Merry Christmas!
We
hope this letter finds you happy and healthy.
This year has been a true blessing for us and we have so much to be
thankful for!
Like
our now one-year-old son, we’ve been quite active this year. We took a few major trips and several small
getaways this year. In the beginning of
the year, we took a family ski trip to our favorite mountain destination –
Snowmass. We stayed at a huge ski in,
ski-out townhome with Beth’s parents and enjoyed nearly a week of blue sky,
perfect skiing weather (while Grandma graciously babysat Kyle!). We definitely plan to come back… perhaps when
Kyle is old enough to enjoy the skiing, too!
(Our condo was far from baby-friendly with a busy crawler so Grandma had
her hands full!).
The Lord took Beth’s grandpa this
past spring which landed (pun intended) us back in Minnesota
and Wisconsin. Kyle’s first airplane ride was a success and
we all had such a wonderful time seeing all of our relatives. Cousins Jack and Caroline met Kyle for the
first time as did Great-Grandma and all of Beth’s extended Wisconsin
family.
In April, we celebrated Kyle’s 1st
Birthday (which actually fell on Easter this year—how special!). We had nearly 50 people at our house
including both sets of grandparents and tons of friends! Thank you to everyone who celebrated with
us. It’s sure hard to believe how fast
that first year went by!
In May, Beth found herself doing
several business trips to both coasts, but somehow has failed 3 times now in
seeing the Space Shuttle in the Air
& Space Museum
in D.C. The entire family did, however,
benefit from her work trips by getting to spend a week on the California
coast enjoying Santa Barbara, Santa
Monica and 4 days at Disneyland. Kim & my brother even drove up from San Diego to see us!
Truly a magical trip—we never knew that ‘It’s A Small World’ could be such fun
as it was through the eyes of our child.
Disney was definitely the highlight of our year—we will definitely be
back!
In July, we took a week-long
vacation to Gull Lake
in northern Minnesota
with Dave’s entire family. Kyle enjoyed
Grandpa Bob’s big boat and tubing for the first time. And Dave managed to get pulled over on Jet
Ski by the water police. [And to think
that Beth was the one driving quite recklessly!]
We filled the rest of the summer
with tons and tons of hiking, swimming, and other outdoorsy activities. Kyle is a huge fan of his hiking carrier and
we don’t tend to get any complaining from our dogs. Nearly 8 years here in this great state and
we are still amazed by all of God’s beauty that surrounds us. We can’t imagine living anywhere else!
We spent several weeks this fall
up in the mountains. Once in
Breckenridge with a gathering of Dave’s Florida
(and now Washington!)
friends and another driving all over the state in hunt of the beautiful
aspens. We hiked in Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Snowmass, Crested Butte and drove through the Ohio, McClure, Kenosha,
Kebler, and Boreas
Passes. Kyle rode a chairlift for the first time—he
was far less nervous than Mommy!
In October, we drove the 7 hours
to Moab, Utah with Dave’s brother and family to enjoy
4 days biking and hiking. Dave competed
in the Moab Half Marathon while Mommy and Kyle were his biggest cheerleaders.
What beautiful vistas they have in Canyonlands and Arches National Park! We had such an amazing time with Brian’s
family—it makes us wish they lived out in Colorado.
Kyle started walking this summer
and is now running and climbing everywhere and everything. He’s saying quite a few things and signing
the rest. His favorite words at the
moment are “nana” (banana) and “more.” He’s truly the easiest going kid on the
planet (quite a blessing if you know his two parents well enough!) He absolutely loves books, gymnastics,
throwing balls, and going for hikes.
David is still working on the
space shuttle replacement, Orion, at Lockheed Martin. He loves his job (most of the time), but
constantly aches to be at home more. He
did several races this year including 2 half marathons and several
triathlons. He is actively training for
next year’s big goal: the Ironman 70.3
in Kona (Big Island, Hawaii).
There, it’s on paper, so everyone help him keep to it!
Beth remains part-time at
Lockheed. She works 3 days a week and
finds it to be a perfect balance. I don’t
think you will ever convince her to go back to full-time. She stays home with Kyle Mondays and Fridays
and has found a love for meal planning, enjoying play-dates with the K-man, and
keeping the house “in check.”
Last (but certainly not least), our
dogs have had a year of adjustment. With
Kyle mobile, there are very few “safe” spots in the house anymore. Kidding aside, they have adapted really well
to him. Belle is extremely patient and
tolerant while Sequoia will often enjoy a game of chase now and then. Belle has started to show her age more and
Sequoia has become much more affectionate in her adolescence. The dogs continue to enjoy a peaceful evening
after Kyle has retired for the night (and of course, they still enjoy snuggles
on our comfy bed!).
Phew, what a year it has
been!
We hope your year has also been
rich in God’s blessings! We would love
for you to follow our daily lives via our In Our Shoes blog at www.moonshoe.blogspot.com. God’s
best to you this Christmas in the New Year to come!
Love from the Shoemakers-- Dave, Beth, Kyle (1) Belle (10),
and Sequoia (4)
