Day 31 (1/31/11) - A Wing And A Prayer

Today Mike aced his final skills evaluation and officially became a flight medic with MSP Aviation.  There was even an impromptu wing pinning ceremony during which the Major presented Mike with his medic wings.  His name patch will also be updated to include his new title, Flight Medic.  (I think the unintentional artistry of the second picture is really neat with the lighting shining down on the wings symbolizing divine presence and compassion.)

This day, which has been two years in the making, was cause for a big celebration, complete with confetti and balloons.  We even ate dinner in the dining room using our formal wedding china (marking the 4th time it's been used since we got married!).  For dessert we had home-assembled (as opposed to homemade) ice cream cake, made from store bought pound cake, fudge brownie ice cream, and hot fudge sauce (an idea shamelessly borrowed from Kelsea).  To recognize his accomplishment, the boys and I presented Mike with a necklace featuring Saint Michael, the patron saint of law enforcement.  I had given the necklace to Mike many years ago when he first became a road trooper.  But, about a year ago it was broken during a wrestling session with the boys.  We had it repaired so he could wear it for his first shift as a solo flight medic.  It brings us peace beyond measure to know that he's being protected by a guardian angel while he helps those in need. 

Day 30 (1/30/11) - New Church

Today we became the newest members of Sandy Mount United Methodist Church.  The congregation has been extremely warm and inviting as they've welcomed our family to the church.  We're very excited to have finally found the church that is the best fit for us (Trinity, especially Rev. Patterson, is hard to replace!) and are eager to become more involved in the church and its service ministries.  Mike and the pastor, who also happens to be the pastor assigned to the State Police Academy, really seem to have a connection.  And, the boys have been a huge hit, especially among the older members of the congregation who gush over how handsome and well behaved they are. 

The pastor encourages children to attend the worship service with their parents and even has a kids' table with age-appropriate activities set up in the back of the sanctuary.  I, too, think it's important for children to attend the service as well as Sunday School, but it's also stressful as they aren't always as quiet or attentive as we'd like.  For Ryan we've outlined what behaviors constitute good "church manners," and for the most part, he complies with them.  Gavin, on the other hand, is a little too young to understand.  Although he is quiet during the service, he tends to roam, traveling back and forth between our pew and the kids' table in the back.  This wouldn't be so much of a problem, if he didn't stop at every pew in between offering pencils, crayons, artwork, offering envelopes, prayer request forms, etc. to everyone he passes!  At the end of today's service, one woman introduced herself to our family, welcomed us to the church, and hugged and praised me for being such a calm, mellow, relaxed mom.  HA!  Clearly she must not have been sitting close enough to hear me hissing under my breath for Gavin to sit still, stay in one place, and behave!  
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Day 29 (1/29/11) - Trooper 3

Since today was Mike's final shift as a training medic at Trooper 3 in Frederick, he invited us to visit the hangar for a tour of the helicopter.  I'm not sure who was more excited, Mike or Ryan.  I wonder if Ryan realizes that few people enjoy the same level of access as he does.  I'm willing to bet that few of his friends have ever gotten to help drive a police cruiser, turn on the light bar, or sound the siren.  And, I'm confident that few, if any, of them have gotten to sit in the cockpit of a Medevac helicopter, been hoisted in a Stokes basket, or enjoyed an extremely close view of takeoff.  Regardless, it was a fun visit, that was cut short by a mission, which was disappointing because we had to leave before our tour of the helicopter was finished, but neat in that we got to see Mike in action.   

Mike shows Ryan his red medic bag, which contains everything he might need for patient care.  Between the medic bag, the computer monitor that checks vitals, and the stretcher, I'm amazed that these medics can lug all that heavy equipment to a scene.  Guess adrenaline helps!  Ryan also gets to sit in the medic seat, which is where the driver of a car would normally sit.  In a helicopter, the pilot sits on the right side of the aircraft, where a passenger in a car would normally sit.  The flight medic is trained and expected to serve as the co-pilot and has dual cockpit controls.  Mike teaches Ryan about the function and purpose of each of the buttons, displays, and levers in the cockpit.

Mike has also been extensively trained in hoist operations.  During hoist rescue missions, the medic is strapped to the interior of the helicopter, and sits at the open door, instructing the pilot where to navigate or hover, and guiding the Stokes basket down to the victim and back up to the aircraft.  Guess you can't be afraid of heights for this job!  Ryan pretends to be a hurt person that the pilot and Daddy have to rescue.

During our visit, while Mike was showing us the rear of the helicopter where he tends to the patient, a call came in.  We were able to watch him spring into action, quickly putting in his earplugs, hopping on the tug and pulling the helicopter out of the hangar and onto the pad, performing fire guard (which is when he stands under the rotating rotors facing the helicopter watching it power up to be sure an engine doesn't catch on fire), climbing into the medic seat, and taking off!  Ryan was so excited to watch all this unfold.  Gavin was a little scared by all the commotion, especially the noise, but later pointed excitedly to the sky as the helicopter flew off into the distance.  Both boys insisted on watching the sky until the helicopter disappeared completely from view.

Day 28 (1/28/11) - Our First Snowman

For some reason, I seem to be challenged when it comes to building snowmen.  I have tried, unsuccessfully, for the past couple of years to make one.  Today, I was determined to make it happen.  With heavy, wet snowflakes falling all around us, we built our first snowman.  The snowman's eyes were made using a Pampered Chef cookie scoop and grape snow cone syrup.  The intention was to fashion a mouth using cherry syrup, but I ran out of energy and interest.  We later added a piece of sidewalk chalk for the nose.  And, as you can see in the photo, Gavin was quite upset that we used his plastic golf clubs as the snowman's arms.  We then went inside and shared cold hot chocolate with a double serving of marshmallows!  (I know cold hot chocolate is an oxymoron, but Ryan is very particular about the temperature of his food and drink and will not eat anything that is lukewarm or hotter!) 

Day 27 (1/27/11) - Child Labor

At first I felt sorry for Mike since he had to go into work today, braving the icy roads at 5 am.  Then, I realized he was probably relaxing in the heated hangar, since they were not likely taking any missions due to the weather.  Meanwhile, I was outside trying to snow blow and shovel the driveway.  Luckily, two strapping young fellows offered to help.  In exchange for their shoveling services, I agreed to feed and house them indefinitely.

(Note:  Mike's cruiser is in the garage because he wasn't sure he could get it out of the driveway.  He had to take the Explorer instead since it was better able to handle the road conditions.)

Day 26 (1/26/11) - Cabin Fever

After being cooped up in the house for 3 days straight, the boys and I were getting a little stir crazy.  It all started very early Monday morning.  Mike was on his way to work for his final check flight with the lead training medic and evaluation by the medical director of the State Police.  He had been having car trouble for a few days and his heating system had finally stopped working the night before.  He left that morning dreading the long drive with no heat and temperatures barely registering 5 degrees.  A few minutes after 5 am he called to tell me his car broke down and asked if I could come pick him up.  I loaded two very sleepy boys into the car to go rescue him.  It was unquestionably an extremely important day for Mike (with not exactly an auspicious start) so he took our personal vehicle to work, which meant we were house-bound for the day.  Luckily, he got to work without a minute to spare since they had their first mission a few minutes after 7 am.  Not surprisingly, Mike impressed both the training medic and the medical director with his knowledge and skills!  On Tuesday, we planned to run errands but the boys' nap schedules didn't match up so it seemed like one of the two of them was always sleeping.  Today, I could tell the boys were getting cabin fever, so we took them to the bounce place in the mall to burn off some energy.  The brief outing was just what we needed, especially since a few hours later a major snowstorm moved through the area dumping several inches of snow and sleet.  Although we obviously won't be out and about tomorrow, I do hope to get the boys outside to enjoy the winter weather and tire them out!

Day 25 (1/25/11) - Future Flight Medic

Since Daddy is in the final days of his flight medic training, he's been working a lot of long hours.  He's been leaving the house before the boys wake up (which means before 5 am) and getting home long after they've gone to bed.  The boys really miss him and Ryan begged me to stay up late until Daddy got home tonight.  He was stunned when Daddy walked in looking like a Stormtrooper!  He was even more surprised when Daddy let him try on his helmet and run around the house pretending to be a police officer.  I guess the real deal is more fun than the Fisher Price version!  Ryan's friends at school are envious of what a cool job his Daddy has.  And, Ryan told me the other day that he wants to be a flight medic and a Daddy when he grows up, just like his Daddy!

Day 24 (1/24/11) - Race Car Design

This morning Ryan invited Gavin to help him paint a wooden race car that he got for Christmas.  Gavin, who has never painted before, was so excited to help and made sure that every paint color was represented on the car.  At one point Ryan exclaimed, "oooh, cool, it looks like confetti, or like fireworks."  Eventually the boys abandoned the paint brushes and resorted to finger painting instead, which turned the nice, bright splatter paint colors into more of a dull brown.  And, in true Gavin fashion, he couldn't be bothered with the paper towels I had laid out for them to use to clean their hands.  Instead, he just wiped them off on the front of his pjs.  Luckily, the paints were washable and everything and everyone cleaned up nicely!   

Day 23 (1/23/11) - Sweet Treat

The boys peer through the oven window to watch their apple volcanoes erupt.  During halftime of the NFC championship game, we made apple volcanoes which were cored apples stuffed with raisins, apricots, rolled oats, and honey, topped with butter.  Near the end of the cooking time, we added marshmallows and watched them erupt, or melt down the sides of the apple.  Although they were fun to make, the boys seemed to prefer the ingredients raw rather than cooked. 

On a side note, Ryan is becoming such a big football fan.  He's wearing blue and orange to show his support for the Chicago Bears.  And, he stayed up past 10 pm tonight to watch the Steelers beat the Jets.

Christmas Morning 2010

Although Christmas was nearly a month ago, this post isn't too terribly late considering my track record with not-so-timely blog updates! 

Christmas morning did not begin as painfully early as in years past nor as early as I would have expected given the hour at which the boys usually awake.  Normally, I would have relished that extra hour of sleep.  But that morning I found myself lying in bed, wide-eyed, and anxiously waiting for everyone else to wake up.  I suppose Christmas morning brings out the kid in all of us.

Mike went downstairs ahead of the rest of us to turn the tree lights on, start brewing coffee (I said we got up later than usual, which is still prior to 7 am in our house!), and get the video camera ready.  Then, he invited the boys down to see what Santa had left for them.  The boys' main present - a joint gift - was a kitchen where, together, they can create culinary masterpieces (and hopefully learn to share in the process!).  Ryan also got a remote-controlled car, an Imaginext space shuttle, Lego police sets, and a Nerf football.  Gavin got a firetruck ball pit, Mega Blocks pirate ship, kitchen accessories (pots and pans and play food), and all the Llama Llama books.

After the boys finished unwrapping their presents, they played with their new toys while Mike and I opened our gifts.  Without fail, Ryan's gifts to us (especially those he makes at school) always move us to tears.  Last year he gave us his hand prints with the following poem:

"Sometimes you get discouraged because I am so small,

And always leave my fingerprints on the furniture and wall.

But everyday I'm growing.  I'll be grown up someday

And all these tiny hand prints will surely fade away.

So here are special hand prints just so you can recall

Exactly how my fingers looked when I was very small."

Seriously, how can you not cry reading that?!  I'm choked up now and I read it every day since it hangs on our refrigerator!  This year at school he made us a Christmas wreath designed using a circle of Ryan's green hand prints with red thumbprints as the holly berries.  Those homemade gifts are far more special than any elaborate ornament or pricey decoration.  And, I can promise that it will be lovingly hung every year at Christmas even when Ryan is grown and has children of his own!

Ryan also asked to be more involved in picking out gifts for us this year.  For Mike, he picked out a Daddy-sized pair of Adidas Samba soccer shoes to match his.  For me, he insisted on getting two boxes of my favorite cereal.  It was so unexpected when I first opened it, that I couldn't help but chuckle.  But looking back, I am incredibly touched by what a thoughtful gift it was.  It gives insight into how the mind of a 4-year-old works!  And, it was definitely given out of love!  No matter what, Mike and I agree, Ryan and Gavin are the two best presents we could ever hope for.  They make the holidays, and every day, merrier!    

Day 22 (1/22/11) - Date Night wtih Mommy

We were supposed to visit Daddy at the hangar this afternoon to get a tour of the helicopter, but they had maintenance issues and had to fly to another hangar to switch aircraft.  The boys were so disappointed, so I took them to McDonald's for dinner.  It was little consolation, but they did enjoy playing in the playground area.

Day 21 (1/21/11) - Animal Expert

Today was Daddy's turn to go on the school field trip with Ryan. We went to Piney Run Nature Center. The kids learned about animals that hibernate. The teacher brought out a snake from a bag and asked if anyone knew what kind of snake it was. Ryan immediately called out "It's a corn snake." The teacher was impressed, the other parents were stunned and I was horrified that Ryan knows anything about snakes. I HATE snakes. I will do anything for my boys and will support them with perhaps one exception - no snakes. So I was proud of Ryan but I would prefer he like a warm, cuddly, easy going animal like the black bear. Still no idea how he knew what kind of snake it was...

Day 20 (1/20/11) - Goodnight Sweetheart

Gavin looks so sweet and innocent when he's sleeping....

but here's what he was up to earlier in the day...

Day 19 (1/19/11) - Police Mann

Officers Ryan and Gavin maintain order in our house by chasing down bad guys (poor Guinness) and responding to distress calls (Blue Puppy).  Ryan likes his police gear because the helmet looks like the one Daddy wears on the helicopter and the red and blue flashing lights look like the light bar on top of Uncle Matty's cruiser!  Speaking of Uncle Matty, congratulations on your recent promotion to Corporal!

Day 18 (1/18/11) - Fond Farewell

The boys have a ritual whenever Daddy leaves for work - they give him goodbye hugs and kisses at the laundry room door that leads to the garage, then race to the front door, press their noses against the windows, and wave to him as he pulls out of the driveway.  Usually Guinness is right there with them, but today he felt a little crowded so he found another window to watch Daddy leave for work.

Day 17 (1/17/11) - Pillow Pet Naps

The boys sleep on their Pillow Pets during a pretend camp out. 

Day 16 (1/16/11) - Soapy Sidekicks

The boys sport sudsy mohawks during bathtime!

Day 15 (1/15/11) - Ravens Rally Hats

Mommom and Ryan made Ravens rally hats for us to wear during the playoff game against the Steelers.  After the first half, we were confident we were going to the Super Bowl.  Unfortunately, it all fell apart in the second half.  Although the Ravens lost, we had a lot of fun indulging in game food and cheering on our favorite team!

Day 14 (1/14/11) - Learning Lacrosse

The lacrosse sticks help them look a bit tougher as they stand next to their kitchen and shopping cart!  Their technique is still a bit awkward, but they have the next 15 years to perfect their skills and earn a full lacrosse scholarship to Johns Hopkins!

Day 13 (1/13/11) - Kitchen Creations

Hey good lookin' what you got cookin'....looks like they're cooking up trouble to me!!!  Ryan and Gavin have really enjoyed the kitchen that Santa brought them for Christmas.  They especially like the blender and have mixed up some pretty creative concoctions using plastic french fries, waffles, and hot peppers!  Ryan likes to prepare meals so I don't have to, leaving more time for me to play with him!

Day 12 (1/12/11) - Snow Much Fun

The frigid temperatures did not stop Ryan and Gavin from enjoying the few inches of snow that fell overnight.  We had a great time sledding together as a family.  Ryan also liked snow wrestling, snowball fights, shoveling, and looking for icicles with Daddy.

Day 11 (1/11/11) - Ink Stains

This is what happens when Daddy is in charge!  Daddy thought it would be a good idea to let the boys play with stamps and an ink pad (unattended) while Mommy finished dinner.  They followed the rules of only stamping on paper for the first few minutes.  Then, apparently they discovered it was far more fun to stamp each other's arms and faces.  Gavin also thought he'd lick the ink pad to see what it tasted like.  Despite rigorous scrubbing at the sink and in the bathtub, the boys still have a blue hue.  Good thing it's snowing outside and school will likely be cancelled tomorrow.  Otherwise, I'd have a lot of explaining to do!

Day 10 (1/10/11) - Preschool Pals

Today I was the parent volunteer in Ryan's preschool class.  The past two years when I'd volunteer in his class, he'd climb in my lap during circle time or play with me during open play.  This year, he barely acknowledges my presence.  On occasion, when we happen to exchange glances, he'll discreetly wave or smile.  This morning as we were getting ready to leave, Gavin wiped his runny nose on my pant leg.  Ryan was horrified and begged me not to wear those pants to school.  Guess my little boy is growing up, becoming more independent, and worries about being embarrassed by his mom! (*sniff, sniff*)    Here Ryan and his best friend, Josh, work on their craft.

Day 9 (1/9/11) - Moon Dough Mess

The boys spent the second half of the Ravens game playing with Moon Dough.  It was nice because it allowed Mommy and Daddy to watch the game, but we paid dearly for it with nearly an hour of cleanup afterward!  And they say Moon Dough is easier to clean up than Play Dough....

Day 8 (1/8/11) - Sick But Still Smiling

Poor Ryan has his first stomach bug.  He woke up at 1 am this morning throwing up and has been unable to hold down much of anything all day.  He's such a trouper though; each time he threw up, he'd look at us with pitiful eyes and ask if he could still go to his soccer class in the morning!  Hopefully it's just a 24-hour bug and he'll be feeling better tomorrow.

Day 7 (1/7/11) - Haircuts

New do's for the New Year!  Both boys were long overdue for a haircut.  Believe it or not, Mike was the one encouraging me to keep Gavin's curls.  I guess with the second one, you're not as eager to have them look like a big boy as soon.  Gavin does have curl-enhancing gel on his hair, so I'm not sure he'll still have the Matthew McConaughey curls after we wash it.  And, Ryan's hair cut really shows off his handsome face, especially the sparkly eyes, infectious smile, and dimples!   

Day 6 (1/6/11) - Soccer Star

Today was Ryan's last soccer class with Keith Van Eron's program. (Coach Keith was previously a goalie for the Baltimore Blast.)  We have enrolled Ryan in an indoor soccer program in Westminster for the remainder of the Winter and plan to rejoin Coach Keith's program in the Spring when it's warm enough to play outside.  We're really pleased with the progress Ryan has made since he began taking classes with Coach Keith last Spring.  Not only have his skills improved tremendously, but his confidence has increased as well.  In fact, Coach Keith now frequently asks Ryan to demonstrate various soccer skills for the rest of the class.  And today, when playing mini-scrimmages, Ryan led his team to victory by scoring all 5 of his team's goals.  He was especially excited since his New Year's resolution was to be a better soccer player and kick the ball harder when trying to make a goal.  Here he poses with his trophy that features a soccer player scoring a goal and includes pictures of a soccer ball and Adidas Sambas (the black and white soccer shoes that Ryan wears)!

Day 5 (1/5/11) - Boys and Their Toys

The boys played outside with the remote-controlled car that Ryan got for Christmas.  When I say 'boys' that includes Daddy too, because he has as much, if not more, fun with it than they do!  This remote-controlled car is "super cool" and really fast.  It can twist sideways, flip over, and even change its shape into a monster truck.  It runs so hard that the battery only lasts 15-20 minutes, which today was about the same amount of time the boys could stand the cold temperatures!  

Day 4 (1/4/11) - Highchair Boycott

So much for our plan to keep Gavin in his highchair until he's 16 years old!  Apparently he has decided he's ready to graduate to the big boy seat at the table!  He is overdue for his first ER visit....

Ryanism

I got Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits album for Christmas and the boys and I have been listening to it in the car while driving around town.  Since Ryan likes "yelling" music, he keeps insisting that I turn up the volume.  Eventually I refuse to turn it up any louder and point out that we're getting strange looks from the people next to us at the stoplight.  When the song, "Bad Medicine" comes on, Ryan says, "that doesn't make any sense, Mommy.  I thought medicine was good for you.  So why does he say, 'bad medicine is what I need?'"  As I try to explain the lyrics to him, I can see the wheels in his brain turning as he tries to figure it out.  After a few minutes, he declares, "I know, Mommy.  He must be talking about sour medicine (which is what he calls children's Motrin).  It's bad, but it's what you need."  Can't argue with that.  A few days later, he announces, "I don't want to be a knight when I grow up anymore.  I want to be a rocker like Bon Jovi."  First, who knew he wanted to be a knight?!  Second, I'm not sure whether to be proud or horrified that he shares my love for 80s hair band music!

Day 3 (1/3/11) - Back to Reality

What a sad day for Mommy - Ryan returns to school after a nearly two-week break and the time has come to start taking down all the Christmas decorations.  *sigh* I love the excitement, cheer, and pj-days of Christmas and am somewhat sad to return to "normal" life again.  Ryan, on the other hand, is eternally optimistic and joyful (perhaps I should try to adopt his "glass is always overflowing" outlook!).  He was so excited to go back to school to see what Santa brought his friends (a welcome change from the start of the school year!).  He was also eager to help undecorate the tree, especially since it involved climbing on furniture and chairs to reach the ornaments near the top.  

Day 2 (1/2/11) - Football Fans

Ryan and Gavin watch the last Ravens game of the regular season.  After defeating the Cincinnati Bengals this afternoon, the Ravens now advance to the playoffs where they will face the Kansas City Chiefs next week.  Ryan's favorite players are Mr. Sam (Koch), Joe Flacco, and Ray Rice.  Their "game food" consisted of Cheerios, Goldfish, and apple juice!  Following the Ravens game, Ryan begged to watch the Titans vs. Colts game.  When I asked who he was rooting for, he insisted the Titans because as he explained, "remember we learned in that Ravens book that we got from the library, there was a bad man who made the Colts leave town and took all the trophies with him!" 

365 Day Project - Day 1

In keeping with the spirit of this website to document the memorable and mundane moments as well as my New Year's resolution to provide more timely blog updates, I am embarking on a 365 day photo project.  By taking a photo every day for a year, I hope to create a visual history of our life for the next 365 days.    It's difficult to remember what happened yesterday or last week, let alone last month or last year!  My hope is that this project will help us remember those everyday moments that are cherished at the time, but often later forgotten.

Day 1:  January 1, 2011
Ryan and Gavin take advantage of the unseasonably warm temperatures by taking their new outdoor toys for a test drive.  Always cautious and safety-minded, Ryan asked to wear knee pads for his first trip down the driveway on his Spiderman scooter.  I encouraged him to throw caution to the wind and go for it, especially since no self-respecting super hero wears protective gear.  After a few trial runs, he was racing down the driveway at speeds only Superman could match!  Gavin adjusts his helmet and gives it a solid whack to make sure it's suitable for his wild ride.  He wasn't sure what to make of the fact that the wheels rotate in every direction causing the toy to twist and turn as he rides it.  After one or two attempts, he abandoned it and decided to carry his plastic golf clubs around in the marked State Police car instead.

New Year's Eve

Ryan said he wanted to party on New Year's Eve (*oy vey, I hope that's not a sign of things to come!*).  So, we took him to a New Year's Eve celebration at the local bounce place in the afternoon.  He can now scale the big inflatable slide by himself and liked to race Daddy through the obstacle course and down the mega-slide!  Gavin thought the toddler inflatable was too baby-ish and wanted to do everything Ryan did.  Mommy and Daddy were whooped after an hour of hauling him up the various climbing walls and down the slides (which was doubly hard since he couldn't hold on on his own).  They also had a craft table set up where kids could make their own festive noise makers to help ring in the new year and offered fantasy face painting.  Not surprisingly, Ryan chose the Batman design, which was really neat until we realized nap time was coming up!

After convincing the boys to take a brief nap, we loaded up and drove to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia for the Midnight at 7 New Year's Eve celebration to see the fireworks and walk through the Symphony of Lights display that we had driven through a week earlier.  Although they advertised that there would be food and entertainment available in a heated tent on the grounds, I think the turnout was far larger than they expected, because a lot of the vendors had run out of food.  So, after the celebration, we enjoyed drive-through Wendy's for our New Year's Eve dinner!   

Both boys really liked the fireworks, especially since Daddy found a place where we could enjoy an unobstructed view.  Ryan, in particular, was especially excited to walk through the display and see the lights up close.  He insisted on having his picture taken with nearly every light creation!  Although it was in the low 40s, it did start to get cold close to the end of our 1.5 mile walk through the lights (not counting the long trek back to our car!). 

Although Ryan looks like he's wearing combat makeup, it's really the remnants of the Batman face paint, which did not fare well through his nap! 

On the drive home, we shared our resolutions for the coming year.  I would like to do a better job of arriving on time for things, be more organized and efficient with my (limited) time, and update the blog more frequently.  Mike would like to spend more time at the beach this year and wants a new police car.  Ryan, in his own words, would like to do a better job of sharing with his little brother and would like to learn to kick the ball harder toward the goal in soccer.

2010 was an eventful year full of major milestones - Ryan became potty trained, Gavin turned 1, Mike completed his paramedic program and became a flight-medic-in-training, and I got to see Bon Jovi!  Let's hope our family is equally as blessed this coming year and that 2011 is a year full of love and laughter for all of us!