This was our very first family Christmas card. What a year! I can't believe how much can change in one short year... luckily, these changes were good...
Alicia- Officially placed as Assistant Branch Manager at Chase in Logan Lee's Marketplace, only to later be transferred down to the Draper Parkway branch in Draper, Utah, due to yep, MARRIAGE! This was the year I met and married my true love :) I rented out my lovely Logan home to a good friend and her family, which worked out perfectly for our changing life plans. I also honeymooned in Fiji, became scuba dive certified, and swam with sharks! I completed several bike races, including the Rockwell Relay, Ride around the Wellsvilles, and the Cache Valley Gran Fondo. I gained a new stepson along with my husband, and I started learning how to blend two families together, a complicated task! Oh, and I went through many hairstyles and hair colors... its been a crazy, but amazing year!
Mike- Mike works as the Facilities Manager for 40 IHOP restaurants. He is a busy man, traveling to do remodels, and keeping up with lots of meetings and vendors all over the map. In his free time, if he has any, he works on finishing our basement. Speaking of basements, he also finished the basement of my Logan home that I rented out. Replacing a water heater (not really broken, funny story), installing a toilet, painting and repairing walls, are just a few of the other handy-man tasks Mike has completed this past year, all for the rental properties. We are thinking of trying out a business with rentals/real estate, but just haven't had the time to work on a real business plan yet. Of course, he also met me (his beautiful, talented, sweet, funny, athletic, loving and adoring soul mate wife). He made a LOT of Logan trips, planned a wedding in San Diego, took me to Fiji, and became a dad to two of the cutest little girls in the world. He completed the Spartan Race, the St. George Ironman, the Rockwell Relay, and the Gran Fondo. He is the most all-around awesome man on the planet, and now loved by 3 sweet girls.
Bret- Bret works at Carl's Jr. over at a busy shopping center called the District, in South Jordan, Utah. He is 16 and a Junior at Herriman high school. We have him every other week...the other weeks he stays with his mom in Herriman. Bret likes trucks. Pretty sure I could end Bret's year description right there. He LOVES trucks. He has a Chevy truck that is constantly having problems, and Bret is constantly fixing them. He can fix just about anything on any car or truck. He is even taking a mechanics class at high school. Bret is a pretty typical teenage boy, enjoying being with friends, working on cars, playing video games, and not school. He is a joy to be around...always offering to help out. I've learned that he loves Marie Callender's kahlua cream cheese pie, and basically all food, which may be why he's so tall. He surpassed his dad in height and towers over the rest of us, at a 6'3" stature, last time we measured. Bret is a good kid, and I'm glad I'm getting the chance to know him a little better.
Avril- This girl is all girl. She likes to wear dresses everyday. In fact, her favorite activity just might be dressing up like a princess. She is only 4 and wants to wear heels (glass slippers actually). Since we moved down to South Jordan, we started her in a new daycare/preschool by my work in Sandy, Utah, called La Petite Academy. She is not a huge fan of school, but always does as she is told. She LOVES art projects, and would be content working on crafts all day long. She brings home a huge stack of her artwork from school every day, and describes each piece of art to you, one by one. I have been told multiple times by her teachers that she is an excellent listener, and always obeys what the teacher says. Avril has a people-pleaser personality, always wanting to make others happy. She is very thoughtful and loving, and along with those traits, dramatic and emotional. She remains our sweetheart girl, blessed with the sweetest, most tender heart you've ever seen. She loves to shower Mike and I with hugs and kisses. We love this little girl as much as the sky (one of Avril's favorite phrases to say). Some cute things she says incorrectly: "Renember", instead of remember. "Do you renember when we went to Disneyland?" Speaking of Disneyland, that has to be one of the year's top highlights for Avril. Hopefully we can save up some $ for another trip soon, since she has never stopped talking about how fun it was. She also says "maked," instead of naked. Also, if she sees any skin showing, she will say, "EW! you're maked!!" Its pretty hilarious.
McKel- Opposite of Avril in every way. I could pretty much sum up McKel with that statement. McKel is built like a natural athlete. She is muscley and flexible, and naturally coordinated at anything she tries. She is unbreakable. She can do seemingly anything, fall, and bounce right back, as if nothing happened. She loves her sister and looks up to her. She tries to copy everything Avril does (which Avril is often not a fan of). She wants to try everything, do it herself with no help, and doesn't let anything get in her way. She has the most adorable smile in the world, and can turn the mood from sad to happy in seconds. She is a goof ball and loves to laugh. She loves to be outside, sunshine or snow. This year's accomplishments include being potty trained (yes!), switching from a bottle to a sippy cup, turning 3 (Dec. 10)...also having the longest and most gorgeos hair of anyone her age...winning over Mike's heart, and even learning to wash her hands before and after eating (which makes Mike beam with pride). McKel is independent and doesn't seem to be bothered at all by what others think. She does surprise us with an occasional "I love you" or hug and kiss, which melts our hearts to pieces. True to her name's meaning (which I researched extensively before her birth), she is a gift from God. You can't help but fall in love with this girl.
And that's it! The Andrus family year in review... looking forward to what 2014 brings us. :)
