December 20, 2010

Dear Family Friends,

With another Texas summer and hurricane season behind us, we're excited for the holiday season and the great weather that comes with it. After 8 years in Houston, though, our kids are accustomed to the heat, and aren't happy when they have to wear jackets!

Our biggest event this year was the arrival of a new little baby just before Halloween. (He'll have fun telling people his birthday is 10/20/2010.) Nathan is our fifth boy, and everyone is excited to have him in our family. The kids love holding him and helping him when he cries. Alexander has taken to calling him "Buddy" or "my best friend." He won't get the award for the calmest baby, but he is getting better as he gets older.

This year we thought we'd take some direct quotes from the kids to see what they remember of 2010:

Alexander (3) started preschool a few days after his new brother was born. He is the youngest in his class but since he is big for his age (and tries to act like his 7-yr-old brothers) it doesn't seem so hard sending him off early in the morning. He remembers, "I went to a movie. There was a girl with long hair. I don't like movies -- they are loud, but I like cars because lightning McQueen is fast. It was funny because I laughed. At Sea World our hotel was fun. I don't like Shamu splashing me because the water is too cold."

Matthew (7) said, "This year I have had lots of fun with my Christmas present that I got from my Grandma. I am in first grade, I am six years old and my brother got an aircraft carrier -- his name is Joshua. I like to play with Jacob's gun sometimes. We got a new baby brother in October, on the 20th. My brother's birthday is in February. My favorite ride at Sea World is the Lazy River."

Joshua (7) had a little harder time coming up with something. "I can't think of anything…I remember going to Sea World, it was very fun. Hi, my name is Joshua." He actually went to Sea World 4 times this year, so I hope he remembers it. We had to get our money's worth from those season tickets! He is also in the 1st grade and started taking piano lessons along with the other kids this year.

Jacob's (8) highlights this year were: "Grandma came to visit, my birthday, and Nathan was born. We got a plasma TV, and we went to Sea World a lot." I hoped that he would mention something about basketball season or maybe how cool it was to have his mom as his Den Leader for Cub Scouts, but I would have never thought of mentioning that we finally upgraded our little 11-year-old television.

Samantha (10) likes to collect things in her treasure box. Some of her treasures from this year are "my Harry Potter movie ticket, my Nutcracker ticket (she spent every Saturday starting in Sept practicing), my rock from Utah, a piece of wood from the pine tree we chopped down, my Christmas bear, a candy cane, and an owl."

Scott and I just celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary, and we keep busy with Church callings, work, and the kids. Scott completed his 8th MS 150 bike ride in April, and is flying just enough to keep his license current and keep up his skills. I was blessed with the best pregnancy ever, and this last summer I had fun as the camp nurse. We got quite a few visits to Utah at the beginning of the year, with two weddings and a funeral, so we'll be celebrating our first Christmas in Texas with just our family. I guess it's time to start some traditions of our own!

We love this time of year and the chance it gives us to celebrate the birth and life of our Savior. We are blessed in many ways, and are so thankful to have wonderful friends in our lives. We love and miss you all, and wish you the best in the coming year!

Love, Scott, Kim,Samantha, Jacob, Joshua, Matthew, Alexander, and Nathan