Life...in 2010

2010 brings lots of changes and new adventures to our house!  Russell started school Monday...so we're all adjusting to our new even busier schedule!  Hallie's back to school and ballet!

Here's our Christmas letter that I never seemed to get in the mail!  enjoy!  Maybe I'll try tomorrow!  Better late then never!


Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!


January was crazy when Orting got evacuated for flooding. Stefanie had to load up all the daycare kids and head to Russell’s parent’s house in Federal Way. Luckily, the evacuation was a bit of an over reaction and everything was perfectly fine.


Snow in March??? Yes, we had snow in March! Hallie had wanted her room repainted so we finally got around to doing that. She chose the color ‘Poetic Princess,’ appropriate we believe! We also added a member to our family in March. Stefanie finally got her way and we got a dog! Lucy, our black lab, joined our family. What an adventure a puppy is!


Hallie turned 4 in April and we had her birthday party at the pool. Russell finally made Stef give in and cut Nathan’s hair. Although she hated to admit it…it was much cuter after it was cut! Mid April, Nathan decided to swallow a 1 ¼” screw! Off we rushed to the hospital where they transferred us to Children’s. They did an x-ray...which is pretty amazing to see! They had to put him under and attempt to go in and get the screw. Luckily, everything was fine. Unfortunately, at the end of April, Mark had to have Stefanie’s childhood golden retriever, Huckleberry put to sleep. After 16 years, that was one tough day. But, now she sits on Mark’s mantle! J


In May, Stefanie surprised Hallie with tickets to see Taylor Swift. She was beyond ecstatic! She knows every word to every song. While sitting in the arena she asked if she could scream like the other girls. Stef told her she could sing the songs as loud as she wanted. She loved that part and came home with a sore throat! Nathan moved from his crib to his big boy fire truck bed. He loves it…especially the light siren! May 18th our family grew a bit more, Stefanie’s stepbrother, Casey and his girlfriend Bekah welcomed James Dean.


June brought a new addition, a German shorthaired pointer named Charlie. Yes we are crazy…2 puppies! What a houseful! Russell ended up taking a last minute road trip mid June. While Jim was visiting his mom in South Dakota he had a heart attack. When Russell and Terry got that call from their mom, they were on the road within an hour. They drove back to South Dakota to be with Jim and bring him home. They made the trip there and back in a week! A whirlwind trip it was! Thankfully Jim was okay and is healthy now and Russell got to see some family he hadn’t seen in years.


We started off July taking a trip down the coast to Lincoln City. Russell had wanted to go to the Sea Lion Caves for a long time. We headed that way and had a great time camping and seeing the sights. We spent our 1st anniversary being tourists in Seattle. We toured Underground Seattle, Pike Place, and had dinner with good friends.


Hallie took a road trip with my Dad & Shelley in August. As they were preparing to go on a road trip across the country, Hallie was busy trying to find a way to convince Shelley that she could go with them. Apparently it worked! The day before they were to leave, Shelley called and asked if Hallie could go with them. They must have known we’d say yes, as they already had bought things for Hallie to have on the trip! We told her she could go as long as she promised to call us every night! That she did…but it still was a LONG 2 weeks! She had a blast! She’s now seen parts of the country her parent’s haven’t seen! They left from here and headed west to Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. Nathan turned 2 at the end of the month and we had a great party for him at a local park.


In September Hallie started Pre-K. She is thriving and LOVING it! Russell took a fishing trip in Oregon for salmon and came home with the fishing bug! Stef became a fishing widow in September as Russell and Terry were fishing at the river when possible! The kids went fishing for the first time to the local U-fish and had a blast. Although Hallie thought it was gross! Hallie also started ballet and LOVED it. Now we find her playing ballet teacher with anyone she can find and pliė-ing and arabesque-ing around the house!


Stef tested Russell’s tolerance with paint when she painted her kitchen dark lavender in October! She loves it…Russell not so much! Russell decided to head back to school and begin taking the classes he needs to get a degree in Registered Nursing. He always wanted to do something medical related…and this finally grabbed him. He’s even talking about the possibility of medical school. We are so excited to see where life takes us! Hallie got her ears pierced after years of begging! She screamed…but then couldn’t stop looking in the mirror! Nathan started potty training himself…no prompting from Mom and Dad! We were rather excited. Although not fully trained, he manages to have few accidents except for nap time and bedtime. Gotta start somewhere! Of course this means adding in extra time we go anywhere in case he needs to ‘try potty’ while driving down the highway.


We spent Thanksgiving with Russell’s family this year. The day after Thanksgiving we got our Christmas tree…now between daycare and Nathan it’s a battle to keep the ornaments on it! This year is the first year we put up Christmas lights.and the kids love it. Hallie has been in the same level in swimming lessons for what seems like forever! In November, she finally passed her level!!!! Now on to crawl stroke! Nathan started talking like crazy. It was like suddenly he discovered he had words! Now you can’t get him to not talk! He’s counting to 12, knows all his ABC’s and colors.


December brings Brad home, Kyle home, and families together. This year we are hosting the Mahlstedt Family Christmas Brunch for the first time, and rather looking forward to it! We greatly enjoyed Hallie’s Sunday school program…she was adorable of course. The kids went to see Santa, Hallie wants a guitar and Nathan wants presents.


On to next year and so much to look forward to! Russell has more school and interesting classes to look forward to! Hallie will be turning 5 and starting Kindergarten! She is almost reading..what a smart cookie we have! Nathan will soon be fully potty trained, turning 3 and starting swimming lessons. Looking forward to our future and all it holds. This next year, I hope for all of us happy and healthy, and many more adventures to fill our Christmas letter next year! Happy Holidays!

Russell, Stefanie, Hallie & Nathan Steffensen


Keep track of what we are up to on our blog: www.thesteffensens.blogspot.com