Wow... it's been a long while since I have blogged. I am sure the five of you reading will be happy I am actually updating something. :) Here's our year in review since I was so great at keeping up with everything. Of course this isn't everything and missing a whole lot of important moments...
We started off 2013 at our friend's Pete and Jean's house... The kids past our on the couch before midnight. But it was a fun evening getting to know new friends. We also made a quick trip to Seattle to throw my mom a surprise 60th birthday party!
February we got to have our first ever Tran family vacation to Hawaii! We celebrated a destination wedding of Vince and Kirsty and celebrate my 33rd year of life! We ate a lot, hung at the beach and fell in love with Hawaii again.
March I became a "soccer mom" we enrolled Kaden in his first indoor soccer lessons (Thanks to Kaden's sponsors: Uncle Zach and Mei Mei) and realized how quick he picks up on all the techniques. Joel also got the privilege to baptize his very first person: Olivia Dailey. She asked for Joel to baptize her over Easter weekend. It was a beautiful moment that we will all treasure. Addysen learned to walk and there wasn't a dull moment since.
April was a busy month filled with LOTS of birthday celebrations. Kaden turned FIVE and Addysen turned ONE! And we can't forget about Joel...he turned 37. We had a Portland party where we rented a soccer-plex and had two hours of open play and lots of pasta to feed an army. We celebrated in Seattle at the drop in day care that Kiki works at. We ate at Red Robin a few times (Kaden's choice) and the party month was a blast!
May Kaden had his last day of preschool at SonShine Express in Lake Oswego. His teachers: Kathy and Nancy were so sweet and he learned a lot there. He made many friends and got to spend the year hanging with his best friend Lillian. We also adopted a new housemate: KaoXu. She moved into our basement and has become family.
June was the month of graduations.... we were able to attend Kiki's graduation and our family even made the evening news! (We might have been a little loud! LOL) Joel and I celebrated our 9th anniversary with a staycation. Chi Thu and AT were kind enough to adopt two more kids for two nights and allowed us to be a tourist in our own city of Portland! We ate at yummy happy hours, slept in, and dreamed of what the future holds.
July we were able to put Kaden in Soccer Camp at Jeld Wen Field, home of the Portland Timbers! (Thanks again to his sponsors). We were all in awe of him actually playing on the pitch that the Timbers play on... and the daughter of the owner of the Timbers was in his camp too. Of course it was THE HOTTEST day of the year we were out there... but Kaden was in Soccer heaven so he didn't mind. We also go to light up the skies at the Lam's abode with many friends and family. They never disappoint. The Banker's also returned back to the states and it's always good to have them back.
August the biggest wedding of the year #phanwedding2013 was a blast. We also had Chi Gracie come back up to the NW where we ate wayyyyy too much and baked yummy treats! Lots of adventures with Uncle Zach and Mei Mei too! Addysen also had her modeling debut for Zulily.
September Kaden started Kindergarten!!!!! Ahhh! We have a school aged child. He took about two months to adjust to the schedule. He was starving and tired every day he came home from school. He picked up reading super fast and loves every minute of it. His teacher Mrs. LeRoy is amazing. She had those kids functioning like clockwork in that classroom after a week. Kaden also joined his first soccer team the Foothills Bobcats. We played him up to U-7 team. He had a great season and scored most of the goals in his games. (Although we don't REALLY keep score.) Addysen was a trooper she didn't know what to do with Kaden gone to school all day so we enrolled her in a four week art class at the Children's Museum.
October was filled with lots of soccer and trick or treating at Multnomah Village. We also threw a Halloween party with some friends from Missio and Hayhurst Elementary School. Went to the pumpkin patch with my brother and his family. It was a blast! I also was able to coordinate Compassion Connect's annual banquet and loved every second of it.
November came too fast. We made a whirlwind trip to Seattle to say goodbye to my brother and his family as they loaded up their belongings and headed South to Irvine, California. We hosted Thanksgiving at our house and spent lots of time just enjoying family.
December was a very enjoyable month for me. It was the coldest month ever... but it was also magical to cut down our tree at a farm high enough that the snow was still there. We did a lot of our gift giving through baked goods and online shopping. The Tos had a wonderful Christmas celebration Saturday before Christmas. We were able to spend a week in Seattle with my family.
This year was a lot more stable than last year... no moving, no new jobs... there was lots of other events and milestones that happened this year... but not enough time or energy to write them down. As we look back we are thankful for 2013 and look forward to 2014 and what adventures God has for our family of four. Happy New Year!
