Maybe these end-of-the-year summaries aren’t for you. Maybe I write them for me so I can go through a year of pictures and smile at how cute Simon was and reminisce…
The year began with an energetic 8 month old. Sitting, crawling, barely walking, Simon began to get into everything in the house. We dedicated Simon at the end of May.
In the beginning of March, we flew to Florida to find some warmth. A direct flight, we were soon in balmy Orlando. From 10 degrees to 80 in three hours: not bad! We simply enjoyed playing on the beach, exploring, walking, and being a family together.
For Easter, we headed down to Westtown for the weekend, stopping at Brant Lake along the way. Simon enjoyed all the “new” toys at Grammie and Boompa’s house as well as visiting with all the extended family.
Simon in his Easter outfit 
Fun with Boompa 
Fun with Grammie
In June we again took a short flight to Washington DC to visit M’s dad. A direct 1.5 hour flight verses a 10+ hour drive with an infant? That’s a no-brainer. We enjoyed going to the national zoo, seeing the monuments, biking, riding a miniature train, making friends with Lucy the dog, eating sushi, and walking while we visited. Simon took some of his first steps and began talking around his first birthday in DC.
This summer we enjoyed building a play set in the back yard. Simon enjoyed the sandbox. We enjoyed going for many evening walks around town for ice cream or to the park to play. Simon also enjoyed bike rides in his little buggy behind Dada’s bike. Saturday morning were family garage sale-ing days, where we would see what good buys we could find around towns. Debbie is learning to garden and Michael is becoming a pro on the grill.
Simon in his bike trailer 
Playing in the sand box
Over July 4th weekend, we visited family in South Hero, VT before driving south to Lake Luzerne to visit friends. Though a quick (hot!) trip, Simon enjoyed the Lake Luzerne’s beach and biking in VT. On our way home he got to see his first fireworks in Lake Placid.
Boarding the Bike Ferry in South Hero 
Lake Placid Fireworks
For a week in the summer we rented a house with my family on the shores of Lake Champlain. Swanton, VT itself didn’t have too much but we enjoyed day trips to Burlington to Shelburne museum. Jet-skiing, biking, going to the beach, exploring, and relaxing with family were all enjoyed throughout the week.
In August we again went to Westtown to celebrate Debbie’s Grandmother’s birthday. Simon enjoyed the live music and meeting all the people.
Memorial Day weekend we headed down to Brant Lake with family. We enjoyed jet-skiing, grilling, and playing on the beach. We are blessed by Julia’s family hosting ours.
This fall we picked (huge!) apples off our apple tree. Cousins Hogan, Rebekah, and Alison came to visit with Hannah and Emily for a fun afternoon of cider making! We also picked out pumpkins at the local patch and set them out for decoration.
In October we again headed to Westtown, stopping on the way at a friend’s wedding. We stayed a week this time, while Michael did some work for Clarkson in Beacon. Simon enjoyed the pet store, walks and parks with Grammie, drumming with Boompa, and chocolate cream pie.
On the last warm day of the year, M and I played hooky from work and snuck up to Ottawa for the day. They enjoyed street food and viewing parliament
Over Thanksgiving week we did a little road trip adventure to Debbie’s parent’s house. From there we went on to Cape May, NJ to find some beach and sun. Most of the seasonal places were closed, but Simon enjoyed running on the empty beaches and finding shells (and other things!) in the sand.
From Cape May we headed to M’s dad’s house again and enjoyed a restful Thanksgiving with them. On the way back home, we again stopped in Westtown to visit with Debbie’s family.
It was a special Christmas season as we got to spend it with much of our family and extended family.
Though the highlights of our year may be in our travels, the day-to-day life of Potsdam has been wonderful as well.
Uncle Mike reading to the kiddos 
Simon and M working on their laptops
Two mornings a week Simon goes to visit Aunt Julia and Evelyn so that Debbie can work at LC Drives. Every Thursday evening, Evelyn would come visit us so so that mommy and daddy could have date night. Though there is an age gap and gender difference, the two cousins get along well and we’ve enjoyed this weekly schedule. Things will change soon, though, as Julia is due in February and Debbie in March. It will be exciting to see what 2020 brings!
Michael has been working hard to make our house as close to perfect as possible. Completely redoing the plumbing and electrical filled up his evenings recently. He continues to flourish at Clarkson University as a Systems Manager.
We’ve enjoyed hosting friends and family in our home, being a part of the church community, working, being with family, and being a family. We are incredibly grateful and thankful for the blessings of God in our lives: travel, family, church, work, new life. But the greatest is the blessing of salvation from our savior, Jesus. And to this, everything else pales in comparison.
This is so excellent! Thank you for taking us on a journey with your family. May you and your family be blessed in the coming New Year.