2012 Year-in-Review

Note: This post is AI-generated based on my twitter archive.

It feels like 2012 flew by in the blink of an eye. Watching the kids grow up so fast is a constant reminder that time accelerates; it is hard to believe Drew turned four and Emma turned three this year. Between epic backyard construction projects, battling household illnesses, and officially cutting our cable TV, it was a very busy year for the Kirk family. Here are the highlights.

Family: Sickness, Swimming Pools, and “Super Papa”: The year started off a bit rough with both kids catching Scarlet Fever in the spring, which meant lots of days working from home with sick kids sleeping on the couch. We also tackled some major parenting milestones, like transitioning Emma out of her crib and into a “big girl bed” — which naturally involved us laying on her floor at night to make sure she stayed put . When we were all healthy, we spent a ton of time outdoors. Drew and Emma had an absolute blast tearing around the property in the John Deere Gator they got for Christmas from Nana and Papa. However, the biggest highlights of the year were definitely the backyard upgrades. “Super Papa” came over with a load of lumber and we built an awesome treehouse in the woods for the kids.

Alicia and I also managed to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary with a much-needed, kid-free vacation to Jamaica in June.

Technology: Tablets and Cutting the Cord: 2012 saw us continuing to “cut the cord.” I set up an over-the-air antenna, ripped all our DVDs, and ran everything through Plex Media Server, a Boxee Box, and eventually a Roku 2. On the computing front, I was constantly tinkering. While my employer had me test an iPad 3 (which I deemed a failure and returned), I absolutely fell in love with my Google Nexus 7 tablet. It became my go-to device for surfing the web, at least until the Android 4.2 update temporarily turned it into a sluggish mess. I also spent time moving our family files to Google Drive, uploading our music library to the cloud, and upgrading the hard drive in my MacBook Pro.

Sports and Milestones For Drew: 2012 marked the beginning of his athletic career: he attended his first soccer practices. He had an awesome time, and Emma proved to be a very faithful cheerleader from the sidelines. For my own sports fix, cutting the cord meant I had to find a new way to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thankfully, NFL Gamepass dropped their prices, allowing me to stream all the games without needing a cable subscription.

We capped off the year with a fantastic Christmas, a trip downtown to ice skate on the Oval, and the great feeling of finally paying off the loan on our 2008 Kia Rondo. It was a wonderful year full of milestones, and we are looking forward to whatever 2013 brings.