2016 has come and almost gone.
Into 2017 we will move on.
Here is a glimpse of what has happened this year.
We hope the season is filled with holiday cheer!
Alayna is a teenager! 13 years have gone by. She is a 7th grader at Lamar Junior High School and enjoying the year so far. She is a bus rider to and from school, which is new for her. We love the fact that the bus picks her up about 100 feet from our driveway. Makes it easier on everybody. She is still amazing us with her artwork. She is expanding into different mediums and finding joy in pretty much all of them. Below are a couple pieces of work she has done in the past year. You can view all of her artwork on her blog: http://alaynasartgallery.weebly.com/.
She has started to take a liking to volleyball. At 5'7" tall now, the school volleyball coaches have taken a liking to her as well. They didn't ask her to try out for volleyball next year...they TOLD her she was trying out. We will see if she wants to or not. We think it would be great for her.
Brayden has now hit double digits...10 years old. He is a 5th grader at Austin Elementary. He is still an avid reader and a font of knowledge. That boy knows more unusual facts than most adults I know. He is constantly wanting to learn more. He is still into baseball and enjoys catching the most I think. We broke down and bought him his own equipment this year, which means we also had to buy a wagon to haul all that crap around when we are at the ballpark! He likes to be outdoors and he likes to tear stuff apart to see how they work. He is quickly running out of toys as some of them cannot be put back together again.
Jen is now teaching 2nd grade at Austin Elementary, where Brayden goes to school. She just couldn't stay away from him. I think what she enjoys more than anything is the 2 minute drive home from the school. She is saving 40 minutes of drive time every day being so close. She will officially have her master's degree as of December 10 in library science. She is glad she went on this adventure and now even more glad it is over! No more homework!!! I know she will make a great librarian.
I am still an instructional technology specialist for the district. I am up to serving 5 campuses this year, so the challenge is a little greater. I am still enjoying what I do and I can say students love to see me walk into their classroom because I am the guy who brings the fun stuff.
We are still enjoying our camper as often as we can. Our big trip this summer was a 22-day journey out west. We started in South Dakota and traveled to Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, CO. We then headed to Moab, Utah and spent a few days exploring Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. From there we headed to California and took in Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park, and King's Canyon National Park. We then started heading back east and stopped in at Zion National Park in Utah. Finally we hit the north rim of the Grand Canyon this time.
I know it is hard for any family to agree on anything, but if you ask any of us individually what the best part of the trip was this summer we will all reply with The Narrows Hike at Zion. You hike a couple miles in a stream with canyon walls on both sides. We rented special boots to help stay dry and warm. Most places the stream was a few inches deep, but it would get up to 5 feet or so in some places if you chose to go in that far. We mostly stayed on the edges. The experience was beautiful and humbling. I lost track of how many times Brayden told us, "this is awesome!" as we were moving along.
Below is a video of our summer trip adventure. If it doesn't play for some reason, here is a link to the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6n_m758_tg
We hope the year has been a wonderful one for you and your family. May the hear ahead be blessed with joy and happiness!
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