2012 Annual Holiday Newsletter

As I sit down to write this annual letter from my outside back deck (yes, it's still warm enough to be outside here in Texas), I'm amazed at the little boy I see nearby playing swiftly and fearlessly on his bikes.  It's hard to imagine how much change Rick and I've seen in Palmer since this time last year when Palmer was just starting to toddle.

2012 has been very good to our family.

Palmer will be two in March and is such a crazy, yet fun kid.  He's "all boy" and loves anything with wheels.  He's most happy when outside on a golf cart or a bike.  

He's also played more holes of golf this year with his father than me.  Palmer loves to ride along with Rick and has the attention span for a good nine holes or so.

Palmer goes to preschool at our church and relishes in the activities and friends from his class.  He has a best friend at school and will tell me each day that he and his buddy played with the cars, rode bikes, and ate snacks.  In Palmer's world that is a pretty stellar day.  

I began the year freelancing for various news networks and political advertising or corporate advertising gigs.  Freelancing gave me a good balance to try to juggle work and our young family.  In April, a downtown architect firm booked me to do some temporary producing for their 3D animation and imaging studio.  When approached later that summer to go full-time, I was fortunate to negotiate a part-time schedule that allows for stable work without travel and room to spend time with Palmer and address family obligations.

In February, I jumped on the chance to visit my dear friend Adrienne in Doha, Qatar for 10 days.  

Adrienne and I had a whirlwind visit filled with sand dune bashing, golf tournaments, a day-trip to Dubai, horse racing, good food, and great company.  I was also able to catch up on some much-needed sleep from the many waking hours of the first 10 months of Palmer's life.

Rick continues on his law firm path at Gardere Wynne.  This past fall has been especially busy, with lots of year-end mergers and acquisitions activity related to tax law changes.  We are looking forward to celebrating the end of a busy workload with a family trip to San Jose del Cabo, Mexico in March.  

My sister Samantha lived with us for the summer before moving to DC for a job transfer.  We were so grateful for the few months she spent, even if she took over not one, but two guest rooms.  Palmer loved having his Aunt Samantha across the hall and greatly misses her now that she is so many miles away.  

Palmer and I have already managed to squeeze in a long weekend up in DC and had so much fun seeing Samantha all settled in her new surroundings.  Palmer's highlight was the airport with all of the airplanes and "golf carts", or luggage carts.

Palmer on Samantha's Georgetown stoop:

We also snuck away to Horseshoe Bay with our dear friends, Brian and Sara, for a few days.  It was so fun to spend time at the place of our wedding four years ago and enjoy a new definition of vacation with two toddlers running around.  Rick thinks we should bring a nanny next time.  Thank goodness for nap time!

Our maltipoo, Boston, continues to be a favorite of Palmer's and endures a lot of "love" from our wild child, including playing the part of a horse in Palmer's horsey ride fantasies.  It's a win-win relationship for the dog and Palmer because Boston's upside is getting to sneak food from Palmer when we're not looking.  The two seem to have made a private deal on sharing food.

I hope this letter finds your home warm and happy.  We love hearing all of your updates and please continue to check our blog regularly for the latest on our crazy household.

-Bethany, Rick, & Palmer