New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year 2015! What a year it has been....I am simultaneously glad that we are waving goodbye to 2014 and also really glad we've been through it. As a whole, this year has taught me so much about so many things and we have certainly grown a lot as a family through it all. We started 2014 in Hawaii - getting stranded for a few extra days after a wonderful vacation. We barely made it back in time to get over jet lag and get the kids back into school without toothpicks holding their eyes open. We were a little disheveled to start off the year and so it went....Clayton finished up soccer saying he never wanted to play again and Cooper quit karate. Yay!

We had to regroup and figure out where we were going from here. Right about this time, Kona, our beloved lab, unexpectedly became sick and we were given no choice but to put him to sleep. He had developed lung cancer and it was incurable. We lost at least a couple of weeks of our lives just grieving his loss and looking around the house for him. When we finally came through it, the biggest comment was, "this house needs a dog." So, what did we do but track down a relative of Kona's and put in a request for a puppy, then we waited....

In the midst of this, Clayton expressed that he thought the coaching for soccer wasn't teaching him enough so we started exploring some other options. We were already preparing to send Clayton off to 2 weeks of summer camp, so we had our hands busy with finding everything we needed! At the same time, Cooper expressed an interest in swimming. Luckily, we found a great swim coach and ran with it. Clayton tried out and made a club soccer team and we entered a new world - one where the soccer ball revolves and everyone else jumps on. Even so, we were met with some awesome new friendships and families to laugh and bond with. While his soccer team has had its ups and downs, it has been a really amazing experience for all of us - Clayton has truly enjoyed playing this season - he works hard and has learned what it means to truly be committed to something. Cooper has taken off with swimming and has really come into his own - gaining new interests without following in his brother's exact footsteps. Cooper will even join the summer swim team and start an acting class this year! Here's to trying new things!

And speaking of trying new things, let's not leave out the newest thing we are trying - homeschool! The kids started the year in the same private school they had been attending down here, but things just weren't working out as we had hoped they would. Suffice it to say that we needed to make a change, so change we did. Amazingly, this change rocked the boat for less time than we thought it would. It's amazing how much you can really do when you aren't rushing out the door in the morning and getting uniforms ready, when your mornings are not full of looking for homework or missing shoes. We now spend a bit of time snuggling in bed before we all eat breakfast and Clayton has even learned to make a really great omelette! We have searched and found some amazing places to enrich our boys and also learned that the options for homeschool are so varied and (quite honestly) there is too much to choose from! Clayton is taking an online Stock Market class this semester in addition to going to the MESS Hall (our science museum) for science, to an artist's studio for art, and we now have time for private piano lessons which we just could not seem to fit in anywhere prior to this change. Cooper has loved being home and Amma has graciously taken him under her wing as a veteran kindergarten teacher, so we see him flourishing and reading, writing, and even jumping way ahead in math!

While I'm discussing the older boys, we can't believe how much our littlest one has grown this year. Chase is a bonafide toddler - climbing into everything and exploring the world around him. He is proving to be a very smart cookie - Clayton keeps asking if he is like him - we just say, "Clayton, there is no one like you." LOL...But, Chase is counting to 14, talking in sentences, and is so expressive and loving. He seems to be a combination of the two older boys and it's just fun to watch him grow. He and I do a mommy and me music class each week and he has been taking swimming from Cooper's swim coach as well. He loves Disney and especially Mickey Mouse! We were lucky enough to travel to California in August of 2014 to have him baptized by Steve's uncle Nard, a deacon in the Catholic church. It was a wonderful experience and so great to see all of our California family & friends.

Right after we started on our new path with homeschooling, we were looking for creative ways to get our new puppy home from Montana, yup, you heard it. The breeder did not want to fly the puppy alone (we didn't want that either), so we decided to pack up the fam and fly out to Utah and make a bit of a learning vacation out of it! We headed first into Salt Lake City where we explored and visited the Dinosaur museum. Next we headed up into Idaho and Wyoming for our trip to West Yellowstone. We gave ourselves 4 days in the Park before picking up our pup. It was probably one of the best vacations we have ever had - things just kept getting better and better. We saw so many beautiful natural sights and learned SO much. I cannot imagine the boys could have learned more in school - it was just perfect hands-on learning. We saw buffalo, deer, elk, bears, wolves, and many more animals. We learned about geysers, became Jr. Rangers, hiked among the bubbling pots and saw petrified trees. I could go on and on.....of course the icing on the cake was picking up MoJoe, the newest addition to the Nolen clan.

As we neared the end of 2014, we prepped our beautiful 10 foot Christmas tree and packed up the car to drive to Connecticut to finally ready our old house for sale. We made a *slight* detour for some Mickey time on the way :-) In addition, Clayton completed reading Les Miserables (yes, this is part of the reason we homeschool), so we treated him to his first Broadway show. It was just amazing. For the older boys, it was bittersweet to be back in CT - they spent a good chunk of their early childhood in that home, so they will miss it. We were lucky enough to get a little snow while we were there, and Appa went right out and got a couple of sleds. The boys played and played outside in the white stuff and enjoyed themselves to the max. It was a the best kind of memory to leave with. I even got to see my UCONN women play while we were there, so all in all, it was a nice way to say good bye to a great place.

Last but not least, there is work! Yes, we actually do that too! We even got interviewed for a book on small businesses and have our very own chapter! Re Vera has come so far and I am SO proud of Steve for all of his vision for the company. He has hired a wonderful team to support and develop the next generation of verifications, so look forward to more news about that in 2015! I am still very involved with the company, working mainly with clients and our employees to keep everyone happy :-)

As we enter 2015, we are in a better place. Our schedule, both personally and professionally is busy but in place. Chase is thinking about using the potty so we might actually say goodbye forever to diapers this year! MoJoe is also working on his potty skills and is doing much better! As for Steve and I - well, we will celebrate 15 years of marriage this year. It seems like it was both yesterday and years ago that we said "I do." One thing is for sure, we are in this craziness together, forever! Here's to lots of new adventures and a happy, healthy 2015!! Happy New Year!!