I figure if TBS can run A Christmas Story for 24 hours I can send out a Christmas letter and also post it on the blog. Merry Christmas everyone!!! I hope you day is fool of wonderment, everlasting-gobstoppers, and jubilation. If you did not receive a copy of Szymanek Hawaii’s annual news letter feel free to subscribe to the blog and send an address (email, tweet, phone, text, pigeon however you can get a hold of me) my way so we can get you on the short list. Until next year’s letter… Merry Christmas
2012 was a sweet year… I think? Fact is that since November 6th, I mean 7th, I have forgotten a great deal of it. The biggest moment of the year was 40 weeks, 4 days, 6 hours and 14 minutes in the making; that moment of course being Charlianne’s decision to detach herself from Mommy and start breathing her own air. Since that speedy delivery, which you can read about in its entirety at www.barbellsandbabies.blogspot.com, life has revolved around simply surviving. One kid is great, two kids is survival of the fittest, bundle it up all up in a high rise apartment built for little Japanese tourists, a cat who forgot how to control her bladder, the ever present threat of a Tsunami and you really get a taste of what living in paradise is all about. Have no fear people, Szymanek Hawaii is in full attack mode and we are slowly, yet surely, figuring out how to manage the situation.
Milestones were reached and surpassed by all, including The General (Mason). He turned one, recently PR’d his snatch at 10# – not too bad for a 18 month old, and tosses a 6# Medicine ball around like a rag doll (check out his videos on youtube at Barbells and Babies – yes I am self promoting). Mason is training up for the 2028 Summer Games, watch out world there’s a Szymaniac on the loose. He is also embracing the big brother role. Mason has only slapped Charli a few times, come off the top rope twice and stolen her bottle just once. However, he is mostly full of kisses and hugs for his little sis and loves saying her name. His new favorite saying is, “ Shhh, Charli’s sleeping!”.
For me, 2012 was full of PR’s and hard lessons learned. I have embraced my role as Chief Operating Officer of Daddy Daycare 2503, recently increasing enrollment by 100%. The client’s are completely satisfied; enjoying personalized and catered meals, afternoon naps and pampered bottoms. For the 12 of you out there that follow my blog (that’s also a 100% increase from last year), you know that I was a member of the first place North Cal Regional Crossfit Team. We were stripped of our title, but at 808 we are training hard and hoping to right some wrongs in 2013. The goals are lofty, yet attainable given our skill level. Our 2013 season will be in full swing starting late January when our crew heads for Temecula, CA to take on the SoCal Super Spartan 2012 – WODstock Challenge (google it for details and if you’re in the neighborhood come on by and throw us some support ).
PR’s were also posted by Eliza, besting her delivery of a human time by 2 hours and a bunch of pushes. She has also embraced some life style changes and even indulged in a few new foods. For those of you who knew her in college she has upgraded from tuna, romaine and pepper to more exotic fare like ground beef, beets, bacon and the occasional offal (organ meat) forced down her throat by yours truly. Seriously folks, it’s something you should all be doing. Four ounces a month could, I mean will, change your life.
So what’s in store for Szymanek Hawaii in 2013? For starters we will be changing our name in September when we take up residency in Columbia, SC. We are thinking Szymanek Cocks (as in South Carolina Gamecocks), but will probably settle on Szymanek Carolina to appease the PC crowd. That’s right, we are leaving paradise (place tear here) for the East Coast. On a positive note, we are excited to move closer to family, friends and get back in touch with some fine southern Q. To be honest, we are also glad to have been placed in an area were scraping ice off the car isn’t common place and an ocean doesn’t separate our new additions from the people we love most. It will be tough saying goodbye to paradise and our family at Crossfit 808, but with any luck there will be a proper send off this July at the Home Depot Center.
Szymanek Hawaii sends lots of love to our family and friends! Until next year – mele kalikimaka!
Love, Joe, Eliza, Mason and Charlianne
