2016 - The Year in Review - First Trimester

Posted in Family with tags ethan , quinton , mireille -

I can remember one year when we did the traditional “Holiday Letter.” It was the year that we were in the process of trying to adopt Quinton, so we were “marketing ourselves” to our family and friends that year. Looking back, it was a fun letter to do, even if it was not necessary from the salesman side of house. I thought it would be fun to condense 2016 into a bit of a letter to our family (thank you both of my readers) and so that future versions of ourselves might enjoy reading it as well. So, here it goes!

2016 was definitely one for the record books in Grady annals. No, we didn’t relocate from one state to another - that was SO 2015. But we did hit many milestones that are worth noting.

January

January started out at the tail end of a LONG trip “home” to the midwest. We spent New Year’s Day with friends and family up in the UP of Michigan where we spent New Year’s Day. While it was a lot of fun, it was tempered with the reality of the 17 hour drive back to Colorado shortly following…

Quinton and Cousins in Michigan

The Long Ride Home

January was also a month where we were deep in the throes of home improvement, this time our kitchen.

Kitchen Upgrades

Kitchen Upgrades

The boys and Jenny were able to take part in a Martin Luther King march in downtown Denver where they were able to hookup with the local Black Lives Matter crew for a little walk. I imagine they all have FBI files now.

First Activist March

First Activist March

On our way to the airport, it was fun seeing the city get behind their football team. I’ve only ever experienced Wisconsin during a Super Bowl run prior to this, so it was amusing and interesting to watch these Coloradans work themselves into a frenzy for their (I guess “our”) local team.

Broncos March to the Super Bowl

No winter is complete without a couple of ski days in the mountains!!!

Ski Day at Copper

The home improvements didn’t stop in the kitchen. Here we are working on wiring up a new entry light, which was complicated by the fact that it was 14 feet in the air!!!

Wiring a new Light

Achievement Unlocked - New Entry Light

February

February started out with a storm! I swear, there is never a dusting of snow out here. It’s either no snow, or it is 8+ inches!

Colorado Snow Storm

The home improvement bandwagon continued full force in February with more kitchen fun.

Kitchen Taking Shape

Wall Tiling in the Kitchen

Dining Room Improvements

Basketball is a main attraction in the winter as well, something Quinton likes to do quite a bit. Of course, two weeks after our “major” snowstorm, he was able to take his new birthday present outside and challenge his older brother to a quick pickup game.

Winter Basketball

Quinton's Birthday

Basketball Outside - Remember that snowstorm?

Of course, mandatory trip into the mountains!

Mountain Time

Oh, and did I mention, we finally were able to bring Mireille into our home in February!!! I won’t even attempt to rehash that whole episode, but if you are interested, go back and re-read the posts from that time period. What a ride!

Reagan National Airport

My New Activist Buddies

Before Our Meeting with Mike Coffman

Candlelight Vigil

On My Way Back to DC

Mireille Reaches the USA

Iconic USA Picture with Dad

The Whole Grady Brood

Additional Reading:

March

March was pretty devoid of posts. After the February that we had, it was a time to unwind. But we did take a ton of pictures! Go figure!!! Mireille attempted to get settled into a new setting, complete with snow (she wasn’t impressed). Quinton continued his domination of the basketball courts (OK, they never won a game, but he liked it), and we took a nice spring break vacation down to the Phoenix area to visit Grandpa and Grandma Grady. Spring went by in a blur, for sure - so many changes. If I haven’t said it before, adjusting to three children continues to be the hardest thing I’ve had to do.

Mireille Gets Settled

A Sign Of Things To Come?

The Boys Take In a Hockey Game

Waiting for Ethan to finish Soccer Practice

Cheese!

Food!

The Grady Brood

Riding Dirty

Mom and Mireille

Quinton Biking in the Snow

Spring Break with Grandma and Grandpa

Spring Break with Grandma and Grandpa

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday

Desert Mountain Hiking with Grandpa

Spring Baseball

Spring Baseball

The Grand Canyon

Nighttime at the Resort

Kids with Grandpa and Grandma

April

With April came Spring! Home from our spring break, it was back to acclimating to life in the United States for Mireille, and acclimating to life with Mireille for the rest of us. Soccer continued, home improvements resumed as we updated our home from its vintage roots. We also made the first of our three driving trips to the midwest, this time to celebrate Jenny’s nephew’s wedding along with her family. Also, a big event in Ethan’s religious career, he is now able to tithe as he is a full on Catholic having been confirmed this month. He celebrated like any good Catholic would - by skipping mass for the next several weeks.

More Home Improvements

The Wall

Quin and Mireille doing some Shopping

Quin's Favorite Game with Mireille

Getting Ready for a Wedding

At the Reception

Mireille Likes to Party

The Whole Fam Damily at the Reception

Soccer Starts Again

Ethan is Confirmed

Yo

Written by Brandon Grady
Later article
Potpourri
comments powered by Disqus