We hope your 2011 has been wonderful so far.
Joe had a nice long 3 weeks off of work for his Christmas hiatus. Our Christmas was spent at home. It was low-key and very nice. Waking up in our own home on Christmas morning is great now that we have little kiddos. Wendi’s parents came to celebrate with us from Arizona and stayed about 5 days. The girls always love having family around.
The New Year saw Joe headed back to work on Zeke and Luther and Piper back to school to start the second half of her Kindergarten year. It is truly exciting to see what Piper is learning and accomplishing daily. She is learning addition and subtraction, how to tell time (with the big and little hands!), writing paragraphs, and reading things we never dreamed a Kindergartener could read. Piper has moved to the “big” gym in gymnastics. She passed her first beginners class in her one session and is now learning more advanced skills in beginners 2. She is conquering her fear of performing skills unaccompanied on the [high] balance beam, learning to tumble like a champ, and mastering the uneven bars. She began a cheerleading class about a month ago and with only a few classes left, she has declared that she is bored and would rather return to dance. So in a few weeks, dance class it is! Piper is an amazing big sister and her imagination fuels some very exciting adventures for Finley and her.
Finley trails Piper’s every step, mimicking her every action, and picking up every bit of skill and knowledge she can scrounge! She is in preschool 2 ½ days every week and has a blast there. Fin can be heard singing a variety of songs at any given moment. She loves pretending to sound out words while reading, just as Piper does. Fin is still in gymnastics also, though in the “little” gym, and she is a tenacious little booger! About a month ago Fin started her very first dance class and is in the Tiny Twos! It is as adorable as it sounds. They do 15 minutes of ballet and 15 minutes of tap in each class. Fin has an amazing attention span when it comes to her class and resists the urge to follow the other little girls who are constantly running in and out of class to their parents, etc.
Joe is still having a good time working on Zeke and Luther and word on the street is that this will most likely be the last season. Although it is a highly rated show for Disney Channel, it is their most expensive show to produce due to heavy stunts in most episodes. A three-season run has been a blessing and now we look to the future as we have done so many times before. Joe has also started running on his lunch breaks and after long days at work. One of his co-workers was a rabbit (pacer) for marathons and has really challenged Joe…and Joe has stepped up. He is currently running sub 7-minute miles and has really upped his mileage in recent days. If memory serves, he is at ±8 miles a day. Pretty sure there are some races in his future.
Typically the first 3 months of the year are down time for photographers and this year has been no exception for Wendi. She has been assistant shooting at weddings on weekend here and there and is beginning to market weddings herself. She is using the down time to reflect on what worked and did not work for the business in the previous year, shoot creatively for herself, organize the office, spend more quality time with the girls, and create new jewelry designs. She has been assistant shooting at weddings on weekends here and there and is beginning to market weddings herself. She still really enjoys making jewelry and it is a nice creative outlet. There has not been as much emphasis on marketing/advertising her jewelry but that is a definite focus for 2011. As far as running goes, Joe has lit the fire under Wendi but she rejoices if she completes 4 miles without crawling home. She runs, but a runner she is not!!
We have really been working on the landscaping in our front and back yards. It is fun to see our plans come to fruition, albeit s-l-o-w-l-y! Southern California has had some fickle weather in the past months but we’ve had our share of Spring-like days and we are taking FULL advantage. Next on our list is rebuilding our single and double gates leading to the backyard. We’ve got a design and now it is time to pull the trigger. We both know how much work it is going to be so we might be subconsciously dragging our feet a bit! Just maybe.
Joe got the surprise of all time when a few days before his birthday and after a long day at work he walked in our living room to find his mom and sister Shelbë sitting on our couch. His reaction was priceless and so sweet. They were able to stay Thursday to Tuesday. Over the weekend we had a few friends over for Joe’s fondue birthday dinner. Wine, great food, family, and friends made the day truly special for Joe. The girls loved every single moment that Gran and Shel were here and they did not let Aunt Shel rest. I am pretty sure Shel went home and slept two days straight! {Wendi had separation anxiety too and is looking at real estate in Florida as you read this! :) }
We really hope everyone is healthy and happy. Have a wonderful Easter and Spring.
All our love,
Joe, Wendi, Piper, and Finley Solari
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