Another year has come and gone. Hard to believe we're at the end of 2011 already. What a year this has been.
January was crazy as we welcomed Emily to the world. It was definitely tough for the first few weeks. We spent a lot of sleepless nights and were extremely tired. I went back to work and tried my best to balance being a new parent with my job.
February saw us continuing to be parents. As a result for the first time since 2000 I didn't attend the Daytona 500. I missed it, but for good reasons. We were still struggling with being new parents and still learning how to balance everything, but things were getting easier.
March brought on another round of surgery. As some of you may remember I had surgery on my left ear last year to remove a mass that had engulfed my middle ear. I had surgery to do reconstruction in the beginning of March. It was a success and my hearing is much better than it was. I continue to recover, but I'm doing better.
April brought back the Caps playoff hopes. As usual they broke my heart. Towards the end of the month I got to do a ride-along at Dover Int'l speedway. It was awesome. We hit speeds around 130 but it felt like a lot faster. Considering I've been a NASCAR fan for a long time it was a great thrill.
May brought my return to a NASCAR race by going to Dover with friends. We had a good time and got to enjoy a great weekend. Emily was growing like a weed. She was starting to get a personality and was much fun to be around.
June was fairly quiet. I was supposed to go to Oklahoma but ended up not going. So Lauren and I just enjoyed most of the month with Emily. My friend Doug came to visit and meet Emily. It was good to see him and catch up since we don't get to do it so often.
July was supposed to bring a trip to Hawaii, but due to logistics it was delayed until August. So we spent our anniversary in Dover doing some gambling and having a good trip. We actually came home with a little money in our pocket. We then took a trip to Nashville for a week. During the trip I got to see Bristol Motor Speedway on the drive down, giving my self a rather nice self-guided tour of the facility. I then took in the Nationwide series race in Nashville, meeting several drivers and having a great time. We spent the week going to places like the Hermitage, Opryland, Franklin, a trip to Chattanooga to visit the Tennessee Aquarium, and Mammoth Cave. It was a great trip!
August saw Lauren and I go to Hawaii. I went for work and she went for fun. I accomplished my mission while there and we went and did things such as climbing Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, the North Shore, and Hanauma Bay. We had a great time. We came home to the two craziest events of 2011: the east coast Earthquake and then Hurricane Isabel. Both were absolutely nuts! I had never felt an earthquake before then, and it was definitely an interesting experience! Emily also said her first word, "Mama".
September brought on two NASCAR races and also began my ice hockey career. We went to races in Richmond and Dover, enjoying both. I joined a rec league team and was signed on as a forward. I hadn't played competitive hockey in 15 years, so I was definitely rusty. I played in a few games and had to work the rust off. Emily was starting to stand up and it was only a matter of time before she started walking!
October was fairly quiet. I finally scored my first goal in my hockey league. It was good to get that in the books. Emily continued to grow. She was getting bigger and bigger every day! I ended the month going to Martinsville with my friend Charlie. We had a blast!
November came and had me down in Tampa, FL for work. We spent a week there working on a project, but didn;t complete it due to some logistical issues. I ended up going to Kennedy Space Center with a co-worker who had never been. We opted for the large tour which included the VAB. We got to see Space Shuttle Endeavour in the VAB. That was neat. I came home to watch Tony Stewart win the Sprint Cup Championship, but also get sick. I spent Thanksgiving week sick and trying to recover. At the end of the month Emily took her first steps, making me a proud papa! :)
December was mostly spent getting ready for Christmas. Emily had a great Christmas and a great first birthday.
I look back on this year as one of fun and enjoyment watching my child grow. She's defintely made my life interesting. I've had a lot of fun getting to know her and teach her new things. I look forward to 2012 to a lot of new adventures and watching my daughter grow even more.
Have a great new year everyone!
January was crazy as we welcomed Emily to the world. It was definitely tough for the first few weeks. We spent a lot of sleepless nights and were extremely tired. I went back to work and tried my best to balance being a new parent with my job.
February saw us continuing to be parents. As a result for the first time since 2000 I didn't attend the Daytona 500. I missed it, but for good reasons. We were still struggling with being new parents and still learning how to balance everything, but things were getting easier.
March brought on another round of surgery. As some of you may remember I had surgery on my left ear last year to remove a mass that had engulfed my middle ear. I had surgery to do reconstruction in the beginning of March. It was a success and my hearing is much better than it was. I continue to recover, but I'm doing better.
April brought back the Caps playoff hopes. As usual they broke my heart. Towards the end of the month I got to do a ride-along at Dover Int'l speedway. It was awesome. We hit speeds around 130 but it felt like a lot faster. Considering I've been a NASCAR fan for a long time it was a great thrill.
May brought my return to a NASCAR race by going to Dover with friends. We had a good time and got to enjoy a great weekend. Emily was growing like a weed. She was starting to get a personality and was much fun to be around.
June was fairly quiet. I was supposed to go to Oklahoma but ended up not going. So Lauren and I just enjoyed most of the month with Emily. My friend Doug came to visit and meet Emily. It was good to see him and catch up since we don't get to do it so often.
July was supposed to bring a trip to Hawaii, but due to logistics it was delayed until August. So we spent our anniversary in Dover doing some gambling and having a good trip. We actually came home with a little money in our pocket. We then took a trip to Nashville for a week. During the trip I got to see Bristol Motor Speedway on the drive down, giving my self a rather nice self-guided tour of the facility. I then took in the Nationwide series race in Nashville, meeting several drivers and having a great time. We spent the week going to places like the Hermitage, Opryland, Franklin, a trip to Chattanooga to visit the Tennessee Aquarium, and Mammoth Cave. It was a great trip!
August saw Lauren and I go to Hawaii. I went for work and she went for fun. I accomplished my mission while there and we went and did things such as climbing Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor, the North Shore, and Hanauma Bay. We had a great time. We came home to the two craziest events of 2011: the east coast Earthquake and then Hurricane Isabel. Both were absolutely nuts! I had never felt an earthquake before then, and it was definitely an interesting experience! Emily also said her first word, "Mama".
September brought on two NASCAR races and also began my ice hockey career. We went to races in Richmond and Dover, enjoying both. I joined a rec league team and was signed on as a forward. I hadn't played competitive hockey in 15 years, so I was definitely rusty. I played in a few games and had to work the rust off. Emily was starting to stand up and it was only a matter of time before she started walking!
October was fairly quiet. I finally scored my first goal in my hockey league. It was good to get that in the books. Emily continued to grow. She was getting bigger and bigger every day! I ended the month going to Martinsville with my friend Charlie. We had a blast!
November came and had me down in Tampa, FL for work. We spent a week there working on a project, but didn;t complete it due to some logistical issues. I ended up going to Kennedy Space Center with a co-worker who had never been. We opted for the large tour which included the VAB. We got to see Space Shuttle Endeavour in the VAB. That was neat. I came home to watch Tony Stewart win the Sprint Cup Championship, but also get sick. I spent Thanksgiving week sick and trying to recover. At the end of the month Emily took her first steps, making me a proud papa! :)
December was mostly spent getting ready for Christmas. Emily had a great Christmas and a great first birthday.
I look back on this year as one of fun and enjoyment watching my child grow. She's defintely made my life interesting. I've had a lot of fun getting to know her and teach her new things. I look forward to 2012 to a lot of new adventures and watching my daughter grow even more.
Have a great new year everyone!
