Christmas Letter 2007

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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!

I put the "Life is Good" logo at the top of this letter because the last year can only be described as a good one for our family. With 4 children now under the age of 10, chaos reigns and time flies, but we are enjoying every minute of it!

We are going on our 6th year in Iowa and still really like it. Life on the Mississippi River and the changing seasons are so nice, although Winter tends to linger longer than it should. Its a good thing we have hockey and basketball to keep us going and giving us reasons to travel to exciting places such as Waterloo, Des Moines and Peoria. ?!?!

We also made it to Wisconsin a few times. Once for a hockey tournament in Milwaukee and then up to Appleton to visit Kurt's parents and another time this summer to Appleton where we celebrated Kurt's 40th (!) and then to Silver Lake where we met up with Auntie Rene (Kurt's Sister), Uncle Kokka and our favorite cousins: Jackie and Nattie. We had a great time relaxing on the beach and getting caught up on sleep. (at least I did!). We recently had a visit from Auntie Nan and Uncle Chippy, who came through on their whirlwind tour of the Midwest over Thanksgiving. We had a great time showing them around and taking them to games.

Bennett was quite happy to have an "ex-Mallard" as his 3rd grade teacher, Andy Fermoyle (he played college hockey and professional hockey for the Quad City Mallards). Bennett played Squirt Travel Hockey and soccer (anything to burn energy). During the summer, he enjoyed going to the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa for the "Lego Robotics" class and the "Mystery of the MoLi Stone" class, which dealt with numeration systems and super-nerdy math stuff. He also hit Cub Scout and hockey camp, rounding out the summer. He loves 4th grade - a serious "big kid" grade, with new responsibilities and perhaps most importantly - deodorant! It was seriously on the school supply list and I was having a maternal breakdown at the drugstore picking it out with him. He likes to work outside with his dad and is a hard worker and recently took up the cello in the 4th grade beginner orchestra. We look forward to his first concert on December 11th. Bennett continues to entertain us with cartoon-character-like personality and we love him for it.

Sydney continues to love 2nd grade with her many friends at Cody School. One might call her my "my Mini Me" since she has started AAU basketball, soccer and will begin ASA softball in the Spring. Not that I was opposed when she was interested in the cheerleading camps, but I was quite happy when she was invited to play on these teams. Its very fun to watch and she gets her "tenacious D" on the basketball court from her mother, although her dad might argue with that. During the summer, she enjoyed "Camp Freeze", an ice skating camp where she was the only girl wearing hockey skates. She and Bennett were on the same hockey team this summer when their two age groups were combined for the summer House league. She and I (and the babies) enjoyed exploring Iowa City while Bennett was at his classes, especially going to the Java House and getting online to take care of her "Webkinz". (If you have a Webkinz in your world, let us know and we will put you on our "Friends List"). Sydney and I managed to get to Ames, Iow for the University of Texas / Iowa State football game. It was a blowout at 56-3, but we stayed until the very end. She likes to draw, write stories and sing anything from "High School Musical" and "Chicago". Sydney struggled with being the "only girl", in the family, but quickly discovered the advantages of being the princess and she takes her role of providing drama for the family very seriously.

The babies (Tanner and Chase) went from being little 6 1/2 pound newborns to 25 pound monsters in a big hurry. They are real troopers and its a good thing they like riding in the car. They are great babies and play nicely with each other when their older siblings aren't around to entertain them. We are finally getting to the point where we can tell them apart without much trouble, but there are days still where we mix them up. Its a good thing Tanner has a scar on his leg. We refer to that often. They have pleasant personalities and we are really enjoying them.

Kurt focused on the land a lot again this year , planting native switchgrass and alfalfa to lure more wildlife. We just ran out of the deer meat that he got last year, so its time for a few more. Now if he could just get down there to hunt between work and hockey games! 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" in Ottumwa this Fall he is looking forward to taking some much needed vacation over the Holidays.

I (Chris) got better at saying "no" this year, but still has much work to do. The twins offer a nice excuse in this arena, but I still find time to be the PTA President and help as a Friend of the LeClaire Community Library. I am still enjoying staying home with the kids and working from home developing websites.  I managed to play in a women's soccer league again have started tennis clinics at the Fitness Center, which is a very therapeutic way to hit something really hard without hurting anyone. The babies and I walk and jog whenever we can in the double jogger and try to keep moving.

My parents moved up here in June and they live exactly 1.7 miles away. They have 15 acres and a pond, which has kept them and the "big kids" very busy. My mother helps quite a bit with the twins, enabling me to get some much needed time to myself. I think they are enjoying being closer to us and their mothers, who are in central Iowa.

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 2008 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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