It’s time for another Pete and Vickey Codella family update.

We enjoyed several weeks of family time during the holidays with Pete’s parents up from New Harmony, Utah (staying in South Jordan with Pete’s brother, Brian, and his family) and Vickey’s sister, Rachel, and her family here from Albuquerque (staying with Vickey’s folks in Holladay), not to mention all the other family we have living in the Salt Lake Valley. We ate good food, played games, saw movies and hung out. It was a blast.

Here are a few 2016 highlights for each of us:

Dominic — age 11, 6th grade

• He’s going to school at American Academy of Innovation, a new public charter school in South Jordan focused on project-based learning
• Xbox is his newest electronic love
• He and his cousin AJ played soccer on a rec team last fall
• He goes to 11 year-old Scouts

Eliana — age 15, 9th grade

• Continues to play and study piano and French horn
• Consistently goes over-and-above what’s expected of her at school (she’s our Ms. 4.0)
• Was in the Sandy Arts Guild production of Seussical the Musical Jr. last spring, as an ensemble zebra, and loved it
• Went to girl’s camp and pioneer trek last summer
• Is serving on our stake’s youth conference committee (they’re planning a winter youth conference that’ll be in a couple weeks)
• Spent almost a week last month with her long-time childhood friend Olympia from Henderson (we miss and love the Nelsons)

Vickey

• Loved seeing family and friends throughout the year
• Went with Pete to a conference in Reno and enjoyed the hotel spa and Lake Tahoe
• Took a leap of faith and started teaching at Copper Hills High School last fall, and really enjoys it
• Continues to serve as young women’s president in our ward, and got to attend all of girl’s camp (unlike last year when she broke a rib just before camp) and go on a pioneer trek with our ward youth last summer
• Started Weight Watchers and is having great success

Pete

• Finished a year of service as the Public Relations Society of America North Pacific District Chair and District Council Secretary (he chaired and did the programming for a successful district conference held in Reno last June)
• Continues to serve on the stake high council, and posts his sacrament meeting talks here
• Suffered through a fifth inguinal hernia surgery and recovery in July
• Resigned from his position at the University of Utah in November
• Is doing public relations and corporate communications consulting again, and working as an adjunct instructor in the communication department at Utah Valley University (learn more here)

And last but not least, the family finally broke down Pete’s resistance to getting another dog.

In September we welcomed an Aussiedoodle puppy we named Jetson (learn more here).