The rest of 2011

I'm not going to bore you with a witty introduction. We've got a LOT of ground to cover here, people. Ready?

September:
#1. The boys started school...and by boys I mean Dan, Jake, and Ty. Dan's still teaching middle school math for which he will receive many crowns in heaven. Ty's in half-day kindergarten, and loves it with all his heart. He has a new BFF and a wonderful teacher and teacher assistant (the same ones Jake had last year.) Jake started 1st grade, and he's actually in a 1st/2nd grade split which makes me proud. He's reading up a storm and has Dan's ridiculous math abilities.

#2. School starting meant the start of a glorious stage of life for me that includes a quiet house from the hours of 8am-11am. I've used this time in a variety of ways, my favorite of which is grocery shopping without needing to apologize to the check-out clerk for the 20 fruit roll-ups she'll need to put back because I didn't authorize their presence in this monstrosity that is the "car cart." Oh, and yes she certainly can ring up those ones that are mangled beyond recognition after a vicious light saber duel, and sorry bout that.

October:

#1. The boys played flag football for the first time. I keep thinking that someday I won't make a fool of myself when my boys score a goal or make a basket or catch a pass. Not gonna be anytime soon. I think Jake scored at least one touchdown in every game they played and I hooted and hollered through every last one of them. And when Ty got to run the ball or pulled a flag off an opponent, I just about burst with pride. I'm really not an emotional girl, but when one of my boys looks over at the sidelines and grins once they know I've seen their accomplishment, I have to fight back tears. Can NOT wait for all the games they'll play in the years to come! Jake and Ty, win or lose your mama will always be your biggest fan.

November:
#1. Thanksgiving was great, thanks for asking. My parents came over to my in-laws house with us for dinner and it was such a great time having both sides together! My sister and family moved to California in October so we were missing them a ton, but dry your eyes...wait til we get to December. Oh, we might be to December. Was November really this boring? Apparently.

December:
#1. NOT BORING. Jake stepped off the school bus on the last day of school before Christmas break and buckled himself into my parents van. I fed Ty some Dramamine and my mom headed the van towards Dan's school to pick him up. The 6 of us had an uneventful (this means good) drive all the way to down 1-5 to Redding before we stopped for the night. Then the next day we made it to good old Rancho Cucamonga. Yep. Rancho Cucamonga. Please read it out loud. Cucamonga. You couldn't help but shout it out, could you? I'm having flashbacks to Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles..."cowabunga, dude." Not that I watched TMNT. But just saying "Rancho Cucamonga" makes me feel young again. Because I'm so old. Hobbling to the bathroom with my cane to put in my dentures. But...I digress. Back to Cucamonga, dude.
#2. We were able to stay with the Franklins in their new Rancho Cucamongan house. They have a nice big Cucamongan orange tree in their Cucamongan front yard, so we were able to have fresh squeezed Cucamongan orange juice for breakfast each Cucamongan morning. We were able to go to their Cucamongan church (alright, I'll stop...the church is officially in Upland anyway) and listen to my bro-in-law preach a great sermon. It was so wonderful to see them all settled in, because as much as we miss them, Rancho Cucamonga seems like the perfect fit for them. Those Cucamongan's really know how to make people feel at home. I'm done, I swear. (Photos courtesy of my sister...whose permission I didn't receive, but I'm sure she would have said yes had I asked.)

#3. Two words. Disney. Land. Wait, that's not even two words. Well, those are occasionally used as two separate words, but not on this trip. Disneyland was epic. My parents couldn't have picked a better Christmas present for us! One day at California Adventure sandwiched between two days at the happiest place on earth. Ty got over his fear from last time we went (mostly) and rode Thunder Mountain 3 times and even put his hands up the last time. Jake's fearlessness was on display once again as he rode California Screamin' approximately 39 times. Here's a great video my dad took of he and Jake on that ride. Because you obviously have time to kill if you're still reading this post:

#4. We made such great memories with the grandparents and cousins and even just with our own family. One pretty chilly night we went on Grizzly Rapids right before we went back to the hotel and got SOAKED. We were so cold it was ridiculous but the 4 of us laughed so hard we cried. The boys were seriously shrieking with delight. Watching the Christmas fireworks show and having it snow on us on Main Street was unforgettable. Christmas in Disneyland is truly magical.

#5. We made it back to Gresham on the 23rd, so we spent Christmas Eve with the Stump family and it was fabulous as always. Great food and the best company. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I'm honestly amazed at how blessed I am to have married into that family. The only thing that could have been better is to have had Jane and her sweet family with us too!
#6. Christmas day was superb. We've always reserved the day just for our family, even when we were first married. I love that tradition! We had "Christmas breakfast" which includes caramel/pecan monkey bread, bacon, sausage, OJ, coffee, and a lot of love and laughter. Then we went to church and watched the kids perform a few songs and memory verses. Our dinner plans were originally going to be another tradition of Chinese take-out, but we were invited to spend dinner with some great friends and totally took them up on it. Thanks, Scott and Amber, we love you guys!
#7. All of December was a great celebration of the life we are able to live because of our Creator. All these wonderful things are just a tiny taste of the future we will have because of what happened on Christmas day. We're overwhelmed with thankfulness to God for sending his Son to this earth to live and to die and to rise from the dead so that we can spend eternity with Him!

And that, my friends, wraps up 2011. Don't look at your calendar. Just realize the fact that I, Angela Stump, have climbed the mountain called Months of Silence and have finished another year of blogging.

As for 2012. It's coming, I promise. Until next time...Cucamonga, dude.