Top 10 of 2012.

At the end of the year a lot of news outlets flood us with the Top 10 _____  Fill In The Blank of Whatever year it is.

I have done this in the past and thought it would be good to look back a bit and pick out some of the LakeHaus gang's bests of 2012.

11. (Hon. Mention)  SDSU Football games with the family.  No better way to spend a Saturday in the Fall.

10. Maxim scoring his first and only goal and an assist in his last game of the hockey season last year...Brecken making it to state in wrestling and finishing in the top 12 in the state.

9. Our annual snomobile trip to the Hills with the Fasts was again cut short by weather...but those trips home on sheer ice are still frequent conversations.

8. Kolby was the first of our "younglings" to wakeboard this season...and it was her very first time.  The water was cold, but she showed her brothers who is BOSS.

7. Since this is number 7 I will take it for myself.  I turned 40, put on almost 15 pounds and had knee surgery all within a 30 day window.  The pounds are coming off again, but the age isn't.

6. The epic family vacation to the Black Hills, our first real family vacation since Kolby joined the group.  A big storm, driving all the way to Wind Cave and finding out it was closed and all the kids really wanted to do was swim and play on the water slides at the hotel.

5. Watching the water level drop...pretty sure the lake is 4 feet shallower than it was a year ago.  A little nervous that we might have to go to the Missouri next year to enjoy our boat.

4. Our new cat.  We adopted "Kisses Read More Books" as "our" cat.  She kept hanging around and let Kolby and Brecken abuse her with "love".  So we let her hang out in our garage and give her the occasional table food.  (The real reason she is still here...she mouses like a champ!)

3.  Grandma and Grandpa Decker moved back to Huron.  They have a house 2 down from ours but live on the farm and the kids love having all 4 of their Grandparents at their immediate disposal.

2.  LakeHaus Productions...thanks to our customers enjoyed a very successful year.  Stephanie has logged more hours on a computer and a phone than she gets paid for, but she keeps the thing running with a smile.

1.  4th of July.  EPIC Party week.  To me the 4th is like Christmas where you can go outside and enjoy the whole family...not just the ones who want to go outside.  Grandpa Bob hosted over 100 people at our house for his famous 4th of July Chuck Wagon Festival Breakfast.  Carson was at our house to spend time with his little cousins who adore him.  The weather was perfect, the water was calm and the fireworks didn't almost kill people this year...we have learned a bit as we have aged.  I really do enjoy the 4th as much as Christmas.  Forgive me if I put out a nativity scene next July...we can celebrate Jesus' birth twice a year, right?

That is the list....there will be more of the same in 2013 I am sure of it, sans the knee surgery and me turning 40...have a Blessed Christmas and enjoy your family this Holiday Season.

I will post a Family Christmas card in the next week or so and then take a break from the blog until after the first of the year.