It's that time again.  Time to tell you all the stuff we did this year. 

 

The boys are still very active in many ways.  We all went skiing at spring break this year. I can tell that it won't be long before I can't keep up with the boys.  While they each have their unique ways of learning, they both are progressing rapidly.  They both played T-ball, although Dax's ball season was cut short due to a broken arm that resulted from a fall from a bunk bed.  Chance's season was extended into June when he made the All-Star Team.  It was incredible to see this set of young boys who could throw, catch and hit.

 

Dax started kindergarten this past summer at the charter school where Chance went last year.  The school has only two K/1 classes; one that Dax is in, one that Chance is in.  This year the boys studied economics and had to apply for jobs in the NYOS Calendar Factory. Chance was a color specialist and Dax was a paper passer.  The school really believes in helping the kids understand why they need to learn things and how what they learn applies in the real world.

 

In the fall, the boys also played soccer.  We were lucky to have Dax back on the team he played with last year.  Chance played with his friend Matthew who has been on his soccer team since he started playing three seasons ago.  Travis helped Matthew's Dad coach the boys to an undefeated (if we took score, that is) season. 

 

Chance also started Tiger Cub Scouts this year and has really enjoyed being a part of the pack.  Travis took the boys to the Dell Diamond (where the Round Rock Express plays minor league baseball) for a special ball field camp out.  As for me, I took the boys (yes, me, the mother, the non camper) on Chance's first pack camp out.  While Travis was on his way to go hunt in South Dakota, the boys and I camped together without the Dad for the first time.  The event was made easier by the pack's organization of food.   Since our friend Matt helped me put up the tent, I really didn't have to do much but survive.

 

Speaking of surviving, I survived another marathon.  This year I broke 5 hours, with a finishing time of 4:56:54.  I'm not sure how much more I am capable of improving, but I am still trying. Travis did a few long bike rides including a long bike ride to Fredricksburg, the 100 mile Outlaw Bike Ride and other races that I don't remember the names of.

 

Travis and I together did a race called the Urban Assault Challenge.'  We basically biked all over town, doing important tasks like pushing each other in the lake on a super-sized rubber ducky, having a three-legged race while wearing old clothes, and riding tricycles around an obstacle course.  The amazing part about it was that we end up 21st overall. 

 

Travis and I also traveled to London for my birthday.  We spent a quick five days there.  What really made the trip was that we rented bicycles and rode all over the city.  We got to go places we wouldn't have known about and cover a lot of ground, while working off the fantastic Indian food we ate there. 

 

As for Travis, he is still at Motive and while the company has had its ups and downs, he is still hanging in there.

 

And me?  Everything changed this year for me when I was given an opportunity to return to work full-time as the director of the Air Quality Division at Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ).  In this position, I am responsible for directing the development of Texas' plans to meet the national air quality standards.  While the job is a challenge, the real challenge for me has been to learn to balance my home life and work stress.  The boys (including Travis) have had to learn to survive while I have traveled to Dallas, Houston, Waco, New Orleans, and Boston. 

 

 

Merry Christmas to all!

 

Here are some links to old Christmas Letters:
[1997] [1998] [1999] [2000] [2001] [2002]
[2003] [2004] [2005]

Travis, Suzi, Chance, Dax, Scout