Christmas
Letter 2003
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Happy Holidays to our Friends and Family!
First of all, thanks for taking the time
to visit our website. We were trying to conserve a few trees by
publishing our letter online, so we hope you appreciate this method
of communication! We try to get new photos of the kids on our site
every
month, so check back often and keep in touch. We love hearing from
you!
2003
We
are going into our 3rd year in Le Claire, Iowa and we still really like
it here. We have made some really good friends and are enjoying
the four seasons. We have completed the cabin on the
land and spent a lot of quality time down there
fishing, exploring and hunting (for Kurt). Bennett perfected the art of
capturing grasshoppers for bait, so he fished a lot while Sydney
"babysat" and named all the fish that he caught. Since we finished the
cabin, it was time for an ATV, which meant we needed a barn to keep it
in. Of course!
Bennett
graduated from Lucky Star Preschool and started Kindergarten this Fall.
He is doing well and his favorite subject is recess. He played t-ball and
soccer again and tried ice skating (hockey lessons to him). Speed
on the ice is his only motive in lessons. He also is trying wrestling,
which is a good energy burner for him. He still loves to help dad with
everything and loves to ride his bike. Dad built him a ramp for
his birthday so he can drive Mom crazy. He is also heavily into Bionicles (the Lego toys).
S
ydney
graduated from her Mother's Day Out program and started at Lucky Star
Preschool this fall. She likes her art and tumbling classes and to
sing her made-up songs very loud. She loved her "Tap Puppies" class that
she took this summer and shuffle steps all over the house. She enjoys
the time alone with Mom while Bennett is in school but is happy when he
comes home. The house seems very empty without him. She likes to
play with her stuffed animals, dolls and her dog,
Sam-Bone.
Kurt
focused on the land a lot this year, finishing the cabin and building
the barn. It only took 4 months before his first ATV accident, where he
bruised a few ribs. He got his first deer this year in October
with his muzzle loader and is looking forward to a few more. We have
processed the meat and it is delicious. Kurt's garden at home produced
well again this year and he tried his hand at pickles and blackberry
jam. His project at work "went live" over Thanksgiving weekend and he is
looking forward to taking some much needed vacation over the Holidays.
Chris
continued keeping up with the kids and Kurt while squeezing some other
activities in as well. I continued involvement with the Friends of
the LeClaire Community Library (opening July 2004), the LeClaire Chamber
of Commerce, Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS), and introducing the Cody
School PTA! Wow. Having Bennett start Kindergarten definitely
freaked me out a bit, but I think I'm working through it. His teacher is
very patient with me! We also
started a bookclub in Le Claire, so I have enjoyed reading books that
aren't about kids or for kids! In April, I took a leap and cut 11
inches off my hair and donated it to "Locks of Love". I am still working
from home developing websites and have continued with the party
invitation and stationery business. I didn't get to run the 1/2 marathon
this year, as I sprained my ankle 3 weeks before the race, then
re-sprained it a week before. It was a real bummer, but at least I
trained. I also played in a women's
soccer league, volleyball league, and have made some wonderful friends
along the way.
We enjoyed several visits from Kurt's
parents and my parents, including a visit in June from Grandma Maril and
Baka (Chris' parents) when they drove up in their airstream. We
took a 3 week trip through Wisconsin, visiting Devil's Lake and Door
County. In July, they came up again for cousin Amber's wedding and the
kids stayed with them at the Scott County Parks. We also had a great
visit from Auntie Nan and Uncle Chippy, as well as Chippy's mom, Dot for
Thanksgiving.
We would welcome any of you who would
like to visit us! There is much to do around here and we are 176 miles from Chicago and have a decent
airport locally in Moline.
Meanwhile, enjoy your Holidays, have a
great 2004 and keep in touch! Our email addresses are: kurt@ccx.net
, chris@ccx.net, bennett@ccx.net,
sydney@ccx.net, and samthedog@ccx.net
. Let us know you stopped by!
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