"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien.
"If you wish to be happy, think not of what is to come nor of that which you have no control over but rather of the now and of that which you can change."
Oromis, Brisingr, Christopher Paolini.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

2008 In Review

Based on our 2008 Christmas letter:

This summer we visited DH’s relatives in Norway, spending time at both the family farm and the mountain cabin. We bracketed our time there with two visits to the UK; the first to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the second to London. Most of the wonderful historic sites we visited were featured in the Harry Potter movies. Our kids’ familiarity with these movies kept them interested in seeing what could otherwise have been just a lot of boring old buildings.

We continue to enjoy time in our popup camper. Other than a weeklong trip in August to central Oregon, this year we stayed closer to home; mostly weekend stays in the Sierras. In June we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary with a trip to June Lake, California, where we camped with my brother and his family. The kids are missing the camper now that it’s been put away for the winter.

DS is 8. He made his First Communion in April. DS is in third grade this year, and is attending school after home schooling for the past two years. The new environment seems to agree with him; he has earned an A in “citizenship” on his report cards! He is in the basketball and swim clubs at school as well as continuing with weekly swimming lessons. In March he began piano lessons. He is becoming quite the James Bond fan, and even dressed up as 007 for Halloween.

DD1 is 6 and is in first grade. She is attending the same science-focus charter school as DS and is enthusiastic about all the new things she is learning. DD1 is in the jump rope and swim clubs at school. She was the only first-grader accepted into the swim club; her hard work at swimming lessons is paying off! This is her fourth year studying ballet. She did her pre-primary level Royal Academy of Dance exam in May, and led her class’ performance in their June recital.

DD2 is 3. She started preschool in August. DD2 is taking Spanish lessons at school, and often slips Spanish words into conversation. In June we had the pleasure of attending her first ballet recital. DD2 still loves giant pandas, and has adopted “Panda” as her nickname. She enjoys art, swimming and playing with her baby dolls.

DH has continued guitar lessons this year. He is having fun working towards adding a glider rating to his private pilot certificate. I still help breastfeeding mothers as a volunteer La Leche League Leader. I will be returning to school part time starting in January. We both enjoyed catching up with old friends at our 15th Stanford reunion this October, and enjoyed another relaxing Christmas vacation in Jamaica.

All our love and best wishes for a wonderful 2009!

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