The Year In Review (a.k.a.-The Brag Letter)

Greetings to Family & Friends! We're trying something new this year. We've always been morally opposed to the "brag letters" we get from people at Christmastime. I mean, I love hearing about what family & friends have been up to, but its the "Oh, our daughter is such a little princess!" and "Little Tommy just loves playing with trucks & getting dirty!"- that really drives me nuts. So, just a little news flash to all who write these puppies- ALL two-year old girls are princesses, and pretty much ALL little boys love trucks & dirt! This is not unique information! Also- I don't care how smart your kids are or how much they excel at soccer or the piano. Sorry about the rant.
Anywho- long story short- we got a fantastic letter from Seth's cousin Clint Wallace last year that completely restored our faith in the brag lettter, so we're giving it a try- with our own little spin! If you want to know what's new with the Wallaces, you'll have to check our blog. Since your here, you obviously took us up on it, so thanks ( & congrats) in advance.
Here's an overview of 2008 in the life of Seth, Mandy & kids!
We're starting the year off with skiing photos. (After all, we are the skiing Wallaces!)

Noodle just learning- he was just 2 years old & dying to wear his big brothers helmet.

Here we are on a family trip to Goblin Valley in April (the kids had Spring Break). We went with a bunch of friends from our ward & had a great time!


This was an awesome slot canyon hike we took the kids on called Little Wild Horse. This is our neighbor Scott carrying Noodle.

In May, Mandy ran a 1/2 Marathon! The first & sadly probably the last. My back just won't let me run! I loved every minute of it though & am so glad I did it. My best girl Brooke held my hand every step of the way!
My sista's ran, too. They are awesome & by the way, Lisa runs like the wind, that little turd. I guess that's what six kids in 4 years will do to you!
Also in May, Seth & I took a backpacking trip to Escalante for our anniversary. We didn't have any money to go someplace cool, but we wanted to get away, so we decided to try backpacking. We had so much fun, and seriously- backpacking is an unusually rewarding & surprisingly romantic getaway. I recommend to all couples & the whole trip only cost us $150. By the way- this was the day after my 1/2 Marathon and if I do say so myself, I hiked like a champion!


Smurfy's First Birthday! My baby is getting so big! Time for another- or not. Seth swears I'm not getting any more of his boys. (the swimmers, that is.)
This summer, we had two sets of house guests. Seth's step-mom & her kids came to stay for a week or so, followed by his brother Jeremy's family for a few weeks in August. We had a great time, and while being a hostess can be difficult, I have to admit, I love having a full house!


These are photos from the Harward family's annual Bear Lake trip in August. A great time as usual with all the usual Harward family madness. 17 adults and 19 children in one house. YIPEEE!!!

My mom playing catch on the beach with Noodle. Priceless.....



Kenni's first day of school. Isn't she sassy? (as my mother would say!)
Sparky's first day of Kindergarten. Oh, my little boy is growing up! (BTW, Kindergarten starts a week after the rest of school- in case you were wondering why Kenni is wearing a different outfit).
We snuck a quick trip to Lake Powell in September with Seth's mom & Uncle & his family. How could summer be complete without LP?????
Lesli & Jodi on the tube. Truly one of the highlights of my year. If only I knew how to get video off my camera & onto the computer, you could see the real thing. It was hysterical.


Seth rode in the Logan to Jackson bike race again this year. For those of you who speak rode bike, that's LOTOJA. He did such a great job & rode all 207 miles without complaint. His mom was a fantastic pit crew as usual.

One really fun surprise was Seth's Dad, who came all the way from Japan to see his son race. He showed up just as Seth got to the top of the King of the Mountain climb. It was so fun for him to see Bob cheering on the side of the road. What a great surprise! I think Bob also got the biking bug from watching this event. He swears he's going to do it next year. That would be so much fun. Well Bob, now you're stuck. You have to do it now!!!
Seth's fantastic Biking Buddies. A.K.A.- The Mountain Green crew.




Well, since we started the year with skiing, I figured we should end it with skiing as well. We just got our first real dump of the year, which means......time to get up on that mountain!!! We hope you have a fantastic holiday season & we'll see you on the slopes!!!!!
Love,
The Skiing Wallaces!
(p.s.- the video clip is lame, I know. It was the only thing I could find on my computer that was ski-related.......)