2010 Halverson Christmas Card

Our christmas letter for 2010!

Welcome to the 2nd annual Halverson Family Christmas letter! This year I (Sarah) have taken over the writing of the Halverson Christmas cards, as last year I was called a nerd! I’m happy that I’m actually getting this out to you all before Christmas! Seems like every year is a little busier than the last, and this year was definitely no exception.

If I ever go through the highlight reel of my life, I’m sure a lot of things that happened this year would be in it. We spent a lot of time laughing….laughing at what you ask? Well let me tell you, we have 2 very funny little boys.

Parker just turned 1 in Oct, and he’s a spitting image of his father….and not just in the looks department either. He’s a huge goofball! He loves to shake his head and tell us “no” until he falls over. He then proceeds to laugh hysterically at what has happened. He also happens to love our dogs. I’m not sure they return the feelings, but it makes for a lot of laughs watching him terrorize them. This year Parker learned many important things…he can turn up the volume to max on our radio, throw his dinner off his highchair (the dogs love this!), pull all the Tupperware out of our cupboards, throw my makeup in the toilet, and hide remote controls. He’s very good at it too! We also spent the better of a month wondering what had happened to our new TV, as we had couldn’t see any of the captions, until one day we figured out our TV had been set to ‘zoom in’ courtesy of our little chunk. :) We love every minute of it!

Jack has also had a very good year. The absolute highlight of his year was playing T-ball for a Rochester Baseball league this summer. He still can’t get enough baseball in every day. If you asked him, he was the best player on his team, and I don’t think that I can disagree with that! Jack is now in 1st grade and really enjoys school. So much in fact that he’s requesting that I let him skip 2nd grade and go right to 3rd next year. He’s one smart little boy. He’s currently scoring in the 3rd grade level in reading and math, and ranked highest in his grade in math in the fall testing they did. So if his baseball career doesn’t pan out, maybe finance is in his future, just like his mama. It’s not too early for me to be thinking about retiring is it?! ;) We also found out Jack has a 1st grade crush. I can’t say her name (Jack is keeping me tight lipped), but he did declare his love for her in pen on his hand; a proclamation that she proudly announced to the entire class. First grade can be traumatic. And adorable. Don’t tell Jack I said that. :)

As for Jason, he’s still kicking butt as a salesman for Walters Buildings. Things have really picked up for him this year, and I think he’s really starting to enjoy what he does (most days :)) Working from home has really worked out for him, and I’m glad that he found something that he enjoys. He is turning into a salesman though; he’s been in the top 3 of his company in sales all year! I’m very proud of him as well. :)

Well that just leaves me, and not much room left on the page. I’m in my 4th year at IBM working as a Software Development Finance Team Lead. I love my job! And I enjoy working with other what my husband refers to as “IBM nerds”, just like myself. You know the saying, if the shoe fits…. :)

I hope this holiday season leaves you time to spend with your families, and reflect on the true meaning of the season!

Love,
The Halversons

Just What the Dr. Ordered

I'm taking this flu season by storm! ;) There's no flu that's going to hold my family down! Parker has been coming down with a cold, and instead of reaching for the often recalled high fructose corn syrup containing crap, I'm jam packing my little man's diet with foods rich in natural ingredients. He's been drinking enzyme shakes that contain raw spinach and blueberries, and all natural ingredients full of vitamins. I've also been breaking up the vitamin capsules and mixing that in with his food. So far he's doing great! I can tell that he's not feeling 100%, and he's more tired then normal, but at least I have the peace of mind that his body is prepared to fight off the infection....naturally!

I read an article a few days ago on Dr. Mercola's site that said most people who get colds are lacking Vitamin D! Just when Jack last week was coming down with a cold, and now has given it to Parker, I've found the best way to prevent colds from even coming on. What timing! If I'd only have read it last week, I might have been able to prevent them getting sick altogether. Either way, we all know it's no fun getting sick, so why not do everything you can to stay healthy this winter!

Little Prodigy

We had Jack's school conferences with his first grade teacher this week and I have to admit, I had one of those "I have the best kids in the world" moments. I'm constantly amazed at how smart he is! His teacher told us he scored either 1st or 2nd in his grade in math (out of 7 first grade classes). He is doing math and reading at a third grade level - in his second month of 1st grade. His teacher has been so great for him! She has his doing math and reading at his own level vs letting his learn with his class. She does one on one math with him when the other students are working on other work. She also has him doing some AR (advanced reading) courses on their computer system, to test how smart he is. WOW! So I'm sorta planning on just coasting in my career, and waiting until Jack makes the big bucks, and then just live off him for the rest of my life....that is if his pro baseball career doesn't take off :) JK JK JK, but it could happen! ;) But wanna know another cool thing? His teacher said it feels like she has another adult to talk to in the classroom with Jack. Sometimes it's a long day with a bunch of 1st graders, but with Jack in the room she feels like she's talking to an adult. I love it.

My baby turns 1!

I can't believe it. My little man turned 1 today :) It was such a great day, he was so darn happy all day. We went to dinner at Applebee's and he was being such a goofball the whole time. He go to try ice cream for the first time, and the look on his face was absolutely priceless. I'm glad I got it on video! It's a bummer his bday is a day I won't ever be able to take off....it's always going to be a busy day for me, so I was sorta bummed that I didn't get off work and home until after 5:30. I did though get a lot of fun time with him tonight. He fell asleep on the way home, so I'm sorta debating waking him up so I can play with him for a bit. JK! I know, I gotta let the little guy sleep. He's just so darn cute though! We were also able to have Parker's bday party this weekend. He got to smash his very own homemade, personalized chocolate cake for his bday...compliments of his Grandma Halverson. He loved it! Well not at first. He got his hands full of chocolate and that little lip came out! After he figured out he could eat it that was the end of it. He was still looking at me though like mom, why are you letting me get this dirty! He's used to me spoon feeding him so I think he was probably a tad confused on the situation. He also got some very cool gifts! Jason and I got him a car that we can push him around it. I know it's not very useful now, but I'm hoping there's a couple more warm evenings we can take him out in in. We did get it set up on Sunday night and pushed him down the block and he LOVED it. He squeeled when we started pushing it, he was so excited about it. It'll be usefull for him for a couple years, so I'm hoping we get a lot of use on it in the spring/summer. Parker also got some very cool gifts from his family. Grandma and Grandpa Halverson got him some luggage so we don't have to use laundry baskets when we stay at their place. This is going to come in handy for us. It's such a great gift. Parker also got a 3 in 1 walker thingy from Tara, Rob, Sara, and Josh. He loves it. I keep pushing the buttons and Parker will start to dance to the music. It's so cute!

I can't believe how fast this year has gone. It's been such a gift to be able to see out little boy grow over the past year. I keep remembering back to when I went into labor with him last year. Can't wait for another year with my boys. I LOVE them so much!

That's all for now :)

Bandy Family Shenanigans

When you do something big, you have to write it down. In my case, I should write EVERYTHING down, because if I don't, then I forget. Just ask my husband :) Last weekend was a weekend I don't think I'll ever forget. It started with 2 Friday weddings. My cousin Jesse and Jenni and one of Jason's high school friends Bonnie Thoe and her now husband TJ. Let me tell ya, it was FUN! I've never seen so many people out on the dance floor at a wedding ever. Also, my husband took the entire dance floor through the MJ Thriller dance...a moment that would make any wife proud. Saturday the Bandy family spent the day together at the beach, hiking, and going out for dinner. Sunday we loaded up 2 cars, and headed toward the cities to go skydiving. I being the street savvy person that I am (yes I'm on my soap box :) was originally planning on jumping with the rest of the family, but kept having these weird feelings that my parachute wouldn't deploy and I would bite the dust. So I decided to sell my ticket and just be on the cheering section. Just as we got to the Skydiving place, the first thing we saw was the plane. No lie, it was the biggest pile of crap plan I've ever seen. At this point I was glad I was going to be grounded. We found the shed where they had the desk, and my family proceeded to start signing away their lives from any liability if anything happened. My mom, being the crazy (and fun) person that she is, decided it wasn't acceptable that I wasn't going to jump. So her and my dad went to the desk and bought me a ticket. K, so not only was a not planning on going, I somehow ended up being the first to go! Jason and I get all suited up from the instructors and got in the plane. So here it is, in random order, my memories of my first experience skydiving:

• I remember how uncomfortable it was wearing the skydiving gear. It was so darn tight I felt like I had an atomic wedgie :/
  
• I remember how much my heart was racing as we got in the plane.
  
• I remember the plane not starting, DJ and Jason starting to get out the plane, and then the pilot getting the plane to start.
  
• I remember the plane backfiring after it started
• I also remember seeing that Joe was relieved after the plane started and thinking that this doesn't mean it's going to keep running once were off the ground!
  
• I remember looking at my altimeter (measured altitude) when we were at like 1500 feet thinking we were about high enough, only to hear Jumpin Joe say we had another 8500 feet to go.
  
• I remember at this point thinking, I really should have listened to the instructions better!
  
• I remember it taking forever to get to the altitude we needed to be at, and all of the sudden the plane door swung open.
  
• I remember seeing Jason at the edge of the plane, than all of the sudden he was gone.
  
• I remember when we got to the edge, Joe told me to move my right leg out to the wheel of the plane. I tried to move my leg out to the ledge, and it nearly blew away.
  
• I remember our tuck and roll out of the plane.
  
• I will never ever forget that feeling when we jumped out of the plane. It's a feeling I know I will never forget.
  
• I remember pulling our parachute and being so darn glad it worked!
  
• I remember how incredibly peaceful it was once the parachute was pulled.
  
• I remember Joe steering our chute right through a cloud.
• I remember my family rushing over to me when we landed, and I couldn't say anything, I was speechless.
  
• I remember the looks on all the Bandy's faces when they landed.
  
• I remember watching my parents jump last, thinking I have some of the craziest parents I know. :)
  
• I remember how fun it was to go to dinner after we all jumped and talk about it.

Here's some of my other memories from the weekend:

• I remember thinking how our family always draws a crowd when were together. At one point looking around when we were at the beach to see several groups of people looking at us. I think some people just watch us for their entertainment. :)
  
• I remember Joey trying to catch that snake at the beach.
• I remember how much of a workout it was to hit Chimney Rock, and feeling much worse for Cherie hiking it pregnant.
• I remember how beautiful Cherie looked pregnant - and how happy she was.
• I remember putting Parker's toes in the cold water for the first time at the beach.
  
• I remember Dan, Joey, Jason and dad trying to throw all the girls in the water.
• I remember meeting Karen for the first time and thinking about how great of a match she is for Craig.
  
• FINALLY....I remember thinking how cool it is that we have such a close family and how God has really blessed all of us.
  

The Fam

Parker's Newborn Pictures












































































Our Wedding Day!

The House of Halverson

It's official. I basically love my life. I've been married almost 2 years to a GREAT guy! I have two sons Jack and Parker that are the coolest kids ever, and we have two dogs - Charlie and Slugger (they're another story). So that's it. I'm the only female in a house of boys. Although I'm always outnumbered I'm queen of the roost. :) I'm currently working as a Financial Analyst Team Lead at IBM. I love my job - although it has it's days as any job does. I have some pretty sweet coworkers and love the fact that every day is something different in my job. We bought a house in February 2009 in Byron. Were a block away from Jack's school and in a neighborhood with lots of families just like ours. I've been able to spend the past year decorating our house and can say I think I'm almost done. :)
Parker was born in October, and I honestly feel like I'm just getting to know him. He is such a good baby. He's been such a delight and brought so much laughter in our home. Last week he rolled over for the first time. Although I wasn't able to see it since it happened at daycare. He also had his first bowl of rice cereal on Thursday. You know how the first year is a year of firsts, I love every little thing and can't wait to see him experience everything this first year. Some of it is very surreal - I remember Jack doing all these things and it feels like it was just yesterday but it was actually 6 years ago. Gosh, sometimes I can't believe how fast time flies. Jack has also been the best big brother for Parker. I think he tells him every day that he's his best friend and he loves him. Parker's eyes light up when he sees Jack. I can't wait Parker to get a little older so he can play with him. Jack has also been such a big help with Parker. He helps with feeding him and makes sure he's comfortable in his car seat when we go places. Although he says he's been waiting to have a brother for years, he loves his little brother.