Christmas 2024
Another year has gone by and … I have writer’s block. So let’s just dive right in and skip the pleasantries.
Calvin is still living in Arizona, working at a restaurant, and doing Calvin things. I was in Phoenix back in May and I saw first-hand that he still exists, so that’s good I suppose. We often hear great things about him from his grandparents and cousins/aunts/uncles, and we just can’t help but to think, are we talking about the same guy? Seriously, though, he seems to be happy and is doing well, and you just can’t ask for much more than that.
Felix got home from his church mission in August. He was in Missouri or Illinois or someplace around there. Honestly, once you get east of Denver, it’s all about the same until you hit mountains again. After about a week at home, he had to ship out to Logan, UT to start the school year at USU. He’s working on a computer science major and a film minor. Connie talked to him every single week while he was on his mission, but now we’re back to having to be reminded that we have a son.
Quincy turned 19 this year, which is hard to believe. He’s always the center of attention, which is not hard to believe. He once again won the dance contest at FSY (a regional church youth camp), does dance-offs at pep-rallies at the high school, and is constantly making yet another YouTube video. He has over 700 subscribers on his channel, which I can’t understand because, let’s be honest, most of his videos kind of suck. Unfortunately, his dancing days had to take a hiatus after he shattered two fingers doing a “really cool” handstand in his drama class. He had to have surgery with screws and plates and the whole nine yards, but he’s doing well in his physical therapy and should be back to his old self soon, sans handstands I hope.
Leon is the busiest kid and I get exhausted just thinking about it. He volunteers at some tutoring outfit for refugee kids, he’s in several musical ensembles, including the community college jazz band, and he’s always off somewhere doing something with someone. He worked at a scout camp all summer with Quincy (Leon taught merit badges while Quincy did janitorial duties). He’s a junior this year and is in the Running Start program where he can earn his AA degree while finishing high school. He’s probably involved in a dozen other things - if you’re really curious what they all are, ask him yourself.
Dorothy, as usual, has them all beat with her talents, intellect, charm, and good looks. She started grade 8 this year, plays the cello and piano, and does…stuff with…things (I gotta be honest, I don’t keep track of all her hobbies). She really is a talented musician and has advanced rapidly on the cello. All around, she’s a great kid and we can’t wait to see what she accomplishes over the next several years.
Our exchange student, Ainara, went home in May, a little early but in time for her to take some college entrance exams back home in Kazakhstan. She got into the program she wanted, so kudos to her. In the meantime, we welcomed another exchange student in August. Johann from Germany is staying with us for the school year. He’s a pretty cool kid, plays the trumpet, and is really into techno-gadgets. Every week or so some new gizmo or another shows up in the mail for him. He and Quincy became fast friends, and Quincy hardly lets Johann out of his sight; Johann is a good sport.
Connie’s big news is that she finally finished her master’s program and is now officially an SLP! We took a quick trip to Akron, OH so she could walk in the graduation ceremony. I’ve never felt so proud. And frankly I’ve never felt so relieved, since now she can start helping around the house again. As for me, I don’t really have any big news. I celebrated my 20th anniversary at PNNL this December, so that’s something.