Christmas Letter 2018

December 2018

Dear Family and Friends,

We have had an amazing and eventful year. Bossy and Gamer were finally able to have the child we all prayed so long and hard for; Skittles was born in July (over a month early) and spent about that long in the NICU. I have him for an hour or two every day when their work shifts overlap. Bossy is currently working as a loan officer at bank and Gamer is an Assistant Custodian. Cat Woman and Batman recently moved in with them while they await the arrival of a little boy due the end of February. Bean Dip has chosen to move in as well and he is enrolled at Bingham and working as a Jr. Jazz official. Taco and Burrito love all sports and are playing basketball (Bossy coaches both of their teams), but I will let her send her own letter that can fill you in on all of the details.

Beauty and The Beast both continue to work at a bank and they are expecting another boy in April. Little Warrior is getting big and he loves cars and books. The Beast recently received a nice promotion and his own accounts at the bank. Beauty works in conflict resolution. They have been renovating their basement apartment and they just got a new renter.

Drama Queen is currently working for Netflix, writing a novel, and decorating her house. She loves throwing parties there and having people over. She has Mondays off and we enjoy running errands together and taking care of each other. Teach and Twiz are still renting out her basement and she loves having family close by.

Teach and Twiz have their hands full, chasing their sweet and sassy Twizlet. We babysit her several days a week and she loves hanging out with the kids. Teach is currently teaching 4^th grade. Twiz is working Security for Target and helping me coach Curly’s Jr. Jazz team.

Dog Walker and Puppy Lover were married in March in the Salt Lake Temple. They live in our basement apartment and are learning the skills they need to someday get a home of their own. Puppy Lover works as a bagger at Reams, and  Dog Walker still works on the Cap II team at Walmart.  He is back in school again and has switched his major to University Studies. With just a couple of classes each semester, he will finish up with his BS degree next December.

Princess and The Frog bought a home right across the street from The Frog’s parents. She graduated with her BS degree in Elementary Education last December and then Tadpole was born in January. A super-over-achiever, Princess is expecting her second child in April. They are feeling the boy vibe. The Frog continues to work and go to school at BYU while Princess takes care of Tadpole and works hard turning their house into a cozy and inviting home.

Prima Donna is renting an apartment and working at Convergys in their call center. She thought about going back to school and even did a couple of weeks before changing her mind. She is involved in a theatre group that keeps her busy when she isn’t at Convergys and she has been working extra hard at landing a gig that needs tech experience so she can build and expand her resume.

Crafty is so busy! She was chosen last week as the FACS Sterling Scholar at Bingham. She is the FCCLA President as well as Cupcake Club President and she danced as the Snow Queen in South Pointe Ballet’s recent production of The Nutcracker.  She had her Literature entry advance to Nationals in the Reflections contest where she received an Honorable Mention and she is on track to graduate with her 4.0 and an AS degree from SLCC when she graduates from Bingham in the spring. She is Laurel President in YW and an Executive for the Youth City Council.

Sport is an amazing student with a 4.0 and many hard classes. He is Vice President of the Cupcake Club and he is working as a Jr. Jazz official after a successful stint as an umpire this spring. He is only one badge and a project away from earning his Eagle and although it has never been his goal to earn all the merit badges like the Dog Walker, he managed to pull off 52 without even breaking a sweat.  He has grown about 6 inches this year, quickly passing me and unless it is all his hair, he is now taller than his dad as well. He is serving on the Youth City Council for the 2^nd year and working with kids is his favorite part. It doesn’t hurt that there are cute girls on the council either…

Scout is working hard to maintain her 4.0 since she knows that it is tied directly to keeping her phone. She plays the clarinet in the band and is a member of the MathCounts team. Volleyball is her new-found love and she recently competed on one of the Bingham teams. She is now playing Club ball out of Sports City and we are excited to attend her tournaments as this will be a new phase for us since she is the first of our kids to play club ball. She serves as the 1^st Counselor in the Beehive Presidency and loves her Girl Scout GAB group. She recently took a trip with the Girl Scouts to Catalina Island and experienced her first flight and her first squid all in the same week.

Curly is a true renaissance man. He is an excellent student; he plays the clarinet in one band and the saxophone in the other. He loves all sports, playing comp teams in baseball and football. I am currently coaching his basketball team and loving the extra time with him. He dances; ballet and jazz, most recently as a Russian dancer in The Nutcracker and then in last week’s recital. He received his Arrow of Light a couple of weeks ago and is excited to become a real scout. He is on the Math Olympiad team and has the 2^nd highest ranking in his school’s Chess Club. But most importantly, he is kind and sweet and a friend to everyone.

Baby Doll is my baby and my snuggle buddy who just managed to turn 8 on me. (I can’t believe she is 8!) She was baptized in October and loves being a new member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is an amazing dancer and spends much of her week at the dance studio enjoying Tap, Ballet, and jazz. She performed a couple of weeks ago in her very first Nutcracker as a party girl and an angel. She is also playing basketball and loves any sport her mom is playing including volleyball and dodgeball. Girl Scouts is one of her favorite activities and we are finally building the troop again with younger girls so she has plenty of friends to hang out with.

I apologize for giving my youngest 5 more space on this letter, but having them at home and around me all the time makes me more aware of their activities.  In fact, their activities are pretty much my activities since I spend a good portion of my day shuttling them around. I’m so glad that Sport finally has his learner’s permit and will soon be able to help with that.  He loves to drive and he is good at it.  Crafty is my 2^nd driver now, but she is always so busy that other than runs to the dance studio, she rarely has time to be a chauffeur.

My sweetie is still working hard as an FPGA Design Engineer. He fills his spare time with projects, gardening, helping out the older kids with their projects (most recently Bossy’s hardwood floor) and supporting the activities of the younger ones. He managed to coach Curly through his 3^rd year of winning the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby as well as a 4^th place win for Baby Doll and a 1^st place win for Scout in the Powder Puff Derby.

We’ve had no current health issues that are overwhelming like last year, and we are so grateful for that! Life is busy and moving so fast. The kids keep growing up and moving on and we find that we grow older each year as well.  I’m still working in sports for our stake and I was recently released as the teacher for Curly’s primary class. I keep busy with my Girl Scout troop and I volunteer on the Community and Council levels, helping girls earn their Gold Awards. I dabble in Tupperware, just enough to get the discount, help out my friends, and fill my adult kids’ cupboards. I started my blog when Baby Doll was 4 months old, so we are coming up on 8 years of writing nearly every day. The great thing about that is I won’t have to worry about writing my personal history when I am old because I will have already done it.

Life is good and we are happy.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours,

Sandy