the stage with Brandon Flowers of The Killers as part of a youth meeting.  In November, Jarad took a new job working with training and certification for heavy equipment and crane operators.

Our family continues to enjoy our time in Henderson.  We've made some great friends and been the recipients of wonderful and thoughtful service from so many.  It's been wonderful to have family visit so often.  We look forward to the challenges and blessings of 2013 and the opportunity to make new friends.

Our family!

I didn't send out Christmas cards (again). So if you aren't on Facebook, here is what we look like these days. We move someplace warm and we end up getting a cold weather picture this year. But, I try to never pass up an opportunity to have someone else pay for a family picture.

We had these pictures taken shortly after we arrived in Utah for our Christmas break. Our little one hadn't experienced real cold weather for over a year and she wasn't quite sure what to think of it. Despite the cold I think these were our easiest pictures yet, or maybe because of the cold.