Christmas Card 2002! 

This year we are trying something completely different.  The site looks pretty much the same as last year but the pictures will be delivered via 'Flash'.  If you don't have the Flash player installed you need to quickly go to http://www.macromedia.com/downloads/ and get the Flash Player.  It is a pretty quick install.  If you don't know whether you have it installed you can always install it again.  You'll know that you don't have it installed if the 'movie' in the middle of this window doesn't work.

Sound:

Remember to turn your sound on now if it isn't on already.  There is music on this page that should start playing anytime.  When you hear the kids yell 'READY' the flash movie has finished loading.  Just click the start button to begin watching it.   Note:  This page uses a 'midi' file to play the sound.  If you don't hear the sound and you have speakers you should probably find the 'Volume Control' and ensure that MIDI Volume is turned up.

The guest book

Please sign the guest book before you leave... this time, let us know if you prefer the 'page after page' format or the 'flash' format.  Flash was fun and different but ended up being quite a bit of learning packed into a short time.  Of course, we love to read what you all have to say so feel free to write whatever comes to mind!  

Remember we use the guest book to give us an indication as to whether you received our e-mail inviting you to the card this year and we use the previous year's entries as the starting place for this year's mailing.  If you don't sign in you may inadvertently be left off the list next year.  So...

Please sign the guest book when you're done with the card.  The link at the bottom of this page will take you to it.

The Letter

We hope this year has found you in good health and that the Lord has blessed you in many ways as he has blessed us.  Our year was very busy.  As we're sure you're aware the kids get a year older and our lives, 10 times busier.  We never think it is possible to have our days be MORE hectic but we are proven wrong month after month.

This year Hayden was involved in Cub Scouts, soccer, tennis, school (3rd grade already!), piano lessons and numerous other activities that just kept him and us hopping.  His school is going very well with high achievements in math and reading.  His favorite subjects are math, recess and computer lab.  We are very proud of him and how hard he works at keeping it all together.

Zach's birthday was just after the Kindergarten cut-off so he is in pre-school again this year.  At 5 years old he is also proving to be very bright and is simply a delight to be around.   Zach loves to learn, play games, color, draw, work on math and reading skills and is generally a VERY *active* boy.  Zach and Hayden both have learned to play Chess this year and both fight over who gets to play Dad next.  We're amazed at how quickly kids can pick up on strategy and learning such an involved game.

We find ourselves busy running the kids around to all of their activities and trying to keep up with everything.  R.B. is approaching his 4th anniversary with Metal-Fab and still considers it his best career move yet.  Still doing the "IT thing" as their Director of IT he finds the company fun and challenging everyday.  It is simply a great company to work for.  R.B. played league tennis once again this summer, has been running 3-4 miles 3-4 times a week all year, enjoyed climbing the rock wall at camp (he may join a local climbing club soon) and is probably in the best physical shape in years (if not ever).  R.B. also was Hayden's assistant soccer coach and is his assistant Cub Scout leader. 

Sherri continues to work part-time for her folks as an accountant in their office.  She spends her off-time doing her other full-time jobs of running the house, assisting in Hayden’s classroom, planning the most excellent vacations and keeping all of the boys of the family in-line and together.  We boys cannot say enough about how she makes our lives so much easier. 

This year we took several trips.  We vacationed in St. Louis over the 4^th of July with our good friends the Simons.  A couple of weeks later we dashed off to Horn Creek Camp in central Colorado.  Camp is such a great experience!  Horn Creek combines religion and fun into a week of unwinding from the daily grind, relaxing afternoons, taxing hikes and activities, rock climbing and moments of reflection.  We cannot say enough about how rejuvenated we feel after we return.

A couple of weeks after that we dashed off to southwest Missouri to a resort named Big Cedar Lodge on Table Rock Lake with our good friends the Ellingtons.  Their 3 children along with Hayden and Zach had an absolute blast fishing, boating, swimming, mini-golfing, game playing and exploring the wonderful water park on-site.

Sherri and Zach flew off to Boston and Maine in late September to visit our good friend from our college days, Michelle Miller Kobayashi.  Hayden and R.B. stayed behind while Sherri and Zach explored Bar Harbor, Maine, saw lighthouses, played in the ocean, toured Boston and had a great time for 4 days away.

Finally, our trips took us skiing at Copper Mountain Colorado during the 2^nd week of December.  We had a fabulous time.  The weather was cold but not bitter, Zach took lessons for 2 days and on the 3^rd day was flying down the green slopes like he was born with skis on his feet.  Hayden, now having skied for 4 years, took a one day lesson that took him to both extremes, greens to double black diamonds, tree bashing and powder.  His instructor really gave them a taste of the mountain with a good deal of instruction along the way.  On the 3^rd day of skiing Hayden proceeded to demonstrate his fearlessness by attempting every jump possible (not necessarily landing them though), flying down the mountain (demonstrating his newfound paralleling skills, of course) and disappearing into the trees for brief spurts.  We, the parents, did a fair amount of laughing and worrying, to say the least!

Well, that's it.  Remember to browse the site and pull down some of the funnies if you haven't seen them already.  They are certainly a great way to get a laugh occasionally.  We hope this next year finds you happiness and good health.  Remember, God blesses us each and every day.  Don't forget to thank Him for it.

Oh, and next year, can everyone please have a cable modem or DSL?  It would sure make putting this thing together easier if we didn't have to worry about download times!  Just kidding!