Holiday & 2016 Recap

Well hey errybody.

Things are finally settling down after the holiday season & I'm not too happy about it.  We had SO much fun this past month & now that it's over we were left with sickness, negative temperatures, and an empty house...#holidayscomeback!

We were spoiled for all the holidays.  We spent a week down in Utah with Nate's family for thanksgiving where we got to relax, see army helicopters, dino museum, black friday shopping, and just enjoy family.  Then for christmas my whole family came to our house (minus Elder Shea Majik).  We saw movies, went snow shoeing, went to the hot springs in Lava, ate delicious food, stayed up late watching movies and playing games, got to run with J. Fresh, and over all just enjoyed hanging out with everyone! Ames of course was SO FUN with Christmas this year.  He was psyched out of his mind and didn't nap for days because he was so busy playing with all his haul of presents.  We were thinking after opening presents that next year we might do the a thing like 12 days of Christmas because he was so overwhelmed opening all the presents at once (and we didn't even get him a lot!) After he opened one he just wanted to open it and play with it! It was almost hard for him to keep opening presents haha.  It was cute because even Corra sensed that something special was going on and was SO happy the entire day.  She actually was probably the most pumped one about her toy (activity walker) she sat and bounced and played with it the whole time we opened presents!  I was really excited to go to church on Christmas but we got DUMPED on with snow Christmas Eve and it was continuing so they canceled church...I was bummed.  We did get to talk to my missionary brother for a couple hours though and it was so great.  We are SO excited for him to get back in May! My family stayed until the 29th - they left that morning and then most all of Nate's family got here that same night!  With Nate's family we snowshoed up to a Yurt here in idaho.  It was hard, no one got a good nights sleep, but we still had fun and now have some great memories to look back on :)  They stayed that weekend and we relaxed, played games, and brought in the New Year with them.



























































We all LOVED having so much family here and everyday this week Ames has been asking who is coming to our house again/asking me to go drop him and Corra off in Utah with his cousins and I go back to Idaho haha.  So thankful for family and holidays that we can spend time together!

with the end of the holidays it has left me with more time to get some more stuff done though, and one of those things that I have been wanting to do is blog.  I have been toying with the idea of trying to blog once per week, which for me would be huge.  Thing is, I actually love to write.  It's therapeutic for me to get stuff outta my head and onto paper.  And I like blogging over journaling just because I can add pictures, print it out, it's never lost, etc.  So here's to week 1 of 2017! We will see how it goes.

PS I promised myself a while back that I would be real on this blog.  All this blog has ever been is musing from my head and that's all I plan on it being :)

2016 was a great year.  It brought us our baby girl, Corra May.  Brought us an end to surgeries with Nate.  Brought us a newly turned 3 year old Ames.  I got back into reading which has been so nice. We have continued making our house a home. And it brought us lots of growth and learning.  I am finally getting what people say about as you age time seems to speed up.  This year went by so fast.  It was a good one but I think 2017 will be even better :)

My only real goal this year (other than posting every week & running stuff) is to adhere to this quote:


I know if I do that...I can obtain everything I'm striving to do, one small step and day at a time.

Here's to 2017!

Also, I found a small stack of Christmas cards I forgot to send out :/ So sorry to those who didn't get one! Here is the poem recap from it and our card:

Houle Highlights 2016

Another year has come to an end,
Thus, glad tidings we now send.
2016 has treated us very well,
Read our quick recap or just call us on your cell!

We’ve settled in well to our favorite blue house,
Even got our first pet, Walter Mitty Kitty, he has yet to catch a mouse.
Pocatello is really starting to feel like home,
And, happily, though it’s been 2 years, we don’t have plans to roam!

As a family we traveled to lots of places – some old, some new,
Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone, Kansas, Colorado, Texas & Montana to name a few.
Our favorites were destination trail races in Portland, OR & Sun Valley, Idaho,
Seeing beautiful sights on foot is a new hobby we hope continues to grow!

Now to tell of each of us one by one,
To show how we’ve each grown & had lots of fun!

The star of 2016 is our new baby girl, Corra May,
She was born on May 9th and it was a very happy day!
Corra is now 7 months old and brings us so much joy,
She is beautiful, particular, & looks little like our boy!

Corra is sitting, smiling, rolling & loves swings,
She always wants to be right in the middle of things.
Ames absolutely loves her, sometimes give her a whirl,
We can’t imagine life without our sweet baby girl!

Now to our favorite, happy, excitable 3 year old boy,
Ames Anthony is always smiling & laughing, there isn’t much he doesn’t enjoy.
He’s loves to learn and is getting too smart for his own good,

His favorite thing is to ride bikes, run, & play with kids in our neighborhood.

Ames still loves all things with wheels, his favorite being rescue trucks,
He loves hiking on trails, teasing the cat, & thinks poppy seed muffins are deluxe.
He goes to Joy School once per week and is everyone’s friend,
With his bright enthusiasm for life he brings us joy with no end!

Kacee spent almost half of the year growing large with child,
She was really thankful that Corra’s labor was very mild.
At the start of the year she became an ISU Bengal & went back to school,
Getting a nursing degree in the next few years would make her feel cool.

House projects, new baby, & traveling with Bengal XC has kept her going non-stop,
She learned to mountain bike, read lots of books, & gave her hair a big ol chop.
Kacee is still doing online coaching, running a lot, and loves being a mother to two,
She has loved making new friends, but mostly just likes hanging with her crew!

Last to recap is our husband, Dad, & main man Nate,
3 seasons behind him as head coach and his athletes have done great!
His athletes are continually improving & his recruiting game is on point,
He is now also coaching pro runners who have been rocking the joint!

Nate had his 2 last surgeries that were related to cancer,
He’s over 1 year CANCER FREE and we hope that is always the answer.
Mountain biking has become his new favorite thing, along with running on trails,
Though work keeps him real busy, he still makes time for us & his love never fails.

And now we come to a close on our 2016 year,
We hope our card & this poem brought you some holiday cheer!
We are truly so blessed for our health, adventures, family & good friends like you,
In this season let us remember Jesus Christ, his birth, atonement, & love are so true!

Merry Christmas!

 And our card: