Year in Review

Happy New Year!!!

I’ve decided that in keeping with tradition, I will send out a New Year’s letter again this year. We have had a fun year with lots of exciting events. We hope that this letter finds you and your family doing well and having lots of fun.

Kyle is now 12 years old and 5’3” tall. He started 6th grade at the middle school this year and adjusted quickly to the 6 different classes and teachers and was elected student council representative this year. When we went to his parent/teacher conferences all the teachers told us he was a great asset to their class. It was nice to hear he is doing well. Kyle continued with JBQ and did a good job. Kyle’s big highlight of the year was baseball. His team did VERY well this year and went to the district’s Tournament of Champions where they took 1st place. Kyle plays 3rd base, pitcher and once in a while, catcher. Kyle attended two different church camps this summer and had a blast making new friends and renewing old friendships.

Kevin is 7 years old and 4’ 6” tall. He is in 2nd grade and loves reading and math, he does not like writing though. It takes too long but when he does sit down and writes, he has a vivid imagination. His teachers also commented on how nice and helpful he is in class. Kevin played “coach pitch” baseball which he enjoyed so much more than T-ball. He did a great job hitting the ball into the outfield and really enjoyed playing catcher whenever the coach would let him. Kevin also plays soccer in the fall and loves that too. He plays goalie half the game and then plays in the field the second half. All his baseball experience pays off on the soccer field as he can throw the ball over half the field as goalie. Kevin is continuing with Scouts is now a Wolf and enjoyed Scout Day Camp this past summer.

In April, Chris and Wendy flew to Dallas, Texas for vacation. Wendy just could not handle the rain anymore and wanted sun and warmth. We were able to catch up with old friends from church who had moved down the year before, meet new friends from Wendy’s work whom she had only spoken to over the past 15 years, visit with cousin Angie who we had not seen in about 15 years and just drive around the Dallas/Fort Worth area just playing tourist.

In July the entire family went to Palmer (near Wasilla), Alaska to visit Wendy’s brother, Paul and his family. We had so much fun and it was great seeing all five, yes five, of our nieces and nephews. We watched baseball practices, soccer games, mined at Hatcher’s Pass, drove to Seward in the rain, watched the candy parade in Eagle River, watched fireworks at midnight from the Wal-Mart and just hung out together as a family. This is also where Chris damaged his knee taking pictures of a moose, which resulted in surgery in September.

August brought the annua family camping trip. This year we went to Lake Wenatchee thinking for sure we would not have rain but warm sun for the week. We were wrong; it rained for two of the days. There were between 24-28 of us on a given day and we had lots of fun. The boys loved riding their bikes, playing at the lake, playing at the playground, making s’mores (Kyle is a professional) and just hanging out as a family.

Chris is in his 5th year as a radio personality on KVI on Sunday afternoons and is still having a blast as a “techie” with his business. He is continuing with the photography hobby and had one of his photos included in Pentax Photo Gallery in the Premier section.

Wendy is still at 7-Eleven working with facilities and construction. She continues to serve with Cub Scouts and added the Little League board to her list of things to do. She is also involved in planning her 20 year high-school reunion. She is an avid sports fan and supports her boys by cheering loudly at all their games.

We love keeping in touch so drop us a line when you have a chance. Make 2009 a great year!!

Chris, Wendy, Kyle and Kevin

If you click on the picture it will get bigger and you can see the wonderful collage I was able to make.