The Christmas Letter

Many of you got our 2010 Christmas letter. For those of you who did not, here it is.

So, let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

~Inigo Montoya. (The Princess Bride)

Here's a little peek into our lives this year. ?

• Jessica is 15; Emily is 13; Audrey is 11. No shortage of drama in our household!
• Emily had a great time in Washington, DC with her 8th grade class.
• Jessica will be traveling over winter break to sunny Tampa, FL to the Outback Bowl where her high school band will be performing as part of a mass band performance at half-time.
• On Feb. 14, as Maria and Doug were buying kitty supplies at the pet store, a Bagle (basset-beagle mix) adopted Maria. Boy, were we surprised! He's an amazing, loyal 3 yr old doggie and we can't imagine how we got along without him. His name is Copper and he loves chasing the kitties around the house. They don't seem to mind.
• Doug and Maria celebrated 17 years of marriage!
• Maria decided that she would pursue getting her CPA and is 1/4 of the way there.
• Audrey continued band into 6th grade and is now considering switching to oboe.
• We took our first camping trip on our own, and nearly made it the entire trip without rain.
• After our family hauler of almost 9 years nearly gave up its transmission on the way home from said camping trip, we traded it on a 2010 Saturn Outlook SUV.
• We lost our 35 ft shade tree in our front yard while on that same camping trip (come to think about it, we'd rather of had the rain).
• We camped in the Mohican area of OH, the Upper Peninsula of MI and near Springfield IL.
• We graduated the last of our girls from Elementary school.
• We survived our first year as High School parents. Jury is still out on year #2.
• We made it through marching band season #2.
• Maria became treasurer for the Bradley HS chapter of the Hilliard band boosters and spends more time on it than she thought she would.
• Emily continues to enjoy choir and was nominated to the district wide 8th grade honor choir.
• Jessica took her first AP class (US History) as well as honors Biology and Pre-Calculus and is feeling quite challenged by school this year.
• Jessica took up saxophone and is playing it in the school jazz band.
• Audrey continues to enjoy art and is interested in helping dad on projects in the garage like repairing camper.

That's about it for us...from our family to yours...Merry Christmas and a very Blessed New Year!
The Schaefers