2010: A Year In Review

I can't believe another year has flown by! (Exactly WHERE does all the time go?) And since there are only a few hours left of 2010, I wanted to take a minute to post about the top stories from the year. No, these aren't the "news stories." These are the REAL stories--things that have been important and made a difference over the past 364 days...

EMBA--Can I tell you how glad I will be when I put on a cap and gown in eight months? There are times that I have felt a bit overwhelmed, but I don't regret the decision that I've made to go back to school. I've learned a ton and as hard as this may be to believe, I know that this is making me a better person. This was definitely the right time to go back to school.

Extreme Makeover: Family Room Edition--No Ty Pennington did not come to visit, but our TV room finally received a long-overdue makeover this past summer (thanks to my mom for taking the kids on a cross-country road trip so I could paint without my two little helpers) And while it might see silly to include "redecorating" on the Tevaga Top 2010 list, we've spent a lot more time together in this room as a family now that it has been redone. So more family bonding time = my new TV room makes the list :)

My Dad's Retirement--I never thought my dad would ever actually retire, but it was just a few months ago that my dad made the decision to hang up his white hardhat for good. And although his resignation involved the words "take this job" and "shove it," I'm very proud of my father and his long career (If you live in the Chicagoland area, I can GUARANTEE there is not a day that goes by that you don't drive on a road that was built by my Daddy :) Anyway, the reason I'm including this on the list is because we managed to pull off a surprise party at the Bolder Ridge Country Club for my dear old Dad. In general, I know these parties don't usually turn out as surprises. But he was surprised (I have photo proof :)Spending time with my family--Norm and the kids and I were able to take a couple of trips to Chicago this year. And Cynthia and her family came out for a long-overdue visit. Add in the fact that my mother flies (or drives) over for random visits anytime she wants and you have Family Bonding Overload (aka FAMILY BONDAGE :) Seriously though, I'm glad that even though we live far away from my family, we're able to spend as much time with them as we do.
Gettin' Schooled--The kids also started a new school this year. I was a little traumatized when I learned that the private school they had attended for the past four years was closing down (you'd be traumatized too--school was scheduled to start in something like four days!) Anyways, they've both adjusted just fine to a classroom that has more then 10 kids in it :) They've both made new friends and I haven't received any calls from the Principal's office--LIFE IS GOOD!
(Oh, and they are actually learning things too--so LIFE IS REALLY GOOD :)
Well, that's about it. What's in store for 2011? Heaven only knows. But I do know one thing, my goal for 2011 is to have fun and to make sure I get all of the important things done on my "To Do List"...
Which means spending more time with the people I love!!

Happy New Year. I hope the next year is even better than the last :)

A Visit From The Cheeseheads

Yes, Cynthia was born and raised in Chicago but I've discovered that it doesn't take long to turn someone into a cheesehead...

We're glad that Cynthia, Ken and Charlotte got to spend some time with us for the Christmas holiday. I figured that the kids would get tired of having a two-year old in tow but they loved, Loved, LOVED spending time with her (Our poor cat, not so much-Neko spent a lot of time over those nine days hiding out in the basement from a feline-obsessed toddler.)

Kobe says that his favorite memory is being slapped and bitten by Charlotte. (And lest my sister thinks I am making this up, I just asked Kobe and that is all he could come up with--apparently he is a glutton for punishment :) Tehani said she was glad that Charlotte was here for Christmas.

And I say that I am glad my kids aren't two any more...

Even with all of the craziness, the visit was too short--and way too much fun! Thanks for coming to play in the Utah snow with us. We miss you guys already :)

The B Boy

That's B as in B-Day. Yes, my baby turned 11 today (never mind how old that makes me :) And in true Blogger style, here are some little known (and oft forgotten) facts about my lil' bundle of joy:

The early bird gets the worm--or in this case gets to school on time. Kobe is still compulsively obsessed with being the first one to arrive at school. It gets a little old sometimes having him ask if we can leave for school when it is not even 7:30 (school starts at 8:30 in case you are wondering) but I humor him--because I know that one day in the not too distant future it will probably be me harassing him about gettin' to school.

It's all Greek to me--Kobe loves, Loves, LOVES Greek mythology. He asked me once which Greek God I thought he was most like and I was kind of thinking "Are there others besides Zeus?" According to the Koberoo, he has the most in common with Hephaestus, Ares, Hermes. Who knew?

Men at Work--I've decide that Kobe is either going to grow up to be a human beat box or a video game designer. He's got hours and hours of practice at both! I feel like I'm constantly telling him to BE QUIET. I mean really, should one person be able to make that much noise?

On a more practical side, Kobe is also my best and biggest helper. Every morning he usually the one that puts the dishes away, packs the lunches in the backpacks, gets the newspaper, and washes any dirty dishes (never mind the fact that he is only doing this because he is trying to get us out the door :)

Other hobbies include writing haikus, picking on Tehani just like any good older brother would do, and correcting other people's poor grammar (he must get that from Cynthia :) He's definitely "One Of A Kind"...

Happy Birthday Kobe! Hope this next year brings you everything you hope for (and no that does not include a new XBox :)

Shake It Don't Break It

Cynthia and I like to say this to Tehani anytime she is supposed to hula. So yes, these were the words of motherly advice I gave before her dance recital a few weeks ago...

Tehani started with a new teacher a few months back and she loves, Loves, LOVES it. I love the fact that she is learning about her Tahitian culture (specifically from someone else that actually knows how to dance--meaning not me.) I also love that she will now have some new dances to do at my parent's next luau (no offense Tehani, but I was getting a wee tired of the poi ball routine every year :)

So if you are interested in improving your Tahitian dancing skills (and who isn't these days?) be sure to check these guys out.

Welcome Back

...to Blog Land! Oh how I've missed my blogging friends (OK, I realize that my mom, dad and sister are the only three people that actually read this thing. But hey, you got to start somewhere :)

Lest anyone think I've been off on a vacay or something fun like that, let me just start by saying that I thought this past semester in school was going to be the death of me! (Though I did manage to sneak in a work trip to France and visit to Chicago since the semester started) I will so be enjoying the two week break of NO CLASSES! And, once school starts back up I have just 32 nights of class until I leave for my Foreign Business Excursion (I know, I counted.) I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel (it's a long tunnel, yes, but the important thing is THE END IS NEAR!

Now that I actually have time to blog, let's hope that lots of fun and exciting things happen in my life so I have things to post about. In the meantime, here are some recent photos of me and the fam (I know it's been soo long that most of you have probably forgotten what we look like) Thanks to my sis for taking these (back in October :) for our 2010 Christmas card. If you didn't get yours yet, your card is "in the mail" (Just send me your address :)

We've Moved

Ok, technically I guess "I've moved" would be a more appropriate title. No, I haven't left my family to run off and join the circus. We finally moved into our new building at work! I'll admit that the whole moving thing has made my life even crazier than normal--This was a good reminder of why I never want to move again!

Then there was the fact that campus was shut down last week right before Thanksgiving for the Blizzard of 2010 (which never arrived, just in case you were wondering :) Anyway, here are some pics that I borrowed from a recent Deseret News article about our new diggs...

And just in case you're wondering whats MY favorite thing about the new building? I have a window. OK, windows to be exact. One whole wall of them. Here's a pic of me hard at work....