Below is the annual letter ...
Happy Holidays from NEW YORK! Yes, we moved again. We finally sold our home after “only” 6 months (which was slightly better than giving it away). For those keeping track, this is our 7th move in 14 years. We will be living in Rochester until the summer of 2011. After that….yeah, we’ll move again. Todd is now the Commanding Officer of NOSC Rochester. Although we do miss Georgia, we are already discovering new things we like about New York. We go hiking at the many local parks and visit the Farmer’s Market when we can. We also occasionally go on canoe trips on the Erie Canal. A few times each month, Todd volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and so far has only had to go to the emergency room once. After moving in mid-October, we finally have settled in. Winter is coming fast, and I’m sure we’ll have some adventures once the snow really starts to fall. Here’s a little about the kids this year…
Amanda
Age: 12 Grade: 7
Favorite color: Turquoise, aqua, or anything else between blue and green
Ambitions: Marine biologist (or anything having to do with dogs or fish)
Fallback: Hula hoop circus performer (see picture)
Favorite TV show: America’s Funniest Videos (AFV)
Sports played: Swimming, sleeping in, staying up all night
Hobbies: Reading, Chorus, Nintendo, Sleeping in, Nintendo, Wii, Nintendo, nagging mom for junk food
Foods I love: Fudge, pizza, mozzarella sticks, chicken, breadsticks, bread, pasta, and anything else involving carbs
Foods I hate: Potatoes, beans, McDonalds chicken nuggets, and pretty much all vegetables
People I admire: People who take care of animals, Mike Rowe from “Dirty Jobs”
Stuff I learned: Moving stinks, and Bucky is afraid of snowmen (but goes crazy when he eats snow)
Julia
Age: 10 Grade: 5 Favorite color: Green
Ambitions: Theoretical physicist (or, if the math is too hard, a biologist)
Fallback: An accountant (or, if the math is too hard, a lawyer)
Favorite TV show: The Land of the Lost (it’s vintage!)
Sports played: Swimming, softball, basketball, soccer
Hobbies: Reading, climbing trees, camping, falling out of trees, hiking, learning clarinet, murdering bugs
Foods I love: Potatoes, chicken, pizza, broccoli (seriously), corn, pie, cheese, cucumbers, all fruit
Foods I hate: Asparagus, beans, celery, garlic bread, anything they eat on survival shows
People I admire: Mom and Dad, Bucky, baby Hailey
Stuff I learned: I can’t remember anything that I learned this year. I’m blonde.
Allison
Age: 8 Grade: 3 Favorite color: Green
Ambitions: Farmer, or Navy Admiral
Fallback: Tree planter, or lottery winner
Sports played: Swimming, softball, basketball, soccer, running into stuff at recess every day
Hobbies: Running into more stuff, hiking, camping, running, canoeing, biking, crocheting
Foods I love: Pizza, broccoli (seriously), spaghetti, cheerios, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, beef stew
Foods I hate: Cheese, eggrolls, bacon, cherry pie, berries
People I admire: Grandma Irma
Stuff I learned: You can lose teeth by being hit in the face with a basketball.
Matthew
Age: 5 1/2 Grade: K Favorite color: Red
Ambitions: Policeman or Rock Star
Fallback: Jedi Warrior
Favorite TV show: Curious George and Dinosaur Train
Sports played: Swimming, soccer, interpretive dance, Wii golf, tennis, and baseball
Hobbies: Giving driving advice, hiking, going to Farmer’s Market, camping, practicing Jedi mind tricks
Foods I love: Oreo filling, Rice, Chicken, Cheeseburgers, French Fries, Gummy Bears, Hot Dogs
Foods I hate: Vegetables, cooking with disgusting sauce, cheese, dog food
People I admire: Bucky, Mom, Joshua, Ian, Yoda, Indiana Jones
Suff I learned: How to swim, ride a horse, and drive a golf cart; To quit touching refrigerator and heating knobs…maybe?!?
“Bucky”
Age: 2 1/2 Weight: 80 lbs Favorite color: Squirrel
Ambitions: To sleep and eat as much as possible while protecting my family that I do so love.
Hobbies: Licking people, standing on people, chewing stuff up, chasing balls, collecting ticks, being weird
Foods I love: I will eat anything. Literally anything. There is nothing I won’t at least try to ingest.
Stuff I’m afraid of: Snowmen, couches (especially sectionals), wheelbarrows, plastic buckets, brooms
Highlights of the year: I caught a squirrel! I now wish to catch more squirrels (and perhaps birds and rabbits).
Have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!
Todd, Kelly, Amanda, Julia, Allison, Matthew, and “Bucky”
The Lessons
#430 – Never let a 4-year old maintain possession of any remote control ever. You may never see it again, or you’ll find it 12 years later in the bottom of a suitcase or encased in shoe polish or buried in the mud in the backyard under the orange bucket so Bucky won’t get it. Guess where ours was???
#431 - Keep all 4-year old boys away from birthday cakes. If they don't flip them upside down or drop them, they will "take a peek" at it and take enough "tastes" that by the time you actually get around to eating the cake you'll have to re-frost it (if it's still intact).
#433: Don't buy blankets with tassels when you have a boy (who has access to scissors) who doesn't care for tassels.
#434: Do not be lazy and decide to "incinerate" all the leftover gunk in the grill by turning it on full-blast when said grill has the equivalent of a gallon of grease coating its inside. Propane+"gunk"+grease+crazy-from-trying-to-sell-house-mom=FIRE. Fire bad.
#435: Don't assume the refrigerator is broken if it's not running as it should AND there is a 5-year old boy living in the house.
#436: Always have a pen and something to write on within reach at all times. But, make sure that said pen is not a sharpie AND that it is not within reach of a 5-year old boy.
#437: When you are such a wimp that you cannot actually pull out your own loose tooth with your fingers, look no further than the bathroom drawer for a handy pair of fingernail clippers. They grip that tooth like a vise and will rip that baby right out! Also, FYI, tweezers are TOTALLY ineffective for pulling teeth.
#438: Never leave a 5 year old boy to his own devices when there is a nearly full container of Oreos that he will only eat the filling out of within his sphere of influence. Does anyone want an Oreo shells???
Quotes:
Polite Refusals: In Matthew's school today, they were asking the children what their favorite vegetable was. The children were not asked WHICH they liked but instead were asked to name a vegetable they liked. So, the teachers listed the vegetables and the names of the children who chose that particular vegetable. Then, at the bottom of the list, there is one last category. And, it's not a vegetable. It simply says, "No Thank You." Apparently, when asked what his favorite vegetable was, Matthew calmly and adamantly replied, "NO THANK YOU!"
So, Matthew likes Wii sports. A lot. He will play them all and it's funny to watch him. He really gets into it and tries SO hard. One day, he was playing Wii sports and had just finished playing a round of Wii golf when Todd walked in. Todd asked what he was up to, and Matthew responded matter-of-factly the progress of his game: "Yeah, I got a double-monkey."
"That's my dog Bucky. He's very weird." – Matthew
“Just a second-a-minute.” - Matthew
"Mom, can you throw a softball at my face?" and "Mom, do we have any pliers?" - Julia (trying to lose teeth)
Julia murmurs something I didn't catch to Allison. Allison loudly and adamantly responds: "It's not your business or concern Julia...whatever THAT means!"
"I broke my toe! It's awesome. Well, it doesn't feel awesome, but it's so cool. But, it doesn't look cool, it's disgusting." - Julia
Allison: "Ummmmmm." (visibly drooling contemplating a handful of popcorn)
Amanda: "Ohhhhh, no. Don't even think about it. And, it's not because I'll kill you. It's because it's hot."
"Sorry mom, a force is not with you." - Matthew
Memorable comments heard during our 60+ showings while selling our house…
1) “ Ohh, are we late?” (No, everyone shows up 3 hours late! In fact, some people just don’t show up at all. The spontaneity makes for great fun!)
2) “Did you ever think of putting a bathroom in the basement?” (Yes, we did. No, we won’t do it for you).
3) “You have radon?” (No, we just put in a radon mitigation system because it’s so aesthetically pleasing).
4) “Can we look at your house for a 5th time?” (Seriously? Uhh, no.)
