Delaney Family Yearly Update Letter – 2012

Dear Family & Friends,

We hope that 2013 is treating you well so far. As we reflect back on 2012, it has admittedly been a challenging year for us. It seems to have dealt more than its fair share of grief and stress, but there have certainly been many wonderful times too. And perhaps the hard times have reminded us more than ever to not take a single blessing for granted, and to make every moment count.

First, a quick update on each of us. Near the beginning of the year, Brian’s company was acquired by Adobe Systems. We feared at first that we would have to move to California, but for now they seem content to let us (and the rest of his small office) remain in Colorado. He writes software for their social marketing suite, and is enjoying both his job and the perks of being an Adobe employee. In his spare time, he still loves to go hiking, and often takes off on long solo hikes. Some of his solo hikes this year included Pikes Peak, Mt. Rosa, and Almagre. He was training to do his first triathlon last summer, but unfortunately a nagging hip injury forced him to put it off another year.

Jaime is busy being a tutor, babysitter, taxi driver, maid, cook, bookkeeper, travel agent… oh wait, that’s just being a wife and mom, ha! In what little spare time she finds, she tries to do a little reading, blogging, and scrapbooking. Overahauling the family website was a major project this fall. She enjoys running, and even completed a “Marathon Week” at the gym recently. The whole family ran in several 5K races last winter and spring, but with Brian’s injury we have all put them on hold for a while. Hopefully we can get back into it this year.

Lily, now 9 years old, has been having a very successful year. We tried something a little different for school this year – she is enrolled in Falcon Virtual Academy. All of her courses are provided by the school district (online). She spends 2 days/week in the building doing classes and activities with her teachers, and the other 3 days working on her assignments at home. So far it seems to be the “best of both worlds”, and we are happy to have found a situation that is working for her.  She competed in several triathlons this summer, and is now on a new swim team! They practice 5 days a week and have meets about once per month, so our lives tend to revolve around swimming quite a bit. She loves it though, and it has been very good for her. She is also still taking violin lessons, though she had to give up her other activities for swimming.

Owen, now 2 years old, is nothing but BOY! He loves to play, and climb, and jump, and generally be wild, as little boys should. He is really starting to communicate well now, and speaking in longer and more complex sentences every day. He is taking two different gymnastics classes, which he loves, a great way to build some skills and burn off all that energy! He has also done a session of swim lessons and loves the water almost as much as his sister. Who, by the way, is his best buddy. They enjoy each other immensely, and it is so much fun to watch them play together. The 7-year gap between them does not stop them from liking many of the same games!

And last, we still have our now 12-year old dog, Nala. She is really showing her age these days, but seems to be healthy overall. Both of the kids just adore her, and she appreciates the attention, and table scraps, that they give her.

So, now for some highlights of our year. In January, we took our usual winter vacation to Copper Mountain. We have gotten so spoiled to staying in a slopeside condo there! Brian and Lily skied all over the mountain, and Jaime did some snowshoeing.

In March, we took another winter trip, this time to Estes Park. For Christmas, Brian’s parents had given us a private snowshoe tour in Rocky Mountain National Park, so they came up to Estes with us for the weekend to take care of Owen while we were out playing in the snow. We had a nice couple of days in a quiet cabin, and the trip would soon become a bittersweet, but very cherished memory, of the time we spent together.

Later in March, Jaime, Lily, and Owen made a trip down to Florida to visit her family. They spent a couple of nights at Disney World! No theme parks this time, but we had a lot of fun at Downtown Disney and even went to dinner with Cinderella. And we got to meet the newest cousin – baby Aiden who was only a few weeks old!
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In April, the tone of the year changed. Rather unexpectedly, Brian’s dad passed away due to complications from a recent brain surgery. It was a devastating loss for the whole family, and we are all still trying to adjust to this new reality without him. It has been hard, to say the least.

The next few months would seem to be filled with minor stresses and problems. Jaime was in a small car accident in the Scion. Shortly after, we traded it for a new Subaru Outback. Within a few weeks, we were caught on the interstate in a hailstorm. Over $7000 of damage, while it still had the dealer tags on it. The same storm caused our newly finished basement to flood, a problem we would deal with several more times throughout the summer.

And speaking of summer, it was a hot one. The month of June shattered every temperature record and officially went down in history as the hottest month ever for Colorado Springs. It would have been more bearable if our air conditioner hadn’t chosen that exact time to die. We spent many sweltering afternoons hiding in the basement. And are wondering if we can manage another summer without it.

The heat wasn’t the worst of it though. Later in June, the Waldo Canyon fire roared to life, scorching one of our beloved hiking areas. Then one hot afternoon, it stormed over the ridge and into town. Brian’s mom was evacuated, and for several tense days we feared her house had been lost. It was a terrifying time, and the memory of it haunts us still. Even here on the east side of town, we had ash falling in our yard, and a house full of smoke and soot for weeks.

The summer wasn’t all bad though. We did take a really awesome vacation to Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks. We hiked and explored, and Brian and Lily even did a 2-night backpacking adventure! It was beautiful country for sure, and we made a lot of wonderful memories.

Almost immediately after getting home, Lily was taking off again. This time to her first away-camp! She spent a week at the YMCA Camp Shady Brook (about 2 hours away, up in the mountains). She loved it so much she didn’t want to come home, and is excited to go again next summer. While she was there, she met a friend who lives in Durango. Later in the summer, she flew down to spend a week with her as well. She also climbed Pikes Peak with Brian one weekend! She is growing up, I suppose.

In August, we returned to Copper for the Warrior Dash, and Jaime even competed this time! Brian’s hip was still bothering him, but he didn’t let it slow him down. Climbing walls, mud pits, and fire were only a few of the obstacles we faced on the 3-mile run. We had a great time and are happy to have made this an end-of-summer tradition.

In October, we squeezed one more vacation with a return trip to Moab, Ut. We went many years ago, intending to come back soon but never made it. We visited Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, and as always we enjoyed our time outdoors and the spectacular scenery.

And finally, just a few days ago we returned from our Christmas trip to Florida to visit Jaime’s family. We spent a day at Legoland, and even snuck over to Disney World one night for dinner. And the cousins got to enjoy lots of time together. Back in September, Jaime’s mom had surgery to remove a brain tumor. Recovery has been difficult, and while we were there, she unfortunately had to be hospitalized again. We had a nice visit though.

So, that has been our year, both the good and the bad. Hopefully 2013 will be filled with more of the “good” though J. Don’t forget to check out our newly-remolded website http://www.delaneyweb.com, and find us on Facebook if you haven’t already!

Love,

Brian, Jaime, Lily and Owen