Something Moore

Happy New Year from the Dwyers! We pray you and your family are happy and healthy. God has been good to us this year and we have been blessed immensely. I know I haven't been a very diligent blogger this year so here is a quick recap of what we were up to!

January:

This year I had my first legal battle and managed a case. It was quite a learning experience and I had a lot of fun. So January had me touring the foothills of West Virginia looking at our operations. Did I mention it was a blizzard!

February:

Oklahoma City received not one, but two record snow falls! And we got the joy of digging out!


March:

Clay and I spent the last of the indoor weather painting the house and making it our home. We still have a few more rooms to paint this winter but we were very pleased with the progress we made. It definitely made a house a home!

April:

Rowing season kicked into full swing! This year I rowed with the Advanced Masters group. These folks are INTENSE! I learned a lot about my rowing stroke and got into excellent shape. It was a lot of fun to be back in a competitive activity. I had forgot how much I enjoy team competitions. So in April I participated in a Masters camp with rowers from around the region. We worked on form and strength exercises with the elite and pre-elite athletes who are in OKC training to make the Olympic team. I also got my own oars for my birthday!


May:

Clay and I hit the ocean with Lauren and Donovan! A week Caribbean cruise was just what the doctor ordered after all the snow we had in OKC (both days). What a wonderful time. Clay and I can't wait to make it back to the sun and sea!


June:

June was filled with both triumph and tragedy for both Clay and I. Clay was laid off from his job which wasn't unexpected due to cut backs, but still difficult. However, we were blessed and he was hired at a new position which he is really enjoying. For my triumph my legal case was successful. The tragedy was the loss of my grandma Sue. The loss of my grandma has been exceptionally hard and I miss her every day. I was blessed to have her influence in my life.


July:

The Blackketter family had our family reunion and memorial for grandma in Phoenix. It was fabulous to get together with all the aunts and uncles and cousins who I don't see very often. We had a wonderful time remembering grandma and catching up. It's a shame we don't live closer but it's nice we can stay in touch.

August:

August was Masters Nationals. Nationals involved rowers from around the country coming to OKC to compete. The weather was supposed to be unbearably hot but the first day of competition a cool front moved in and the competition turned out to be nice. I rowed three races: women's quad, mixed double, and mixed quad. My mixed quad qualified for the finals but we didn't place. Overall it was an incredible experience. I really learned what it takes to compete at the top of the sport. And while I enjoy competing I don't think I will invest the time it would take to achieve that level.

We also spent a relaxing weekend with my college friends the Ecks! It was a ton of fun to catch up with them and their kids.



September:

I'm sure something exciting happened in September, but for the life of me I can't remember. Clearly I didn't document anything. I think the big project of the summer was the front garden. We finally completed that project and it looks fabulous!!


October:

My folks came in October for Masters Nationals and I headed to Cleveland for a friend's wedding. The wedding was gorgeous and an absolutely exhausting weekend. But I was glad I got to be there for her special day!


So with all that excitement in 2011 how could we possibly top it in 2012?!?

Well coming June 2012...

That's right folks, we're having a baby! Itty Bitty will be joining us sometime in June. So stay tuned 2012 promises to be a year full of exciting changes.

And just for the record here is my first "baby bump" pic. I'm 15 weeks.

This year the Dwyers spent Christmas in good ol' OKC. My folks and my Papa joined us for the festivities. Mom and dad have to leave on Christmas day to go home so we celebrated on the eve of Christmas Eve! We had a wonderful time with the family in town and even got a few projects done around the house!


When Clay and I bought the house we envisioned the family room to include built-in storage. While we love the house we felt it lacked sufficient built-in storage and we could see the potential. So when mom and dad visited in August dad helped us plan the project and Clay and I got the materials ready to go for Dad's arrival.

Nearly every year since my freshman year of college I have spent Thanksgiving in Dallas with my Aunt Ellen and Uncle Phillip. Even when Clay and I got married we continued this tradition. The most important part of the tradition in our annual Thanksgiving day football game. Prepare yourself for some awesome displays of athleticism!

Where have I been?!? The month of August flew by. September was a blur. And here we are in OCTOBER!!! What happened?

Well I've been busy folks and the blog has been neglected. In that time I've had 2 regattas. My parents visited. And I traveled across the country for work. So that's what I've been up to. What about you?

However, what everyone really wants to see if pictures, so here are some shots of my parent's recent visit. They came in town for the Head of the Oklahoma which is a 4K head race accompanied by 500m night sprints. It was a ton of fun but I'm still recovering :)!

My mom's one request was to visit the baby elephant at the zoo. Mom LOVES elephants. So we obliged and went to the OKC zoo. I'm sorry to say I had not been to the zoo since I've lived in OKC. So it was a lot of fun to go and experience the zoo as an adult with my parents.