Our pastor has been talking about a slow Christmas. He emphasizes that it’s meant to be a season (lasting to Epiphany) and not confined to 24 hrs on 12/25. We’ve been taking that to heart this season. We’ve stayed at home for Thanksgiving, Xmas, and the New Year, enjoying time together as a family. It’s been a great time to think about friends, receive cards, and see where everyone is in life.
Travel
In some ways, it’s been a stay at home year. That statement is offset by the fact we traveled collectively to Atlanta (x2), Minnesota, Wisconsin, Los Angeles, Mt. Ranier, Whistler Canada, San Juan Islands, Inside Passage of Alaska, Michigan, and Portugal. We have rested from travel this holidays and have missed our usual travels to San Francisco.
Alaska was our big summer trip with my parents. They drove out to Seattle, loaded us in their Honda Pilot, and took a ferry from Washington to SE Alaska. The wildlife was amazing. It’s like Washington on steroids where seeing a bald eagle was equivalent to spotting a pigeon. We hiked and photoed, capturing whales, bears, and mountain goats. It was also an experience hauling a toddler and her stuff on multiple planes, boats, ferries, hotels, B&Bs, and hiking trails.
Portugal was the longest Wayne and I were away from Sara. In October, we dropped her off with my family and spent 6 days alone in Lisbon and Villa Real attending Wayne’s conference. It was nice to be back in Europe after 3 years and walk without crutches or canes.
Family & Friends
I gained a cousin and an 70 yo uncle this year, both through interesting circumstances. We discovered that my father is not the oldest boy. My grandmother had a son before marriage who we’ve just been reunited with. I got to meet Jack and reunite with the Powers family (introduced Sara) in Michigan in August. On my mother’s side, my cousin Julie has a new baby boy known as “Big Ben”. He gave us a scare and spent several days in the hospital. He’s healthy and growing now thankfully.
Jon and Claire continue to share our neighborhood. Their aunt and cousin visited from England and introduced us to Xmas dinner of Ham, Yorkshire pudding, figgy pudding w/ brandied butter, and mincemeat pies.
We also got visits from Tamara, Bob, and Gabriella over the summer. Wayne’s parents moved to Tennessee to be closer to kin and visited in September. Skylar and Justin keep growing like weeds and like their new cousin Sara cause they can make her laugh.
Sara
She turned 2! Hard to believe she used to resemble a kidney bean as a baby. She’s stretched out and turned into a girl. She likes playing with playdough, has developed a love of trains, and likes to take walks with Mom. She took the transition from nannies to daycare well in August and just graduated to the 2yo room. She is starting to take great joy in seeing her friends during playdates. She’s a seasoned traveler. While not loquacious, her speech is steadily developing and communication is perfect. Check out the blog for more maternal thoughts.
Karen
I continue to work part-time at the Veterans Hospital. I passed oral boards and am a real, honest to goodness physiatrist now. It only took more than a decade, thousands of dollars, and tremendous effort to get here. And nothing much has changed. Mom helped me tremendously by providing free childcare during my prep course and my trip to the Mayo Clinic to take the test. I got to visit with college friends, Roxanne and Scott. I still find time to read (finished a reread of the Harry Potter series), watch movies (HP4 might be my favorite this year), cook (I actually made a good rendition of my Granma’s braciole today), walk and photo.
Wayne
Pixar is still a major part of our lives. Wayne has fully integrated into the Seattle branch with no further travels to San Francisco this year. Cars, the next movie, will premiere for employees next March and is starting to look good. He continues to be father extraordinaire, spending every waking moment doting on his daughter. Their latest thing is playing with trains. Last year was lousy for snow in the Northwest. Wayne has already snowboarded once on powder this year with plans to go to Whistler again in 2006. He continues to tinker with our AV system, finding new bargains on ebay to add to his collection.
Comet
Our black and white cat is still able to maintain dignity despite being a magnet for Sara. She’s discovered that he’ll play with string. She’ll call out “cat” in a voice reminescent of Jack Nicholson in the Shining while carrying string that she’ll thrust in his face no matter his mood. He takes it well and keeps coming around for the food.
2006
This year has been a real blessing. We’re going to be homebodies in 2006 and may even try remodeling. Besides a trip to Whistler, SF, and Atlanta, we’ll be traveling in Washington.
Take care and keep in touch,
Karen, Wayne, Sara, & Comet