Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We hope this letter finds you well. Reflecting back on this year, we feel so grateful for the many wonderful people and blessings we have in our lives. This year has been a big one for us and we loved sharing it with our loved ones.
In July, we bought our home in Pleasant Grove. We have always felt connected to the mountains and love that we have the opportunity to be so close to them. Our home has been a nice upgrade from living in a duplex apartment to an actual home. This is the first time in our marriage that Judd and I have not shared a wall with a neighbor!
I surprised Judd with a dirt bike for his birthday in September. He has always wanted one and with the help of his brother, Chad, we found the perfect one to give him. He thoroughly enjoys riding all around the foothills that connect to our backyard. He had one gnarly crash but now has an awesome scar on his leg that he can brag about. Judd continues to invest in his love of real estate and purchased another duplex this year. He and his cousin, Josh, are currently adding another apartment onto the house and are in the middle of construction.
I (Camie) decided to apply for a Pilates teaching position at BYU and UVU last spring. I felt under qualified and extremely nervous about putting myself out there, but to my surprise, was offered a position at both universities. I have loved my students and classes this fall semester and am excited to start the new semester in January. I love learning and decided to pursue a prestigious STOTT PILATES certificate to add to my other fitness certifications. I am currently in the middle of my training and will not be done until Fall of 2019.
Zoey started her second year of preschool and loves learning. Her preschool teacher is an English woman and Zoey is fascinated by her accent. Zoey has loved taking ice skating and dance lessons this year. She had her first dance recital in April and just performed in her Christmas concert last week. Zoey moved up in ice skating levels from Snowball Level I to Snowball Level II. She loves our new neighborhood and cul de sac and is out playing with friends everyday.
Isla is our same, sweet firecracker she has always been. She turned two in November and has already started potty training herself with no help from me or Judd. She loves playing with Zoey and copying everything her older sister does. Lala can frequently be found walking around the house singing songs she’s made up. Our current favorite thing about her is how she points to herself and tells everyone, “I cute baby.”
Judd didn’t sell this summer so we enjoyed our first summer in Utah in six year. We hiked, went camping, and enjoyed all of the amazing things Utah has to offer in the summer. For those of you who saw my updates about my sister Shelby on Facebook, I wanted to let you all know that she received a kidney transplant this summer and is doing well.
Judd and I still love snowboarding and spending time together on the mountain. We try to go as often as possible and live for powder and good snow days. Judd can officially add a backside 180 to his snowboarding repertoire. In a race, I can beat Judd down the mountain, but he claims that my board is simply faster. My mom and I took Zoey and Isla skiing for the first time this spring. Zoey was a natural at figuring out her skis and only got away from us once. I baby-carried Isla on my chest and she slept the whole time so I think she enjoyed it too. We look forward to putting Zoey in official ski lessons this season.
Judd and I did two international trips this year. We spent the New Year and the first part of January in Ecuador building a road for local children to attend school. Judd’s work, Aptive, organized it and we went with Eagle Condor Humanitarian. While there, we hiked a volcano, ate amazing food, and sang and danced with the wonderful people of Ecuador. I am extremely grateful Judd speaks Spanish and made him my personal translator as I tried to speak with as many people as possible.
In October, Judd and I traveled to Iceland. I have never seen so many waterfalls in my life. I brought my LifeStraw, a personal water filtration system, and drank from every single one. Best. Water. Ever. Judd did not share in my interest of drinking the glacier waterfall water, but trusted my high opinion of it. Going to the Blue Lagoon and Black Sand Beach were major highlights of our trip, but the best one was probably watching the Northern Lights dance across the sky. I will admit that I cried while watching them.
We have had a year full of adventure, craziness, and love. I feel grateful for not just my small, little family but for my amazing extended family too, including my parents, sisters, in-laws and friends. I am so grateful for my Savior and my Heavenly Father who have blessed me in so many ways. When I have felt the most down, I think of everything they have given us and I instantly feel better. We are excited and optimistic to see what 2019 holds for us. We hope that you have felt the love we feel for you this year and wish all of the best things for you this next year. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Love,
The Wrays
Judd, Camie, Zoey (4) & Isla (2)
