This year has been wonderful for us. Here are a few highlights:
Isabelle is 7 years old (almost 8 she reminds me). She is loving the second grade where she excels in everything she does! Isabelle loves reading and has read most of the American Doll series (which are fantastic) and is almost finished with a series about fairies. She has been taking dance this year and has fun group of girlfriends that get together once a week to play and do crafts. (Isn't she beautiful?)
Taylor and Isabelle both did the Diamond Kid Triathalon in June, and just completed the Las Vegas Kids Marathon where they ran all 26 miles over a 10 week period. They got to run the last mile through the actual finish line.
Taylor is 10 and surviving 5th grade. He has a great teacher this year who does fun projects which Taylor enjoys. He took art classes and had a nice gallery showing, and was selected for the Lego Robotics team at school. Besides that, scouts and training for races has kept him quite busy. He and some neighborhood friends love to play in "Ookalaka Land" which is a big empty lot at the end of our street, eventually to be a school. They have fun finding buried treasures and keeping their fort free of enemy invaders! He is almost as tall as his mom and will probably pass her up before his 11th birthday.
Suzanne has kept busy with a variety of things. This summer she worked for the United Spirit Association cheerleading camps as an Athletic Trainer. She got to travel to California, Utah, and northern Nevada for a week at a time to treat all sorts of cheerleader injuries and ailments! Next month starts competition season, so she can see all of the pyramid practicing pay off! Also Suzanne is on our neighborhood HOA board, and the Mountains Edge Social Committee. She has kept active running two more half marathons this year (which makes one full, right?) One in Bryce Canyon and one at Valley of Fire (North of Las Vegas). She has a great group of running friends to keep her motivated. Staying involved in the school, our church, and our community really make life rich and full.
The highlight of the year for Danny and Suzanne was their trip to China in October. You can read all about it on this blog. It was a once in a lifetime trip! The whole family took a great camping trip through the National and Utah State parks this summer (also on the blog) and had a great time hiking, biking and water rafting!
Danny has enjoyed having a full year of teaching under his belt. Starting over this fall was still challenging, but a lot less stressful after having gone through it before. He has spent a lot more time doing research and writing and just sent off his first paper for publication. He has great coworkers and students that make going to work fun! Danny is also part of the Mountains Edge Running and Cycling team, but sticks with the cycling side of things. In addition to riding part of the way to UNLV everyday, he loves to go out with the guys a few times a week to the rugged trails that surround our area. He is so thrilled about his early Christmas present, a brand new custom mountain bike. He is just putting the finishing touches on it and can't wait to go wild!
We feel trully blessed this year. We have been able to spend a lot of time with family. We had a great week at Disneyland with the Petts, and had the whole family stay with us at Thanksgiving. We get to see the Youngs a lot more regularly and it is great to have them nearby. We miss dear friends that are so far away, but invite you all to come and visit us any time!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
(PS: It is SNOWING today in Las Vegas...really snowing big flakes that melt when they land!)
