Due to an outrageously fun Christmas Party and an unexpected illness on my part during the thick of the holiday season…I was not able to muster the strength to do the Christmas cards this year.
I know, I know. you are all crushed. You wait all year for that card to show up in your mailbox, catching you up with the weird and wonderful year we have had. So, to mitigate your sadness, I will post the letter I would have sent in the cards here.
Enjoy
Merry Christmas everyone! We have survived another year here in Oak Park.
J (9) has just been signed as the youngest right handed reliever in Cubs history. He continues his winter practices and looks forward to meeting up with the team in Arizona in the Spring. I know, most of you thought he was leaning towards the Yankees. And after that bidding war, it was hard to turn them down. But he really didn’t want to have to get his own place, and playing at Wrigley means he can still live at home. This is of course, when he is not out driving on the Monster Truck World Tour. He has taken over the driving duties for Gravedigger. We will see if he can take on both sports and keep his grades up at school. Boy, he will have a hard time choosing just one if he has to scale down!
The O man (7) has recovered nicely from his little “accident” on the motorcycle circuit this summer. Though he couldn’t compete in the last two races, he still came out on top in the points. So, that makes him the Professional Road Motorcycle champion for the second year in a row. We couldn’t be prouder. I do wish he would move away from bikes and into something with four wheels (and a roll cage!), but I don’t want to stifle his talent. He continues to do well at Beye and says recess is his favorite subject.
J2 (5) seems to really enjoy his career with the military. I am not sure exactly what he does for them. He let something slip once about “black ops”, but he is not allowed to talk to us about his job. Last we heard from him he was “in an undisclosed location in the Middle East”. His Kindergarten teacher has been nice enough to set him up with internet classes, so it seems he is not falling too far behind. Besides, he is learning so much from his travels.
The DH and I are keeping busy. There are so many games, events, practices, races to go to is seems we barely have time to think! The Genius Grant DH won this year has really made it easier to keep up with the kids. And keep your fingers crossed about that Nobel Prize in Economics. Vegas odds make him look like he has a great shot this year.
Hope everyone had as good a year as we did!
Okay, so I asked the kids what they wanted me to put in the Christmas letter…but now here is the Reader’s Digest version of our year:
As a family we enjoyed our first trip to the ocean this year, our first trip to the Iowa State Fair, and my first year with all three kids in all day school.
J hit some grand slams in tball, played goalie in soccer, and continues to “hunt” and fish with unbelievable focus.
The O Man had a grand slam of his own, took a ball to the face in soccer, and wants very much to get a razor pocket rocket from Santa (over my dead body).
J2 has started at the big school this year with his brothers. He only forgot to get off the bus once, and seems to really like his teacher.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and all that good stuff from the Family!
The Blahg 