.........................Lines from the Loehrs: 2011: Our Year in Review

A look back at our life in 2011! We are truly blessed!

January: Our little pup decided to pull double duty: looking out for rabbits and warming up in the window sill. We saw Mr. "Double Dream Hands" himself as our keynote speaker at an annual music teacher's convention. Not only did we meet him, we learned the famous dance, and watched my friend Kimberly as she was totally star-struck and giggly by the presence of John Jacobson. :)

February: We welcomed Snowklahoma I and II and got, count e'm: 11 snow days! It was craziness, and we loved every second. The Wehunts were snowed in with us, and Dustin begrudgingly built a snow lump with me. We spent some down time at the gun range, eating cheese soup, and celebrated a fun Valentine's day at Lottinvilles with each other. Dustin also sang in the wedding of one of his close college buddies.

March: This month was bittersweet. We said goodbye to my sweet and funny Mimi, and celebrated her incredible life that blessed so many. We caught up with the Reikowsky side of the family, and celebrated the marriage of Seth and Maddie. It was a truly gorgeous and perfect wedding! We're so glad to have you in the family, Maddie!

April: My first graders performed a book by the cutest and most hilarious Oklahoma author I know: Molly Levite Griffis! She was gracious enough to come see our little performance of her precious book, and meet and visit with the kiddos. I was given a toilet-paper roll rendition of myself, celebrated Seth's 24th bday with the fam, and enjoyed Easter with the Loehrs and Clarks. As you can see, Dustin is slightly competitive when it comes to the Easter egg hunt...

May: We had a BLAST during our Wehunt-Fite-Loehrs weekend at the lake house. There is never, ever a dull moment when you combine these couples. (Click here fore more pics.) We celebrated my incredible mother-in-law on Mother's day at Othello's, found what I think is a record breaking strawberry, ate at Pop's, and narrowly missed having to use our tornado shelter for the first time. I found out what worldly possessions truly mattered to me as we prepared for the storm. We also enjoyed quality time with the Clark side at the Bomar's fabulous pool. Happy birthday, Grandma!

June: I channeled my high school dance skills as we led hundreds of kiddos in worship during summer VBS. Dustin broke his guitar-playing wrist in a holly bush removal project gone wrong. Don't worry, out of guilt, my dad decided to join him in the broken wrist club a few weeks later while in Hawaii. Dustin and I were also honored and blessed to sing in the wedding of my beautiful cousin Brittani, and her awesome husband, Nick! A. dor. a. ble. wedding!

June: We were so excited for the soon-to-be arrival of baby Peyton! We celebrated all things girly, at Inspirations Tea Room with Kelly. I'm impressed my pregnant friends survived one of the hottest Oklahoma summers on record! You girls are champs!

July: Dustin and I were the official parade drivers of Senator (and friend) Clark Jolley! :) We had a blast! (More July 4th pics here!) Marlow got to have some friends over, and it was Bostie mania in the Loehrs household.

August: Dustin and I went on an a true dream vacation in Florida, where I got to check off numero uno on my bucket list: swimming with manatees. SQUEAL!!! (More pics here) We also met two precious babies who came into the world: Peyton Wehunt and Kallen Fite. We just love these families and their precious kiddos. After vacation, I put my new classroom together and started teaching at my new school! Thanks Katie, for the sweet first-day-of-school gift! I'm blessed to have such tremendous friends!

September: God answered a huge prayer in the most perfect way (as he always does): we got a new car!!! Dustin took me on a date at Cuppies and Joe, we celebrated the bday of Mrs. Kelly Wehunt with cupcakes, a girls night, and chick flicks... Rememeber my attempt at decorating, Kelly? Glad you love me for me, or I'd be in trouble. :)

October: My second graders turned into "Wild Things" for our first program, and Kelly sent me the sweetest care package every, during a particularly stressful time for me. (Again, I don't deserve friends like these!) D and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary at the Melting Pot, had a combo b-day party for Logan and Dustin at Irma's (Yes, boxes of bullets were among the gifts given.), Chloe and Lo came back from Grandma's in Halloween fashion, and we channeled our inner kids for Evan's birthday party.

November: I. love. fall. We enjoyed the beautiful weather, decorated with pumpkins galore, and snapped a pic on 11-11-11 at 11:11, because we're cool like that. The Loehrs and Clarks gave thanks together and had a great holiday. Please note the intentional poses of Seth, Logan, and Devin.... need I say more? That's a lot of orneriness for one room.

December: My little helper watched as we decorated the tree, Dustin took me to The Nutcracker for my first time, to my extreme excitement, I got a sweet little "just because" delivery at work, and celebrated my (YIKES) 27th birthday. Logan read a Christmas picture book to our family, and did an alarmingly accurate impersonation of the Humphrey the camel... We opened gifts, followed family tradition and had Chinese food together, and as is totally normal for us, Logan and I chased each other around the house, and I lost a fight with a basket of pine cones, and limped for the rest of the night. We also had so much fun ringing in 2012 with great friends!