Hi! To make this a bit easier, I decided just to post our last Christmas letter. I made some updates which are in italics.
Christmas
2011
Dear
Family and Friends:
This
has been an exciting year for our family.
We were able to take two vacations this year. The first was during spring break. We went to Utah to visit family and spent two days skiing at
Brighton. Aaron and Nathan took
snowboard lessons; Jim and Meriden took ski lessons. It was fun skiing and visiting family. In June we traveled to California. We spent a couple of days at
Disneyland, a day at Knott’s Berry Farm, a day at Magic Mountain, and a couple
of days playing at the beach and riding jet skis in the ocean alongside seals
and dolphins.
Aaron
(age 18): This was a big year for
Aaron! Since he was in choir
during his senior year, he was able to try out for the school musical “West
Side Story”. He was cast as
Lieutenant Schrenk. He was
awesome! Aaron graduated from
Cienega High School May 26 and even sang a small solo at his graduation. After a boring summer, Meriden took him
to BYU-Idaho where he is having the time of his life. Aaron enjoys hanging out with his friends, dirt bike riding,
camping, and playing his guitar.
Aaron finished his first
year at BYU-Idaho. He really
enjoyed his time there. His
favorite class, of course, was snowboarding. He’s back home, preparing for his mission.
Nathan
(age 16): One of the biggest
highlights of Nathan’s year was to get his driver’s license. He has enjoyed the freedom of having
his license and his parents are grateful they don’t have to drive him
everywhere he needs to be. Nathan
keeps busy with schoolwork, running long distance in track, and cross-country. In his spare time, he likes to run, play
video games, and go dirt bike riding.
He did really well this past cross-country season and is looking forward
to track which starts in January.
Nathan finally made his goal
of running a 5-minute mile! He also bought himself a motorcycle, which he loves to ride. I'm always praying that he'll be safe and that the rest of the drivers will see him!
Meriden: After 5 years of teaching 6th
grade, Meriden took a one-year leave of absence from teaching. She misses the kids and the other
teachers she worked with, but doesn’t miss all the extra hours she put in! She started running about a year ago,
and although running still isn’t her favorite pastime, she knows it’s good for
her. While running on her
property, she took a hard fall and banged up her knee. So, after not running for about 2
months, it was as if she started from the very beginning. She finally broke the 30-minute mark in
a 5K race in December; she ran the race in 29:33. Meriden also enjoyed taking Aaron up to BYU-I, and visiting
with her sisters in Utah. The four
sisters went to the Salt Lake City temple together and enjoyed being together.
I decided not to go back to
full-time teaching for now. I may
in another year, or look into some other opportunities. I love to teach, but am frustrated with
everything that goes along with it.
I have enjoyed subbing in a different school district. One of my goals is to teach math at the Jr. College level, but to do that, I need 24 hours of college level math. I started with College Algebra this semester. It will take 2 years, but hopefully, it will be worth it!
Jim: For more than eleven years now Jim has
enjoyed working for Raytheon full time and the Air Force Reserves part
time. This year he spent his usual
six weeks in Nebraska for the Air Force, and is now finishing off the year
working in uniform at the local military base. He goes motorcycle riding with family and friends when time
permits and has been studying Russian language and culture for more than six
months now.
Jim has been in Ohio since
Feb 8. He’ll be coming home in
May! Yay!
We
hope that you have a very Merry Christmas and an especially Happy New Year!
Love,
Jim, Meriden, Aaron and Nathan
 |
| Jim, Meriden, Aaron and Nathan About April 2011 |
