i know i'm late again with the new year's post. i don't know how i wrote so much so often years ago, but i'm glad i did. and i need to do it more. it always ends up being a release, whether it's through the words themselves or the tears that inevitably flow when i'm writing. like now.
i have a teenager now--what is life?
the twins turn 9 soon--what is life?
i miss my little babies so much, but i adore my 3 besties.
i am constantly overwhelmed with gratitude for all the love in my life, and simultaneously heartbroken across states or homes or both, depending on what week it is. this week the girls are at their dad's, and i fly to denver tomorrow for a conference with eric. next week i'll be back home with my girls, and eric will be back at his place. the week after that, the girls will be back at their dad's, and eric and i will be heading somewhere else.
i love the quality time i get with all of them, but man, it rips my heart into pieces... all of the time. it is quite literally the hardest and most rewarding experience of my life.
how lucky i am to have these people in my life... where i miss them so much that it hurts.
it's always the hardest hit for me the day they leave my house.
ella started taekwondo last year, and got her yellow stripe last month. zoey started jazz classes and has a recital in june. ella is still doing basketball and is loving it. caylin is still playing the flute and had a spring and winter concert.
eric and i went to the netherlands, poland, and sweden. we taught our classes a few times over the course of the year, and gave a talk at a security conference in gothenburg.
we took all 5 kids on a 10-day trip to new england. we started out in maine near the coast, and went to my family reunion. we ate our weight in lobster, and played outside for most of the trip. then we took them all to new york city for a night. then we drove to syracuse to visit my mom and grandma. we got an airbnb on the coast in both places, and it was perfect.
this trip would be the last time the girls and i saw my grandmother. she was on fire that day. she passed away at 94 not long after we visited, and now she and my grandpa are together again. grieving her death resurfaced my other grandparents' deaths for me as well, and it all hit me like a freight train. and then i'm right back to being overwhelmed with gratitude for simply having them as long as we did. my girls got to spend quality time with some of the greatest humans i know.
as far as everything else last year...
storm is still a shitten.
we festival'ed a LOT.
we camped. we glamped.
we went to dollywood.
we went to carowinds.
my mom moved back to north carolina and it's amazing having her just a couple minutes down the road.
i 3d printed and crafted a lot.
the girls are all doing great in school.
the twins ran their first 5K and crushed it.
we have so many girls' nights it's ridiculous, and i wouldn't have it any other way.
they're all obsessed with buldak ramen, skin care, nike socks, and roblox.
it's still chaos, almost always, but despite my exhaustion and the emotional rollercoaster of life, i love every second of it to pieces.
i am so proud of my girls and the good humans they've become. i'm proud of the life we live and how much fun we have. the pictures speak for themselves. <3
taylor swift laser show at the planetarium with all the girlssushi date with zobosushi with zobo3d printed bow for caylindenver training with ericellaboo snuggleswe all made our own succulent potsthe girls being the girlsoddities & curiosities expo -- highly recommenderic giving a SANS talk - modernizing incident response using techniques that scaleellaboo playing fortnitethe girls all dolled upfortnite FTWeric and the girlsst paddy's day festivalellaboozobofilming course content with eric for THVRthe twins at the zoofour wheeling in charlestoncaylin at dinnerme and caylin at a light showzoey living her best lifecaylin white water rafting with scoutscaylin's 7th grade spring band concertcarowinds with the girlshanging out at dad'srufus du sol in austinamsterdamamsterdamamsterdamamsterdamgiving our talk at security fest in swedengdynia, polandon a pirate ship in gdynia, polandbeers in gdansk, polandtaking the ferry in from gdansk, polandgdansk, polandgdansk, polandthe twinsella and caylin eating lunch in the hammocklunch and the mindful marketheading to the water lantern festivalcaylin at the water lantern festivalella at the water lantern festivalthe girls at the water lantern festivalat the park in the rainzoey and ella's 8th birthday dinnerzoey's 8th birthday party dressella's 8th birthday party dresscaylin being caylinshuttle ride to the airportthe lake in mainelobster rolls in mainefamily reunion in maineNYC for a night on the way to syracuse from mainecaylin in NYCthe girls fishing in syracuseseeing my grandmother for the last time <3me and my grammy <3me and my grammy <3the twins raided my closetodesza tattoos before odesza in vegas odesza at the club in vegaswe met clay!zoey and stormellabooella and zoey roblox'ingcaylin got contacts AND an expander AND headgear AND braces this yeardinner after getting our hair did, they gave us bags so it wouldn't get messed upblack hat 2025beers with friends at black hat3d printed wall mounted goldfishthe girls at dad'shoneybee festival with dad and christineswimming at mom'scarowind's for caylin's 13th birthdaythe twins on the slingshotmy babygirl is 13ella biking her smoothie at the honeybee hemp festivalthe twins sword fighting at the honeybee hemp festivalme and the twinsthe twins at the greek festivalcaylin baking cookiesat our fairy tent in tennesseefairy tent in tennesseestopped at the river on the way to dollywoodwith ella on the shuttle to dollywoodthe girls at dollywoodthe twins at dollywoodthe girls in asheville on our way home from dollywoodstorm, still a shittenella started taekwondo this year zoey at disney on iceella with the butterflies at feel good festzoey making things out of clay at feel good festfeel good festzoey doing yoga at feel good festellaboodeadwood trainingzed's dead babyzoeyella and zoeypunkin picking in kernersvillemaking smores at dad'sellazoeyme and ellaboothe girls making halloween housesthe final productcarving pumpkinspunkinsthe girls ready for trick or treatingme and momthe lootaustin sunsetdowntown austin with nerd friends after hacker hoedowncaylinfall festival tattoosplaying taco cat goat cheese pizzame and momthe girls ran their first full 5kmotivational posters FTWwe upgraded to loft bedsholiday festivalholiday festivalholiday festival and hot chocolatewicked was incrediblecaylin doing zoey's makeupthanksgiving dinner at dad'sthe feastplaying with fire at dad'srelaxing with familycaylinwalking around the park in austin and found this, "the only way out is through"caylin's winter band concertthe girls before schoolweirdosmore weirdos, they won these in the claw machinefreezing cold christmas festivalella on the slide at the christmas festivalhot chocolate and meeting santatwin piledawnathandecorating cookies at mom'sdecorating cookies at mom'szoey and stormcaylin making her target gingerbread cartthe twins making their gingerbread treehouse and beach houseavatar was amazingglow paint!glow paint!airbnb in golden, COwe saw kasbo on NYE and it was incredibleeric, kasbo, and me <3
