Whitaker 2010
Posted: under Family, Uncategorized.
brandi at January 28, 2011 : 2:10 pm
Okay so I know it is not like me to not have a Christmas card and letter out before Christmas. I try to have my letter done by December 1st but as you can see from the enclosed picture we have been a little busy. So that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.
This past year has been great for our family. Here is a little rundown of how it played out.
Boise State went to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona in January. Robert and I were able to take some time off and go. What a game! Loved spending time with my husband and enjoyed the mini vacation with just the two of us. The Broncos outlasted the Ugly Frogs from TCU 17-10 to become two-time Fiesta Bowl Champions.
Robert landed a full time job as a Registered Nurse on the Telemetry unit at St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center. He worked there for 1.5 years previously as a Nurse Apprentice so the transition for him has been great. He works 3 nights a week and loves it and we actually see him more at home when he is on the night shift.
In February we finished up our paperwork and were finally able to get our names on the list of those looking to adopt, and the waiting began.
Abbie made her TV debut in April during the Mix106 Easter Egg Scramble. KTVB was there doing a story on the 25th annual scramble and they picked Abbie and I for an interview. See it, as well as some behind the scenes footage, at http://robert.whitakerfamily.org/2010/04/
In May we celebrated our 12th anniversary by sending Robert off with his brothers, Mike and Todd, to Missouri for James’ graduation from medical school. That’s right, he was out of town. It was his first trip to Missouri and he was glad he was able to visit James and Sarah in Kirksville before they moved on.
Abbie finished 1st grade in June and received several awards from the teacher and librarian for being such a great student. She definitely takes after her dad!
We did some camping in June up past Lowman with our friends. It was the first time camping since our visit to the Oregon coast the year before. I also took a road trip in June to go see Trace Adkins in concert in Jackpot and to get a little gambling in. I won enough to pay for my trip which made Robert happy.
Road trip here we come! Mom, Grandma, Abbie and I took off for sunny California in July. We got to visit with Dave, Judy, Linda, and Danny. Thank you, Aunt Helen, for sharing your home with us. We also got to reconnect with our cousin, Bill, and his family. It was a great visit and can’t wait to see them again. He showed us around his neck of the woods and we got to see the famous Gilles Marini…very easy on the eyes. Of course we had to stop at In-N-Out Burger and Trader Joe’s. Good thing these places are not close by; I would spend too much money. SeaWorld, the famous San Diego Zoo, and Huntington Beach were on our list of places to see. It was a great trip and very relaxing. I miss the sunny weather. The bad part of our trip was when I got a call at Sea World from Robert that our basement bathroom had flooded. The good thing about this was the pink tile is now gone. It is best looking bathroom in the house and it is the one that doesn’t get used a lot! We started the renovations in July and finally finished in October.
Robert and I took a trip to Maupin, Oregon in August to raft the Deschutes River with our friend Zoe’s family. We have floated the Boise several times but it was the first time I have been rafting. We plan on trying to make it a yearly outing.
Abbie started 2nd grade and continues to do very well. We are proud of her accomplishments. She also decided to start playing soccer so for 2 months she played, ate a ton, and got to meet some new friends. Practice was twice a week and games were Saturday mornings. It was a lot of fun and she can’t wait for spring soccer.
Boise State’s opening football game was at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland against Virginia Tech on Labor Day. Robert got the opportunity to fly out to D.C. to see the game with his brother James. James and Sarah are in Pittsfield, MA for a year and they drove down to go to the game with Robert, and Sarah’s parents, Jay and Sandy. He had a great time in D.C. and then got to visit Philadelphia and New York City on his way up to James’ house in Pittsfield. He spent a few days there before flying out of Albany to come home.
The next week Robert took a road trip to Laramie, Wyoming with our friends, Anna and Jon, to see the Broncos play the Cowboys. It was a quick weekend trip but he had a great time. He saw eight Bronco games live this year!
Also in September, thanks to Mix106’s Working Women’s Wednesday, I won some tickets to go zip lining in Tamarack. Girls road trip!! Rachel, Denise, Grandma and I took off to Cascade to go. It was the scariest and funniest thing I have ever done. Grandma got to mark this off her bucket list. What a blast!!
October was a sad month as my Grandpa Ernie passed away pretty quickly. Mom made a couple trips to California to do all she could to make it easier for him. I truly feel in my heart he has been standing over us because the rest of the year has been amazing!!
Abbie celebrated her 8th birthday at Gem State Gymnastics with friends. She is getting too big too fast!
On November 1st, National Adoption Day, we got a call from the social worker that a birth mom had picked our family… and she is having TWIN BOYS!!!! We were so excited as we have been trying for over 6 years to get a sibling for Abbie, and now she’ll have two! We took a trip November 15th to meet the birth mother and then waited patiently for the delivery.
On December 6th at 4:47pm we welcomed Austin Leo and Riley William Whitaker as the newest members of our family. Robert and I took a trip up to Ketchum, ID for the birth. They ended up being born Cesarean and I got to be in the operating room. It was so exciting! We brought them home on Dec 9th to a patiently waiting big sister. The termination hearing was December 20th, and the adoption should be finalized by June.
We hope you have enjoyed our belated Christmas letter. If you would like to see what is going on in our world this year, and to see Abbie, Austin, and Riley grow, follow us on Facebook!
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Jan 28 2011
