A Graduation, A Sabbatical, A Car Wreck, Among other Things

We said a few good byes.  Collin said good bye to Fort Collins High School.  Sydney bade farewell to her elementary school.  Cora will no longer live the carefree life of a preschooler.  Nathan wrapped up his work project for a two month sabbatical.   And after a short lived experience with a third car, we said good bye to our little 1999 Fort Escort after it was totaled in a car wreck.  These are just a few of the many distinct changes we experienced as a family in 2015.

The centerpiece of our year was a sabbatical trip.  After seven years at Intel, Nathan was eligible for an eight week vacation.  We choose to use the time to explore the Southern States.  We kayaked the Rio Grande, snorkeled in the Florida Keys, and retraced the path of the First Flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  In between, we visited two NASA space centers, spent 10 days at Orlando theme parks, and toured 26 national park sites.  Did I mentioned we did all this while camping in a pop-up tent trailer?  I won't mention the humidity nor the temperature.  Never were the kids so happy to get home to Colorado.

In addition to graduation, Collin toured Salzburg and Prague, received his Eagle scouting rank, and started school at Colorado State University where he is studying computer engineering.  He enjoys attending a young single adult ward.

Randy got his driver's license.  He enjoys his charter school, early morning seminary, and playing cello for the school orchestra.

Owen continues to do well with piano and violin. He recently memorized a lengthy piano arrangement of Pachelbel's Canon.  He likes participating in church youth activities and playing video games.

Sydney is experiencing her first year of middle school.  She continues her piano lessons, and she joined the percussion section in her school band.  She loves reading and writing.

Cora loves kindergarten and is learning to read.  She loves playing with friends. She received her first 4 tooth crowns this year.  Let's hope that she learns to brush.

The parents are just the same ole same ole.  Robyn takes care of us, some cub scouts, and ward members who are in need.  Nathan solves problems with microprocessors, with church records, and with the house.  But we definitely feel that life has changed.  Nathan's work continues to evolve.  Robyn is adjusting to having time alone while Cora is at kindergarten.  And we all sense that new epoch in which kids begin leaving the nest is about to begin.

In the Trenches in 2013

This was definitely an in-the-trenches-year for us. We worked on several continuing projects and fought a few fires too. Our kids span all age groups. With so much going on, we shelved most of our plans for big vacations. This was a year to finish things we already started.

Collin and Randy, after many years of training, successfully tested for their junior black belts in February.

In August, Nathan followed suit and successfully tested for his black belt. 

 During the summer, the family finished our Mormon Trail project. Nathan and Collin bicycled the last 150 miles from Granger (near Little America) to This is the Place Monument in Salt Lake City. 

 And on the home front, we finished a landscaping project that was seven years in the making.

The most peculiar aspect of our daily routine is the fact that each of the five children attend a different school. Cora attends a mother-run preschool twice a week. She can spend hours with her dolls and coloring books. Sydney is our only child in elementary (4th grade). She loves being part of musical productions. She also started karate this year. Owen is in middle school (6th grade). Owen took up both the piano and violin this year. Randy attends Liberty Common High School, a charter school. We are impressed with how much he is learning there. Collin is a junior at Fort Collins High School and has become interested in math and engineering. His dad has started taking him on college visits. 

We had some unanticipated challenges too. Collin started driving this year and had his first fender bender. We were late to understand that he must have a learner's permit for 12 months and get 50 hours of driving practice. He won't be able to get a driver's license until he is 17. Nathan neglected his back health and learned a hard lesson by getting a herniated disc. He has been dealing with ups and downs for several months. This year, after some early warning signs, we also decided to reorient our family for better scholastic performance. We have extra tutoring for some of the kids and a stricter afterschool routine. Gone are the days when we could sit down for a T.V. show on a school night. Nathan has invested in various "screen time" control measures (which don't always work).

In terms of recreation, the highlight of our year was visiting our relatives in Utah. We made the trip three times. We had a blast with Nathan's family in a Park City cabin. We visited Robyn's family for Thanksgiving. Our kids had so much fun with their extended family that they all voted to return to Utah for Christmas in order to spend more time with their cousins and grandparents.

A photo essay of our year in 25 pictures

A busy, fun, hard, and adventurous year

Our big vacation was a visit to San Diego to celebrate my parents' 50th

Our clan has survived another year and we'd like to give you a short summary.  Consistent with past years, we stayed busy with work, scouting, karate, reading, board games, video games, and church activity.  But we also had several new developments in 2011 that combined to suck up every last minute of our collective free time. Collin entered high school and began seminary.  Cora became a curious toddler.  We finished two big home improvement projects.  Nathan got into adventure cycling. Sydney and Owen took after-school Spanish.  Randy played tennis and became a deacon.  To top it off, Robyn signed us up for a summer exchange student.  Nils came to us from Germany for five fun and informative weeks.

Nathan remains with Intel and Robyn is a full time mom.  Our kids Collin, Randy, Owen, Sydney, and Cora are  14, 12, 9, 7, and 2 respectively.  We feel blessed to have this group of children.  They each bring something different to the family.  Dad has to fight dirty rooms and mom has to fight homework procrastination, but for the most part they are good kids.  These photos show a little of what we've been doing.

Randy (right) was ordained a deacon

Owen wins pinewood derby

Sydney learns to ride a bike

Brian, Sherman, Nathan, Randy, Collin, Nils, and Robyn (behind camera) ride the Jordan River Trail 

Nathan and Collin at Fort Laramie Historic Site during a 100 mile cycling trip

Nathan at Ayers Natural Bridge, WY after a solo cycling trip

Cora, so cute we had to include it.

The funniest photo of 2011

This is intended to be short and sweet.  But if you want to know more, you can indulge our vanity by viewing a more detailed picture story of our year in this album.