What's the best way to kick off a year? Celebrating my big 3-0 the entire month of January of course. It was full of birthday surprises thanks to Chad & a little help from friends and family. The biggest surprise of all was the party with my Chicago buds. I thought it was all my idea to head out for a night out on the town in Chicago with Chad, Mike, and meet up eventually with Moy.
We hung out a Mike's for a little bit, not really having an exact agenda (as far as I knew), and I was just supposed to let Moy know where we decided to go. We headed out to a bar and I told Moy where to meet us, he said he'd be there within the hour. Turns out when we arrived, we headed toward the back room to find all my old Kraft buds in the party room (including Moy who was clearly in on this plot)! I was shocked! Knew nothing! Accidentally spit out my gum, dropped my purse, and started crying in all the excitement. It was a great reunion and tons of fun. The only thing missing was my home buds & family. Obviously Chad realized that so he had ANOTHER party up his sleeve. He had planned a gathering in Mt Pulaski at the Pizza Man where my home buds and family were awaiting. It was a great time and made me feel so loved. :)
In February, my arm was twisted to play in an all day Polar Volleyball Tournament. Ummm, for someone that doesn't like snow or being cold, that just sounded like a horrible idea to me! However, I caved in and gave it a shot and had an absolute blast! It was chilly, but not to bad as long as I stayed bundled up. The beverages helped warm me up too. ;) It was a great day of fun with my volleyball friends and I can't wait to do it again in 2011!
We also surprised Bradyn with tickets to go see Curious George Live in Peoria. Every now and then it's so fun to see the look on a kids face when he arrives at a place where he has no idea he's going and getting to witness the raw joy and excitement on his face. Bradyn had a great time at the "concert" and sat like a big boy through the whole show. He really enjoyed looking through his binoculars to get a closer look.
The beginning of March we embarked on our annual trip to St. Louis for the MVC basketball
tournament.
Mom enjoys coming on this trip with us, so we headed down for a weekend of basketball fun and jam packed lots of other fun activities as well such as a walk down to the
arch, dinner at Union Station, a trip to the City Museum, and a visit to the St. Louis Zoo. We always have so much fun and it's nice to have ababy-sitter if Chad and I feel like going out after all the basketball festivities.
The beginning of April Bradyn & I went to the zoo to celebrate cousin Kyla's 1st birthday. It was fun to see the kids get excited about all the
animals. Bradyn just loves the zoo. I don't know if he really has a favorite animal, he just loves them all! April was also another big birthday month.. Our niece Kyla turned a year old and had a great party to celebrate up north.
It was also Chad's turn for the big 3-0!
After all the surprises he threw for me, I felt like he was going to be on his toes and there was no way I was going to be able to pull a surprise on him. Instead of surprising him, we ended up going to the Sox game with his friend Dan. That was the game that the game winning homerun ball came right at me, and dummy me tried to catch it and I'm lucky I only walked away with a bruised finger instead of a broken hand! OUCH!
I also got him tickets for a Sox game for a later date... the Frank Thomas game in which they honored Frank Thomas and retired his number. He LOVED it. (I think) :)
In May, Bradyn turned 3. He wanted a Toy Story birthday this year, which turned out perfect because Toy Story 3 came out this summer, so finding decor with the number 3 on it was SUPER easy! Bradyn was surrounded by all his favorite friends and family on his special day. He even got to invite 3 friends from school, so he chose Ryan, Hal & Logan.
May is also the start of the fun summer weather. We spent a lot of time outdoors doing everything from camping, to swimming, to boating, to just hanging out in the yard or at the park. I also stay busy on Thursday nights in the summer with my sand volleyball league. It's a great break away from routine, good exercise, and great fun with great friends.
Bradyn enjoyed Fridays with his friends at the Fun Run where they get to run around the track at Illinois Wesleyan on Friday nights. We enjoyed watching them just about as much as
they enjoyed running. It was a great way to let the youngsters burn off some energy.
June was jam packed full of fun stuff as well. We kicked off the month at the zoo for Kyleah's birthday. I'll never forget this trip to the zoo not only because it was cute to see the kiddos run around and look at the animals, but it was also the first time I ever remember seeing a peacock with it's feathers spread. Ok, so call me a little crazy, but it was seriously one of the most beautiful things I ever saw.
I don't know if it was partly because I finally have a chance to "stop and smell the flowers" or what, but this year I noticed so much natural beauty... stuff I never noticed before. Perhaps it was because I was too busy or too couped up in an office! LOL
We spent some time at the Normal Cornbelters baseball games this summer because I landed the gig of being the Official Photographer for them. The shots I took were used for the baseball cards and I took the team photo for the poster give away as well.
Another fun event in June was the Adam Lambert concert. Yep that's right, I'm not ashamed. I'm a fan! Mom is a huge fan and so is Chad's mom, so I thought what a fun thing to do with my 2 moms. :) We headed over to Indiana to catch him in concert. My only complaint was that it wasn't long enough. That guy can SING and man what an entertainer he is. I can't wait til he has a larger library so his concert will be longer!
July was another month of outdoor fun.. more camping, more boating, more swimming, more baseball games. You name it! Grammy and Poppy were finally wrapping up the addition of their new pool, so we spent some time swimming there this summer.
In addition to all that we added fireworks! This year for the 4th of July we had a beach day with mom, Corey, Sarah & Kyleah, went boating with dad, and then caught an AMAZINGLY UNBELIEVABLE fireworks display in Peoria over the river. It was the best fireworks show I have seen next to New Years Eve in Chicago the year we saw them there. It was very cool, very powerful, awesome!
We also hung out with some friends at Derek's parent's surprise anniversary party. Renee & Derek planned a super fun party in his parent's machine shed complete with food, beverages, and a band. Yep that's right, I said machine shed... good ole' small town fun! We even took a little walk through the cornfield and picked some yummy Martin sweet corn. That will have to go down as one of my all time favorite fun times had with my best friend Renee. I think I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard.
This July marked the first annual "Redbird Retreat" in Wisconsin, where Chad and a bunch of his college buds spent the weekend hanging out, boating, and reminiscing about the good ole days. He says he had a blast, but there were no pictures.. either because I wasn't there to take them or because they didn't want anyone to know what they were up to... either way so we'll have to take his word for it. It's nice to have something like that to look forward to with his close buds that he doesn't get to see as often as he'd like. This is an old picture, but here's some of "the crew" that attended.
The end of July, I finally got to cash in one of last years' Christmas presents... The Bon Jovi Concert! We had field seats at Soldier Field and had a rockin' time with some of my Kraft buds including Moy & Erika. Mom was there too, just sitting in a different area. Bon Jovi & Kid Rock put on a phenomenal show... as usual. Can't wait til the next time (because 4 times isn't enough) hehe.
August was full of fairs, more swimming, more baseball, and a trip to Chicago. We went to the McClean county fair with dad this year. Bradyn enjoyed looking at and pretending to drive the tractors with Papa.
He also REALLY enjoyed getting to sit in the fire truck and wear the fireman hat with mommy. The excitement on that kid's face was priceless.
We also went to the State Fair this year with Grandma Netter. It was the first time I had been in a very long time. B enjoyed the sky lift, the ferris wheel, and the kids rides. He's a ride junkie just like mommy!
In August, Chad finally got to cash in his birthday present. We planned a big weekend in Chicago. One of my good friends from Kraft (Heather) got married, so it was a great reunion with the Kraft Crew.
It happened to be the same weekend as the Sox game we had tickets for. It was a SUPER HOT day at the ball park for the Frank Thomas game. We were some of the lucky fans to receive the Frank Thomas bobble head dolls, so that was cool.
Bradyn wasn't quite content enough to sit still in his seat the whole game so mom and I took turns entertaining him in the fun zone so Chad could enjoy the game. We spent a lot of time cooling off in the shower. LOL.
We also had some time that weekend to go enjoy the Planetarium in Chicago. Bradyn just finished "studying/talking about" space, planets, astronauts, etc at daycare, so we thought it would be a great time to take him to see the Planetarium. He had a blast (no pun intended) dressing up like an astronaut and playing at the museum.
This summer we surprised Bradyn with A Day out with Thomas the Train which ended up being a huge hit with the munchkin. We kept it a surprise, so he didn't know until he actually saw Thomas on the track what we were doing. I will never in a million years forget the excitement on Bradyn's face when he saw Thomas. He had his hands over his mouth, shrieking, and laughing and giggling.
I think it was equivalent to me having tears in my eyes at my surprise party in January! (I have tears in my eyes right now as I look back at them all together here on this blog post) We got to ride on the train pulled by Thomas, walked through train cars, saw Sir Top'em Hat, and played all day long.
The end of August we had another scare with Dad. He had open heart surgery last December... this past August after a trip to the emergency room it was discovered that he had developed an infection in his heart, part of which broke off and shot down to his spleen which was causing him a great deal of pain. Thankfully the infection went to his spleen and not some other more important organ. None-the-less we were still talking about a serious illness. Dad was in the hospital for about 10 days before insurance basically booted him out and we (family & friends) were left to the task of giving him iv antibiotics through a pick line for 6 more weeks. It was a nerve racking grueling responsibility to pretty much be left with dad's life in our hands. But you tend to find strength deep within when it really counts. I found strength I didn't know I had. I had to be strong, had to stay positive, and step out of my comfort zone to do what was necessary for my dad. He pulled through and fought the infection. I don't think he even realized just how serious it was until he showed up at his dr's appointment and the doctor seemed surprised to see him. Bradyn was a big helper and learned a lot about stethescopes and saline syringes. He liked to help take care of Papa every chance he got.
September was our annual Mt. Pulaski Fall Festival. It was a little more of a big deal for me this year because I was actually on the planning committee for it. I figured since I was no longer working in a 9-5 j.o.b, I would donate some of my time and give back to my home-town community by helping plan the festival. It was fun to share my ideas and then see some of those new ideas implemented into the celebration. This year I was tasked with helping come up with "something new" for the main stage entertainment, so I suggested a Dueling Piano show. It turned out to be a HUGE hit and I have heard great feedback about it. Ok, so I wasn't the one who played, so we can give most of the thanks to the guys who did, (Sam & Harley)...
but it was my idea still! haha. We had so much fun they are coming back in July for our 175th anniversary celebration for back to back nights. I had fun getting to know the piano guys and have since kept in touch with them and seen them a few other times in Peoria. Cheers to new friendships!
October is when I first started noticing how beautiful of a fall we were having. Wow, I don't recall a fall with such beautiful leaves! We took a trip to Starved Rock which I have always wanted to see in the fall and boy was it no disappointment. Gorgeous. I actually did two photo shoots while we were there, so it was nice to be able to capture that beauty.
This year we went to a couple of pumpkin patches. My favorite trip to the pumpkin patch was with Bradyn's class for their field trip to Rader Farms. It was so fun to see him laugh and play with his friends and so fun to make friends with all of his little buddies.
We had fun playing ring around the rosie on the air jumpy thingie.
October also marks our annual night out/whole day out with our college buds for ISU homecoming. Its a huge event where we start tailgating early in the morning and try to pace ourselves and make it well into the evening. This year I had the opportunity to shoot action shots at the football game, so I stayed sober until the game was over. haha. Then it was out and about to the usual... Mulligans for Mason Jar Long Islands... and then that's usually about all I remember.
October is a great month for wienie roasts, which we did for the annual Hahn reunion this year at mom's. It's always relaxing to sit around the fire and enjoy each others company. This year I had fun wrestling with Bradyn & Kyleah and making our shadows dance on the house. They are so stinkin' cute!
This year for Halloween, Bradyn decided that we were going as Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. Ooookkkie dokie. So we dressed up and went trick or treating as such. This year Bradyn wanted to go trick or treating with his friends for Halloween, so we gathered up some friends and let them go door to door in one of his friend's neighborhoods. It was so cute watching them run door to door with each other.
Chad and I had our annual Halloween party with our friends at the cabin, which ended in Corey & Lisa's machine shed (yep, I said machine shed again...good ole small town fun!).
This year for Thanksgiving we embarked on a long drive to Erie, PA to spend the holiday with Chad's relatives. We had a nice visit with Gam & Chad's aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was good to see everyone especially since we don't get to see them very often being so far away. While I was out there I even took Emma's senior pics..in the pouring down snow! LOL Dustin & Kristin & the boys and Ron & Jac all met us out there so it was a fun little gathering and we enjoyed watching the boys play. It was a long drive, but Bradyn did great in the car!
We spent December prepping for Christmas. Of course we decorated the house, strung the lights outside, shopped and wrapped presents, but we also drove through the Festival of Lights, which Bradyn loves (mostly because we let him outta his car seat LOL). We played in the snow despite mommy's hatred toward it. I'll do anything to see my baby smile... so we rolled around in it, built a snowman, and made a snow angel or two.
Chad and I did a first this year... neither of us had ever shot a gun before, so my cousin Jason took us out shooting in the country. We shot a variety of guns, some more powerful than others. It was cool I suppose. At least now I can say I did it. :)
Dad rounded out his year full circle back in the hospital. This time it was to have his spleen removed, which was a result of the infection he had back in August. He's home now and recovering nicely. Here's to him having a healthy 2011! Enough already! You're too young for all this madness.
Christmas gatherings and Christmas at our house just keep getting more and more fun as Bradyn gets older.
He had a blast with his cousin Kyleah over Christmas weekend. We probably could have even gotten by without getting them gifts and just given them a big box to play in and they would have been perfectly happy.
It is such a joy though to watch him tear open his gifts and get excited about what's inside.
We have a special Elf friend that keeps us company every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. He flies to the North Pole and talks to Santa every night and comes back and lands in a different hiding spot. (Elf on a Shelf). It's such a great tradition and we are having so much fun with it. Here are just a couple of Happy's hideouts this year.
All of the above and I barely even touched on my new business.
MazPix Photography has had an exciting start-up year! In only 9 short months my success as a business owner has far surpassed my expectations! March 28th was my first official photo shoot. Since then I have had over 70 appointments including 11 seniors, 3 engagements, 2 weddings, a class reunion, a corporate event a the W hotel in Chicago over looking Navy Pier (fancy huh?), 23 families, ISU Football Homecoming Game, the official photographer for the Normal Cornbelters Minor League Baseball team, 96 kids at a park district football league, and 674 kids at 5 daycares!!! Boy have I been busy! I thought when I started the business that I would have some time to plan things and get everything situated and processes in places before I really got going. Boy was I wrong! That's ok though! I didn't mind. I found myself "working" loonnnnng hours trying to keep up, but I never minded it one bit. I love every minute of what I do. As I reflect back to over a year ago when I decided to walk away from Corporate America and the office life of being an accountant, it was truly the best decision I could have ever made. It gave me the opportunity to really be myself, be happy, do what I love, and never have to work another day in my life. It's not work if you love doing it!
Quick note to Bradyn, because that's who I do this for. Bradyn, you will cherish these year in reviews that I do for you every year when you get older. You will look back at these and may or may not remember some of the stuff we did together, but you will see by the photos (good thing mama's a photo freak) that we always have so much fun, as a family and individually, we are a family, but also our own people. We love to laugh, we love to stay busy, and most of all, we love YOU. You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to us and we are so lucky to have such an amazing son. At the wee age of 3 1/2, you are a smart little cookie. Well not "little" because at 41 1/2 inches and 43 lbs, you are nearly the size of some 5 year olds! You amaze us daily with your "kids say the darndest things" comments. You are so independent and helpful, empathetic and loving, talented with a huge imagination, happy and funny, and simply a joy to be around. We are so proud of you already and can't wait to see what the new year will bring this time. It's amazing what a difference 1 year makes at the beginning stages of life. From newborn to 1 it was immobile to taking steps, from 1 to 2 it was not talking to talking in complete sentences, from 2 to 3 it was having full out conversations with you and watching you reason things out. You're a little man now buddy and I can't wait to see what another new year will bring! We love you with all of us! Mommy & Daddy.
I look forward to more fun in 2011, business & personal. I already know that this time next year I'll be telling you about San Diego, a Bulls Game, St. Louis, (another) Bon Jovi concert, Las Vegas, the Ozarks, a vacation with the Maz Family, more day care shoots, camping trips, and whooooooo knows what else. Cheers to a HEALTHY, SUCCESSFUL, HAPPY, FUN year all around for me and everyone in my life and you and everyone in yours!
The Maz Fam had a big couple of weeks with all of the Easter celebrations. We started out up north a week before Easter for the Mazanowski side. Gam, Uncle Gar, Corey, Collin, & Hanna were in town from Pennsylvania, so we had quite the crowd once we added in the Maz brothers, spouses and babies. It was a beautiful weekend and Sunday was a great day for an easter egg hunt for the kids.
Then I was surprised with another party with my family & friends back home in good 'ole Mt. Pulaski. I was kinda onto that one just because I was already surprised once, so I was on guard, but also because the plan to get me down there was a little bit out of the way and inconvenient. I was still pleasantly surprised with a room full of people in the back room at the Pizza Man though! 
