I apologize for the lateness/non-existence of my Christmas cards this year. It has been another wet, overcast, and windy Christmas in Seattle. I just want to curl up in a corner with a fluffy blanket and read books all winter. But give me a few days of sun and I recharge. I am spending New Year’s Day in Arizona with the little kids so I can make it through until spring. The summers are glorious here though. (If you want to visit that would be time to do it. And you are all welcome to visit anytime.)
My family is doing well here. Lily (2) is nothing like Hunter was. She is talkative, likes to include me in every activity she does and reminds me constantly of things I forget. She also likes to explore everything and ask questions constantly. If it weren’t for those gorgeous big brown eyes, she’d be toast sometimes. Last week we took the kids up to Pike Place Market and wanted to show them the gum wall. (There is a huge wall covered artistically with pieces of abc gum.) We admired the wall, added our own to the effect and turned to leave, when Lily grabbed a fresh piece from the wall and popped it into her mouth before I could stop her. People all up and down the street were grossing out for her. Ugh. I hope she doesn’t catch anything nasty. She just gave me a look like, “What, this is perfectly good gum.” That is the essence of Lily and we love her.
Hunter (7) is the quieter child sometimes. He loves to sing, play the piano, read and figure things out. His most favorite thing to do is getting the family together to play board games. He likes playing soccer and baseball. He also just confessed to me that he was interested in taking Ballroom dance lessons as well. (Megan is thrilled about that.) He’s also quite a nurturer. He is father to 4 dozen stuffed animals whom he cares for. He loves to snuggle them and even shares with Lily (Her crib is now so full of stuffed animals, there is barely room for her to sleep.)
Dylan. One word that describes him is “explosive.” He has an obsession with all things related to fire. He put salt peter and canon fuse down on his Amazon wish list for Christmas. I told him that the ATF might be knocking on his door if he ordered those things together. Dylan also has a sparkly enthusiasm for life and he is my right hand man. He loves watching the younger children and he is such a help to me. His goal this year is to get good grades and he is doing a great job accomplishing it.
Megan is our busy 16-year old. When she was 15 I was terrified for her to get her driver’s license. Now I can’t wait. I spend at least half of my life driving her to and from things. She continues to perform with the top ballroom dance team with the Pacific Ballroom Dance Company. She is president of Girl’s Camp for next summer, has an active social life, attends early morning seminary each morning, and is taking 2 AP classes and applying for numerous scholarships. She is also in the midst of 40 hours of driving instruction mandated by the state of Washington. She will be finished the middle of January and can’t wait to get her license (neither can I).
Alex was released from Elder’s Quorum president and asked to be the Scout Master (his dream calling.) He is excited to camp with the boys every month. Although his first campout was at an RV resort near Mt. St. Helens with a big screen TV, pool table, heater and steak and shrimp dinner. They got caught in a wind storm that flattened his tent, but that did not deter them from hiking the lava tubes around the mountain the next morning. Let me just say that we need to buy stock in REI now. Alex is still with Amgen and has been traveling quite a bit to Boston and North Carolina this year.
I have a new calling as Nursery leader. I guess if you hang out in nursery long enough, they will put you in officially. I am having fun playing with the two year olds and trying to get them to sit still for 60-second lessons. I played cello in the Messiah this year and continue to teach my 1 cello student.
We went on our first big trip as a family this summer. Although we live 20 minutes from the ocean here, we flew 3000 miles to North Carolina for two weeks. We stayed with the Rays and had a good time. We were also excited to see Ken & Alisyn and their beautiful girls and Conner. We spent 1 glorious week in a house right on the beach with my brother Michael and his family. It was absolutely paradise. We walked hand in hand on the beach and watched the sunrise on the ocean on our 18th anniversary. Then we got in the car, drove 3 hours to the airport and flew 10 hours in two plane with a 5 hour layover and a delay in Chicago. It was worth every minute.
Love,
Jennifer Boren Wright
P.S. Here are some pictures that my sister-in-law, Diana Boren, took of our family on our trip to North Carolina. She is a professional. You can see more of her work at http://www.rightontheshot.com/. If you are in the Cleveland area, give her a call if you need a photographer.
I made a Picaboo book of our family vacation. To see the book, click here
For more beautiful shots of Emerald Isle, click here.
