Christmas Letter 2009
updated 12/13/09
click here for 2009 - the year
in pictures
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Happy Holidays to our Friends and Family!
First of all, thanks for taking the time
to visit our website. We try to get new photos of the kids on our site
regularly, so check back often and keep in touch.* We love hearing from
you!
We
are going on our 9th year in Iowa just north of the quaint river town of
LeClaire, Iowa, which is part of the greater
Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois.
For a quick geography lesson, we are at the intersection of the Mississippi River and Interstate 80,
which, according to a neighbor, makes us a prime terrorist target!? We are
exactly halfway between Chicago and Des Moines - about 2.5 hours/175 miles from
each.
With that said, you have no idea how hard it is to raise good little Texas
Longhorn fans in an area where they thought that the Iowa Hawkeyes were
going to play for the national championship for most of the season - AYE CARUMBA!
This year started with a few great ski trips to local ski areas -
you have to love skiing and snowboarding on Super bowl Sunday in Galena - we had
the slopes to ourselves and the ski hills overlooked one of the wider parts of
the Mississippi River for some scenic views. The "big" kids enjoyed learning how
to ski and snowboard. In February, we went to the "Jeff Dunham" concert, which
was hilarious. We also enjoyed a Spring Break in Chicago where we got to see the
Chicago Blackhawks practice in the morning and then we enjoyed the game later
that evening thanks to Bob and Diane Shomper. We enjoyed a day in
Chicago and
and evening with the Shompers. The kids also enjoy going to Iowa City and
camping at Coralville Dam while taking classes in Iowa City. They also spent a
few days at Fishermans Corner, which is a little closer to home.
We went to Wautoma, Wisconsin for our annual summer vacation with Kurt's
family: Lisa and Bob with Greg, Rene, Rob and their girls: Jackie and Nattie, and
Kent, Kristy and their twins: Brent and Alyssa. Its always such a relaxing time
on the lake.
Another highlight of the year was the marriage of Aunt Leslie and Aunt Lisa
in Des Moines after the Iowa State Court legalized gay marriage! Bennett and I
attended the wedding and it was an amazing event full of supportive friends and
family.
Bennett played
continues to play the cello in the PV Orchestra and opted for the financial and schedule friendly
House league hockey over Travel this year, allowing him to play basketball and
indoor soccer during the Winter months. He "bridged over" in Cub Scouts, which
made him eligible for Boy Scouts, but he decided not to pursue it. He
became a Red Cross certified babysitter, which enables him to watch his younger
siblings, but focus tends to be an issue when Legos are anywhere nearby.
However, he has turned his care-taking skills into a lucrative pet sitting
business in our neighborhood of many empty nesters. He played baseball and
soccer in the Spring and won the prize for his Science Fair project "How to Keep
Fresh Flowers Fresh Longer" - a tablespoon of vodka was the key!
During
the summer, he enjoyed going to the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa
for Chemistry and a Leadership class. He also
hit a College
for Kids where he took Magic, Rocketry and Chemistry (I want to go to THAT
college) and then cello camp, rounding out the summer. Those allowed him to
participate in the LeClaire Library Talent Show with a magic act and a cello
duet with his buddy, Josef. He also used his skating talents at the Crow Creek
skate park (I knew all that hockey would pay off in some way). This Fall, he
played soccer and just started basketball again with his father taking the
reigns as head coach. He will be in a Lego Robotics regional competition
December 12th and has enjoyed preparing for that. (ADDENDUM: his team scored in
the top 5 of the 13 teams at the regional competition, qualifying them to go to
the State competition at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa on January 16,
2010. How very exciting and surprised for a first year team to achieve that. We
are so proud of all the kids on the team!)
He likes 6th grade, his last
year of elementary school, but isn't too crazy about the additional
responsibility and homework that it brings. Bennett continues to be a good
big brother to his sister and little brothers and we are proud of his
achievements.
Sydney continues to enjoy school with her many friends at Cody
School. She is
playing AAU basketball, soccer and ASA softball. These sports often give us the
opportunity to "get out of Dodge" for tournaments. Its all very fun to watch.
During the summer, she participated in a few softball tournaments, a basketball
camp and a theater camp that allowed her and 2 friends (Lexi and Hallie) to perform
"Its a Hard Knock Life" in the LeClaire Library Talent Show. She also
enjoyed participating in the Mississippi Valley Track Club. They met at the High
School throughout the summer, and, while she didn't participate in any track
meets, she really just enjoyed the fun of the coach, the team and the practices. She recently took
up piano lessons in lieu of trying orchestra (I had visions of her and Bennett
playing duets in my dining room, but alas, she tends to steer away from anything
HE does). She still loves her "Webkinz" and has
acquired quite a collection. (If you have a Webkinz in your world, let us know
and we will put you on our "Friends List"). She likes to draw, write stories and
sing. We are proud of all she has
done over the past year.
The twins (Tanner and Chase) went from being little 6 1/2 pound
newborns to 43 pound monsters in 3 years, busting off the growth chart. They
have few things they WON'T eat. They are real troopers and they seem to really
like going to any of Bennett's and Syd's activities and cheering them on. They
are happy boys and play nicely with each other most of the time, while
entertaining the very patient and tolerant Rocky the Cat and Sam-Bone the
dog. They love Diego, Peep, and any UPS, FedEx
or
Mail truck or cement mixer. They were happy to meet their friend "Finn"
at the Family Museum for the Bob the Builder exhibit or the Niabi Zoo. They go
to a Mother's Morning Out 3 hours two days a week at a wonderful
preschool and are enjoying their new friends and teachers. We still get them mixed up from time
to time, but Tanner's scar still keep us in check. And now Chase has his own
scar from a trip over Bennett's foot and a hard landing on the brick fireplace!
Their personalities are more consistent now and they are really talking a lot,
which is just entertaining in itself. They love to go to Gramma and
Baka's any time and hate when I go to pick them up "No! You go away! Go do
stuff!" is what I hear when I walk through the door. They were UPS drivers for
Halloween and celebrated their 3rd birthday at Chuck E. Cheese with friends
Finn and Max.
My (Chris)
most frequently asked question of the year was, again, "are they twins?"
I am proud to report that I am back under my pre-twin weight, minus a
few extra pounds for a total of 70 pounds! My new fitness goal is to reach the weight on my
driver's license! Is that even possible? If it is, I'm working on it at
the gym a few times a week, jogging, taking classes and I took a Boot
Camp this Summer that was 3 mornings a week from 6-7AM the entire month
of June. I felt great afterwards - more agile and just really pumped. It
was a great experience and I slept like a baby the entire month. My annual girls weekend was in Minneapolis
this year with Mo, Meg and Sue - and featured the "Tacky Tour" of the
Twin Cities, continuing our quest of all that is "Crap-tastic" (last
year was the movie, "Mama Mia", which we viewed under the influence of
Bloody Mary's and enjoyed the movie with an enthusiastic crowd that sang
along with the film) Back
at home, I spend a lot of time shuttling kids while attempting to avoid speeding tickets
(only one so far this year, but there is still time!). I also FINALLY
got a haircut and donated 10 inches to Pantene's "Beautiful Lengths",
which provides wigs for cancer patients. My vacuum cleaner and the
shower drain are thrilled by that decision. I continue to be
involved with the PTA at the kids' school and maintain the LeClaire Library's website. I am enjoying staying home with
the kids and working from home developing and maintaining websites. I managed to
play in the women's soccer league again, put on some trivia nights for
local non-profits and really new found time while the twins are in a
Mother's Day out two mornings a week. I also try to get out from time to time and enjoy the company of
many good friends in the area.
And last but not least: Kurt. He
is still hard at work with John Deere and continues to nurture his hunting land by making sure there is plenty of
alfalfa and switchgrass to lure more wildlife. He got a deer with his
bow earlier this Fall, which was a first for him. He incorporated a workout regiment June - August that whipped him into shape
for our annual Wisconsin lake vacation. His project at
work "went live" in Des Moines this Fall and somehow John Deere still
managed to pull off another great year! He also pulled off our master
bathroom remodel, installing cabinets and we are loving the new heated
floor (I would highly recommend this feature in any tiled floor). He is
also trying his hand in coaching - Bennett's basketball team - it is keeping
Kurt up late at night wondering what the magic formula is.
My parents moved up here in June 2007 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. All of the kids love it over
there. The twins especially love the "apple trees", taking rides in the UTV and feeding the fish. My parents help quite a bit with the twins,
enabling me to get some much needed time to myself and work done. 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 2010 and keep in touch! Our email addresses are: kurt@ccx.net
, chris@ccx.net, bennett@ccx.net,
and
sydney@ccx.net. Let us know you stopped by!
Chris and Bennett can also be found on Facebook.
click here for 2009 - the year
in pictures
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