If you have taken the time to see our blog, I've decided to add a Christmas newsletter here. I don't like the thought of sending out a newsletter every year with the Christmas card and having people gag over our news, so I figure if you go to the blog you must really want to know what is going on. So this is what our year has been like - in not so cute-and-newsy fashion, but the real down and dirty truth:
1. Jim has had a busy year - thankfully - when sub contractors are walking onto his job site asking to work for free, his company has stayed very busy with overtime opportunities and several big jobs lined up for 2011. He has been biking a lot and is still pretty fit for an old guy. He also spends a lot of time at the climbing gym with Sydney and whoever else he can find to train with. He has been teaching the 15 year old Sunday School class for the past 2 years but will be starting a new assignment in the Stake Young Men's presidency in charge of scouting. He was the obvious choice for that and will do a great job!
2. Mallory - I had a challenging spring when the Lafayette School district cut my Science Specialist position from 80% to 50%. So, I took up some slack and coached swimming all summer and ran a Fall program for about 20 kids. It was a busy time but I really do like coaching swimming so it was enjoyable. I also picked up some new piano students and have 17 now. A little side note - a week after Scott got his mission call he asked me to teach him how to play the piano. We sat down together one time and then things got really busy. As you can see from his letters he still wants to learn how to play on his mission. I feel like I need to make it MY mission to teach my LDS students how to play hymns through note, intervalic and directional reading. I still swim almost every day but am starting to have shoulder aches and pains, so am considering some vertical cross training for the new year.
3. Kristin will be moving back to California this spring and we are so excited to see her more often. She came to visit in February and then again in October to see Scott before he left on his mission. She has been working in IT and CJ is in Kindergarten and David just celebrated his 1st birthday. Jim and Sydney have been saving up and will finally get to see San Antonio and visit them during the Christmas break before they move to California.
4. Cade and Morgan. After their 3rd move in their first year of marriage due to terrible neighbors and lame landlords, they ended up in a very nice Walnut Creek apartment. Cade is a full time route setter for the Touchstone climbing gym and Morgan is self- employed as a nanny for a few families. They will be back in school this coming year and continue to seek fun and adventure. Morgan and Cade can have everyone laughing and having a good time within minutes of entering a room. When they come to the house, Gregor, Sydney, Morgan, and Cade ALWAYS have to play at least one game of halo, which usually involves them laughing and yelling the entire time.
5. Scott - AKA Elder Peirce is serving in the South Africa Durban Mission. You can read all about it in the blog I made - another brilliant idea I had so that I don't have to keep forwarding his emails to a list of folks who will just trash them or yawn their way through reading them. If anyone is curious they can just go to the blog and see what's up. He opened his call on June 9 and didn't leave till November 9. It seemed to last forever, but Durban requires FBI clearance which takes up to 13 weeks. He had many exciting adventures and made A LOT of money during his wait time, so it was good in many ways. He completed 2 years at DVC where he played waterpolo and competed for the swim team. He was ward clerk for the Walnut Creek singles ward until his mission and said when he found out what the calling actually was - "It's a hard calling - I have to go sit in an office all day!"
6. Gregor graduated from Campolindo High School - amazingly - and set his sights on more climbing and less school - actually no school. He just started this month working on the route setting crew with Cade and is very excited about getting pay checks because he wants to save up to go climbing in South Africa next summer while Scott is still there. He got his eagle scout award in May and sent a v13 boulder problem in Bishop last fall- in the climbing world that is really good and a post was put up on an international climbing website called 8a announcing his accomplishment. He also practically lives with Cade and Morgan. Wether they are all spending time at our house, or he is over at their house after work.
7. Last but not least Sydney - beautiful, sweet, wonderful Sydney. What more can I say. Over the summer, she got a job as a lifeguard and a swim coach. She was so busy! By the end of the summer, and going into her junior year, she decided she did not want to continue playing water polo, like she had years past and instead wanted to just rock climb. She has climbed for a few years and although many people assume that her brothers are the only ones that are really into it and really enjoy it, she has turned out to love it! She especially loves to boulder and likes to train at the gym with Jim. She will hopefully get her drivers license next month, fingers crossed. And she also enjoys hanging out with her friends and, although it is an odd talent, she happens to be an amazing bargain shopper, and makes the best Snickerdoodle cookies.
8. Others:
Grandma Doering turned 103 this year on November 9 - coincidently the same day that Scott left for South Africa - and even more concidently the same day Cade also entered the MTC in Provo in 2005.
Kodi our gigantic golden retriever is still with us and is going on 14 years old.
We hope you have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a GREAT NEW YEAR!
Mallory
