Happy holidays! We hope you had a terrific 2014.
The Wise family is doing well. Perhaps the biggest news of the year is that we moved. We sold our condo in Melrose where we lived for just under five years. Parting with the condo was tough. It was our first place together, where we brought Ava home and had Reagan (literally), and where the girls took their first steps. But for all the memories and charm, we were quickly outgrowing the 835 square feet.
A rental house fell into our lap with a ton of space and in a nice location. We now have a little bit of elbow room, and the girls can play somewhere other than next to mom and dad (and mom and dad can be a little nicer to grandparents wishing to give gifts to their grandkids because the first thought that comes to mind is not “where would we put that?”). Unfortunately the reason the house became available is because good friends moved to Philly.
Selling the condo was as smooth as butter (well, almost), but finding a rental was not. The landlord of the first place for which we signed a lease was not able to deliver possession due to the previous tenants turning into squatters. House shopping a second time was a bit more stressful than the first with a closing date less than two weeks away. Circumstances such as those are when our wonderful friends and family shine. The Mokrauers let us move in early while they were in the process of moving out. Anne and Bonnie made the trip out here to help us move our belongings. Many other people provided valuable support. We are very grateful to be blessed with such people in our lives.
Ava’s year was filled with some big changes. She started pre-school, where she has lots of fun and made several friends. Swim lessons are now in the big pool without mom or dad. And now that we have a driveway she got a bicycle for her birthday (a princess one, of course). She started dance lessons, which she absolutely loves. Her favorite thing to do these days is play dress-up with Reagan.
Reagan is growing fast, like little girls do. She is laid-back and sweet, and follows (and is very patient with) her big sister, whom she adores and looks up to. Reagan enjoys her tumbling classes, but is crazy about swim lessons and being in the pool. In fact, when it’s not her turn to be in the pool, she stands at the edge and cries. And when she is in the pool, she won’t let us help her, preferring to swim on her own with her bubble.
We took the opportunity to travel to Ohio and the lake in Indiana during the summer. We always enjoy seeing everyone, and it was enjoyable to do so during nice weather. Going to the lake in Indiana with the Wolfreds was fantastic! It had been too long since the family got to do that, and we really savored the trip; hopefully we can do it again soon. We also took our first family vacation to Attitash in New Hampshire over Thanksgiving. We took a train ride with Santa in the mountains, the girls played in the snow and Marie and I enjoyed a lot of good food.
Marie and I had a busy year. Marie is busy with being involved in the church, a room mother at Ava’s pre-school, and getting together with her friends. She also lived it up in Maine with some friends and Pittsburgh with her cousins. Cary had a busy year with work, which is going well.
We wish you a 2015 filled with love, laughter and wonderful memories.
Marie, Cary, Ava and Reagan
