2022 - A Year in Review

So much of this year was just every day life. I'll try to post just the "bigger" moments or the highlights, but we'll see! There are some cute pictures of every day life too!

JANUARY

We went out to Agassiz to celebrate Christmas during the epic ice storm. The power was out when we got there so we had a very memorable time.

We visited Opa & Oma Gerber at their new place in Elim & visit with Jesse and Kirstin. Our first known COVID exposures, which lead to us all getting a mild case the following week. 

Date night with Ashleigh at Cactus Club

I left Eva with someone other than a grandparent for the first time ever!

Ironically right after the COVID exposures we got Dom's first COVID vaccine.

I had my 2-night Mommy Vacation in Vancouver!! I suspected I had a very minor case of COVID, so did basically nothing other than watching a whole season of Too Hot to Handle and going for one distanced walk on the seawall.

It finally happened. Right after I got home I tested positive.

Dom starts soccer with Soccer Shots!

FEBRUARY

We got an early (false) start to Spring and my mental health was better than it had been in a year! Mid-month I left my Postpartum Support Group which met every Monday for months. I had received my medical records from my trauma after hemorrhaging 3 days postpartum with Eva and through the support group, therapy, and receiving those records, I had the closure I needed. It was an absolutely freeing feeling. It still affects me at times, but after making the decision not to have any more children, my mind is not consumed by it. 

Dave and Brent got second row, penalty box side seats to a Canucks Game. The kids even spotted them on TV!. 

We got a tour at the Creekside Dairy Farm in Agassiz!

We returned to "regular" church for the first time in a very long time as a family.

We got to see Jeff & Marta's renovations after buying Opa & Oma's old house and moving to Surrey!

We visited Bobo Moma at Elim with everyone. 

Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent performed at the Superbowl Half-time show

We celebrated Valentines Day with these very treasured cards of reasons we each of the kids are loved.

Marta hooked us up with box seats to an afternoon Family Day Giants Game where Emilia and I also got to ride the "Fanboni".

A walk/ride down to the Honeybee Centre with Aunty Sonya

A rare get together with all the Kimber fam in Agassiz

MARCH

We discovered Art for Kids Hub and it became a weekly staple in the house for Dom & Emilia for the rest of the year. 

Eva started walking!!

Dom wrapped up Soccershots. 

Caught up with some old friends at Jeff & Marta's after watching a hockey game, and got to meet some of their kids!

Gas prices shot up to $2.099. We didn't realize that would just be the start of it, but it was very shocking at the time!

We went to Myles' first birthday party in Vancouver. Dom asks me all the time when we can do that again. 

One of my favorite photos ever of Eva. Her grin <3

Everyone got the stomach flu. It was our first experience with it with kids, and it sucked, but was just a 24 hour thing so we managed. 

Dave turned 31 and celebrated with a poker night in the garage!

I babysat Phoebe for an evening and got to spend some quality time with her.

I took all 3 kids to Costco by myself. I was still getting comfortable taking them all out on my own (frankly I still am), so this was a milestone moment!

We took all the kids swimming at W.C. Blair in Murrayville.

We attended a big Gerber celebration gathering at Bose Farms with most of the family and got to meet the babies who had been born since COVID!

Phoebe turned 1!

We had one of many impromptu trips to the library and playdates with Ash & Phoebe. I miss mat leave!

Ashleigh and I went to Marta's for lunch one day with mimosas and poke bowls. The weather was so much nicer than we anticipated! Just barely spring time! Means we are going to have a super nice warm spring right? ... Wrong!

April

A date night with the Chickalettas

Dom started his next season of Soccer Shots.

We started having outdoor dinners with Jesse & Kirstin again.

We got Dom & Emilia's class picture. Still makes me laugh! Dom is the only one not looking at the camera. What is he even doing! Love it. 

Eva got her first fat lip after falling off a short rubbermaid bucket. 

The start of Spin classes!

Dom started doing addition with bigger numbers randomly. 

After dropping the kids off at my parents, we went to a friend's birthday party an drank too much and stayed up too late. In the morning we got to take our time getting up, and even took Sherlock for a walk at White Rock before fetching the kidlets. This was much needed and reminiscent of pre-kid days. 

Dave took Dom ice skating for the first time. He fell constantly, but was happier than a pig in shit.

We got a basketball hoop on Marketplace and it was used just about every day of the year by us or a neighbour. 

Miss Eva turned ONE! She was (and is) an absolute ray of sunshine. Despite her existence being a huge cause for a difficult year for me, she's also one of the main things that got me through that tough year. 

We used a gift card and got a date night out at Annora in Langley. One of the better meals we'd ever had!

Easter celebrations.

Jesse redid the flooring in our entryway. I still appreciate that every time I see it haha.

Preschool field trip to A Rocha.

We celebrated Eva's first birthday with an outdoor party!

I went to my first drag show! One of the funnest nights I've ever had.

Had some quality JARS time at Adam & Aly's rental overlooking Science World where Aly "diagnosed" me with a brachial plexus stretch injury from me trying to console Eva most of the drive home from Agassiz the week prior.

MAY

I started going to spin before work on Wednesdays and may never go back!

Miss Emilia turned 4!

We had Emilia's birthday dinner (and maybe Mother's Day dinner?) at Jeff & Marta's

We celebrated Bobo Moma's 91st birthday

We had Scott, Ash and Wes over for a margarita night. Super fun evening of poker, Rockband and laughing.

Another preschool field trip to the Honeybee Centre. I'm so glad I can be a part of these things.

Many summery days spent and memories made at Jeff & Marta's! This day I was so burnt out and Dave took all 3 kids to their place so I could be alone. Then Marta picked me up and brought me over there while the babies were napping and we just relaxed and sat in the sun. Mom & Dad came over for gourmet burgers afterwards and a racoon visited our get together. It was quite possibly the perfect day haha. 

We celebrated my half-birthday with a dinner at Savio Volpe with Mom & Dad. Take two! Our first try on my 30th birthday was a disaster because the the restaurant's chimney caught fire before we could even order our food. The restaurant and food lived up to the hype!

We took Dom to Kindergarten Day!

Eva transitioned from 2 naps to 1 nap in a day. I decided I wanted to go to Tot Romp and just did it. Cold turkey. She never looked back! 

Cheeks.

JUNE

Dom's second round of soccer ended. 

Everyone got a cold and when we were finally over it and done being cooped up, we made a spontaneous trip to the zoo!

The Complete Champion Challenge with work

Dom had his first ever playdate without one of us there. He was picked up and brought to Williams Park to play with a boy he didn't even know. Go D!

The last day of preschool! A bitter sweet moment for me. I really cherished those two 4-hour days where the kids were out, and knew that this was the end of us all being home together most days since Dom was starting Kindergarten after this summer. 

Dom & Emilia went to their first ever friend birthday party.

We attended my Great Uncle Gerry's funeral.

We went to watch some of the Dog Agility Regionals in Langley where Aunty Lana was running Fynn and Voltage! Our van got stuck in the mud at the end and we had to be towed out by Grandpa's truck. Oops.

We had so so so many playdates. Every day there was a playdate. Missing those days now!

I took the kids to Fleetwood water park where Opa & Oma decided to join (thank goodness)! Not sure why I was feeling so brave haha.

Summer days in Agassiz.

I continued feeling more confident going out of the house and had a "go bucket" full of kids water clothes, sun screen, change of clothes, etc. We could spur of the moment pack up and go to a picnic or a water park!

My parents took the kids overnight so we could have a date night and go out with Scott & Ash, where we asked them to be the kids' guardians if anything were ever to happen to us. 

JULY

Opa took D&E to the Canada Day Parade at Elim with Bobo Moma.

I took the kids swimming with Scott & Ash. Out of my comfort zone, but glad I did it!

We celebrated Grandpa's birthday at Rachel & Kyle's in Abbotsford.

After a long hiatus I tried out throwing the ball for Sherlock again. Earlier in the year (February) he randomly injured himself and had to get a shot and take anti-inflammatories from the vet. That totally spooked me and I was afraid of him getting really hurt. Our childhood dog Jewel had to have two knee surgeries so it was valid. Before going to the cabin we wanted to test him. He was happier in that 10 minutes than he had been in months. His favorite thing! <3

We had our first vacation of the year; a week at the cabin! It was beautiful and warm and sunny, we got to go wine tasting, the boys got to go golfing, and all the babies + Dom got hand foot mouth together! Fun? Yes. Memorable? Yes. Some of the worst days/nights of our summer? Yes. Worth it? Definitely.

We started bringing Sherlock to a local pond/lake to chase the ball and swim after he lost a few pounds and had so so so much fun at the cabin. His #1 favorite activity in the whole world!

Since the weather was so hot, we spent many afternoons/evenings at Jesse and Kirstin's as their place stays a few degrees cooler than ours with the AC on their main floor. We seriously considered a few times this year getting AC put into our house. We just don't have $8K kicking around to do it!

After a playdate, I decided to take the kids to McDonald's for a Happy Meal where Dave joined us. It was their second time ever having McDonald's, and first time eating in the "restaurant". They felt pretty special!

We had a heat wave that gave me some PTSD from the "heat dome" of 2021. It was 40+ with the humidex and our house was so hot we could hardly breathe. I was triggered by last year with a newborn trying to chase AC and fearing for her life, so we were glad to have a few options for ways to beat the heat (sort of). 

We went to the Kimber Family Reunion BBQ in Abbotsford. I was anxious about being outdoors in that heat, but it ended up being really enjoyable and relatively comfortable in the shade (or in the house with the AC). We even got to ride on the gator and pick fresh blueberries from the field. 

AUGUST

Camping trip at North Thompson River Provincial Park. We drove 5+ hours each way and TENTED (well Gramma and Grandpa had a trailer, but we were in a tent with Eva) and had no running water. That's about as rustic as I get haha! We hiked/walked with the kids and saw some beautiful waterfalls, played lots of games, went to a beach, and didn't really sleep. Many memories were made on this trip.

My mom took the kids for 6 hours one day so I could do some things. I included a solo date to Cactus Club for myself and it was glorious. I wish I had more alone time...

Mom took us and Scott & Ash on the ferry to Victoria for a whirlwind trip, mostly so Dom & Emilia could experience the ferry. Ash's mom watched both Phoebe and Eva for us so we could just spend some time with the big kids! Boy... big kids are a lot easier than toddlers :). 

Possibly my favorite picture of these two <3

We planted our leaves from Marta's plant that we grew roots for. (They're thriving now still!)

Emilia started riding her pedal bike instead of the strider and crushing it! With training wheels.

The family went downtown for Adam's birthday snacks, dessert, and grappa. 

Wren got a splash pad from her grandma that is huge and takes up most of the common grass space by our place. It was great for those really hot summer days though.

We got up early and headed out to Agassiz/Harrison for the day with Gramma & Grandpa. Eva LOVED the beach and was not afraid to get wet and dirty. 

Memorable moment when Eva would have drowned if I wasn't standing right there.

Dom suddenly picked up riding a new bike without training wheels! Once he got it he was nonstop. 

I started letting Dom & Emilia play outside semi-supervised which was a game changer for me. 

Sherlock turned 8!

Dave and I took Dom & Emilia to a Vancouver Canadians game. Will definitely be a repeat activity.

SEPTEMBER

Dom started school! Next phase of life. Out the door by 8am Mon-Fri, lunches every day, and Dom out of the house most of the daytime hours during the week. Weird. Different. Good.

We celebrated Owen's first birthday <3

We had a "last day of summer" pool party at Karen & Darcy's. 

Emilia started preschool. Her first time doing anything on her own, without Dom. Big steps!

After Dom kept waking Emilia up too early, we did a room swap randomly one day. We moved Dom into his own room and put the girls together. We're still (4 months later) working on this transition for the girls. It's been a bit clunky, but getting better. Dom is thriving in his own room. 

First school bug. Hand foot mouth. Again. Boo!!! All three kids got it this time. 

Dave went on a hiking trip to Montana for 7 (8?) nights leaving me with all the kids right when they're starting to adjust to school and this room change. Thankfully Gramma came and stayed with me for a few nights because I would not have survived otherwise. 

OCTOBER

I went to Michael Buble with my parents and Katrina. Always been on my "must do" list and it still is because I want to go again! :)

Syrah wine tasting, snacks and Amaretto for Scott's birthday.

I took Emilia for a sushi date after she'd been begging to for months. She actually tried everything, but only really liked the edamame. Good work, girl!

Emilia's preschool class went to the Port Kells Pumpkin Patch.

It was the hottest, driest October I remember. We didn't have a drop rain for a full 100+ days. It was bizarre. So dusty too! Water table in mid-late October??

Seems like a silly thing to note, but we got a hot water tank. It's a big deal because we were informed our tank was at imminent risk of exploding... So grateful we got this done before we had any big issues!

No story here. He's just growing up so much!

We had an unorthodox thanksgiving of boerenkool at Jeff & Marta's. We tried to order pizza to keep it simple, but Scott objected. This was as simple as he would allow it to be haha. 

The Dutchies were in town, so Juanita, Marion, Aunty Sonya and I got pedicures, and we got to meet sweet little Ruben <3

Eva turned 18 months.

The annual Greg & Liz Holmes pumpkin patch event where we got VIP status and were allowed to take as many pumpkins as we wanted.

 

Dom got an early birthday gift from Scott & Ash - golf clubs! He took to them very quickly.

Pumpkin Patch field trip for Dom. It was nearing 30 degrees and SO dusty and gross. Not your typical pumpkin patch outing!

A beautiful fall walk at Tynehead where I felt brave enough to bring the kids on bikes, Eva and Sherlock. I had some help, but it was hairy!

We went to a baby shower for Hannah where I had to be swaddled by my brothers. I understand why babies feel so cozy in a swaddle now.

We made it out to tot romp with Phoebe a few times.

Pumpkin carving & Dave's Harry Potter Halloween! We dressed up the kids and took them trick or treating. We opened the yard October 29 and 31 as the 30th there was a crazy storm. 

NOVEMBER

Fall finally started!

Complete Champions Reception at work = busiest work week of my year plus prepping for MEXICO!!

While we were in Mexico, Emilia was 4.5!

We took our 10th anniversary trip to Mexico at Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal where we had an ocean view room and 7 nights of zero responsibility. Looking forward to the next one in another 10 years! Haha

Back to reality in an instant catching up on life, getting the kids to school, etc. In the midst of that, Jeff & Adam took Scott and I out for an evening on the town for a JARS night! 

Dom woke up with a cough one Saturday so we masked him and went to Rebecca's first ever ballet performance. Throughout the performance Dom developed a fever. He seemed much better by Monday morning, but the other girls... not.

Eva was sicker than I'd ever seen her, and Emilia wasn't doing great either. Very high fever, horrible cough, lethargic, etc. That afternoon my mom tested positive for COVID, and though we hadn't seen them at all in the last week and a bit, Dave randomly took a test too and sure enough. positive. We managed to test Emilia too. Positive. CRAP!!! That was the hardest week of parenting for me. Ever. Including newborn days. 

Nothing like a forced week at home than setting up the Christmas tree a little extra early!

After months we finally got Dom a proper bed. 

Eva was up the entire night one night screaming and thrashing and it continued into the next day so we had to seek medical help for what turned out to be bad constipation causing horrible abdominal pains. That was scary. Don't want to do that again. It was probably caused because of the fever and dehydration from having COVID. My brother asked if there was anything he could do to help and I said, "food." He showed up with a load of groceries that was so appreciated. 

First snow day.

DECEMBER

The start of advent season & tons of Christmassy advent activities. 

Dom started phonetic spelling and I love this so much. 

We had a rare childless evening out at Jeff & Marta's.

Me & Ed's and Lafarge Lake lights for my birthday.

Emilia's Christmas concert where she opted to cheer her classmates on instead of participate. I get that haha. 

We had another rare childless evening out at Scott and Ashleigh's this time.

We got to watch Dom's Kindergarten Christmas performance. Tears (happy tears) were shed <3

Christmas with the S+C Gerber Clan! 

One night in Agassiz turned into two nights in Agassiz when there was a crazy snow/ice/wind storm!

Dom had a dentist appointment and was a total champ!

Since we had gotten over a foot of snow at home, there was a massive pile for the kids to play in and climb on.

We went to the Christmas Eve service at church for the first time in 3 years and it was very good for my heart. Christmas Day was spent mostly at home with just our family. 

Boxing Day = Christmas in Agassiz!

Dom turned 6! Skating, worms & dirt, and hockey in the theatre!

We finally got our family selfie in the light tunnel!

New Years Eve skate and games night with friends at home.

We are excited to see what 2023 has in store for us. The last 3 years have been some sort of survival mode, so I'm hopeful we will get into some sort of sense of "normal" and routine.