2024 Recap

TLDR - We had a very full year, we went to CO twice, cruised to Mexico, spent three weeks in NY, traveled to the Azores, Hana was a chicken for Halloween, we went to Portland, had a lot of fun in Houston, and Hana met Santa (scroll to the end to see their interaction, you won't want to miss it).

They say when you have a little one, life slows down, that you can't do everything you used to do. At the same time, life has never been more full. This year we have filled every single weekend with activities and taken every opportunity to venture off to new places.

We started off the year in Houston, getting to know its family-friendly nature. Thanks to her two aunts who got her memberships for Christmas, these were the first of MANY trips to the zoo and children's museum this year.

At the end of the month we took off to CO for a weeklong ski trip in Steamboat Springs. Since temperatures in NY at Christmas were unseasonably warm, this was Hana's first exposure to snow. She was a big fan. Hana had the privilege of blowing the Steamboat steam whistle to signal the mountain closing. She got a little excited and blew it a few minutes early. Hana got a chance to redeem herself at the actual close with another whistle pull.

In February, on Mardi Gras, Hana turned one! Later that week, we had her birthday party. The Korean first birthday celebration is called a dol, and we did our best to include all of the traditional elements - including one very pretty, but generally inedible rice cake. The highlight of any dol is the doljabi, where items are placed in front of the celebrant, who will select one or two items that symbolize their future. Hana, wearing the hanbok Melanie wore at her dol, chose the paint brush and the five scrolls, indicating she will be creative (paintbrush) and multi-talented (scrolls).

In the spring months, we found lots to do in Houston. We went to our first rodeo as a family, a very Texas thing to do. We took Hana to the Houston Open, a PGA tour event - she was so-so on the outing. Melanie and Shawn celebrated their fourth anniversary with a night out. Everyone ran the St. Arnold 5K/10K - Melanie did the 5K, Shawn and Hana did the 10K. After too many ear infections, Hana had surgery to place ear tubes. We are happy to report we've only had one infection since. And Hana cashed in her Christmas gift from Uncle Stevie, tickets to Disney on Ice - complete with a character meet and greet and souvenir tiara.

In May, we headed back to Colorado for a wedding, enjoying Downtown Denver on this visit. Did a quick turnaround and hopped on a cruise boat to Mexico to celebrate Melanie's brother's graduation from his physical therapy doctorate program. We all had a great time and would recommend the Mayan cuisine cultural excursion if you find yourself in Cozumel.

As things started to heat up in Houston, Melanie celebrated another birthday and was able to hit the golf course with her dad, brother, and uncle who was visiting from Minnesota.

It wasn't planned, but as Hurricane Beryl headed for Houston, we took off for New York. Shawn's parents live in the 1000 Islands now and we thought it would be great to beat the heat and spend three weeks there over the summer. Turned out to be shelter from the storm. We lost power for a week but no other damage was sustained. The power outage didn't bother us since we were busy cruising the river, hanging out with cousins, and catching up with friends back east. 

We finished the trip with the Boilermaker road race in Utica and came home to celebrate Shawn's birthday. Earlier this year, Melanie started a small jewelry business and to round out the summer, participated in a market at a local brewery.

We took a big trip to the Azores Islands, a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic ocean. We went for a wedding but extended our trip to make it a real vacation. Hana started showing signs of hand, foot, and mouth the minute we touched down on Portuguese soil. She was such a trooper though and adventured happily with us most days. Night time was another story, but you win some, you lose some. Uncle Stevie and Aunt Angela joined us for part of the trip and provided babysitting while Shawn and Melanie attended the wedding of the chicest bride and groom you'll ever see.

Our theme for Halloween was - "Favorite Bird". Naturally, Hana was a chicken. Melanie was a burrowing owl, a notoriously grumpy bird. Shawn was a nene, a relative of the Canadian goose that lost its ability to fly after migrating to the Hawaiian islands. Hana's godmother and her husband also joined in the Halloween festivities and they went as a peacock and Hei Hei from Moana, respectively.

No travel for Thanksgiving but we did squeeze in a trip to Portland, OR in November. A quick visit to see Melanie's childhood best friend and to introduce Hana. They were fast friends, just as we expected them to be.

We will be traveling back to New York for Christmas, so we've been trying to lay low in Houston until then. Of course, laying low for us means - Zoo Lights, Meow Wolf, Santa's Wonderland, and so many parks.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love, The Doolens