It is December 30th January 7 January 21 which means it is time to type up our annual xmas letter, er I mean New Year letter. Okay so this was supposed to go out Xmas day...but we were at my parents and we got busy making sausage....and then had a sick kid, then a blizzard, a trip back to the city, and then Logan and I had the flu. Then we thought we were in the clear so we went to the Park family festivities in Humboldt for New Years and Brett got sick, passing the terrible stomach bug to his whole family. And then we got back home and Logan decided he didn't want to sleep because he learned to roll over and he is 4 months old. 4 month olds don't sleep. So I write this letter on January 7 & 21 (and Brett finally put it on the internet on February 15th, how time flies). Okay, so what did we really do in 2016?!

2016 was a pretty quiet year for us. Okay who am I kidding, no it wasn't. We had a toddler in the terrible two's/threenager stage. We added another little human to our family, and our cat is well, our cat with personality and Brett and I just pretty much tried to keep up.

Last year I continued to teach at FW Johnson in the east end of Regina. I was teaching part time mainstream and part time special education. In mainstream I was teaching a modified science class and literacy classes, and in special education a variety of subjects. I really enjoy teaching there. It is a much smaller school than I had been at previously, and teaching the literacy classes was actually really rewarding despite some of the challenging kids I had this year. A little over a year ago we found out that our little family of three would be expanding to a family of four. So much of January and February I spent paying homage to the throne...or stuffing my face with food so that I wouldn't pay homage to the throne. Fun times I tell ya. I also played court volleyball, and continued with my strength training program as coached by my sister Michelle. It felt like a pretty quiet year actually now that I look back, but pregnancy and a toddler will do that to a person. And quiet is never a bad thing.

Brett continues to work for Shiverware, and always says his boss is such an ass (haha...must be nice to be your own boss). Shiverware continues to do well and keeps getting projects which means he can keep doing what he loves. Brett's work took him on a trip to Las Vegas to present at a conference for which his company created an app. This was perfect timing for me as I was off on Easter break so I was even able to tag along in Las Vegas for 3 days while he was in conference. I spent many hours lounging by the pool and wandering the strip by myself. And we were treated like royalty. The first night was a private function for all the Canadian people at the conference who worked for this company. It was an all you could eat or drink event, networking of course, but at a new roof top bar directly across from the Bellagio. Sooo cool. The next night featured all you could eat and drink appetizers. And the last night the company booked a nightclub which as you can guess was free of charge and all you could eat an drink. So cool. I have never been to a night club but it was pretty sweet. Too bad I was pregnant. It was still pretty awesome. How come teachers never get to attend sweet conferences like this? In his spare time Brett trained to run the QCM half marathon, and played court and beach volleyball.

Zaeya turned 3 at the end of November. If you have ever met our little chatterbox, once she warms up to you, you will have a friend for life. She participated in Gymnastics (Jan-March, and a 3 week stint in December). She took swimming lessons. She LOVES to swim and splash around. My little girl who in gymnastics was very nervous and would cling to your hand as you helped her through the obstacle course was a whole different kid in the pool. No fear there. She would spend an hour just jumping or sliding into the pool. She loves it. She also took a music class this fall (we won the subscription). She seemed to really enjoy it, and now requests that we play the music from her class. Darn kids songs sticking in your head.

Our newest member of the family is Logan Brett Park born on August 22. Our little monkey decided to arrive a few weeks early. I really did think I would have approximately 2-3 more weeks before he made his appearance. Thankfully we managed to get Z's bunk bed built 2 weeks prior to his arrival. The week leading up to his arrival I probably should have known he was ready, but I was too busy chasing a toddler and enjoying the warm summer weather to notice. The night before my water broke I was actually at a friends wedding dance by myself. And the morning my water broke...we took family pictures that we had been putting off for weeks. Oops. Even though he was a few weeks early we were thrilled for his arrival. He is a pretty easy going baby. He is 4.5 5 months old, weighs over 15 16 pounds. He loves his jolly jumper much like his big sister did. He is currently working on mastering rolling, and drooling. So much drool. He has just went through a bought of crappy sleep as do most 4 month olds, a tell that we no longer have a newborn but an infant. I am sure we will be busy chasing him once he is on the move.

Our fur baby is still here. He turned 10 years old this fall. His days are spent sleeping in various cozy places, his newest location being the top bunk in Z's room. He is currently protesting the cold snap we are going through, so his evenings he spends wandering looking for a a warm cozy place to curl up. He took one little walk in the neighbourhood this fall after Logan was born. He snuck out of the patio door while Brett & Zaeya were bringing in dishes from supper. Thankfully we found him in the easement down the way from our house, just before another roaming tom cat found him. Brett was able to catch him before a full out cat fight ensued. Mostly he is the same old Pixel, full of personality (his own of course), but we still love him.

Our travels this year took us to a few different places. Beside Vegas in March, we went camping at Grasslands National Park in the south end of the province. We have always gone to Waskesiu in the summer, but we thought we should try out the other National Park in the province. It did not disappoint. The first night we stayed in a bed in breakfast down by Coronach. A cozy little place, that probably was very popular in its day when people still used to live in the south. The owners were a charming couple with lots of stories and history of the area to tell. The park is split into the East and West block. We were closest to the East block from Coronach and put up our tent for the night. We were almost the only people in the small campground (1 other tenter, and 1-2 other trailers). They said that next year the campground would be completely different. They were bringing in power and pads to try and get more people to the park. Kinda of sad. The experience is so neat, and undisturbed. The East block has the views. You can even hike out to known dinosaur remains. The remainder of our trip was spent in the West Block sleeping in a Sioux Tipi. Sooo cool. If you ever have the chance I highly recommend. So worth it. And Scotty the T-Rex at the Discovery Centre is a short drive away. Most people think of SK as flat and a boring drive, but if you leave the Number 1, you will find the views. The bald prairies are truly beautiful.

Brett and I attended Craven again this year. Zaeya stayed with my parents, which gave Brett and I the daytime to prep the kids rooms, and the late afternoons/evenings out at Craven. The shows were great again. It's always a great time to listen to country music and the sun sets in The Valley.

We went tenting for a week at Good Spirit Provincial Park. Good Spirit really is nice, and the lake is perfect for little kids. The water is very shallow, Z could walk way out there, and it never turns green because the sand is constantly moving. We spent most of the days on the beach playing in the sand and water. A few thunderstorms rolled through, but we were well set up in our site with our tent. Yup, we are still tenters. There is something about sleeping in a tent. Even when you are four weeks from your due date.

Our last road trip was in late September when we drove to Calgary for the weekend to attend the wedding of Brett's cousin Rob. Logan was just over a month old, and we weren't sure, but we decided to make the trek. A 8 hr drive that took much longer because we had to stop and feed Logan every couple of hours, but it actually wasn't all that bad. I definitely enjoyed our little road trip, and we made a stop at the Calgary Zoo on the way home for Z, okay me too. The penguins were the highlight for me.

That is about all that we did in 2016. It was a busy year, but enjoyable. As always we look forward and dream of what 2017 will bring us. This year marks the 150th of Canada becoming a nation, and the government is giving out National Park passes for free. We are still trying to decide how, when and where we will make use of it.

If you are ever in Regina, please give us a shout, we always love a visit. If we are out your way, we will try our best to stop in and say hi. Well I really should post this before it is 2018. Wishing all the best in 2017. From our little family to yours,

Love Brett, Dani, Pixel, Zaeya & Logan