Friday, December 26, 2008

I didn't send this to everybody


Don't take it personally, but usually I reserve my annual Christmas newsletter for distant family I barely see or hear from. I refer to it as my annual phone call (which means I don't have to call anyone with news of our family) and it's also commonly referred to as my olive branch. And since people nearby (or perhaps people who visit our blog daily) usually know more about us than they'd wish to, I don't typically send out our newsletter to those pour souls. I add people certain years to the newsletter list, so it seems like a new thing I've done, but it's not. I've done the newsletter for at least ten Christmases, it's just random who gets a copy. I apologize to those of you who do. But just in case you're a curious sap who would like to know all the gory little details and don't want to feel left out, I've decided to post this here. And if it feels redundant, I warned you. (I've posted these letters on Bailey's website in the past, but had yet to post last year's and this year's.)

Happy reading! (Or feel free to not read it.)




Hello to all of our fabulous family and friends this holiday season!


2008 was more blessed than we could have ever imagined. It involved a bountiful amount of trips, time together, and many gifts along the way.

We did our yearly event in seeing Sesame Street Live, something we did even before Bailey came to be. And then shortly thereafter, we cashed in Bailey’s main Christmas present from 2007 and flew to Orlando to go to Disney World for a week. Grandma and Grandpa met us at the airport after their own flight from Arizona and we stayed together in a local condo, courtesy of them. The week included the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Hollywood Studios, and two separate breakfasts with Donald, Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy, lunch with the princesses, a visit to Daytona and New Smyrna beaches and a stop by Sea World.

In March, just in time for Easter, we welcomed a new bundle of joy. Bailey appropriately chose the name Fudge for our youngest daughter (as “Oh Fudge!” is said far too often), and even though she looks a lot like a canine (half Japanese Chin, half Bichon-Frise), she thinks she’s every bit our child as Bailey is.

In April, Daddy left his job after 11 years to start a new life with a startup company, specializing in green energy, namely hydrogen fuel cells. So far, he loves the change of scenery and the privilege of working with new technology and the opportunity to work more intensively in research and development. Not only is it more interesting, it’s a higher salary and also cut his drive down to thirty minutes.

Bailey started a creative movement class in June, which is an introduction to ballet. We’ve absolutely loved dressing her in costumes and tutus, while her favorite part is a little boy named Kale in her class and the fact they get candy handed to them after each class period. She’s also extremely fond of the stage and just had two different recitals this month, doing wonderfully both times.

In July we celebrated Bailey’s fourth birthday at the Great Wolf Lodge (which we have a funny feeling is going to become a yearly tradition since she also insisted we go for Mommy and Daddy’s birthdays as well) and had quite the circus of a party, literally. (Her birthday party was a circus theme, picked out by her without any help.)

In August we drove out to Missouri for my Family Reunion. I had done quite a bit of planning for it so it was good to have the hard work pay off and spend some quality time with my paternal side of the family. Two weeks later, we flew out to Buffalo, New York and drove from there to Niagara Falls and then Toronto. In Toronto, we saw dinosaur bones at the Royal Ontario Museum, said, “aye” a lot, explored the magnificent Science Centre, visited the Toronto Zoo, played on the beach at Ontario Lake, felt like royalty at Casa Loma, looked down on Toronto from the CN Tower, and watched a Toronto Blue Jays game. When we returned to Niagara Falls, we rode the Maid of the Mist and saw the falls up close. Bailey can’t wait to return someday.

We lost our precious Kaitlin, our almost thirteen year old canine, to old age in October. Fudge and Kaitlin had become quite close, but no one took it harder than Bailey. She was a loyal companion and dearest friend and is deeply missed in this household. We lost something else in October as well, but not as dear to our hearts as Kaitlin. Instead, Bailey had her tonsils and adenoid removed and ear tubes inserted. The surgery was a success and for the first time in her life, Bailey no longer snores and gets a good night’s rest. It has changed our lives for the better.

Shortly after the presidential election, we boarded a plane for Daytona, Florida and checked out the timeshare Daddy had purchased. We were directly on the beach and it was the most awesome week together. We went back to the Magic Kingdom for a day and met Tinkerbell in person (Bailey’s latest favorite character), discovered the Bistro McDonald’s in Orlando (and was lovin’ it), witnessed dolphins in the ocean, enjoyed the ocean view from our balcony, drove to New Smyrna Beach twice, went to historical St. Augustine as well as their local Alligator farm, and even saw a shuttle launch! It was by far one of the best trips we’ve ever taken, and it had a lot to do with how relaxing it was. There were no expectations.

Other highlights of the year included Disney Princesses on Ice, celebrating Great-Grandma Rangger’s 90th birthday, walking the Kansas City Autism Walk with Team Triple R (for our niece Rebecca), becoming Tinkerbell for Halloween, the 2008 election, Mommy quitting her job of two years in November in order to finally spend weekends with her two favorite people, and Mommy and Daddy seeing the Lion King on stage by themselves.

2008 was such a fantastic year we can only dream of what 2009 might hold.


Until then, we wish you a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year,


With Love,


Rob, Terra & Bailey
(And Fudge and Aerial too)

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