Firsts

We’ve loved getting wonderful pictures and letters from friends and family. What great reminders of the remarkable people who have touched our lives. It’s been such a wonderful Christmas vacation, just the blessing I needed to help slow down, simplify, and just be with my family. So apologies that this letter is late in coming. Since it is our FIRST time writing a New Year’s Letter, we figured we’d dedicate it to our family’s…
“Famous FIRSTS!”

SAGE
-Lost her first teeth! Drama! Drama! Drama!
-Started first grade and has her first chance to do homework. Thankfully, she has yet to have her first bad day at school. She loves it, especially being the first one to get her work done and among the first to finish her lunch so she can go to recess early.
-First year in Girl Scouts. She is the cutest little Daisy and proudly recites the motto.
-First summer riding bike without training wheels and first time swimming by herself.

KEIGER
-Turned four and had his first birthday party with friends. He has got to be the first kid to have a Buzz-Lightyear/Motorcyle party. Pin Buzz on the motorcycle is quite the game.
-Probably the first little boy to use such delightful phrases as, “Oh, my goodness gracious!” and “Awesome Possum!” He’s also the first to ask me if “goodness sake” was another name for Santa Claus. “You better watch out for goodness sake!”

FINNEAS
-First of our children to show us what it really means to write on walls and get into EVERYTHING. He’s the first to discover that he can carry the bathroom stool around to be able to reach whatever he can get his hands on.
-First to scare Sage and Keiger (okay, me and Jacob too) just by throwing stuff at them. When he raises his hand to throw, all of our hands instinctively cover our heads to protect ourselves. He’s got a good arm. I often see Keiger or Sage running away from Finn and screaming, “He’s gonna throw that at me!” Finn’s also the first one-year old I know who likes to get hit by snowballs.

MORGAN
-Ran first half-marathon.

JACOB
-Took Keiger and Sage coyote hunting for the first time.
-First year without shooting an animal in 7 years. So sad.
-Ran his first half marathon trail races where he placed 4th and 13th overall.

THE WHOLE FAM
-First trip to Disneyland where Kei rode the Matterhorn for the first and probably last time. Traumatic.
-First broken well, boiler, refrigerator and toilet overflow/flood all in one week! Then the garage door broke for the first time 1 weeks later. We had to laugh about it.

Hope the first of 2011 is great for you! This has got to be the first time we’ve written such a cheesy letter! Much love, Jacob, Morgan, Sage, Keiger & Finn