2009 in Review

Okay, since I didn't get to write that much in 2009, I'm going to do a synopsis of the entire year at a glance! You'll either get the picture of why I was too busy to blog, or you'll be bored to tears. Either way, stay tuned....

January 2009:
Well, we lived in a hotel. Need I say more? We left TN for Texas on Dec. 8, 2008. By January 1, we were a little cramped in our hotel suite. My parents came for a 3-week visit, which was good...but like I said, we were a little cramped. And stir crazy. Not a good combo. We took my parents down to visit Gonzalo's family, which was a nice break away from the cramped quarters! We picked out a house in December, put money down, and were supposed to close Jan. 15. The house was in Floresville. While I was away at the Longaberger Leadership Meeting, guess who calls? Yep, Gonzalo. He's found a fabulous neighborhood in San Antonio and he wants to check it out. I screamed A LOT on the phone. I was tired and ready to move in, and get my STUFF back! So I wasn't happy....but I picked out a new house, in a day. BY MYSELF. Wow. I also joined MOPS in January, which stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. I love the group of women and all the new friends I've made! It was my saving grace to be able to get out of the hotel room and actually interact with people. And even better? Some of those sweet ladies actually invited us to their HOMES! Yes, a real home to play in! It was pure bliss to get to go to someone's house when you live in a hotel!

February 2009:
Well, when you scream at people and lose your cool, sometimes you get things done. Sometimes. It SHOULD take 4 weeks to close on a house. We moved in after 2 weeks. YES, 2. But it was hectic, and horrible, and I screamed A LOT. But, we moved in, none the less. The only thing I remember about February is the boxes, boxes, and more boxes that we unpacked. Our house in TX is a little smaller, so we had a hard time fitting all that stuff in a smaller house! But we did, and we unpacked most of it in a week! The girls (ALL THREE OF US!) were ecstatic to be out of the hotel! You see, the hotel had no kitchen! So, it was very hard to eat out every day. YES, every single day. That may be a dream to most people, but when the only sit-down restaurant is Chili's...you know you're in trouble. We were so happy to have our space and our things! It was like Christmas, all over again, and this time NOT in a hotel. :)

March 2009:
I went a little crazy in March. My niece, Jessi, flew to SA on a Friday night (at 10 PM), and we left at 7 AM THE NEXT MORNING bound for TN. It had been only 3 months since we left, but I was so ready to see family & friends from home! Moving is so stressful, and it was such a great break to get away! We spent a fun week in HHI with my cousin and our friends from TN, and then we spent two weeks close to home. It was lots of fun, but we sure missed Daddy. 3 weeks was a long time to be away! When we got back home, Rayven started gymnastics....

April 2009:
April was an action-packed month! We went to Poteet's Strawberry Festival (a nearby town). We saw Disney on Ice at the Alamo Dome. We discovered "Parents Night Out" at the church where I attend MOPS! And we filled weekends with Easter Egg hunts! Also, SA has "Fiesta" in April. We didn't attend many events, but there was definitely a buzz in the city! This year we plan to go to some fun family things. We also became members at the zoo, which we have really enjoyed this year! And, sweet little Rylee turned 9 months old. What a big girl!

May 2009:
In May, it was heating up in San Antonio! We swam. A lot! And we spent a leisurely week up in Bandera (at the Flying L Guest Ranch), since we had an expiring timeshare week to use. It was a lot of fun, and some great friends even came up to join us! They had camp fires, hay rides, s'mores, music, cookouts, and a water park! We had a blast, and we enjoyed laying low for the week. We plan to go to Bandera again! Another highlight of May was a tea party that Rayven had with her friend. It was our first "formal" tea party, and she was so excited about it! We even made chocolate-covered strawberries, which were her favorite part.

June 2009:
Are you still with me? Whew, this is getting long! June brought some fun birthday parties we attended. Also, my parents came for a 2-week visit, and we had a great time with them! We went to the Lavendar Festival in Blanco, and we also hit Market Days in Boerne. We took them to Fredericksburg also, and we all had lots of fun! My personal highlight of June was getting a piano - for $100! Our MOPS group had a yard sale at the church to raise money, and it was one thing that hadn't sold by lunch...so I got it half price! And my super-sweet friend had her dad to deliver it for me. What a blessing! In June we also joined a neighborhood playgroup so we could meet more friends who live nearby to have playdates with. We have enjoyed it so much and have made so many great friends for me and the girls!

July 2009:
Wow, my baby Rylee turned ONE in July! We had a great party for her here at home, and mermaids were the theme! We had a water slide (courtesy of my friend) and a baby pool (thanks to another great friend), so everyone loved it. We also had a visit from our neighbors from TN and we enjoyed showing them the sights of our lovely city. We squeezed in a quick trip down to see Gonzalo's family also in July. It was hot, but we enjoyed seeing all of them!

August 2009:
In August, wow, was it ever hot. We swam....a lot. Again. We also enjoyed Gonzalo's family coming for a visit before school went back in session! Rayven signed up for soccer to start the next month, and she was very excited about it! We relaxed quite a bit, and prepared for a busy September!

September 2009:
Well, it was a very busy month at the house of Torres! We spent a week in the Outer Banks of NC with my parents and brother & sis-in-law, then we came back to TN for another week in the mountains visiting family and friends. It was one of our best vacations! The drive (YES, I said DRIVE) was long, but it was better with TWO of us! Rayven also started Mother's Day Out two days a week, and soccer officially started as well. We had a fun September! (And, I'm NOT talking about how I turned 30...)

October 2009:
I don't know what it is about the fall, but it's always busy, isn't it?? I think it was so busy that I didn't even write it in my planner! LOL. Of course, we celebrated Rayven's BIG 5th birthday party at ...... Chuck E. Cheese, of course! She wouldn't have it any other way! And it was a great party with a ton of friends. She loved it! We also celebrated Daddy's birthday with a quiet dinner at home, complete with a cake and candles. Soccer continued, and Rayven decided to lay off the gymnastics for a while... She sure loves soccer, but she isn't too good at it yet! We visited pumpkin patches, went to fall festivals, and did the trick-or-treating of course. Both girls dressed as matching fairies, because Rayven wanted her "baby" to match her! They were adoreable, and we had a great time as usual.

November 2009:
We wrapped up with the soccer season in November, just in time for the holidays! We had a great post-season party at.....yes, Chuck E. Cheese. She just loves that place! We hosted Gonzalo's family for Thanksgiving, and we had a wonderful time. We also - of course - shopped till we dropped on black Friday, starting at midnight! I haven't lost that much sleep in ages, but we got what we went for!

December 2009:
Can't believe I made it through all 12 months! My fingers are close to falling off! LOL. We enjoyed lots of fun Christmas parties with MOPS and our neighbors. We even had a progressive dinner! Then for the big event...we spent 7 days at Disney World in FL! It was so magical, and I'll have to spend a whole blog writing just about that! We had a wonderful time, but were ready to get back to celebrate Christmas. We had a fun progressive dinner with our neighbors the day before Christmas Eve, then we hosted our cousins, Roy & Ann for Christmas dinner. It was a wonderful day! For New Year's Eve, we also celebrated with neighbors, and even little Rylee stayed up till midnight! We rang in the new year with a toast and a kiss, and lots of games and music and food of course!

So, that was the short-story version of 2009. I promise I'm gonna write more in 2010! :)