Dec. 9: 2007 in review

If you received a Christmas card from us, you probably also received a letter. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that it was full of lies and exaggerations. This is the real and very boring story of our actual 2007.

Visits/vacations

Kathy visited for a couple weeks in January and split her time between Portland, Walla Walla and Salem. She got me interested in beading again, and I spent the rest of the year making jewelry and other beaded items for myself and gifts. I did some research in gemstone therapy and learned interesting things about the metaphysical properties of different gemstones. It’s definitely given a bit of purpose to my beading projects.

Vic and I spent a few days in Disney World and went on a week-long Disney Cruise in the western Caribbean in February/March. Ports of call were Key West (fun, dirty, chicken-y), Grand Cayman (hot, beautiful, hot), and Cozumel (hot, filthy, stinky). It was a much different experience than our cruise in 2003 (in which the kids were along) and we felt frequent guilt, knowing how much Katie and Jack would love being there with us. Our dining companions were absolutely delightful; we were often among the last tables to clear out of the restaurant each night. Overall Vic and I had a lovely, relaxing time and enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was the perfect way to celebrate ten years of marriage.

My mom retired from WWC and moved to Medford in June. We made several trips there during the summer to visit with Mom and help her get settled into her new home. She is very, very happy there.

All Vic’s siblings visited at different times over the summer. Katie and Jack loved having their cousins around so much. We loved spending time with their parents too.

I went to Boise in July to visit with my girlfriends from high school, Deanna and Debi.

Debi, April and I had our semi-occasional Girls’ Weekend in Ashland in July. We met in Portland and set off on a road trip adventure with stops along the way (OK, pretty much just the one stop in Woodburn). We stayed at Mary’s B&B in Medford but spent most of our days at the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. We saw The Tempest in the Elizabethan theater and The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) and went to the movie musical Hairspray. Lots of shopping, fun restaurants, great companionship... just what a girls’ weekend is supposed to be.

Vic took a week off at the end of the summer and we headed to Medford again. We took a day to drive up to Crater Lake and back. The weather was perfect—clear and sunny—and the kids were fascinated by the scenery.

Entertainment and celebrations

Katie had her seventh birthday party at Build-a-Bear Workshop. Jack’s sixth birthday was at JJ Jump, an indoor “bounce house” arena, the newest big thing in Clackamas. I’ve decided I like having the kids’ birthday parties away from home; no clean-up before OR after the parties! And, as mentioned above, Victor and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary.

Victor and I are subscribers to the Broadway in Portland series again this year. Shows we saw in 2007: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (surprisingly funny and full of charm), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (silly, loved the music), Spamalot (hilarious), Camelot (Wellington went in my place). There were a couple other shows for which we gave our tickets away. This is a fabulous deal, and if you don’t subscribe in your city, look into it at Broadway Across America. It’s a great excuse for date night and there are some wonderful shows to see!

We also spent an evening with Jim Gaffigan, one of the most hilarious stand-up comedians working today. Katie and I saw the very magical Disney on Ice Princess Wishes in November.

Other celebrations were held to honor a new Manullang cousin (Ted and Jocelyn welcomed Adeline in April), and friends’ new daughters Brooke (Alisa & Tom Gillett’s youngest) and Sage (Lisa & Cam Nicholson’s first).

Sadness

Ralph Forrest Knudson, my friend April’s dad, died May 26. Besides bringing back a lot of memories of losing my own dad, it was horrible to see April’s family deal with this unexpected loss. He is greatly missed. My friend Nelda lost her son, who was my age, in June. Alec and Erika, Katie and Jack’s classmates, lost their dad in February.

Family Stuff

Katie and Jack had a very active year.

• They both had their training wheels taken off their bikes and now zip up and down our street with the neighbor kids.
• Katie graduated from first grade and Jack graduated from preschool.
• Jack attended a two-week program on safety during the summer.
• Both kids had a week on their own at Grandma Mary’s and got to ride horses at Lainie’s, swim at Auntie Donna’s, play at Lithia Park, and check out the children’s museums and city parks in Medford—all things I did as a kid in the early 70’s!
• Jack didn’t want to do swimming lessons this summer—he still has a thing about forcibly getting his face wet—but we made a deal that he couldn’t go to Safety Town if he didn’t take at least one session of swimming lessons. He went, and he did surprisingly well, but he opted not to continue to the next level. I guess we need to come up with a deal that will encourage him to stay in lessons longer next summer.
• We couldn’t keep Katie out of the pool, and she passed all three levels she attended. She’s already determined to be a swim instructor when she gets older.
• Just before school started, Jack attended a week-long Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten class, in which he learned about the structure of a typical kindergarten environment. It’s quite a bit different from preschool, but he has adapted well this year and made a lot of friends. He loves to ride the school bus, and waits with four other boys (and their five protective moms) at the stop each day. The kids are all so funny together—Vic and I call them The Bus Stop Boys.
• Jack also played on a soccer team this fall. On the way home after every game he’d talk about how much he didn’t like soccer, but during the games he had a blast. He actually did well and was a more aggressive player than Katie ever was, but we’re still not sure if he’ll play again next year. Right now he can’t stop talking about karate, which we’re planning to enroll him in after Christmas break.
• Katie is doing well in her piano lessons and loves duets with her teacher. She proudly entertains us on a regular basis playing Christmas carols and Für Elise.
• She’s enjoying second grade.
• Jack lost his first tooth while in Medford this summer and is just about to lose his second.

Katie has a great love for most animals. She likes reading but hates when Jack listens in. I’m excited for her to read the Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume books she’s getting for Christmas. High School Musical, anything on the Disney Channel, Littlest Pet Shop, and Disney princesses—especially Ariel—are her big favorites these days.

Jack is still a huge Pirates of the Caribbean fan. He’s also fascinated by Star Wars since his cousin Jacob told him all about it this past summer. He likes anything to do with bad guys and reminds us constantly that he wants to be one when he grows up. Why wait? He’s definitely inherited some artistic talents from Auntie Sonya—he draws the most detailed pirate ships! After our trip to Crater Lake he started drawing amazing volcano landscapes.

Vic is still working at AMC. He got to go on some of the kids’ school field trips this past year and is already looking forward to Jack joining him at the auto show in February. He loves having his little Mini-Me at his side to watch movies and work in the yard.

I worked quite a bit this year teaching and designing databases and web sites. I also am a co-room parent for Katie’s class and help out once a week in the classroom. I’m having a great time getting to know Katie’s friends, teacher, and Commodore Puddles II (the classroom hamster). I still try to do scrapbooking when I have the chance, and I work a lot on beading projects too. I try to keep my blog up to date as much as possible.

Ze Dogs

Scout is more than ten years old now and is definitely showing signs of her age. Besides moving a little slower these days, she’s also getting quite cranky! We thought she was losing her hearing but now are pretty sure she’s just stubborn.

Casey has been with us more than two years now, and has finally settled in to our routine. She still gets irritated with Scout and would prefer to be the only dog in the house, but loves attention from the kids and neighbors.

Holidays

Well, 2007 marks a huge change in our holiday celebrations: we got an artificial tree. I already hate it. Actually, the tree itself is quite nice and looks surprisingly realistic. But it smells like plastic and that’s just wrong! It’s the most practical way to decorate when we’re not going to be home much for the holidays, though. As for celebrations, there’s a big Manullang family thing planned for a few days before Christmas this year. All Vic’s siblings, their spouses and kids will be together at Darlene and Wellington’s for the first time ever. We’re visiting a photographer that day to document the event. There’s a big Saltmarsh thing at my mom’s on Christmas—Kathy and her family will be there, as well as my grandma and uncle. We’ll be attending the Saltmarsh family Christmas Eve gathering, which we haven’t done since I was in junior high. It’ll be a fun time, I’m sure.

2008

As of right now, we don’t have any big vacations planned for next year. We’ll probably end up going to San Francisco at some point, though, as we had hoped to go last summer and never made it that far south. The kids are excited to see the city. Katie’s planning her eighth birthday party in February; as of today (it changes regularly) it will be at JJ Jump. Jack is excited to start karate. Vic is looking forward to researching a new car purchase, which will happen sometime this spring. But as far as I’m concerned, the biggest event in 2008 is in September, when I will be turning 40! April (who turns 40 a few days after I do) and I are planning a big celebration for ourselves and anyone else born in 1968. Check your mailbox for details.

I think I’ve covered just about everything, so I sign off the absolutely true story of our 2007 adventures with our wishes for you:

May this holiday be a happy one for you and those you love, and may 2008 be a year filled with unexpected pleasures, as well as cherished moments of peace and reflection. Have yourself a merry little Christmas and a fabulous new year!