Christmas
Letter 2011
updated
12/05/2011
click here for 2011 - the year
in pictures
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Happy Holidays to our Friends and Family!
In
Memoriam:
We
are sad to have seen some of our dearest family and friends pass away
this year.
You will forever be in our hearts.
Adele Cournoyer (Kurt’s Mother)
Wanda Gearhart (Chris’ Paternal Grandmother)
Christine Nichols (Chris’ Friend, Mother of Sydney’s Close Friend)
Wendy Torrey (Chris’ Friend)
David Discher (Kurt’s Friend and Best Man at our Wedding)
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!
The Cournoyer family has now been in
LeClaire, Iowa for 10 years! I can still hardly believe it sometimes,
but we are happy to call it home. Any of you “American Pickers” fans
are welcome to stop by and see us and the “Antique Archaeology” shop
anytime! For a quick geography lesson, we are at the intersection of the
Mississippi River and Interstate 80. We are exactly halfway between
Chicago and Des Moines - about 2.5 hours, or 175 miles from each. Come
and see us!
In January, we lost
Kurt’s mother, Adele Cournoyer. We lost his dad in July 2010, so they
are now back together again. Adele loved her family, the Wisconsin
Badgers and the Green Bay Packers. She was an amazing cook and always
had homemade meals and treats in her kitchen. She had a great sense of
humor with a contagious laugh and she enjoyed traveling to see her
family around the country. In her memory, we are sponsoring a cat cage
at the Scott County Humane Society, because she loved all cats.
Of course, I have to
mention the Green Bay Packers winning the Super bowl in February, which
we are sure Kurt’s mother, Adele, had great seats for! I took the “big
kids” snow skiing on Super bowl Sunday again with good friends the
Carpenters and Gasaways. Super bowl Sunday has got to be one of the best
days to go skiing ever!
As a family, we went
to Madison, Wisconsin for a long February weekend to see our dear
friend, David Discher, and go to a Wisconsin Badger Hockey game and a
Men’s basketball game. We had a great time at the games and it we are so
grateful to have spent time with “Disch” before his untimely passing in
September. Disch was the ultimate sports fan and knew everything there
was to know about the Wisconsin Badgers and the Green Bay Packers. He
was such a sweet guy who loved his dogs and never forgot our birthdays
or anniversary.
Bennett is doing well
in school and is now in 8th grade. In 7th grade he
played on for junior high basketball team, participated in the Robotics
program as well as track running mostly the mile, just like his mother,
grandfather (Burt Gearhart) and great grandfather (Les Gearhart). Last
Christmas, he inherited his Great Grandfather’s (Bob Roudabush) stand up
Bass fiddle, so he made the switch over from the cello and its has been
heart-warming to see him play the instrument that my grandfather loved
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fanmUu9yp70,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZekggrPyY6o)
.
He continues to play soccer and played on a club basketball team during
the summer. In a genius move, he broke his wrist with two weeks left in
school in May – “horsing around”, I believe, was the official cause of
the injury given to me by the school nurse. We quickly saw how fast we
could reach our giant deductible and learned how expensive horse play
really could be. The good news was that he only missed 1 soccer
tournament and 1 basketball tournament, but I know he was ready to get
the cast off and start swimming and playing again. We had a blast 4th of
July at the Rocket competition. I don't think so....from the
depths of Baka's (my dad, Burt Gearhart) garage comes all the supplies
you need to send a toy rocket into outer space....a piece of wood, some
wire, alligator clips and a 6 Volt battery...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kdYiz1dIow
This fall he played
football and soccer and went out for the wrestling team. http://youtu.be/2hSiflgREXE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynlngS1JTS0
He is in what
I call “the toothpick division” and is doing well with the support of a
very good coaching staff. We are glad that he is trying new things and
having positive experiences.
Sydney is now in her
last year of elementary school and continues to enjoy her friends,
playing basketball, soccer, and now volleyball. She also plays the piano
and started playing the clarinet in the school band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-V_LsnFOXA
, as well as Chorus.
She has always loved to sing, so we are glad that she is trying it. One
of the highlights of her summer was participating in “Glee Camp”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U72p9PXEPpQ
She
had so much fun learning songs and choreography and really cried when it
was over. We were sad when Sydney let us know that she wasn’t interested
in playing softball again in the Spring, but she really likes soccer and
something had to go out of the schedule. Having more free time and the
less hectic schedule was better for everyone. The good news is that she
was asked to sub by another team several times in the summer and she
learned to love the game again, which was great. She played on the same
club basketball team as Bennett this summer that was another great
experience and has continued into this Fall/Winter season. She sunk a
few 3 pointers as well, which was really cool. It was nice to have them
going to many of the same tournaments. Syd also took tennis lessons and
wrote some new stories, which she enjoyed as well. She is blossoming
into a spirited young lady and we know there will be many entertaining
years to come.
Tanner and Chase are
now 5 years old and going to wonderful preschool (“Brown School”) 5
mornings a week in separate classes. They are doing well being on their
own, but its a bit more for their mother to manage. :) They have
made more friends and really love their teachers. They love to listen to
music and Sydney has taught them many of the top 40 songs. Its just
funny to hear their version of them. (See Tanner singing "The Lazy Song"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjld7qbbwmM)
Tanner enjoys writing
new letters and doing Chase’s “homework” and Chase is happy to let him
do it. This summer we enjoyed the zoo and we joined a pool, which we
frequented often. Tanner and Chase took swim lessons, made a lot of
friends and we enjoyed many relaxing days and evenings there. They got
to ride on the LeClaire Community Library float in the Tugfest parade, a
task that they both took very seriously. They also
took up t-ball, preschool basketball at the YMCA and started wrestling
for the school club program, which has been awesome to watch. They are
perfectly matched and are learning new moves all the time. They like
their big wheels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4EFI4SH9cg
and working on
"projects", Chase particularly likes washing dishes in the kitchen
sinks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZuVU05G0bs
They are a
lot of fun and love to go over to Gramma and Baka’s (Chris’ parents) for
“projects”. They are real troopers attending many of their sibling’s
events and they get along most of the time. They love their
ever-tolerant cat Rocky and dog Sam-Bone and they enjoy the old “Looney
Tunes” cartoons. They won “Best Costume” at our Halloween party dressed
as UPS drivers. When they grow up, they want to be either UPS drivers or
Jedi Knights. They are looking forward to Kindergarten next year as well
as going to Disney World.
Syd and I were able to make the
trip to Ames, Iowa to see the Texas Longhorns avenge the loss at home
last year to the Iowa State Cyclones. It was a great trip and a great
game (for us!) and we had so much fun being around fellow Longhorn fans.
It just felt like home! We spent the rest of the weekend in Des Moines
with Aunties Leslie and Lisa and had a great time riding scooters,
shopping the outdoor festival and eating good food.
I (Chris) put many
miles on the car playing taxi driver, but enjoy all of the activities.
I still have a website design business and continue to help with trivia
nights benefiting local non-profits, the school district's robotics
program, the LeClaire Community Library, and the PTA. This summer I was
honored by being recognized in the Bettendorf News as one of the 20
people who makes a difference in the community, (http://qctimes.com/people-chris-cournoyer/article_7925fce2-e870-11e0-ab0e-001cc4c03286.html
) I enjoyed the summer at the pool as well and started a new training
regiment at “CrossFit”, which I love. My annual girls’ weekend was in
Galena, IL with Mo and Sue. We missed Megly this year, but hope she can
join us again next year! Not sure what I enjoyed more: the “Scooter to
Winery Tour”, the “Ghost Tour (that fulfilled our “something crap-tastic
requirement)”, or the Alpine Slide at Chestnut Mountain Ski Resort. Upon
arrival back in LeClaire, I was again surrounded by friends at the
Valley Inn at a "Naughty T-shirt" party - suffice it to say, no one
disappointed. It was hilariously funny. All
around, it was another great weekend with great friends. In October, my
good friend, Mo, and I met halfway in Mason City, Iowa for a ½ marathon.
It was a great run through a cute town, but I understood around mile 11
what it means to “hit the wall”. Wow – the last 2 miles were pure
determination, but Mo and I both finished with respectable times and it
was great to have trained “remotely” with her throughout the Summer and
Fall. I also played in the local women’s soccer league. I am so glad
that the "Mothers of Blast" or MOB, have continued getting together. We
had so much fun when our boys all played on the same soccer team, that
we continue to go out together, even after some of the boys have moved
on to other teams. I have been
fortunate to meet many new friends this year and I have really learned
how important good friends are, both new and old.
And Kurt: he is still
at John Deere, enduring a trip to India this summer. He continues to
hunt at our hunting land and has already taken one doe with his bow this
season. He is coaching Bennett’s basketball team again this Fall/Winter
and will be glad to turn the boys over to the school next year. He
enjoys the kid’s various activities and continues to be a great dad to
them.
My parents moved up
here in June 2007 and they live exactly 1.7 miles away. They are busy
with their property, attending grandchildren’s activities and their
various endeavors. My dad has become an amazing nature and sports
photographer, taking great pictures of the eagles at the local Lock and
Dam as well as well as action photos of the kids in action. My mother
has met many new friends through her exercise group and is active at the
LeClaire Library as well as at the school. My parents help quite a bit
with the twins and kids, enabling me to get some much needed time to
myself and work done.
We lost my Gramma
Wanda Gearhart in September and will miss her. She was a feisty one and
I have fond memories of her Christmas candy, the chocolate donuts they
would bring me in Texas and the “tanning contest” we would have when
they went South for the Winter that I never won. It was a sad occasion,
but a celebration of her life that brought back a lot of great memories.
It was nice seeing cousins and relatives at the services. The best part
was when we took Gramma to the cemetery in her 1970 Purple Cadillac.
After the service there, 7 of the great grandchildren rode in the
Cadillac to the Pizza Ranch for dinner. It was heart-warming seeing all
of those kids in that gigantic car having fun together. Gramma would
have loved that!
Gramma “Marbles”
Marie Roudabush has moved closer to us and is staying in a local
independent living situation that is very nice. It is great to be closer
to her and have the kids spend time with her.
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
and chris@ccx.net. Let us know you stopped by!
Chris can also be found on Facebook.
click here for 2011 - the year
in pictures
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