Hello all and Merry Christmas.

Normally this letter is finished on the last hours of Christmas Eve but alas I didn't even get it started then. So I decided New Years Eve Day I would write it, still didn't make that deadline, so I am writing my 2013 letter in 2014....just giving myself time to completely review the entire year.

2013 started in Varadero, Cuba for us, the second year in a row. Brett and I flew to Cuba on New Years Eve with some very good friends of ours, Jay & Monique Waugh. We arrived in Cuba around 10 pm on New Years Eve. We hopped onto the bus with our luggage and some cold beer (I remembered to have money for this from last year) and headed out to almost the furthest point on the peninsula). When we arrived at our resort, we found our adults only section, checked in and found our rooms. As I was excitedly standing on the balcony taking in the sights and sounds of New Years Eve, Brett was pouring us drinks from our stocked fridge, I heard tons of bells & whistles and sounds and cheering as our resort and Cuba rang in the New Year! We spent the next seven days basking in the sun, playing beach volleyball, touring around Varadero, and eating and drinking way too much food.

It was nice to get away from the land of the cold last winter, especially since our Winter was so long. The snow stayed in Regina until May, in fact I have pictures of my hubby sitting in the snow banks in downtown Victoria Park protesting winter and demanding spring. Hahaha. What a goof ball.

January and February were pretty quiet months for us. In January we attended the baptism of Jacob Ludik (my cousin Megan's little guy), and I happily became Jacob's godmother. In February we attended the baptism of both of Brett's nephews Sam Polkinghorne (Lea's little guy) and Ryker Zimmerman (Renee's youngest). Brett is Sam's godfather.

Near the end of February my sister and some others at the Cross Fit box I attend convinced me to register and compete in the 2013 CrossFit Games Open. This competition is for competitors all across the world (split up into different regions, and ages categories). Once a week for six weeks all competitors completed the same WOD (workout of the day) with the same set of standards, but you completed these WODs at your local box (gym). We always completed our WOD on Saturday mornings at 10. It was such a rush. All the Cross Fit Regina peeps who were competing would show up and it would get loud. So much support and cheering. This was my second CrossFit competition I have completed, but this one was even more challenging from the first one, because nothing was modified, we all had to compete to the same standard. Some of the WODs I couldn't do all the requirements, but I pushed myself to new levels, I set PRs (personal records) and I loved every minute of it.

In the midst of my competition and my whole life challenge I was also partaking in, Brett and I found out that we were expecting our first baby, who was due to arrive in late November. I was a bit nervous about being pregnant and working out. But my doctor was completely okay with it, I found some other ladies at CrossFit who had trained late into their pregnancy, and I did a ton of research which all seemed to say I was okay to keep working out, so I did. I continued with CrossFit until September. I also continued with bootcamps my sister ran until the end of summer. Everyone would laugh at me and my pregnant belly doing burpee suicides in the park. And I also kept up with Michelle's Kettlebell class almost to the end, stopping on November long weekend. Maybe if I had completed just a few more, baby would have arrived sooner. :)

Spring finally arrived in May, just in time for Brett to begin his trips. Brett had three major trips this past year. After the May long weekend he flew to South Korea for 12 days to attend the NIME conference. Brett was often mistaken as being Korean when people read his name, but when the name tag was attached to his person, they were very surprised to see that he was not in fact Korean. In the middle of June he flew to San Francisco for 5 days for the Apple Developers Conference (WWDC). He was finally able to meet people who owned more iGadgets than himself. He was in his glory, and even brought "baby" home a little Apple hat. And in July he flew to Nashville for the NAMM Conference and managed to try fresh salt water taffy and take in some great music in the evenings. While Brett was off galavanting across the world I kept myself busy at work.

Summer holidays rolled around. The first week of July Brett and I went camping in Waskesiu. Brett was home for two days and then he flew to Nashville while I went to the Craven Country Jamboree. My family was surprised that I didn't go to Nashville with Brett, but I figured all the musicians I wanted to see were going to be at Craven, and I already had my tickets, and I was damn well going. My friend Ashley came out with me to Craven for the weekend. We were a bit wet, but we had a lot of fun.

Brett flew in Sunday night, I drove back to Regina from the Jamboree later that night, and then on Tuesday, we were off again. This time to Vernon, BC for five days. My sister and brother in law Jarret were already in Vernon, staying at his parents cabin, and so we joined them. We were picked up in Kelowna via boat, and casually drove back to the Cabin. So beautiful, I could get used to that kind of pick up. :) The weather proved to be marvelous, +30 degrees all week. And so we spent much of the week out on the boat, floating and enjoying the warm weather, and cooling off in the water. A huge thank you to the Coels family for allowing us to come out and stay with them. We had so much fun.

August was a much quieter month. Brett had to return to work at the Co-op Refinery after a two year educational leave of absence. I went back to work in September, and worked until my due date. My students were sure that I was going to have the baby at school, or at the very least my water would break mid lesson and they would have to rush me to the hospital. Haha. Thankfully that didn't happen. Brett turned 30 in October and to celebrate we hosted a party at our house. Our friends and families were able to make it, and we had a lot of fun. I had a friend, Karen Thompson, make Brett an iPhone cake and put on apps that he and his company have designed. It turned out really well, and tasted even better! Thanks Karen!

Our little bundle of joy arrived 8 days late, on Saturday, November 30, 2013 at 6:10 pm. She weighed 7 Ibs 5 oz, and was 20 inches long. We named her Zaeya Michelle. She managed to sneak in the November date, which is awesome because 2 other Tessier grandkids had babies in November as well, so for my family, in the course of one month, we had the addition of 3 new little ones. Sam and Hallie welcomed Felix on November 1, Sheena and Ben welcomed Gunner on November 23 and we welcomed Zaeya on November 30. Now we all need to get together for a little Tessier family visit. Maybe sometime this spring or summer we can have a little party.

Zaeya had a very busy first month. She had lots of company, she went Christmas shopping, her Auntie Michelle babysat her so mommy and daddy could go to a Christmas party, she went on her first out of town road trip for Christmas and she attended her first New Years Eve Party. We are enjoying every minute with her, and cannot wait to see what the New Year brings.

Of course our letter would not be complete without talking about our first baby, our fur baby, Pixel. Pixel turned 7 this fall. Pixel found the winter to be extremely long...and couldn't wait to get outside and play with the birds and squirrels. He loves to be outside when the weather is nice, and even when it isn't he will still beg at the door, even when it is -49 with windchill. He has to decide for himself that he doesn't want to freeze his little behind off. Pixel seems to be adjusting well to Zaeya. He mostly ignores her. At this point she doesn't bother him or his toys or his favourite sleeping places, once she is moving though, I am sure that will be another story.

Brett, Pixel, Zaeya & I would like to wish you and yours all the best in 2014. If you are ever in Regina, feel free to stop in for a visit. Or maybe we will see you in our travels this year.

Love Brett, Dani, Zaeya & Pixel