A look back at 2014

What a year!

I honestly think that this year FLEW by!

This year I decided to do a little recap in our Christmas Card and I thought that it was appropriate to also share about our year on here!

This was a fun and exciting year for the Park Family! A LOT of change. 

On March 25th we welcomed Gibson Robert Park and adjusted easily as a family of FIVE! It helps that Gibson is a happy little guy and sleeps like a champ. If only he could gain weight so well!

Hunter turned two in September and started, half-day, pre-school at a local church. He loves the interaction with the other children and is busy learning his ABCs!

Emma just finished her TENTH season of soccer with an amazing group of girls! She is in the 5th grade advanced placement class at her school and is extremely interested in computer programing. 

Matt and Julie both entered into new jobs this year! Matt joined Booz Allan and Julie was detailed over to Joint Staff Protocol in The Pentagon. Her year at Joint Staff is almost up and she looks forward to seeing what 2015 will bring for her. 

We also feel so blessed that many of our wonderful friends have become parents this year. It was so exciting to welcome so many new little babies into the mix and we cannot wait to watch them grow and see their little personalities develop. 

Now before the start of 2015 I wanted to take a look back at my favorite posts from this year.


January

I loved throwing a brunch for my best friend Holly's Baby shower

One of the dishes from the shower included this AMAZING Overnight Eggnog French Toast

February

I really enjoyed sharing the plans for Gibson's Nursery

I'm still in love with the gray walls!

March 

Instantly in love with this little guy! We welcomed Gibson Robert Park

I will forever treasure the photos that my friend Virginia took of his arrival!

April 
This Little Prince First Birthday Party that I helped out with

May
An amazing Mother's Day

June
A fun refresh for my desk at work

July
Easy Chalkboard Playtable

Delish Sausage Stuffed Peppers

August
We tried out Amazon Pantry for the first time 

I painted my nephew William's room and it was not without complications

September
Emma went back to school and Hunter started his first year of Pre-school

Hunter Man Turned Two and had a construction themed Birthday Party

October 
We started getting Kiwi Crates 

A fun family trip to the Hunting Club

November
A GREAT trip to Travers City. Photos here and here

Shared Emma's Homework Tray 

December
Park Family Advent 

Easy gift for neighbors 

We ended the year with 61,395 page views!




Here were my favorite posts from 2013

Merry Christmas Recap 2014

The Park family had a pretty spectacular Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we went over to Matt's Aunt and Uncles house for appetizers and cocktails with family and we attended the Children service at their church. Hunter loved going up to the stage during the story of the first Christmas and Santa made an appearance to talk about baby Jesus and his gift.

After church we headed home to make cookies to leave out for Santa... Hunter might have taken a bight out of a few of the cookies.... opps I think we had a hard time comprehending that they were not for him.

On Christmas morning we actually went about business as usual since Emma was at her Dad's that morning and we wanted to wait for her. There were tons of gifts around and full stockings but Hunter had self control and didn't touch anything. It was rather amazing!

Once Emma arrived it was game on! She got here around 12:15 and my parents came over as well. I made us all matching pj pants... Matt ended up with shorts...

Here are some photos from our day.

This is what sexy looks like by the way... your welcome!

AMAZING King Crab Leg Pasta

On Christmas Day my parents surprised us with some Alaskan Kind Crab Legs and they were delish!

There was only so much that we could eat though and we were left with 1.5 lbs of shelled meat at the end of the night. Not waiting to waste anything I made the most amazing King Crab Leg Fettuccine Pasta dish for dinner the night after Christmas! 

 

¾	pound fettuccine
2	tablespoons butter
2	tablespoons chopped garlic
10	Grape tomatoes
12	canned artichoke heart halves
¼	cup dry white wine
1	pint heavy cream
½	cup grated Parmesan cheese
1	pound king crab leg meat
2	tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. Drain and reserve. 

Heat butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds. 

Add tomatoes and saute until lightly browned. Add artichokes and toss with tomatoes and garlic. 

Deglaze the pan with wine for 30 seconds. Add cream and Parmesan; simmer to reduce and thicken for 1-2 minutes. 

Add crab and reserved fettuccine and toss to thoroughly heat and coat. 

Divide among 4 pasta bowls or plates and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

I used the remaining 1/5 lb of crab meat in a hot dip for a dinner party that we hosted last night and it was also AMAZING!!!