Another year has passed, and it’s
time for the 2016 Overly Family Rundown:
JANUARY: The year started off with
a bang known as “The Great Viral Adventure.”
We’d tell you about it, but the records of our experience are in a
biohazard bag stowed safely away in the bowels of the CDC. Let’s just say that Disneyland is a lot less
fun with three different illnesses raging through -- and out of -- the family (if
you know what I mean).
FEBRUARY: With three birthdays within six days of each
other, the transition from January to February is basically the Cake Olympics
at our house. Matthew, who turned six on
January 29th, was first out of the starting gate with an Oreo ice
cream cake, followed closely by his twin sister, Leah, who put in a great
performance with a pan of brownies topped by chocolate chip cookie dough
frosting. Coming in last was Jonathan on
February 4th, who celebrated his first Cake Olympics with a traditional
chocolate cake, earning solid 9.5s from the judges for his forkless eating
technique.
MARCH: Jonathan learned how to open
doors, splash in toilets, and use the toilet plunger as a sword. Meanwhile, Bonnie dusted off her straitjacket
(well-worn from the twins’ toddler days) and put the toilet plunger under lock
and key. And sprayed disinfectant all
over everything. And everyone.
APRIL:
Matthew lost his two front teeth, Michael tried to harness the powers of
the Dark Side to ride to victory at the Pinewood Derby with his Darth Vader car
(Lesson: Evil may put in a good showing, but never wins in the end), and soccer
season started for the boys. David
finished up his spring busy season at (company), and everyone rejoiced in
having their dad back.
MAY:
Matthew presented his mom with a fill-in-the-blank Mother’s Day card which
said, “My mother is 921 pounds and 30 feet tall.” On a related note, Bonnie decided to turn
down a job offer to moonlight as King Kong on account of the extensive climbing
requirements. Leah performed flawlessly in
her end-of-year dance recital and everyone got incredibly lazy about all things
school-related. Including the kids.
JUNE:
After the previous travel disaster (see January), we decided to try a
California do-over and head to Oceanside for a week of family fun and
relaxation (because what could be more relaxing than taking a 16-month old
sand-eater to the beach and giving him ample opportunities to drown himself?) We spent a day at SeaWorld, hit a bunch of
museums, and enjoyed boogie boarding and building sand castles. Best of all, not a single person barfed. We got home just in time to celebrate our 15th
wedding anniversary by camping at the Overly family reunion. (As everyone knows, nothing says “romance”
more than tenting it with your in-laws, a toddler, and a couple of hole-in-the-ground
potties).
JULY:
We deep cleaned the house room by room, hit the pool several times a
week, and enjoyed the McConkie family reunion in Brianhead, Utah, except for a
little hike we dubbed “Satan’s Slip ‘n Slide.”
Fortunately, no one fell off a cliff.
AUGUST:
After an entire summer of the kids practicing to be lawyers (“I’M not
touching her, my SPOON is touching her!”) school finally started again. With three out of four kids in full-day
school (Michael in 4th grade and Matthew and Leah in 1st),
Bonnie finally had time to get to her to-do list. (Sit on the couch in silence while Jonathan
naps? Check. Eat a brownie without having to share? Check.)
David’s summer busy season was a little more mild than usual, which was
awesome because it meant he could come home for dinner occasionally.
SEPTEMBER: Everything started again – “forgetting” to
set alarm clocks, soccer, dance, scouts, avoiding piano practice, whining about
homework… To get her away from it all, David
sent Bonnie to New York City on a surprise getaway with her sisters. (#McSistersEatManhattan) While she was gone he not only played Super
Dad at home, but, with a little help from Grandpa and his tools, installed bead
board on the living room walls.
Best. Husband. Ever.
OCTOBER: On Halloween the kids collected so much candy
that we should have emergency-sugar food storage until 2035. Notice I say “should” have. In reality, we expect it to last till about
next Tuesday. (We regret nothing).
NOVEMBER: The long-awaited day arrived and David
finally moved to his company’s downtown office.
He is loving the change and grateful for the shorter commute. Plus it’s just down the block from the new
Eccles Theater, so we had to take advantage of his conveniently located parking
pass and get season tickets to their Broadway series. (We wouldn’t want a perfectly usable parking
pass to go to waste…)
DECEMBER: With three kids in the French immersion
program we’ve had a lot of Christmas carols being sung en francais around
here. Michael turned 10 at the beginning
of the month, and the kids are all counting down the days till Christmas,
wishing for more snow, and punching each other in the arm occasionally just to
keep things real.
We are so grateful to know you
and hope you have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love, The Overlys
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