Happy Holidays

Most reading this should have already gotten it over email, but thought I'd post it on our blog, too. It's the same letter so just skip on down to the pictures if you've already read it over email.

To Family & Friends,

Merry Christmas! It seems as if everything is going paperless now. With our daughter Sydney being our die hard recycler and earth lover, we are going paperless with Christmas cards, too. Her teachers must have given her one great science lesson at school, because she puts us in our place when we throw something away that should have been put in recycling. I guess it takes the next generation to change all of our habits. (I won't mention the fact that it is also because we are lazy and this way is so much less work than preparing cards.)

We have just finished our first year of living in Melbourne, Florida. It has been a fun year. Although we often miss Atlanta, we are very glad to have Mike out of school. He is working for Harris and after feeling his way through his first year, he is now really enjoying his job and work schedule. The company has had him do a little bit of traveling so he's been able to see some different places like Washington D.C., Dallas, San Francisco, Phoenix, Detroit, and San Diego. It's only for a few days at a time, so it's no big deal. He has also gotten back into running and has his eye on another marathon probably a year from now. Crazy!!

I am still staying home with the kids and having a lot of fun doing it. I've enjoyed our free gym membership through Mike's work. I enjoy volunteering at the school and it seems like we always have friends over playing. Running the kids to where they need to be also keeps me busy. I also just finished volunteering in the recent presidential election, which was a great experience.

Sydney is enjoying the 1^st grade and turns 7 next month. As always, she is a great little student and does great in school. This past year she has tried lots of different things during the different seasons. She participated in T-Ball, soccer, and gymnastics. She just started piano lessons and loves it. She plans on trying swim team during this coming spring/summer. She is also involved in a program called Odyssey of the Mind at school. She is a very compassionate little girl and is very kind and giving to everyone. She is such an easy child.

Jake is all boy and turns 4 years old in a few months. Crazy how time flies! He is obsessed with balls and has become a Florida Gators fan. We don't know why. He hates wearing any shirt that doesn't have a ball or a team on the front. He's been taking gymnastics with Sydney, which he has loved. He also participated in swim lessons this past year and thinks he's Michael Phelps. He asks everyday when he'll be old enough to play baseball, and I tell him he's just going to have to be patient. His Christmas list to Santa doesn't consist of one toy. It consists of balls, uniforms, batting gloves, and football helmets. We need to find him some other obsessions. He makes us laugh!!

We bought our first house in July and have enjoyed painting and putting it together. We love our neighborhood. It has lots of kids and great families. We had season passes to Sea World this past year, which got used lots. We have also enjoyed the beach and other fun things Florida has to offer. We love visitors. Hint!!

We hope you all have a great Holiday Season. We look forward to traveling to Idaho to visit family and let the kids see some snow. (It's 78 degrees here today – love it!!). We miss all of you and hope this coming year is a good one for everyone.

Merry Christmas!

Mike, Kendra, Sydney, and Jake Weatherspoon