It’s been another wonderful year for the Malletts.

We are so thankful for the wonderful family and friends in our lives and those that have helped us through the past year. In January, we went to the Great Wolf Lodge, our favorite winter waterpark getaway. Kimber, Trace, and Kyle all came down and met us there. As always, we had a blast getting wet and riding all our favorite rides. We also toured the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington, which was impressive but we still remain Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chief fans. In February, Aubrey celebrated her 5^th birthday at the Bisque Bistro in town and all the kids painted ceramic figures to take home. Aubrey loved her Hello Kitty cake. In February we also went to the pre-deployment Yellow Ribbon Event, held in Jacksonville, FL. We loved taking the kids to the MOSH museum and discovering a new part of Florida that we had never been to. By this time, Addison understood many things we asked her to do like getting her shoes or coat to put on. She could understand basic words (but of course her favorite word is always, "Mommy"). In March, we met up with Bryan and Brandie who were in town for a wedding. We took the kids to the SA rodeo to play on the rides and eat. Troy and I spent a weekend in San Antonio at the Menger Hotel and visited the Alamo and watched the re-enactment of one of the battles. At the end of March, Troy officially left for his deployment, so I had made up a long list of things to be fixed in the house to keep me occupied. By May, Addison had moved into the 2’s room at school. She seemed quite bored with the younger children and had resorted to biting, so they moved her up. Luckily, it solved the problem. In May, I decided to take the girls to a different park in New Braunfels once a week. We really enjoyed moving around, rather than just going to the same park all summer. By June, we were in full summer swing, hanging out at Schlitterbahn every weekend to keep us busy. The girls love playing in the water and going down the slides. I had one project going after another in the house, so I was definitely busy. In July Aubrey learned how to tie her shoes and also went to her first sleepover at a neighbor’s house. She also started her summer swim lessons, which she always loves. While Troy was away, he kept himself busy working out at the gym and playing basketball and softball. He even managed to go golfing in downtown Riyadh. In August, Aubrey went to a day camp, Camp Minnehaha, for a week and loved swimming, making crafts, and making new friends. I went to the coast for one weekend with some girlfriends of mine from work and we had a nice, relaxing weekend. Bryan and Brandie also moved to San Antonio so we got to see them and plan on visiting each other quite often now that they are just down the road in San Antonio. Aubrey started Kindergarten at the end of the month and has loved every minute since. She's learning how to read and they are already starting on fractions. In September, we went camping with Grandma and Grandpa out at the lake. The weather was perfect and we made s'mores and fed the deer. Finally, in October Troy came home. The girls were ecstatic to see him and play with him. We took them to the San Antonio zoo to see the animals, and then we went to Colorado for Thanksgiving and met up with Troy’s family. Although we didn’t get to ski, we went snow tubing and had a great time just hanging out with family. Addison turned 2 in November and is changing every day. She is now saying sentences, of which her favorite one is, “I’m hungry.” We made our annual trip to Sea World and they both loved watching the beluga whales and playing in the Sesame Street play area. Although Troy was gone most of the year, we've stayed busy and DEFINITELY enjoy having him home now.

 

We want to wish all of you a blessed Christmas and a wonderful 2013!