Alone at last!

DH and I are on our way to Jackson Hole for a long weekend sans kids.
A friend has a house there, and several people are going for a week-
long ski trip. We're not quite ready to leave the kids for that long.
My ILs are holding down the fort. Writing down the kids' schedule for
four days made me realize why I'm always so tired! Between school
dropoff this morning and bedtime Monday there are swimming lessons,
swim club practice, piano lesson and ballet (not to mention homework
and daily music practice)!
I'm a little nervous about the actual skiing. I have new boots and new
ski clothes, but I haven't skiied since before DD1. And then only one
time since before DS. My last real ski season was 98-99. Ten years
ago! Ack!
I'm now two weeks into the semester in my Web Development class. It's
online, but we had a lab in the first week to get us up to speed with
the software. There's a kid who takes swimming lessons at the same
time as DS and DD2 who goes to their school, and his father is in my
class. Small world. Anyway, I'm really enjoying the "work." Moderately
lame class webpage at http:/www.tmcc.nevada.edu/~mccarro5/.

New Year, New Adventure

As of yesterday, DH owns a one-third share of a Bonanza. He's looking forward to flying more (although he's been soaring a lot lately, and is almost ready for his checkride), and the rest of us are looking forward to the travel opportunities that will be open to us. He has some work to do to get up to speed in the Bonanza first.

DH has been preparing to buy into the partnership for a while now. He had a mechanic look things over, checked the title and logs, had some lawyers help with the partnership agreement, all that good stuff.

Over Thanksgiving weekend we borrowed the keys to the hangar, and went and made airplane noises. Our new partners are two very interesting retired couples. We're looking forward to getting to know them better.

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!

Homeward Bound

Our week in Jamaica was wonderful, albeit way too short. We flew to Dallas yesterday. The flight was delayed four hours. I would have very much preferred to have spent that time relaxing at the beach rather than waiting at the airport with three children! I hope this morning's flight home to Reno is on time...

Merry Christmas, Mon!

The kids composed a song last year: "We're going to Jamaica today!"

On our way to Jamaica

We spent Christmas week 2007 at Beaches Sandy Bay with my ILs, and signed up for this Christmas before we came home. Tonight we're spending the night in Dallas, having at least learned that the red-eye is NOT the way to travel with children. The DFW Grand Hyatt is very comfortable, and I think we'll all sleep well after a superb dinner. Hopefully we'll have time for a dip in the rooftop pool before our flight tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a warm week on the beach. No gale-force winds, icy roads, or snow to shovel!

Rest in Peace, Kitty Girl

Yesterday we said goodbye to a good friend. Marilyn (and her brother Kennedy) moved in with me in July 1995. We had 13 1/2 great years with her. Her health took a rapid turn for the worse lately, we think due to a brain tumor and/or strokes. There was nothing to be done, so we enjoyed our last few weeks together, and tried to prepare the children as best we could. It was still hard for them, but it was time for her to go; she had stopped purring.