The Pete and Vickey Codella annual greeting

Written by Vickey on January 1, 2012

2011 was a fantastic, crazy, and wonderful year for our family. We hope 2012 finds you all well and happy.

Here is a short review of what we have been up to the last 12 months. Photos follow the text, if you make it that far.

Pete

• Applied and was accepted to the Executive MBA program at the University of Utah. He is doing a great job!
• In February, he decided to take down a wall in our master bathroom. Those of you that know Pete well will not be surprised to know that he re-tiled and painted the whole bathroom while he was at it.
• Continues to run Codella Marketing successfully.
• Is an exceptional husband and father.
• Went on a field trip with Dominic’s kindergarten class to Utah’s Hogle Zoo.

Vickey

• Went to the American Heart Association Ball with Pete (he was one of the volunteer organizers).
• Got a ticket to and attended “The Little Mermaid” at the Tuacahn Theater in St. George for her birthday (thanks Madeline and Pete!).
• Organized a Snow Family reunion at Eggett Park in Bountiful and enjoyed being with her extended family for the first time in a VERY long time.
• Became a curriculum coach for the Davis School District.
• Went on a field trip with Ellie’s 3rd grade class to see the tulip gardens at Thanksgiving Point.

Ellie

• Got to spend one week with her best friend from Las Vegas, Olympia.
• Became a 4th grader, started piano lessons, joined Young Astronauts (a science program at school), played on a soccer team for the first time and sang in the school choir.
• Got a ticket to and attended “The Little Mermaid” with her mom and grandparents in St. George for her birthday (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Codella!).
• Rode horses in Elkridge, Utah at Rimrock Ranch (thanks Dan and Paula!) and in Washington, Utah (thanks Tessa and Emma!).
• Jumped off the high dive at the community recreation center pool for the first time.

Dominic

• Started 1st grade, played on a soccer team for the first time, rode a horse and hiked to Delicate Arch.
• Became an expert Wii and DS game player.
• Survived a scary and awful bout with cellulitis. It’s a long story.
• Discovered the world of Legos.
• Went to Lagoon twice and found out he shares his mom’s love of roller coasters (much to his dad’s chagrin).
• Also – Dominic proved his independence in a solo trip to Arctic Circle to buy himself an ice cream cone (you can read about it here).

Family Highlights

Knowing family vacations would be sparse (at best) while Pete was in school, we surprised the kids with a trip to Disneyland in April during spring break. We had loads of fun, ate more than we should have and decided that the next time around we will schedule a few beach days in-between days at Disneyland.

In 2010 my little sister married the love of her life, Kevin. Last June, we were able to spend a week in Moab with the Snow family celebrating their marriage. They renewed their vows in a wonderful ceremony and had a catered dinner for us that evening. We laughed, played, hiked and enjoyed being together as a family.

We took two trips to Cedar City to visit Grandma and Grandpa Codella and see how they were progressing on construction of their dream home in New Harmony. It has gone from a huge hole in the ground to a lovely home over the past 18 months. The construction site made for a great Easter Egg Hunt with the cousins.

We also stayed with Matt and Jamie while we were in southern Utah and helped break in the new (gigantic) pool Matt built in their backyard. What a blast!

We visited and were visited by many of our family members and good friends.

Thanks to each one of you for making our lives rich and full. We love you all!

Pete and Vickey Codella