2011: Our Year in Review

Like every year, 2011 flew by. The year was filled with all kinds of new things that Sherree and I got to experience through Patrick. Something I started late in 2010 was regularly and frequently posting photos, and I’m happy to say I continued that through all of 2011.

January was notable because Patrick was getting very close to walking. It was a harsh winter, and by the end of the month we had more than three feet of snow on the deck. Favorite photos: Smiling, pulled through the snow, gold tail feathers of a northern flicker.

In February we figured out that Patrick was scamming us and could hold his cup to drink. The snow continued to accumulate. Favorite photos: tufted titmouse, female northern cardinal, white-breasted nuthatch.

In March I wrote about the Leatherman Skeletool CX, a fantastic pocket knife/multi-tool. We replaced our grill and smoker (which we immediately started making good use of). We also visited the Hebron Maple Festival. I chased Patrick with the Tamiya High-Lift. Favorite photo: crazy snowflakes.

I went up to Boston in April to The Flash Bus tour for a photography seminar. Perhaps of note is that this month I created the Image Asset From Entry plugin for this site, which imports the Flickr photos so that if the Flickr link changes (as it always does if the photo is updated), the photo will continue to display on this site. Favorite photos: fun on the slide, caught by surprise, climbing stairs, spring, horizontal.

It finally started to warm up in May. We visited the Robin Hood Springtime Festival renaissance faire, went to an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Travis, we visited the circus, and spent a few days with Grammy in Pennsylvania at the end of the month. Sherree also started a garden. Sherree and I have been married for ten years! Favorite photos: Patrick at the fence, lone rock in the fog, excited about the playset, Pop-pop at 24.

The big event of June was our Wyoming vacation — we returned on July 4 and I’d post photos from the trip for a few months. Sherree tended her garden, we went to an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Brady, and it was finally warm enough to kayak. Favorite photos: taking a drink, wall of drawers, hand saws, preparing for Wyoming.

We returned home from vacation in July. It doesn’t look like we did much this month, though we did discover Fast & Fun RC Raceway and I started racing on Friday nights. Patrick was ready for the “big boy” swing. Lots of photos from our Wyoming vacation: all seven of us, bison in Yellowstone, for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.

In August Sherree got a new car and I put a new design on this site. Tropical Storm Irene hit at the end of the month and left us without power for a few days. We also started keeping a list of the words Patrick spoke. Favorite photos: Jackson, Wyoming at night, west thumb tree detail, Isabella and Sophia, stars from the parking lot.

In September we visited the local kid’s museum’s farm day event and the Big E. Favorite photo: marker caps.

In October we visited the King Arthur renaissance faire and at the end of the month we had a freak snowstorm that dropped close to a foot of snow on us. Storm Alfred left us without power for a week! Favorite photos: this year’s harvest, inspecting the loot, filling the bird feeder.

In November we celebrated my Mom’s 60th 06th birthday and Thanksgiving. Favorite photos: inspecting a leaf, drawing with chalk in the driveway.

December is always busy. We visited the Festival of Trees at the Wadsworth Atheneum, put up a Christmas tree, visited Mystic Aquarium, and celebrated Christmas and Patrick’s birthday. This month I also publicly released the new site design. Favorite photos: decorating tree, stars and clouds (ok, a video), opening presents.

And that fast, it’s 2012.